This is going to be THE major effort of the entire project! I don't name my cars, but if I did, I'd name this little car "CRUSHER", because that's what most people would have done with the car. The first order of business was to determine the extent of the rust damage and determine which panels will have to be replaced or patched; the list is daunting. I placed an order with Moss Motors for the following sheet metal:

front fender repair panel, R/H
outer sills, L/H &R/H, 1 jack point
inner sills, L/H &R/H
inner sill, R/H
rear fender repair panels, L/H &R/H
floor pan, L/H &R/H 
outer cross member section (2)
trunk floor
outer side footwell panel, L/H &R/H

bulkhead, rear cockpit

bulkhead, shut panel
reinforcement set, bulkhead floor (2)
base plate, spring mount (2)
bracket, radius arm, L/H &R/H
spring hanger box (2)
damper mounting bracket, L/H &R/H
"A" post assembly, L/H &R/H

"A" post outer skin, L/H &R/H

When finished, and I WILL finish this project, it will be good to look back and say how good it is that the car was rescued and did not wind up as a Kia or Subaru. But that's a LONG way off; LOTS of time, effort, and $$$ to invest in this little LBC first.

So check back here often; I think I'll be spending quite a long time in this phase.

Because of the amount of bodywork to be done, I am splitting up this phase chronologically.

Jun-Aug 2007 - exploratory probing, body cleaned, doors removed and braced, paint stripped, rust and unneeded metal cut away; decision to replace entire rear bulkhead as well as the sills and floor pans, car divided into front and rear sections; fabrication of both lower dog-legs; installation of a new boot floor.

Sep-Nov 2007 - frenching in a tag frame; bulkhead assembled on bench, car prepared to receive new bulkhead, bulkhead installed; passenger side footwell pan, floor pan, cross member, sill, footwell side and "A" pillar installed; driver's side footwell pan, floor pan, cross member, sill, footwell side, and "A" pillar installed; measurements taken, adjustments made, and final welding of front clip to rear...the car is whole again; doors trial fitted, doors removed, door braces added back, and car returned to rotisserie; the installation of the floor/bulkhead reinforcement completes the sheet metal replacement, less the rear fenders; repair and prep of the rear wheel wells and prep work on the rear axle housing and differential.

Dec 2007 - Feb 2008 - LOTS of small jobs (some not too small), including...hanging the rear suspension; trying on the new wheels/tires to check fit; cleaning parts, cleaning more parts, cleaning the steering rack and installing for mock-up; installing the roll bar; fabricating a pan for the Tilton pedal box; cutting the steering column and installing a quick disconnect/steering wheel; installing seats; fabricating a cage for the fuel cell; mounting the Enots alloy flip fuel filler cap.

Mar 2008 - May 2008 - installing the passenger seat; finishing up the fuel cell with hold down straps and a filler pipe; modifying the accelerator linkage and adding a Hopkirk accelerator pedal; stripping the boot lid, front wings (fenders), bonnet (hood), and front cowl; modifying the front clip to tilt forward and welding up the bumper bracket holes; repairing the front fenders and replacing the rectangular turn indicator lights with some round ones (from the TR3 and big Healey) that better fit the theme.

Jun 2008 - Aug 2008 - progress slows as work on the new garage is completed; the fenders, hood, and cowl come together to form the tilting front clip.

E-mail Ray at ray@raysmg.com about MG interests you may share.