Repair Recommendations

Area Discussion South Central
2

Hi all,

Been in South central area for a while, but originally from west midlands and only recently brought down my mx-5 from back home. On a road trip in europe recently I received a love-tap from a barrier after losing the rear end (unintentionally) on a very wet slip road coming off an autobahn. I also have 2 rust spots on my sills that I would like to repair. There is no mechanical damage to the car as I was not going fast (and proceeded to drive the next 500km home) just body work. My mx-5 is a mk1 dakar edition, so would like to colour match the replacement panel and welding to twilight blue.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to places I could use? I am currently local to chichester, so the closer the better, but would like to use a specialist and someone who is known to be reliable :slight_smile:

Do MX-5 parts do this sort of thing? I have also seen an ad for DoctorMX5 - has anyone used them?

Cheers!

3

DR MX5 is not that far from Chichester

Works out of a large industrial unit on a farm - unit next door is the paint shop

I haven’t used him for bodywork but took my MK2.5 there last week for a few other things and was impressed with the service offered

Will be returning for rust proofing and servicing later in the year

4

Dropped my 2.5 off at Doctor MX5 yesterday for chassis rails and sills on both sides, new clutch, undersealing and a few little bits and pieces.

Did so on recommendations from happy customers.

Having visited and seen their handiwork on vehicles in their workshops I am happy that an excellent finish will result.

Miss my baby already!

P.S. I’m a South Central member, come along and have a chat at one of our meetings. Tomorrow night (15th August) we will be at The Shepherd and Flock, Farnham. The pub on the roundabout on the A31.

5

Wow just wow

 

Take her to someone that knows these roadsters, any one can weld and know what they are doing as you trust your bride and joy with them??? i don’t thing so, but there is an art and major skill to welding and fabricating and that also comes into play with the different materials/metals etc and welding machines, trust me it is far from it takes"two minutes" “it’s just welding” IF it was that simple we would not need the skill in construction as “anyone could do it”.

Saz

Lets see your welding skills and fabrications as you dish the guys with a skill, that you will never have, not changed have you, very good at research, no idea when it comes to proper hands on.

If only it was that simple to weld correct…

 

“its just welding”…really, my god…

 

I hit the issue with metal and paint on one  personally on one of my own that i trusted her to “trusted”…the metal work and fabrication was perfect, could not fault it, the paint on the other hand and finishing was terrible, she went back and still came out not great , i will add that the body shop does the welding and paint, his skills as a welder on body panels i highly recommend, but… his paint ,attention to detail and finishing is rubbish, i must also add that this is not Garaths mx5 restore body shop, this was more local to myself and they seem to have a good rep?

I finished a B2 beginning of this year and took her to some one else in the scene with a good rep and he farms out his painting side, the result from the painter was immaculate , she was stunning as i had the whole roadster done because the paint was lifeless as the new owner viewed before she went ( nothing to hide), the attention to detail and finishing was a breath of fresh air for me as i have always hit issues with the painting side, the roadster my even be at the National rally, which would be nice for the new owner to come and show her off.

So agree with the “farming out” and waiting in a queue , and shoddy paint but there is big difference to a welder, and a fabricator, and a bodge up weld and done correct , don’t dish people with skills we don’t have please.

 

OP hope you get sorted buddy , if you need honest info about the guys out there we do trust, get in touch, we know our area of knowledge and are here to help.

M-m

 

 

 

6

Yes I agree, SAZ does some very good posts and these are a joy to read.

Then he posts some complete poo.

He has advised members that MX5’s do not rust underneath the car from the external surfaces, only from internal surfaces!!!

Then as you say this self important post above that is very badly worded and just wrong.

7

Putting the Drumtochty vs SAZ schoolyard b1 tching to one side    I’d definitely recommend DoctorMX5 at Waltham Chase.  Or to be more exact - Dan at ‘The Welding Corner’ in the next door unit.  Julian at DoctorMX5 doesn’t do his own welding.  He used to pass it on to Dan.  Now I may be wrong here, but I THINK they had a falling-out, and don’t talk anymore.  I’m very happy to be corrected on this - but my advice would be to go direct to Dan - https://www.theweldingcorner.com/

He’s an expert on doing MX-5 sill, arch and chassis rail work properly - and his prices are very reasonable.  He uses a paint shop in an adjacent unit, and in my experience, the paint gets done within a couple of days of the welding.  Oh, and Dan’s a lovely knowledgeable and affable guy to boot.

HTH  Steve

8

Play nicely children

9

10

Any person who belittles a trade had better be able to prove their point or be branded an arrogant fool rather than just plain arrogant.


I have been welding and fabricating for over 30 years as an amateur/hobbyist - scratched the surface in terms of skill, speed and judgement. Welding is not only skilled but dirty and dangerous which is probably why companies farm out the work and it costs a lot of money. Fabrication is an associated requirement but a totally different skill - the two generally go together but I imagine most professionals struggle to some extent with one or the other. A good welder/fabricator deserves total respect.


My problem with MX5 sill repairs is that it is not possible to properly finish and protect the internal side of the weld. Even the internal, structural sill repair whilst coatable will likely be undermined by the heat of welding the outer sill in place. Given that the cause of the original issue is trapped damp, no welding repair is likely to last as long as I would want it to. I would suggest that  the ideal repair would involve a metal outer sill bonded, rather than welded in place. Surely there is a suitable chemical weld product and somebody who has gone this route. I know the Japs have developed bonded resin/plastic repair panels. Perhaps a stainless repair panel encapsulated in plastic/resin would work?  

  

11

Make sure they take lots of photos of the work as they go along so you have a record of what they’ve done.

 

12

Photos are a must before they start when the inside is visible ,as they go along and the end product

riin0666 is spot on a lot of fools think they can weld but it takes years to get the experience to be at the top of the game ,a lot can be hidden by filler and paint in the body shop .well at least for a few months it can !!!

13

Well said Matt, totally agree.

14

A full photographic history is included in the work schedule.

I started the history by taking photos before I dropped the car off.

 

15

Have seen an article about MX5 doctor being rude and not doing quality work - is this just a one-off unsatisfied/unreasonable customer? It kind of put me off getting in contact with him, but it seems like many of you have positive experiences?

16

Arghh.  Read my post above, Charlie.  You don’t need to deal with Julian at DoctorMX5 - just go direct to Dan at The Welding Corner.  He will do a skilled, proper job at an excellent price, and will take pics if you ask.

I suspect the bad publicity you read was one member who apparently had a bad experience - and has been bad-mouthing Julian ever since. 

17

Ok Ill get in touch with him see what he says. Thanks for the advice! :slight_smile:

 

18

Just a follow up from my previous post:

I have my car back from DoctorMX5 with all work completed.

Front Chassis Rails, Rear Sills & Wheel Arches on both sides, New Clutch supplied & fitted, Full body under-seal and diff oil changed.

The workmanship by Julian and his team was excellent.

Many South Central Members have inspected the work and no-one could find a fault.

If you’re in the South and need work on your 5, go and have a chat.

https://www.doctormx5.co.uk/

19

Just as a brief update to this for anyone who might want to read or take advise from it - I ended up using Dan at the Welding Corner, and subsequently Neil at Quality reflections for painting on the same site.

Cannot recommend these guys enough. Dan found more work than was initially expected, but was very fair and has done excellent quality work, and the price was still better with him than anywhere else I had gotten quotes for the welding to be done even after the extra work had been added in. Neil at Quality Reflections has done an ace job on the paintwork too. I have a Dakar edition mk1 in twilight blue, and he has nailed the fading between different paint coats, and even mirror finishes in the door sills to match as factory standard - again for a very competitive price! They even allowed me to leave the car with them for a month after the work had been done so that I could go down out university term time to collect it when I had lots of deadlines! 

Here is a link to Dan’s website should anyone need it: https://theweldingcorner.com/ 

Neil doesn’t have one, but I am sure you can get in touch by popping down to the site or maybe through Dan.

Thanks for your advice to everyone that posted!

20

Hi,

I’ve just picked my car up from Dan at Welding Corners after some extensive rust rectification.

As has been said previously the level of workmanship is excellent, the price fair and Dan is just a joy to work with.

Neil also did the paintwork which again I am very pleased with.

So in short go talk to Dan if you are in need of an honest opinion before you commit to work.

This is not meant to detract from anyone else’s work but just to recommend a guy who I found through this site and was very happy to have found.