body panels

i was wondering the best ( and most inexspensive) place to buy body panels for mgbs , after some mixing and matching ive got a pretty good looking shell to a 79b however somebody has apparently backed into a trash can or something because there is a dent behind the drivers side rear wheel well and i hate like hell to use bondo on it , but so far the panels ive found have been pretty expensive and cover from the door back to the bumper , does anybody make smaller patch panels?

Check out some of your local body shops. They have new tools out now that can do amazing things with compression type dents as you describe.
Get Steve K. to tell you about the work they've done on his daughters '77.
H.

What they use is a Tool that looks like an old "Slate Shingle Pry bar, with a flat rubber coated handle.
This tool is very flat, but has a open slot through the middle..

You have to be down to bare metal. A magnetic disk, that is your ground. Is attached to the panel
A welding rod is slid between the pry bar and when it touches the metal it is welded to the panel and he pulls out the dent, twist off the rod, when he has it out far enough. Leaving just a pimple to be ground.

Stephanie’s 77MGB had the same dent you are talking about, but he still used a fine film of filler, about as much as paint thickness…

Steven has your answer. I call on several body shops and many times they don't replace an entire panel anyway. They just cut out what they need to fix the local damage and use that. If your dent is just sort of pushed in and not kinked, you may be able to pull it out with an old fashion toilet plunger. If the metal is slightly stretched it can be shrunken, but I won't go into that unless you need me to.

MARK, in todays fast moving world.
There are two types of "Pinnacle Panel Restorers"(Get the snow shovels out, that was bad)
Harlan, knew of a crafts man that could take a dent out with a body hammer an a body anvil.
He would lightly tap the panel until there was only small imperfections..

Body Shops/ Collision Repair Shops, can not take that long. They just knock it out slap on body filler and paint(Time Cost Money)..

Mark, if the place you go into, does not have a Frame Straightening Rack and his technicians did not go to technical / collage, to learn the trade of todays technology of straightening out a dent.

Walk away, it will cost you more…

All dent where "NOT" drilled then pulled and filled, on my daughter's 77MGB.
Her panel, where not stretched, warped, or filled in…

Good luck Mark, I wish you lived near southern Houston. You would not get the Deal or the Warranty, I received. "But", this would be the last time that you would ever be looking for a auto craftsman. He does work on collision repair, but his speciality is show/ custom cars.

My Son's 62 (351W) Falcon, is next, but he want a month off. He has taken 3Months to do the 77MGB(He has been working on it part time)..

Yes I will be taken pictures of it, from underneath, in wheel wells, ever orifice…
"But", remember this car was not to be a display 77MGB, a "Daily Driver"..

My car restoration began as a daily driver too, I even put cruise control on it, but I went nuts during the job and ended up showing it a lot.

John, I do not want my Daughter, to be leery of what can happen to her in a parking lot.
Are the car next to her on the freeway is to close, I want her to enjoy the car. Unless wrecked again, to the point of no return. Just drive it and don't put it on a pedestal, "I HATE TRAILER QUEENS". They resemble a deceased person in a coffin. The mourners(I am one of them, are there to give my last respects to a car that was cut down in life at an early age).

I am not ready, nor is my Daughter ready to let this 77MGB, be laid to rest. I feel sorry that I had to destroy two MGBs, so that this 77MGB, could live. Especially the 71MGB, it was a running car that was not structurally sound. I know for a fact that the 71 was a better built car then the 77MGB. That is why I have New parts and 77 parts that are not going back on the 77MGB..

I am open for advice on how to build a better 71MGB Engine, this is the engine that will be connected to the O/D Trans.. I will give myself till 02/01/01, to complete the project and install it in the 77MGB. My E-Mail Addrs::
steven_p_keese@yahoo.com/steven.keese@usahq.unitedspacealliance.com

I am going for performance, longevity, efficiency, and durability

JDW, Harlan and Tom B. I know you feel the same way, am I wrong??

What's the difference between a trailer queen and a daily driver in quality? (Pardon my ignorance, but this is a serious question.
I am building a ground up bare metal inside and out 68 roadster. It would be a trailer queen when finished (if the bodyshop ever gets it done), but I intend to drive it.

I will try to define (In my Opinion) a "trailer Queen"

First let us look at you have said:

Chris, "I am building a ground up bare metal inside and out 68 roadster. It would be a trailer queen when finished (if the bodyshop ever gets it done), but I intend to drive it. "

68 Roaster "Ground up bare metal", is a restoration.
To restore it to 68 specifications(With original 68 parts #match), is Certified as Original.
Not restored 68 specification(With original 68 parts #match), is Certified as Survivor.

Example: For a Corvette "Bloomington Gold" http://www.corvette-autos.com/bloom.htm .

Now here comes "My Opinion, of a Trailer Queen":
1. A 68 Roaster, that is sitting in the garage. On a perfect day, while the owner drive another car. Because he does not want the Miles, Dirt, Wear, on his 68MGB.
2. A 68 Roaster, that is on display and was trailered there, because Miles, Dirt, Wear, on his 68MGB.
3. A 68 Roaster, that is ACed, or Heated and the building that it reside is a personal museum, For a 68MGB.

What is your 68MGB??? When I see your 68MGB, am I going to morn the lose of another 68MGB?

I will wait your answer… I will also wait for others "Opinions", of a "TQ"

Well, you may morn the loss of another B, but not because it sits in an ac garage or heated garage (except when I build a fire in the stove) but due to my level of craftsmanship, or lack.
It is going back rock stock, with lots of new parts. You might see it at car shows, but it will get there under its' own power. I will use a California brush on it to get the dirt off, worry about chips, but enjoy the drive.

Chris, That was "luminary"(As in Notable/ Intellectual)..

I think 68MGB's are "ART", in motion(But I will not throw a "Tiffany Lamp" out the window, to see art in motion.). Different "ART", should be displayed in different ways. Your last three words in your paragraph, said it all " enjoy the drive."

You can not have both "TQ" and a "Driver"..
It is only my opinion..

It is up to you what you want in life… A Trophy to hang on the wall, or something to take out and run…

Thanks for your opinion and insights.I'm guessing then that a restoration would not be referred to as a daily driver, even if you did drive it daily.

What do you think?????

It is your "Opinion"

i am redoing a 78 right now.. it just had major work done on it... the snow is on the roads, and the ice is forming on the wiper blades.. i also have a 1995 jetta, but that sits in the driveway, while i go get the B out and start driving it..


i have seen the same also with guys and thier $25K harleys going to sturgis.. they bring them up to within 50 miles, and then unload them, ride them the 50 miles, and say "i rode in"... to me , THAT is a trailer queen.. i put close to 12K miles on the HD i own every year, except for when i was married and raising and infant.

my 78 will have a decent paint,and extensive mechanical repairs... and will be driven alot.. will i show it..? depends on where and my mood..

i think , in my dealings with machines, is they have to be USED.... not abused, just used to keep seals pliant, fluids fresh, etc...

anyway.. that was my thoughts....

coffee break is over now, so i have to get back on my head... <smile> ( from a bad joke)

The only trailer my car has seen is the one we wenched it onto the get it to my house when I bought it. It just turned out to be a hell of a fine car. It's shoehorned in a chat floored single car garage with about 2/3 of another MG, some honda parts, garden tools, two Lawnboys, two tillers, and a motorcycle. I have to move the tillers and motorcycle to get it out and, unless I'm driving it to work, it's on an at least 60 mile every time it's started. There are lots of excellently paved roads around here with down to 30 MPH curves to blast through. That's where she goes with about 15 miles of 75 to 80 on I-55 on most runs. When I take it to the Memphis All Brits show, I jump in and stop at the show, when I come back I hop in and stop at my house, about 180 miles each way. On top of that it has knocked the socks off of some true trailer queens at 11 car shows. Four times at the Memphis show, once at All Brits in St. Louis, and six Rod & Custom shows. Now, before it comes up: How do I go that far without stopping? I've got a bladder like a basketball and I go fast.

Amen Brother JDW and John B., pass the plate…

P/S., Where is Harlan J. and Tom B.???
I know they aren’t going to let this go by…

You go, John! Why is everyone jumping on Chris? Why can't you do a full restoration and use it as a daily driver? Your'e just starting out with a new version of an old-old-old-car. I do hate TQ's..they make me sick. Sick first of all that I don't own the car, and sick second of all that if I did own it I'd be out driving it all-of-the-time. Ran across a man that parked his TQ 59 Big Healey next to my car in front of a camera store. I was catatonic, drooling, a total sniveling idiot. When I could speak I told him I used to have one just like that, but then it didn't look as good as his now. I asked if I could sit behind the wheel...he said yes, but I had to remove everything from my pockets first. Not saying what I was thinking I removed everything from my back and front pockets and got in. It was just as glorious as I remembered from the old days. But I'm not stupid...right! I'll make sure to leave a leaking ball point pen and a greasy wrench (opps sorry, spanner) in my back pocket before I sit down on pristine red leather seats...and also not use GOJO on my hands before I grab the wheel. Was I supposed to take a bath first? Then put on surgery scrubs before entering the vehicle? The guy spent 40 grand on his restoration, underside of all body panels painted with same finish coat as topside. I'm sure he never did any work on it himself. Have never seen it again and it was a local plate. Such a shame. Hell if I had that beauty I'd be driving it. Better yet I'd also sleep in it. Well, at least I passed his test and got to sit in it.

No one is jumping on "Chris". A full restoration is not a TQ, as goes that a Daily Driver is not a TQ.
My Daughter's LRR 77MGB, as you said "a new Version of an old-old-old-car", is going to be a daily driver. "NOT", a TQ.

Peter C., Why do you think that a 59 Big Healey, parked next to you at a "Camera Store", is a TQ?
Was he not driving it to the "Camera Store", not trailering it?

I think this is going out of hand,,, I will ask for help, to define a "Trailer Queen"

Here's my version of a Trailer Queen: A pristine, unrestored, surrounded by trophies, storyboard on a mirror, framed show dash plaques, '78 Corvette, trailered to a show in the middle of a town of 35,000 where the owner and I both live, who somehow backed out of the class when I showed up and was put in the same one because he knew I'd knock his socks off, and I'm damned proud of it.

P.S. One of the judges told me why he changed classes and said it was a smart move on his part.