Hello, Carter.
Learning to weld is not all that difficult but you need to take some time
welding together bits of scrap metal before going to work on the car itself.
But there are other elements involved so you need to consider those too.
>From your description, it sounds as though you would need to replace the
floorpans, sills (rockers), one door skin - unless it can be patched. It's
conceivable that you would be looking at repairs to the bulkhead (firewall),
the bulkhead supports and various other areas.
Much of the steelwork mentioned here is best replaced as part or complete
panels and one of the skills you would need to learn is panel alignment -
get that wrong and the panels on hinges will never fit properly again.
Patch welding, particularly on visible panels, is tricky. To make the metal
into 'one piece' again involves edge to edge joints, called butt joints.
Heating steel to melting point causes expansion and consequent distortion,
which leaves you with ripples in the metal - a classic example is where a
new lower half rear wing has been welded on a B. Where complete new panels
are fitted, the joints overlap - these are lap joints which mimic the
factory spot welded joining of flanges on floors, sills, etc.
I'n not trying to scare you off, all I'm saying is that a bodyshell
restoration of any size is a big project that requires care at every stage
if the result is to be half-decent. If you have the time, money and
determination to do one, go ahead.
>From experience, here are my pros and cons of the four main types of
welding...
Oxy-Acetylene (gas) welding: easy once you've got the hang of it, expensive
to run and puts a lot of heat into surrounding metal. Gas can also be used
to heat up stubborn fastenings for removal and also can be used for brazing.
MIG welding: very easy to master and very versatile. Heat is localised but
lots of cleaning up (grinding) can be needed. Best to use industrial-sized
shielding gas bottles (Argon/CO2); gasless welding and the use of CO2 alone
tends to cause spatter and poor welds and the baby bottles supplied with
most hobby machines work out very expensive.
TIG welding: hard to master but great for minimal distortion. Uses pure
Argon shielding gas for mild steel welding. Minimal cleanup afterwards but
steel must be bright for clean welds.
Arc welding: for tractors, military tanks and capital ships - far too
vicious for MG-thickness metal.
Hope this gives you an idea of what's involved.
David Hill
York UK
(7 MGBs restored, plus serious work on about 30 other classic cars - which
go rusty in a big way in Britain)
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