Slowly making progress, 1967 MGB GT

Progress is proceeding at a glacial pace on the 1967 GT. My friend Jim has welded in the repair panels for the few rusty spots, and I am slowly working my way around the car, taking off the cruddy red paint job and getting rid of crud in the normally hidden areas.

Actually, there were two red paint jobs–one looks quite old (and quite a bit better, quality-wise). It may have been done before the previous owner bought the car, way back in 1971–he may never have seen it in the original grey. Or maybe quickly decided he needed a red MGB…

Getting clean, 1967 MGB GT

I’ve been using a wire wheel in a die grinder to get rid of the crud in the inner fenders and the small remaining patches of red on the outside. It’s slow going. On the outer surfaces, I take the “shine” introduced by the wire brush off with a dual action sander. I will hand-scrub the inner panels with scotch-brite where I’ve wire-wheeled to give them a “tooth” for the new primer to stick to.

I’ll be using a paint stripping chemical on the door jambs, bonnet, and underside of the tailgate. Not looking forward to that, chemical stripping is always a huge mess.

Repaired sill, 1967 MGB GT

The repaired front sill. The repair has yet to be seam-sealed, which will fill in between the welds. We’re going to spray the inner fenders and other hidden areas with a good coat of DP90 primer. This should keep the heap from rusting for many moons.

Repaired fenders and valance, 1967 MGB GT

Here are the repaired fenders, yet to be fully stripped. Jim straightened the valance panel on his English wheel, and it looks 100% better.