Same again!

Well the nearside bulkhead, footwell, floor and sill was done, so it was the turn of the offside. And all the same again, however things were easier having done it all before…
I had a door to work around, which was the starting point. I put it back into place, and fitted the wing, and examined the door gap. It was awful. As it always has been. The nearside door had always seemed too far back with no adjustment left, so there was a big gap between the door and front wing. Looking at things closely, it seemed that the lower rear wing half replacement panel had been welded on too far forward the last time she was rebuilt, and the outer sill had been welded on in the wrong place so the door did not fit properly in the gap. The outer sill was also too far forward, which meant when the front wing was bolted on it was also forward hence the big gap. The A post seems to be twisted very slightly, no doubt from when the sills were done the last time.
So there would need to be a bit of adjustment later, but I set too and welded in a piece of hefty steel tube between the A post and B post, as per the other side, to brace things in shape while I started cutting panels out. (The braces will be left in place, even once both sills are done, to keep the shape correct when I am doing the chassis legs and cross member and front inner wings).
The footwell end was cut out, along with parts of the bulkhead.

Now you see it...

Any moment now.....

Excellent!

The new footwell end was primed at the flanges, and welded into place. That was the first bit done, and it was very easy which was reassuring. Then it was bulkhead time again.

Done! Simple as that!


And time to remove a section of the dash side so bulkhead work can commence!

The nearside bulkhead needed a lot of work, and I grafted in the outer third from another car, and with some fabrication work it all went in nicely. However, the offside needed a lot more work, and seeing as this is where the pedal box is mounted, it needed to be really strong and I was taking no chances.
As with most MGBs, Valleri had corroded around the pedal box where leaking and spilled brake fluid had taken the paint off, and then the metal had rusted. Due to its double skinned design, the water getting in between both of the upright pieces (from the fresh air intake) also rots that area from inside, and the pressed steel plate which the steering column passes close to is a rust trap, and that area needed attention too.
I decided to treat the two sections differently. First, the upright sheets, which create the box section behind the dash. Then the flat sheet which the pedal box mounts to. The upright sheets would be repaired, while I would make a new panel for the pedal box to attach to.
I removed the steering column avoidance plate by drilling out the spot welds, then cut out all of the horizontal panel, including a patch repair it had had in the past, leaving the front and rear upright sheets. Despite missing most of the bulkhead and dash side, there is still a lot of strength in the assembly, thanks to the scuttle. The rear upright needed the section along the bottom replacing, so it was cut out and a new piece made up and seamed into place. It had to be shaped so the steering column avoidance plate could be fitted against it. Look at the photos, it’s impossible to describe! Due to the nature of the bulkhead, repairing the front upright would be easier after the horizontal panel was in place, otherwise it might end up a little to high or low for them to meet up easily.

The "Steering column avoidance piece" as I call it. Note how much of a rust and twig trap it is! A couple of dustpan fulls of rotting foliage were removed from the double skinned bulkhead this end, which when damp retains moisture and rots the metal. Note also, where there has been a double thickness of metal, it has corroded. Never mind, it will be cut out and replaced...

And here is that area in context. Note the lovely shiny new footwell end in place, and a bar welded to the A Post to keep everything in shape. Here, I have cut away the lower edge of the rear upright sheet, ready to weld a new strip along the bottom.

And there it is, the new piece welded in place. it's the bottom half inch or so along the right hand side, and about a half inch around where the steering column plate goes, completely replacing the rusty sections.




Ahh, snow. This is the first lot, there was MUCH more to come. I kept on working though....

THIS made a tremendous difference to the project. Fed up with freezing in the garage and having metal almost sticking to me, I bought this paraffin-fueled Bialaddin bowl fire. It is amazing. I can have the main and back garage door open, to give a draught to carry away fumes/grinding dust, yet have this close by keeping me toasty. I got it a few weeks before the snow, and it has been absolutely brilliant. And you can make "garage toast" with it. Just look at it... you can almost feel the warmth its beaming at you!

The horizontal plate, I had decided, would be replaced by a new one fabricated by myself. I measured up the old one before cutting it out, and made some accurate drawings. Then I made a cardboard version, to check it would still fit properly after the work to the uprights. It did, so I set to fabricating a new panel.

The horizontal panel has been cut out, ready to fit the new one.

Nigel, bless im, gave me a sheet of steel of ideal thickness, very slightly thicker than the original. I marked it up and cut it out, which took most of a morning because it is an awkward shape. Then I drilled all the holes for the master cylinder frame and cover. I cut the square hole for the pedals to move through, and folded the edges down as per the original.

The new horizontal bulkhead panel in progress! Very precise stuff

Getting ready to fit the new horizontal panel, the reinforcer which fits below the horizontal panel has been bolted temporarily into place, to bring the foowell end into exactly the right place, confirmed by a lot of measuring.

When it was looking good, I tried it in place, then tacked it, followed by plug welds along the front then seam welds throughout. I replaced the lower edge of the front upright sheet, and welded it all. For the curved and flanged hole at the outer edge, I used a section from my spare bulkhead as it would have taken hours to form a piece of the correct shape. I also replaced the steering column avoidance plate with the one from my spare bulkhead, as it had not thinned out worryingly with rust like the original one. This was primed and welded into place, but I will finish off the welding when the car is on its side again as the welder doesn’t like welding upwards.
The strengthener was welded to the underside of the horizontal plate, and the whole assembly was now very strong indeed. I bought some nuts form Namrick and welded them in place to the underside, as captive nuts, for the pedal box, and this bolts on perfectly. I also welded on some captive nuts for the accelerator cable pedestal. All in all, apart from some minor tidying up and some more holes needing drilling for various things, it is as good as new and stronger than new, as well.

And there it is! Ohhhhhh yeah!