Rust Repair

Rust Repair For British Sports Cars

British cars hold a reputation of being very prone to rust. Here in Denver, however, we’re blessed with a drier climate which gives British vintage cars a full, rich life before rust can really start to set in. We specialize in repairing any type of rust damage on any British Sports Car as it is a common thing to come by. Check out our total restoration projects.

TR6 Frame Repair

Looking to restore your TR6, but worried that rust and other structural damage have rendered the frame unusable? Never fear! We deal with extensive rust damage on a daily basis and are fully equipped to repair and reinforce any areas of concern. There are four main areas where TR6s are most susceptible to damage, and we’ve showcased them here to show you exactly how we fix the damage and protect the most vulnerable areas.

Differential Mounts
Rear Trailing Arm Mounts
T-shirt (cruciform) panel
Front suspension Lower Control Arm Mounts

(Conveniently enough, these fixes also apply to TR4As and TR250s.)

The Original Damage

A freshly powder-coated TR6 frame looks like a solid structure, but it has several areas of vulnerability that need to be addressed before the car is reassembled. By stabilizing and reinforcing 4 key areas, we can correct or prevent common cracking and rust issues that plague all TR6s.

The original differential mounts on a TR6 aren’t up to 40 years of rigorous driving. The constant stress the differential places on the front mounting studs causes these brackets to crack — creating a well-known, but dreaded, clunking sound at the rear of the car. The most common fix is to “box in” the mounting bracket, reinforcing and stabilizing the bracket and stud, while spreading a load of constant pulling across a wider area, rather than a single small connection. This photo shows the "boxing in" technique used to reinforce the front differential mounts. The steel plate which creates the box stabilizes the mount by attaching it to the cross member in multiple planes, rather than a few flimsy welds to the front and rear lips of the cross member alone. This is a job that can be done relatively easily with the body in place.

Another view shows the substantial nature of our repair, which helps to prevent flexing and cracking. Every TR6 will need this repair at some point in its life, as it is a product of everyday wear and tear. Fortunately, it can be done for little time and expense. Once the differential is out, it's a two-hour job.

Additionally, we reinforce the stud attached to the bracket to help prevent cracking. If a car is off the frame, we can reinforce both ends of the stud, but if a body isn’t off its frame, reinforcement from the bottom alone is a cost-effective way to address the cracking problem. This photo illustrates the additional reinforcement off-the-frame restoration can provide. An additional washer has been added to the top of the front cross member, which provides an extra level of support to the stud while dispersing some of the stress placed upon the stud by the differential.

The trailing arm mounting members are an area susceptible to rust, but the repair is fairly straightforward. The affected area is cut away and new steel is welded into its place. Doing this repair also offers the opportunity to inspect the trailing arm mounting brackets, which are notorious for cracking. (This repair is akin to replacing the doglegs on an MG — every car will need it done at some point.)

The T-shirt panel on the TR6 ties together all the main structural members of the TR6 frame. It’s actually two panels which attach to the top and bottom of the frame and act as a panel to unite all the central frame pieces. Both are susceptible to rust, though the bottom panel seems always the hardest hit. Replacing the entire panel prevents further damage to the frame and provides integral support to the entire frame. Most importantly, it keeps the body rigid, helping to ensure proper door fit and proper load bearing along the entire length of the frame.

The TR6 front suspension is equally plagued with problems. The lower control arm mounts are often cracked due to the constant stress placed on the brackets. There are two control arm brackets on each side, but it’s the rear one which is constantly twisted by the force exerted by the control arm and subsequently is cracked or completely destroyed. (This photo shows the later style reinforcing gussets provided by the factory, which help to strengthen the rear control arm mount.)

The lower control mount bracket, which is prone to cracking or, in some cases, is completely destroyed.

The Triumph factory realized that this was a weak point in their engineering, and subsequently added an extra gusset to help reinforce the rear bracket, with limited success. The bracket is stronger as a result of this re-engineering, but eventual cracking is almost inevitable. Fixing the cracks usually requires the replacement of the entire mounting bracket and gussets. For earlier cars lacking the gusset, we add the later bracket supplied by the factory.

We also complete the welds on the front shock mounts to stiffen the front suspension tower. This continuous weld replaces the short stitch welds made by the factory initially.

These additional welds at the t-shirt panel provide additional support at one of the weakest points on the frame. While the factory provided some minor revisions to prolong the life of the TR6 frame, there are still several areas which need to be addressed. Our solutions aren't significant modifications, but instead are numerous finishing details executed in keeping with the methods used by the factory, and honed to solve the problem with a minimum of fuss. You might never notice them on a car, but the additional comfort and security they provide make them well worth your while.

MGA Sill Repair

British cars hold a reputation of being little more than fancy-looking rust buckets on wheels. Admittedly, this characterization is not entirely unfair, especially in wetter climes. Here in Denver, however, we’re blessed with a drier climate which gives British vintage cars a full, rich life before old age sets in. Our cars are known nationwide for their pristine and solid bodies, which are often spared from the ravages of time. (Paint choices such as “Golden Harvest” “Blaze” and “Limeflower”, on the other hand, betray their ancient heritage.) Unfortunately, rust will eventually work its way into the panels of a car, no matter how dry the region. If rust is caught early, it’s usually confined to a few places and repairable. Rust repairs are a common job for us— whether as a stand-alone job or as part of a larger project. MGB dog legs, TR6 frame rails, and MGA sills are a few common problem areas where we regularly perform repairs. For MGA sill repairs, we’ve deemed the replacement sills available on the market inadequate. The time it takes to wrestle reproduction parts into a useable part isn’t worth the time or the change we feed into the swear box. Instead, we create each piece from scratch, which gives us total control over the part from start to finish. The resulting part is a perfect fit without endless modification.

MGA Sill Repair

Behind the wheel well is one of the most common places for rust to fester and spread. When water and dirt are kicked back by the wheel, the resulting mud works its way behind the protective panel and brings rust to the inner sills of the car.

With the outer sill cut away, it's possible to see just how insidious the rust can be. While there is still a good steel foundation, there is also much that needs to be repaired.

The inner floor sills are another area prone to rust. MGA floors are wood, which absorbs water like a sponge. The rail where the floor panel rests can quickly become rusty. This inner floor sill is much worse than the outside sill, as the rust has eaten its way through the rail on two planes--all of which will need replacing.

On the outside of the car, the inner sill panel between the A and B posts is replaced with sound steel, providing a firm base onto which the rest of the sill will be attached. This picture also shows that the A and B posts need to be cleaned up and repaired before further work is completed.

Here, the B post has been entirely rebuilt to repair rust damage along the bottom flange. Rather than buying a fifty-dollar replacement repair piece, we instead recreated that piece and welded it into place in the space of an afternoon--no need to wait for shipping!

Here the sill is aligned with the B post for proper fitting before being welded to the inner sill.

With the sill replaced and all of the panels back on, the smooth lines of the MGA are revealed once again.

Our replacement sill, ready to be put into place. Because we make our sills in house, we can make sure it's an accurate fit throughout the process--we aren't relying on a part sight-unseen.

The finished sill and rocker panel. Now that the sill and rocker panel are in place, the rest of the body panels can be fit onto the car.

MGA Trunk Floor Repair

The MGA, while an innovative and beautiful car, still has inherent weak spots in its design. The trunk floor is a good example. The lip of the trunk, shaped as a channel to fit the trunk lid, also acts as a funnel for water, sending it straight into the trunk. The trunk itself is perfectly shaped to collect and store water as well as it stores picnic baskets. (If every house in Colorado had an MGA rainwater collection system, we’d no longer need drought restrictions.) If the car has carpet in the trunk, it absorbs water like a sponge, slowly releasing it to ensure maximum rust coverage. As a result, nearly every MGA restoration includes the replacement of the trunk floor. There are reproduction floors available, but we find these options to be inadequate in a number of ways.

MGA Trunk Floor Repair

Reproductions trunk floors have two interrelated areas of weakness: their production method and their resulting shape. Original trunk floors were die-formed—stamped out with the characteristic ribs from one large piece of metal all at once. This method of production also allows for the ribs to have a groove on either end, which helps to funnel water to a small hole on either side of the trunk (another reason why carpet in the trunk is a bad idea—water can’t escape through those holes). Along the top and bottom edges of the floor, it is gently sloped up to where it meets the sides of the trunk. Creating such a complex die, however, is a relatively expensive undertaking. While cost-effective when producing thousands of cars, it is prohibitively costly when producing only a few hundred trunk floors. Instead, repro floors are machine folded into shape.

In the grand scheme of things, it may not seem like a big deal that the ribs were created with a different method, but it does actually have a noticeable impact on the fit of the trunk. Here’s why: MGA trunks are shaped like bathtubs—they collect water and let it stand. If you’ve ever cleaned your bathtub, you’ve noticed the stubborn ring around the sides. MGAs collect enough water to have that same ring, but instead of soap grime, it’s rust ringing the trunk. Rust needs to be removed and replaced with sound steel. Because repro floors are folded not stamped, they can’t have extra material beyond the end of the rib. Original floors were all one piece of metal that extended up the sides of the trunk.

Repro floors are just a flat piece of metal, and don’t have the extra flange that attaches the floor to the sloping sides of the trunk. As a result, fitting the repro floor to a trunk that has any rust damage to the sides of the trunk is impossible without altering it beyond recognition.

This is a (heavily altered) reproduction MGA trunk floor. The far right rib has been carefully coaxed back into a rounded edge, as reproduction ribs are square on this edge. You can see that this floor supposes that the sides of the trunk are sound, and will easily weld to this panel. It also is lacking a top and bottom flange, which makes it difficult to fit correctly.

To make up for this oversight, we’ve taken matters into our own hands. We now manufacture and fit our own trunk floors. We’ve developed a number of tools and molds to help us with this task, but it still takes an enormous amount of skill and labor to create the perfect fit, every time. Despite the time, we find the results of such an effort to be far superior to any premade floor we’ve purchased.

We start with a large, flat piece of steel. Using dies created in-house, we stamp the metal in to shape. This allows us to keep a flange on the top and bottom of the floor, which are then used to attach the floor in place. Our dies also allow us to keep the grooves found at each end of the ribs—just like the original factory floor. The stamped ribs create an extra flap of metal along the top edge, which is cut away. The edges are then welded back together.

This process allows us to create a gentle slope to the upper part of the trunk. This picture also shows the groove at the end of the rib, which is only possible when the floor is stamped, not folded.

A close-up of an original MGA trunk floor shows the characteristic grove.

While labor-intensive, creating our own panels gives us a solid piece of steel to work with and allows us to do the repair right the first time. We can assess the rust damage and create a floor panel with a flange the exact length needed. No endless fitting and refitting; no patchy spot welding; no floors that simply won’t work. Just the perfect repair, every time.

1971 Bedouin MGB

Rust damage is a common problem on British cars but generally is not too difficult to repair. The damaged area is replaced with new steel, often hand-built parts, and is then smoothed and repainted for a seamless finish. This MGB came to us with extensive rust damage and left with a new paint job and interior, but no sign of the previous damage.

1971 Bedouin MGB

The rusty dogleg foretells deeper repairs that will be needed.

The entire right rocker panel needs to be replaced.

We must remove every bit of damaged metal, inner and outer.

Now we have solid steel to attach the replacement parts to.

Again, all the damaged parts must be removed, layer by layer.

Now the sill rebuilding begins, from the bottom up.

The left side repairs are a repeat of the right.

A complete left side rocker panel is needed, as well. Some smaller parts of the inner sill must also be replaced.

Almost always, our approach is to replace as little of the rocker panel as possible.

The front end of the rocker panel installation is complete. Now for rust proofing and the fender repair.

The most difficult part of rocker replacement is to bottom of the A post and B post attachments to the top surface of the rocker.

We get perfect looking rocker replacements by not touching the A and B post attachments at all. That makes for undetectable repairs because those original welds are unaltered.

Only when the inner parts are replaced can the outer repairs be completed. We now manufacture our own dogleg repair panels, as we consider none of the commonly available alternatives to be acceptable.

The final patch is fitted to the left front fender.

The car is now in fresh paint, in its original color of Bedouin Beige.

The car is now assembled and ready for delivery.

This one year only color is rarely considered when repainting, probably because people have never seen it looking good.

1967 BGT Typical Rust Repair

Rust damage is a common problem on British cars but generally is not too difficult to repair. The damaged area is replaced with new steel, often hand-built parts, and is then smoothed and ready to be repainted for a permanent finish. Sunny Colorado is a wonderful place to own and care for a vintage British car. Unlike other rainy or humid states, Colorado cars generally have only small amounts of rust. The repair to the fenders and underlying panels is a common one and we take great care to correctly repair all rust damage.

Rust Repair

Rust Repair For British Sports Cars

The Original Damage

MGA Sill Repair

MGA Trunk Floor Repair

1971 Bedouin MGB

1967 BGT Typical Rust Repair

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