Removing the Flinstonian Locomotion Option

As part of stabilizing the car from further deteriorating I thought it a good idea to inspect the floor pans for rust. I'd seem some corrsion...what would lie beneath the rubber mats under the seats?
The extent of the rust was not fully evident until I removed the sound-deadener material . The easiest way to do this is to use dry ice to cool it, then break it with a hammer. It was cool out so the material was somewhat hard, plus the nearest dry ice was 20 minutes away and I wanted to get busy now! Most of it came off easily to reveal - more rust. Here is the driver side pan with one patch section already welded in place (upper part of picture) and the second, larger, and more tricky bit below. The replacement piece is shown already for spot welding into place. After welding it in I refit the seat to mark the location of the captured nut (saved intact) for the seat bolt , then drilled a hole and spot welded the nut from the bottom.
That's the actual seat bolt holding the electrode in the pic below. Here we are all cleaned up and two coats of POR-15 rust paint on the driver side. I tried Eastwood Rust Encapsulator on the passenger side. Silver was on sale and I'd never tried it before. Prep work was much less than POR-15. I did not neutralize the rust first with something like Ospho, so I'm not sure how that will turn out.
Next was two coats of truck bed liner to provide a scratch resistant surface. I used 1 Qt. of Duplicolor bed liner brushed on with a disposable brush. 1 Qt was more than enough for two coats on the pans and inner sills. The bed liner went on quite smooth with a brush.

[pic to be added later]

Now its decision time. I expect I will moth-ball the GT until spring and get back to the LE because the weather is turning colder.

Ancillary Bonnet Release

Here's a great addition you can make to your MG for under $7 - an extra bonnet release cable. This idea has been discussed on the MGB Experience BBS. Daniel showed me the setup on his 72 GT when he dropped by and I then simply had to install this on both cars. It only takes a few minutes and it is a real convenience - especially if the existing bonnet release were to fail.

I made a trip to Lowes to pick up some 1/16" ferrules for under $1 a package. You get two ferrules and stops per package. Pick up an extra package in case you ruin one like I did. The next stop was Performance Bike shop where I splurged: $5 each for teflon-coated mountain bike brake cables. Sure, the regular cables are a lot less expensive, but you'll see why I spent the big bucks in a minute.

The new cable must attach to the release arm similar to the standard cable. The options include drilling a new hole in the existing arm or feeding the cable through the same hole as the return spring. I chose the latter and looped the cable up through the hole and back over toward the driver side, fastening the ferrule as close as possible to the arm (red arrow).

A new hole was drilled in the support under the bonnet latch and the cable fed through on its journey toward the driver side wing (green arrow).

I ran the cable through the rubber grommet where the headlamp and signal lamp wires run, avoiding the need to drill another hole in the body. This is why I used the teflon-coated cable. I do not want the cable to wear through any insulation and cause a short! I looped the cable back on itself and secured with a stop and ferrule. Its a good idea to strip the teflon off the cable where the ferrule is attached to avoid slippage. The picture shows the LE which has the wing removed as part of the sill repair project. To release the bonnet, reach under the wheel well, slip your finger into the loop and a quick tug.

The later model cars provide a lot less room to work. I had the front bumper off on the LE and this made it much easier, but its a tight space between the hood latch and the twin fans - make sure you get that cable tight or else your plastic fan will meet an untimely end.

That is all there is too it! In a few minutes you can have an extra bonnet release that provides convenience and a backup in case the original cable breaks or seizes.

New Wing

Its time to catch up on the driver side wing removed in June. Here you see the trumpet section and attachment points for the wing painted with POR-15 rust paint. The splash panel was replaced behind the wheel. The front valence was quite a mess indeed. Here it is stripped down and in the process of bumping the metal back into shape. I learned some important body work lessens here. Patience is key! If you think it is smooth - its not. Keep going until you are absolutely positive you can get it no better. Extra work here saves time ten-fold during the later application of filler,which should be no more than a skim if you did it right.
I made this improvised "slap hammer" for final smoothing. Its a large spike welded to some thick flat stock and works nicely during the final smoothing stages. I would have preferred a more comfortable handle, but its what I had on hand at the time. A great book on the subject of metal body work is "The Key to Metal Bumping" available from Eastwood. The book is a classic from the 1950's and details the almost lost art of car body metal work.
Its a wing in a box!
Good things come by freight in large packages, like the heritage panel from Moss Motors made with the original tooling. In the packing materials I found a new electrical bullet connector. Spend several hundred dollars on a new wing, get a free bullet connector? The savings count well into the tenths of dollars.
Installation was a bolt-on operation with some minor adjustments for fit around the door and bonnet. Seam sealer at the joint by the window and some primer sealer completed the job. I also painted around the base of the window by the wipers due to considerable chipping and rust. Before and after pics:
No electrics in the wing yet. There are other priorities, including stabilizing the rust damage in the floor pans and other winter preparations.