1975 MGB GTV8 Special

When you look at them like that there's quite the difference  . On the plus side, those new quarter lights look rather smart 

Well what do we have here 'Progress' 



I want to retain the front quarter glass frames insitu as these act as reference points for the aperture clearance whilst the roof skin & bulkhead panels are fitted - They are rebuilt / freshly chromed and I don't want them damaged by welding / grinding spatter hence the masking tape protection - The door windows can be largely wound down although these are already damaged through wear and carry lots of scratches in them - unsure at this stage if Sam has a better set or if he is planning to replace them - either way its pointless making them any worse that what they currently are so they will also get protected when I start cutting & welding 



The inner aperture cut outs were also closed off with masking tape to prevent any swarf filling the cavities that cant be easily accessed / vacuumed out



The spot welds were centre punched 



Then drilled out with a solid centre spot weld drill 



I had to remove the lead loaded area that I had previously undertaken to expose the spot welds on the nearside rear pillar  



I had good vacuum up of the swarf created by drilling the spot welds out - I appear to have misplaced my spot weld knife for splitting the welds so I've ordered a new one - Whilst waiting for it to arrive I can remove the front wings to allow access to the outer flanges of the bulkhead panel 

Watching with interest. I hate to think what shape it would be if I tried to do this.

Front wings removed yesterday 



And the spot welds drilled out on the flange edges 

It wouldn't surprise me - Built by British Leyland at the height of trade union dominance when the tail wagged the dog!!  

Roof skin cut around the perimeter edge 



And with just a quarter of the roof skin cut the distorted tension within the skin has been relieved and the aperture gapping between the quarter glass frame & gutter / cant rail has already been improved  



Bulk of the roof skin removed 



A thin slitting disc on the small angle grinder was utilised for cutting but this obviously leaves razor sharp edges 



For the short time that the edges remain I protect them with masking tape to prevent serious injury - I still wear gloves too 



Likewise for the removed skin 



On some manufactures models the roof gutter is integral to the roof skin - On the MGB it isn't and care is required not to damage the gutter / cant rail (which is easier said than done)



The roof skin is fastened to the side rails by a heat crimping process - virtually a rotary spot welding wheel - This is going to be really awkward to remove from the rail without creating damage - a hard metal disc on the grinder is the route to go (but carefully) 



The front & rear of the roof skin is fastened to the horizontal rails with spotwelds - once the welds are drilled out the easy way of splitting them is with a splitting knife 



Especially made for the job - tapped along with a hammer the hardened steel blade splits the welds as it's tapped through



Bulkhead panel removed which also forms the outer windscreen pillars along with the front roof rail 



Which leaves the car looking like this 



There's a fair bit of dressing back & cleaning up to undertake now before the new panels can be trial fitted - but its all still progress 

That's a lot of extra work but if it improves all the panel gaps it will be worth it as the completed car would have been spoiled the way it was.

Hard grinding wheel just fits on the roof gutter flange edge 



But it needs to be undertaken carefully 



Work the grinder too hard or get carried away and you will create more damage than good to the cant rails / roof  gutters and whilst the rear section is available the front one that runs down the windscreen pillar isn't



Once I had the bulk of the welded edge removed I used my small power file to remove the remainder 



Leaving a good clean area ready for the new panels 



Cleaning up & dressing back of the accessible flanges is very easily undertaken with the angle grinder fitted with a flapwheel 
 

really interested in all of this and loving the recording of it - thank you

OTOH as it constantly comes to mind I feel I must just put this here:



Just Sayin'