MG Car Club of South Australia
MGC NEWS
MGC conversations by Richard Mixture, April 2019
Hello again, it’s Richard here with a
story about body shell problems. When
MG decided to do away with a steel
chassis when they introduced the MGB,
I often wondered what stopped the body
folding in half. You know, just like some
of those funny bikes that fold in half to fit
into your boot. Although you’d need a
rather large boot to fit an MGB in.
Back three decades ago Practical Clas-
sics published an interesting story about
body shells. Now remember girls and
boys, MGC body shells may be a little
different from MGBs, but the problems
are still the same.
“The body sills and under wing areas
are especially prone to disintegration on
older MGs. Starting at the front of the
car, check around the head lights for
evidence of hasty filler repairs and, from
below the vehicle, check how much
mud has been allowed to collect in the
vicinity of the lamp units. Moving further
back, but still beneath the wing, reach
up to the upper rear section of the wing
and examine by hand and by eye the
state of the 'turret' strengthening sec-
tion. This forms a horizontal ledge on
which mud, salt and water can collect.
When the ledge rusts though, road de-
bris and moisture work their way back-
wards, gradually eating through the in-
ner wing, bulkhead, 'A' post and sill ar-
eas. Tell-tail bubbles of rust in the outer
panels surrounding the affected areas
can give the game away.
Fortunately, the front wings unbolt to
allow access to rusted sections beneath
them and repair sections are available.
The sills – especially on roadsters – are
vital to the structure of the car and
should extend beneath both front and
rear wings. If you are looking at a car to
which 'cover' outer sills have been fit-
ted, as evidenced by join lines under
each end of the doors, take care! It is
likely that rust still exists beneath the
cover panels and behind the lower
edges of the front and rear wings.
If the inner and outer sections of the
sills are rotten (they usually rust in uni-
son), it is best to replace all the sill com-
ponents together. This is an involved
job, especially on a DIY basis, so it may
be preferable to leave it to the experts.
To start with, and before cutting away
any rusty metal, the bodyshell should
be braced by bolting a temporary
strengthening bar between the 'A' post
area and the forward section of the rear
bodywork, just inside the top of the rear
wing. It is also essential to tackle just
one side of the car at a time or it may
fold up in the middle!
Normally the front wings will still need to
be removed for attention to the inner
wing areas; it is best to remove the
wings anyway to give access to the
front ends of the sills.
With the windscreen and relevant front
wing unbolted and removed, the bottom
of the rear wing should be chiselled
away (leaving enough metal for a repair
patch to be attached!). The rotten metal
in the sill area can then be cut away.
This can be done using a hammer and
bolster, cutting as far back as the floor
panel (repairs to or replacements of
floor sections are carried out at the
same time).
The lower end of the 'A' post is now free
to move and should be left unattached
34 while the new 'floor to door step (inner)