Bob's
MG Midget Website| Bob's
MG Midget Website |
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| Reshell of a Midget |
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One of the problems suffered by an old classic is rust, lots of it and advancing at different rates in different places. Many Midgets are now in a state where there is more rust than metal. The cure for this is either one of three options: (i) Buy all the rusted panels and weld them in place. (ii) Buy a completed heritage shell and swap everything across. (iii) Find another shell in good condition and swap everything across. Well, perhaps I was lucky but I got hold of a shell which had lived most of it's life in the Arizona desert so it is pretty rust free. The problem is that it is a left hand drive, hardly practical for British roads. Never mind, let's see what we can do with it.
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Delivery Here is the shell arriving at my workshop in the back of my brother in law's van. I am still amazed that it was swallowed up in the back of a Mercedes Sprinter SWB. |
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New
Resting Place The new shell in my workshop where it will stay for the foreseeable future. There is lots of work to do but it does look quite solid and straight, so well worth it. |
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The
Floor Pan As you can see from this picture, I have started cleaning the shell up. The driver's floor pan has been stripped back and treated with acid etch epoxy. A lot more work to do but at least it all looks sound. I really wish some pillock hadn't put a jack under the floor! |
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The
Boot Floor Although it's not pretty, the underside of the car is in excellent condition. All of the suspension mounts are solid and there's no serious rust anywhere. Don't you just love that desert air! |
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Footwell
Conversion In order to convert from LHD to RHD it's necessary to change the footwell top. Here you can see that the original footwell top has been cut out. It's almost ready to receive the new top. |
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Footwell
Top Out with the old and in with the new. Here the old and new footwell tops are placed side by side. Some major differences. Also, the front plate will be removed from the new panel; there's no point replacing good metal. |
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This page will be updated as work progresses. Keep me bookmarked to see what happens. Last updated 08/12/05 |
Drop me a line if you want: mgbob@amphibia.co.uk |