Tim's British Iron

Triumph TR6 Coooling System Upgrade

2011-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Radiator Resto
I was already taking my fuel tank in to the local radiator shop (SAPPS) for a cleaning and sealing, so why not take in the radiator at the same time? The rad looked a little dodgy and for $80 to $90 you can get it boiled out, pressure tested, and repaired. They sealed up a couple of problems and I also had them put in a bung in the bottom of the rad for a temp sensor. The paint from the shop was not the nice job I wanted. Fortunately the rad just fit in my blasting cabinet so I could strip it down again to bare metal. Here it is naked and up-side-down showing the temp sensor that I later soldered into the bottom of the rad myself (the hole from the radiator shop was too small).

I then painted the top,bottom and sides with POR-15 and POR Chassis Black. The fins were painted with a very light coat of Eastwood Radiator Paint to promote good heat transfer while still looking pretty.

Make a Cool Breeze
With the radiator back to as-new condition it was time to think about generating a nice cool breeze through those fins. TR6's don't generally have a problem with overheating but removing the stock fan increases performance and also prolongs the life of the thrust washers, so it is a worth while upgrade.

You can't simply just remove the stock mechanical fan, you need to replace it with a Fan Eliminator kit - preferably the one from Patton Machine. Rick's instructions are easy to follow and the process is well documented on other web sites so I won't go into those details here.

I chose a 16 inch puller fan kit from Northcoast Performance (link is to their EBay store). I chose the 16" Puller fan with relay kit and temp sensor that turns on at 180F and off at 170F. You can also Google 16 inch Procomp and you'll find it. Cost for the kit that includes the relay and temp sensor was $52.

The kit comes with plastic mounting ties that you can run through the radiator fins. I chose to mount the fan to the radiator frame because I do not like the idea of the ties rubbing the 40 year-old fins. The first step was to cut one inch aluminum flat stock and attach it to the fan's mounting points.

I then attached the aluminum to the sides of the radiator using short self-tapping screws. Some folks mount it top-and-bottom but I chose the sides because there is less chance of puncturing the radiator.

Here is the radiator and fan mounted (the front shroud yet to be reinstalled). In the background you can see the fan relay on the front wing, mounted using one inch aluminum angle. The second relay is for an air horn that is not yet wired in this picture.

The Coolest...

...part of the whole installation is the illuminated override switch in the cockpit. Switch it on for the fan and the LED illuminates. The override is great for those hot summer days. See a red light or stopped traffic ahead? No probs - flick the switch and keep that engine nice and cool.

Show me the flow
You may be concerned about getting good airflow when this flush-mount fan is not mounted directly against the radiator fins - but don't be! I've heard of some people installing foam strips around the gap between the fan and rad but this is not needed and in fact may present a hazard if the foam were to come loose and drop into the fan blades.

I switched on the fan with the car sitting idle in the garage and was well impressed by the strong pull of air some four inches out from the radiator. I floated a sheet of paper in front and it was quickly and strongly pulled up against the radiator. The CFM of this fan is more than adequate.

I was all set to get the car back on the road when it appears my brake master cylinder failed. Yet another project has presented itself...

Vintage License Plate for the TR6

2011-05-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

Running a "year of manufacture" plate is a nice touch on an old car. Your ability to do this depends on where you live. Fortunately North Carolina provides the following statute for cars 35 years or older. Print the following section and put it in your car along with your current plate. Many local law enforcement officers are not familiar with the law.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HB 704

Chapter 257
An act to permit drivers of Antique cars not to display the current registration plate under certain circumstances.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. G. S. 20-63 (d) is amended by adding a new sentence at the end to read:

"Any motor vehicle of the age of 35 years or more from the date of manufacture may bear the license plates of the year of manufacture instead of the current registration plates, if the current registration plates are maintained within the vehicle and produced upon the request of any person."

Section 2. This act is effective upon ratification.

Robert B Jordan III
President of the Senate

Liston B. Ramsey
Speaker of the House of Representative

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plate Quest
I picked up this plate locally on EBay for the tidy sum of $6.30. I could have purchased one in good condition for $15 but then I would not have had the fun (??) of restoring it.
Colour Quest
Finding the appropriate colours was more difficult than I had anticipated. Sure I could have cleaned up the plate and had the colours scanned and custom mixed, but its a $6 plate! Besides, how many people will actually notice the difference? The white was easy to find at a local auto parts store. There are not many green cars these days - at least not in the colour used on the 1971 plate.
Paints used:
Etch Primer : Duplicolor Self Etching primer (Auto Zone)
Green : Forest Green 2774N (Northern Tool)
White : Wimbledon White BFM0041 (AutoZone)
Clear Coat : Dupicolor, (Autozone)

Other Materials:
Sandpaper - Wet/dry 800 and 1000 grit

And the secret weapon: a cutoff pencil used as a sanding block. I cut the sandpaper in narrow 1.5 cm strips and wrapped them around the pencil for wet sanding.

"Let me see you stripped down to the bone...."

(No Depeche Mode fans in the house? Oh well.)The first step is to strip the plate down to bare metal. You can do this with chemical strippers, wire brush or media blasting. I used glass bead in my media blasting cabinet followed by etch primer.
Paint the letter colour next: 4 coats of green followed by four good coats of clear. The clear coat forms a barrier between the letter and background colours to protect the letters while sanding off the background.
Spray the white background after the clear coats are dry. The background should be shot onto the plate in as few coats as possible that give a solid finish. Two coats were enough.
When the background is dry start sanding with 800 grit then finish with 1000 grit. In this picture the "2" is being sanded with 800 grit while the "SP" has been finished with 1000. "SP" indicates this was a "State Park" tag. I wonder if law enforcement will notice that...
Finish with another four clear coats.All done -baby got back!
Now go for a drive...
"Hey man, what year is your car?"
"Its on the plate, yo!" :)

Building a media blasting cabinet

2010-07-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

"To all the fellas out there with ladies to impress

Its easy to do just follow these steps"

1. Make a box

Media blasting is a great way to remove corrosion, rust and paint from old parts. You can farm this work out to a local company (many that do powder coating will also provide blasting services). Cabinets are available from several suppliers and some provide kits to build your own. So why not go DIY on the project?

I chose a DIY kit from TP To ols & Equipment. The kit contains many (but far from all) of the components you need. While you can buy the just the instructions and then scrounge, build & purchase everything separately, the kits can save a lot of time. I spent around $600 on the kit including the vacuum. If you build this yourself you basically get the vacuum for free (as long you don't count your time) compared to buying an assembled cabinet. At least that is what I am telling myself. I upgraded to a larger window and a carbide tip for the gun. A foot pedal controller is a nice addition but at $100 it put me over my pretend budget for the project.
Items not included in the kit:
Exterior

1. Two sheets of 3/4 inch plywood - as warp-free and dry as possible.

2. Door latch with adjustable cam - can be purchased from TP or pick up something different from your local hardware store. Latches with adjustable cams are rare so I used latches for windows. They work just fine.

3. Hinge for main door - got lucky and picked up a piano hinge for $2 at an overstock store. These typically run $10 and up at the local hardware store.

4. Hinge for trap door - could have used piano hinge but I went with something stronger.

5. Lumber or angle iron for cabinet legs - used old 2x4" and 2x6" left over from a demolition project. $0

6. Grommet or fittings for the air supply. Instead of running the gun hose through the cabinet I instead installed a brass pipe with quick-connects on the interior and exterior. I did not like the idea of a grommet because I wanted a very good seal and the ability to move the cabinet without its hose hanging out.

7. Pipe for the vacuum exhaust - can be purchased from TP but I found a piece of large diameter shop-vac tubing worked perfectly.

8. Nails, screw nails, wood glue

9. Paint - I painted the interior white for visibility, the outside a blue-grey I found on sale as a return $5 for a gallon at Home Depot.

10. 2 tubes of latex caulk - without caulk in your box the project is not finished. It must be sealed up tight.

11. Wood filler - for filling large gouges, etc. Depends how fussy you want to be about the whole thing.

Interior

1. Support for grate - can be built from wood. I used metal pilasters left over from railing project in the house. Cut to fit and welded together (See black iron grate in the picture)

2. Flood light bulb

3. Grating/mesh - I used an old fireplace screen that I found. $0

4. Retainer/release mechanism for trap door. I used a coat hanger, bolts, nuts and washers already on hand.

Initial Assembly 2. "Cut a hole in a box!"

Assembly continues. Holes cut for window, gloves, side door.

3. "Put your junk in that box!"

Ready to put my MG junk in the box for media blasting.

Don't forget your safety equipment including an NIOSH approved dust mask of at least N95 or P100. Even though you are using a cabinet you will get nasty dust when opening the door.

"And that's the way you do it."

Here is the cover from the rear differential "pumpkin" from my 1973 MGB GT before and after. Now ready for paint.

* lyrics from a song about a box by Justin Timberlake.

Badge Bar Bling

2010-06-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Some folks on the MG Experience forum were looking for pics of fog and driving lights on the rubber bumper MGB. Here is my setup on the 80 MGB LE. Fog light on the driver's side, driving light on the passenger.
Both are independently switched with their own relays. The switches are light up led switches from Pep Boys. I know it sounds trashy/ricey but they look very good in-dash and the light up LED is a good reminder the light is on.

The badge bar is the bar from Moss Motors for rubber bumper cars. Both lights are reproduction Lucas lamps also from Moss. And yes, I know I am "over-badged" - bling makes her go faster! Just ask anyone with a NOx sticker on their car.

I use these lights mostly when coming up to an intersection, in a parking lot, or when I am lead or only vehicle on the road and see traffic about to enter. Its a nice little "Hey! See me here!" reminder for folks who too often don't see the little black car zipping along.

I have some vintage Raydyot lamps but those I am saving for the GT. I hope to get back to that car soon. I have big plans..like a V6 engine swap. (Oh no! I've already said too much! )

Rear Differential

2009-12-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Rear Differential Rebuild (new thrust washers)

The process is documented well at the Chicagoland MG club website "MGB Differential Clunk Removal" so I will not repeat it here.

Symptoms in my car were:

Loud clunking at highway speed for about 30 seconds that went away.
Chirping rear tire when turning hard right from a stop
Play in the rear axle with the parking brake on.

Parts

Rear Axle Parts Diagram for Late Tubed Axle at Moss Motors
At a minimum you will need:

Two Oil seals for rear axle : #120-700 (#90 diagram)

One gasket for the "rear pumpkin" or make your own: #296-210 (#61 diag.)
Two thrust washers for the differential pinion #267-130 (#67 in diag.) - Copper washers
Two thrust washers for the differential pinion #267-140 (#65 in diag.) - Phenol washers
One Pinion Pin Peg 267-125 (#70 in diag). Say that 3 times fast! Its a good idea to replace this pin.
Hylomar for the bearing cap
SilGlide for the axle seals

Not mentioned in the article

Pulling one axle may be difficult. I had to place the hub back on with the nut and hit sharply from the back (from middle of car toward exterior) to dislodge bearing cap and pull the axle.
Placing the pinion gears back in is an art. Once you get it, you "get it" in how to do it.

I placed the first pinion gear the bottom and geared it in with the differential gears on the axle, then rotated the "pinion cage" so that gear was at the top.
Rotate a wheel so the gear goes toward the front of the car and is almost out of meshing with the differential gears.
Feed in the bottom pinion gear at about a 45 degree angle so it starts to mesh with the diff gears.
Now rotate the wheel so the bottom gear goes in toward the pinion pin whole (back of car to front) and the other pinion gear comes from the front of the car toward the back.
Check for alignment with the pinion hole. Back out, adjust the starting point (Step 2) and repeat until everything lines up.

When you do this, it will make sense. Trust me!

MGB GT Front End Damage Assessment

2009-12-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

Introduction

I obtained this car from an impound lot back in Virginia approximately three years ago. The car was involved in a hit-and-run incident and sustained impact damage on the front wing and front suspension. I am currently ripping out the sills for rust replacement so its also time to assess the collision damage. I am posting these pics and descriptions for an evaluation by the good folks on the MG-Experience forum and my local car club, the NCMGCC.

I have never driven this car other than to take it to end of the driveway and back. I have no experience with the suspension or steering other than "it works at low speed."

The obvious

This picture shows the original damage to the driver's wing. I have since removed the wing and have a heritage replacement waiting installation after the sill work. The picture gives you an idea as to the force involved. Not shown is a badly damaged Rostyle wheel that I discarded. The rim was severely bent and the tire had blown on impact.

Steering

Note how the steering column rubs against the frame. When turning the steering wheel you feel the column rubbing, though the wheel turns easily.

View from the front

It may not be immediately evident from the picture, but visually you can see the wheels are no longer aligned in parallel. When the passenger wheel is turned noticeably to the right, the driver's wheel is pointing straight ahead. Arrows added to show the misalignment.
Damage to front shock

This is an interesting observation. Notice how the rear shock arm is protruding much more than the front. 3.2 mm gap in front (A) , 6.2 mm in the rear (B). Not evident from the picture but the metal tab that comes up around from the beneath the car is slightly "popped" at its apex (blue arrow.)

Now the questions...

Before seeing all this damage I had already decided to drop the suspension and rebuild it with poly bushings. Is that a waste of time? Should I instead try to locate a rebuildable suspension and chuck this one? Or just find a new shock for the driver's side? Replace all driver's side components?

What other evaluation is needed to help me make a decision?

Thanks for looking!

Tim

Hot Toddy Recipe

2009-11-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Where have I been?
A lot has happened since my last post in April. During that interval I decided to spend more time working on the cars and less time blogging about working on the cars. Now I come back to post something entirely unrelated to cars!

But first a recap:

The 1980 MGB was back on the road for most of the summer after re-installing a rebuilt cylinder head, new radiator, tie rods, alignment...and some other stuff. Right now its parked awaiting replacement of a leaking fuel sender unit.

The '73 GT is now up on stands in the garage being stripped to bare metal and the outer sills are being cut away.

Now for the real reason for today's post: I can never find this recipe when I really need it:

The Classic Atlantic Canadian 'Hot Toddy'

A Toddy is a hot drink consisting of liquor (often rum), water, sugar, and spices. This a Maritime Canadian variation of the drink used for medicinal purposes. It is particularly effective in the early stages of a cold brought on from excessive hours out in cold Bay of Fundy.

This recipe comes from Dr. Burt, a parasitologist at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB, Canada. He was one of my favorite professors - I almost majored in parasitology as a result! My parasitology training has served me well as a Systems Administrator and Application Manager ;-)

Ingredients
Makes one "dose"

2 large, fresh lemons
Liquor (Rum, Gin, Whiskey, Brandy, Vodka - I prefer Rum or Gin)
Honey
Warmed mug
Ibuprofen or Tylenol (for the next day)

Squeeze the two lemons into a pot, including as much of the pulp as you can. Some folks throw in the rinds and all, but that would require straining the hot liquid - not recommended after more than two dosings! Lemons are your source of Vitamin C.

Add at least 2-3 tablespoons of honey. Dr. B's theory is that is facilitates Vitamin C transfer into your cells. My theory : it makes the lemon juice bearable ands antihistamine and gives the toddy its juju.

Heat the lemon juice on the stove and dissolve lots of honey into the mixture. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (to prevent evaporation of the alcohol). Something truly magic happens when you heat this stuff.

Add a couple of shots of liquor and serve in a warmed mug.

Prepare to sweat a lot and feel very warm and fuzzy all over. The treatment is best right before bed.

Repeat dosing as long as you are able to serve yourself.

Take Ibuprofen or Tylenol in the morning to counteract any effects of overdosing - it also helps with any lingering fever.

Off with my Head. Part 3.

2009-04-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Good news

The machine shop called - the cylinder head passed the pressure test!

Bad news

The machine shop called again - the cylinder head failed the pressure test!

The real news

While the head passed, the valves were not holding pressure. Not a big deal since a valve job would tighten this up. On to the valve job!

The really bad news

When polishing the head for the valve job the shop found cracks in the exhaust ports for cylinders 2 and 3. At least one of the cracks extends outside of the valve seat area into the head.
You can't really see the cracks in this pictures so I marked the locations on the head with a marker.So why didn't this show up in the pressure test? The cracks may open up when the head is hot, or the leak may have been solely from a failed gasket. Regardless, I need to find a replacement cylinder head. I'm working a couple of leads but this may take a while. The late heads have a greater tendency to crack.

I removed the remaining studs from the block. If you break one off you have to pull the lump and take the engine to a machine shop. Removing 4 stuck studs took 2 hours of gentle heat, persuasion and patience.

The quest for a replacement head begins...

Off with my Head! Part 2

2009-03-26T17:50:00.001-07:00

What lurks beneath

With the head off its time to examine the cylinders, block and pistons. Lets start from the back and work forward. Cylinder four has a carbon buildup but looks okay.

Cylinders 2,3 are similar to 4.And now for something rather different! Cylinder 1 has carbon but has a light grey appearance. This may indicate a gasket failure resutling in coolant "steam cleaning" the top of the piston.
The location indicated by the green arrow was full of "grit" that reminded me of a hard water scale or buildup. More evidence of a failed gasket.

Here are the valves. These look okay but only a pressure test will tell definitively.
Now its off to the machine shop for pressure testing, magnafluxing and a valve job, assuming all goes well and no cracks are found in the head. Could it be that easy?

More info
This site has some excellent information about MGB head identification, etc:
http://flowspeed.com/cylinder-ident.htm

Off with my Head! Part 1

2009-03-26T17:44:00.001-07:00

It started out innocently enough...
Doesn't it always? When I took the car off the road in November 2006 the cylinder head had developed a slow weep between cylinders 2 and 3, just above the engine block number plate. In this picture you can see the greenish coolant where the head meets the block. Trust me, its there - just above the engine number plate, below spark plug number 2. You see it. I know you do.

No problem - whip off the head, change the gasket and we're good to go, right? Not so fast. Late model heads are prone to cracking in this region. Max Fulton at Flying Circus English Cars also told me that late model blocks can sag in this area, or the block can pull up around the studs. So what could it be? Its an old British car - how could it be anything but a simple gasket failure?

I drained the cooling system, unhooked the hoses and took off the valve cover and rockers. Here we are after backing off the head nuts in a spiral pattern as described in the shop manual. Check out the stud with the nut still on. It unscrewed easily directly from the block. Interesting....

When pulling the pushrods angle them to the side so the tappets will stay aligned. Its important to remember the order so I pushed them through a box and labeled each. Wow - look at how professional I am.

With the pushrods out I unhooked the manifold and pulled it back away from the head.

At this point you can lift the head away from the block. That is what the manual says. Reality was more complicated. The head was stuck to the block at the stud indicated by the green arrow. I could rock it up and down on each end but it is stuck in the middle! Blue arrow shows the location of the weepage and red arrow the stud the screwed easily out of the block.

I repeated applications of my new favourite penetrating oil (hmm, that sounds dirty) Kroil www.kanolabs.com over a period of a few days to the top of the stud and where the head meets the block. I also applied some light heat from a propane torch and some gentle tapping with a hammer on the top of the stud. After a few days it came loose! What suprises will be found underneath?

New Struts for the GT

2008-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

With major house renovations underway I dont have much time for the MG's. Tonight was a brief respite from drywall and flooring. I spent a few minutes swapping out the original mechanical hatch lifts with gas struts from Rick Ingram of Pieces of Eight. This is a quick and easy upgrade that anyone can do in a few minutes. Rick provides good instructions (though the pictures could be a bit bigger). Below are a few supplemental pictures for the process.

The old lifts were a mess. One had a bolt missing that allowed the lever to slip out and have the hatch come crashing down on my head. This was not even comical the first time it happened. It was time to bring the lift system into the next century.This is the connection at the hatch where I had to drill out the bolt that faced inward. It was crimped and there was no good way to get any purchase on it. The bolt was removed from the connection to the car body and the two washers reused with the new ball connector.
When fastening the ball to the attachment point on the body, move the ball as far forward toward the front of the car as possible.
With the ball in place for the body you can use the strut to guage distance, but more importantly use Rick's instructions that state the new attachment point should be 12 inches from the original point (measuring down toward the bottom of the hatch). See two pics down for the measure point. Use the new bracket to mark the attachment point and drill two 3mm holes (yes I know I mixing metric and imperial here...). Attach with the screws provided. Repeat for the other side.

Ta-da! Now enjoy the gas-strut action as you raise and lower the hatch. Place your head under the raised hatch and notice how it no longer falls onto your cranium unexpectedly! Right nice.

Now unfortunately its back to drywall, painting, and laying a hardwood floor over the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll be back to the MG's soon...

NCMGCC 20th Anniversary Meeting

2008-08-17T16:37:00.001-07:00

I joined the North Carolina MG Car Club a couple of weeks ago, just in time to attend their 20th anniversary meeting. The meeting was held less than a mile from our new home. On the way into the parking lot I could already tell there was a great deal of talent here....
Nice cars and even nicer people. I can't wait to get my cars back on the road after seeing so many great cars in such an active and inviting club.

2 MG's, One Truck: the move to Raleigh, NC.

2008-08-09T12:39:00.001-07:00

I've missed updating the blog for several months because I changed jobs and moved 250 miles south from Charlottesville, Virginia to Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to the move I welded in the dogleg and front wing replacement panels. I may get back to documenting that later. But first, how to move 2 MG's the 250 miles? Why simply back up the MG X Power Transport and load 'em up!
Reality was more complicated. I looked at several options. The GT has no brakes and may not be considered a "runner," in which case it would cost the value of the car to move it. The cost of hiring a transport for two cars was substantial and I needed delivery flexibility because we had not yet closed on our new house.

The MG Shocker: One in the truck, one on the trailer.
I decided to rent a truck and place one in the box of the truck and one on a trailer behind. I had hoped to take several pictures but did not for two reasons: 1) I was too busy the day of the move 2) I don't want you kids trying this at home, then suing me when something goes horribly wrong.

I rented a 17' truck (van) from a local moving company. Its the southern USA, so I'll just call it "Y'all Haul" because I don't want to name names. I took a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with the rental and purchased full insurance on the truck. The plan was to put the LE in the box since the 17 footer has a box just over 14' in length - plenty of room for the LE with space to walk beside the car. With the car pulled up all the way to the front you have almost a foot to spare at the back. But how to get it in there?

My original plan was to back up the truck to the slope in our lawn and load the car in using ramps constructed from doubled-up 2"x12" plank, braced with concrete block (a bit dangerous, obviously). I purchased some ramp tops from Lowes and had them ready with my 2"x12"s.Now don't get any silly ideas - I'm not suggesting anything like this:
The movers noticed what I was doing and offered the use of their loading ramps which turned out to be ideal for the job. One ramp was placed on either side and I drove the LE up and into the box of the truck from street level. The LE is lowered but there was just enough clearance. This is the part where I really wish I had some photos. Driving the MG up and into the box was like taking a ride at an amusement park. Once the car was in I blocked the wheels, secured the car in place and disconnected the battery.

The GT turned out to the be most difficult. Since I rescued it from the impound lot it has always started without a problem. Not the day of the move! Fortunately I was prepared and had purchased a "come along" hand winch from Harbor Freight. This allowed me to pull the GT up onto the trailer all by myself. Later I used it to slowly back the GT off the trailer. Very useful and only $17 at the local store.

Here is the moving truck leaving our place in Virginia. Note the LE in the moving van and the GT loaded on the trailer. All that was left was to hook up and trailer and we were off. We left around 10:30pm and pulled into Raleigh around 2:30am with no troubles.

A couple of days later I offloaded both cars. I was able to back the GT off the trailer using the hand winch, then unhook the trailer and back up the truck into the ditch in our yard. This brought the deck of the truck almost level with the lawn. I constructed two six foot ramps using my 2"x12"s, braced them well with concrete blocks, and backed the LE off the truck with ease. Home at last.

Back to the LE - Sill Work

2008-03-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've done much work on the MG's. One of our Great Danes took ill in mid November and our other one passed away at age 10 and a half only 5 days before Christmas. We still don't have a diagnosis for our boy, who turned 6 years old in February. So my heart has not been into the cars as of late.

I have been doing a little work as time and finances allow. I decided to turn my attention back to the sill work on the LE in the hopes of having it back on the road this summer. I will finish the drivers side and leave the passenger side for later.

It was a year ago when I had attached the castle rail and work stalled at that point. The outer rocker is shown on the floor. The inner membrane is first welded into the castle rail, then the rocker.
A pneumatic hole puncher was a great help in prepping the inner membrane for the welds to the castle rail. Holes for welding were punched approximately every inch, then the section was welded to the castle rail (not shown)
Adjusting the rocker took a long time. This is where you start to see how well (or badly) you have lined things up. Getting the gaps correct around the door is critical. If you mess this up you might as well quit right there. So I took my time and found that things are a little off at the front but overall are ok. For a first timer I am happy with the fit. The front wing is on temporarily to assist with fitment only. It was then removed and the rocker plug welded into place.

Next up - the dog leg repair behind the door.

Removing the Flinstonian Locomotion Option

2007-11-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

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.

The Minga Lives!

2007-10-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

I'm back, after taking more than a couple of months off from working on B's! I found some inspiration to get back into my projects after attending the SVBCC show last weekend.There was a really strong showing of MGB's in Waynesboro, VA. So, it was time to get back to mine.
I hooked up the Weber carb, put some petrol in the tank and turned the key, hoping for the best. She took right off at high idle. A little adjustment to the throttle and the engine idled down nicely around 900 rpm. The mixture needs some adjustment, but I couldn't be happier. Oil pressure was over 50 lbs the whole time. The carb rebuild and new fuel tank are a success.

The brakes were locked up on the rear passenger side so after I broke that free it was off for my first run in the car. With no rear brakes (the fluid reservoir for the rear was dry!) it was a short trip. Down to the end of the driveway, turn around and backed in the other way, so I can finish work on the wing. I also fixed a bad ground in the headlight circuit that was preventing the one and only headlight from lighting.

Next up: work on the front wing, running through the brake system and deciding what to do for winter. Fix it up enough to register the car and drive some during the winter, or prep her for winter and spend time on the roadster?

Shutting it Off Before Getting it Going: Battery Cutoff Switch

2007-07-28T06:03:00.001-07:00

It may seem counter intuitive at first, installing a shut off switch when my goal is to get things going. In my view its like working on your brakes before tuning the engine - make sure you can stop what you get started. Also, given my inexperience with wiring and the age of the car, the battery disconnect is a quick and easy modification that may some day save your bacon (or wire loom). It may also prevent the car from being stolen by a thief of less than average intelligence.

There are few materials to buy. I purchased a battery cutoff switch from Waytek wire for under $18.

Update December 2010:
This is the switch at Waytek: http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M37/44029/MASTER%20DISCONNECT%20SWITCH%20%20%203/8/
Price is now just over $21.00.

At that price I was was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the keyed switch. The face plate was around $1, with a minimum purchase quantity of five. My only complaint was the component was out of stock. Be careful when ordering and specify in the comments field on their web page to "ship together" you will get billed for separate shipping when parts are out of stock.

The grounding wire (red) is from my local Advance Autoparts and is for lawn mowers! Astley's 'MGB Electrical Systems" recommends a minimum of 6G, shorter than 18 inches. This one is 6G and 20 inches, so I'm pretty close. The grounding strap for a Harley Davidson would be ideal.

I located the switch on the bulkhead behind the passenger seat, an easy reach from the driver seat. Don't you just love how everything is "within reach" in these little cars! I drilled larger hole first, then used the face plate to orient the switch for the drilling of the second, smaller hole seen on the middle right. I consider this the primary use of the faceplate: solely as a locater for the smaller hole. Do I really want to shout to a potential thief : "Hey! Don't forget to turn is on if you want to steal the car!" Then again, who would want to steal this mingy thing anyway? Plus, it is keyed, so taking the key would then only indicate that they had to bypass the switch. Okay, I'm still debating the use of the face plate...
View from inside the battery well. Black wire on right goes to negative post on battery. My new red (lawn mower!) wire on left goes to ground (not shown).
Could they have made it a tighter fit? Battery in place, wires all over the place. That's the negative post on the left that loops around the compartment and to the switch. Positive on the right goes down the front of the battery and under the car to the starter in the front. All done! To the left of the key you can just make out the small post on the switch through from the back and helps anchor the switch in place. I will put a similar switch in the LE.

Carburetor Rebuild

2007-07-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

The car would start easily, then falter as soon as the accelerator was depressed. It seemed like a carburetor problem. The GT has a 32/36 down draught Weber DGEV (electronic choke). Upon opening the bonnet the first question was: "WHY? Why did the previous owner paint the air filter with red primer???" Or is that just really bad red paint? I can understand wanting to pait the cover. Weber air filters are poorly chromed and tend to rust,...but why not some rattle-can silver or a gloss black?
There was also a small leak from where the carburetor mates to the manifold. Dripping fuel so close to the hot exhaust manifold is a GT-inferno waiting to happen. That gasket needed replacement before attempting to restart the car. With two good reasons to remove the unit it was time to get going. The bay looks ratty but we're not going for "pretty" at this stage of the game.
Sure enough! Lots of rust had made it past the fuel filter and into the float bowls. It was likely clogging the jets and who knows what else. That's not just "varnish" from stale fuel, but actual rust grit from the old tank.
It was time for a complete rebuild so I purchased a kit from Weber Carbs Direct . The full rebuild kit was just under $25 plus shipping. I also purchased the top filter housing, air filter, and cover for an additional $20.00. Painted cover be gone!!

With the help of the Haynes Weber carburetor manual the tear down and rebuild was straight forward. I took lots of pictures and placed all the pieces in labeled sandwich bags to keep everything separate.

Here is it after cleanup that included a soak in carb cleaner and polishing of the air intakes and float bowl. Reassembly is well underway in this picture.
Now the prettiest thing in the bay, the carburetor is installed back on the intake manifold. No connections yet - I still have some other fuel-related work to finish after reading an article in the latest issue of MGB Driver magazine where Dave Dubois has an excellent article on fuel system improvements.
Next up: Reconnecting the fuel, air, and electronics for the carburetor, plus my final improvements to the fuel line. More on that in a week or two!

Predictable Rust

2007-06-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

You never know what awaits you underneath the wing. I was not surprised by what I found. It could have been worse, I had hoped for better. Here is the front part of the inner sill. You can just make out a perforation where the taper ends toward the front. I should have cut that out and replaced it with solid metal. But, its a GT so its less prone to sagging and my goal is to get this car on the road and "do it right" later (like I am with the roadster). I stripped the rust off the inner sill that fits under the wing...
..and did the same with the trumpet section. Removal of the rust with a twisted wire wheel on my angle grinder revealed two perforations. At a minimum I should have plug welded those closed before proceeding futher, but with my goal in mind I left it for later. The metal here is prepared with "Metal Ready" primer in advance of applying POR-15 paint. POR-15 paint applied to the inner sill, trumpet section and area where the wing fits to the body. All had surface rust that cleaned up easily. Next up: Finishing the carb rebuild and body work on the front valence before attaching a new wing!

Wing Removal

2007-06-17T16:29:00.001-07:00

Here is the damage present when I rescued the car. It runs from the center of the wheel well forward with minor damage to the bumper and grill.
A closeup of the damage near the front, after removal of the bumper - the first step in wing removal. The valence suffered some good old wrinkling. I'll get to practice some hammer and dolly work on those V-channels and ridges!
Front valence off and grill out.Next to remove the nuts and bolts that hold the wing in place. This last tricky little beggar is accessed through the brake failure indicator light which was broken anyway.
Wing off! The front wheel rim was damaged during the accident and the spare, used as a temporary replacement, has most of the tread sheared off. It must have been a desperate get away. There is some rust along the top edge that must be removed and the trumpet (triangular box section near the top) needs cleaned up for rust assessment. The splash panel at the far right looks iffy along the edge. Yep, that's a broom holding the bonnet open.
Its a real challenge to keep from tearing it all down and "doing it right." I must keep the goal in sight: getting the car on the road by end of the summer. Must focus...must.... focus....!.

We Have Ignition (switch) !

2007-06-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Back in February I had the ignition switch re-keyed only to discover the entire switch was completely knackered. I ordered a new switch and keys from Moss Motors.
For the '73, you must remove the connector (arrowed) and attach bullet connectors to wire it into the dash harness. The wires pulled with surprising ease from the plastic connector.
I ordered a combination pack of bullets and sleeves from British Wiring and the crimping tool for attaching the bullets. Only problem was, the crimping tool was on back order from England and would take a month to arrive. There is debate about the usefulness of this tool, with many saying it is best to solder the bullets on. I knew my soldering skills were not up to the task so I decided to wait for the crimper.

The bullets came packaged all together but are easy to tell part based on their markings. The 24-strand bullets required for the ignition are the 10 in the second column from the right.
Strip the wires such that the end of the wire goes to the end of the bullet, but don't strip too much insulation! If you look up inside the bullet there is a constricted area where the insulation should end and the stripped wire should be begin. The crimp will be placed in the indentation you see on the exterior of the bullet.
Check out this crimping action photo! The tool has a ratcheting mechanism and forms a perfect crimp around the bullet. I checked the wire and could not pull it out. In my opinion it is worth the wait and cost (around $50.00 for the crimper) if you will do much rewiring. If I could solder in a decent fashion I may have a different opinion but for me this was the way to go.Attaching the switch to the steering column was easy. Note the "break away" bolt . The head shears away (as seen on the right) when the proper torque is reached. At least that is my story and I'm stickin' to it.Here is the cover replaced on the steering column and the bullets pushed into the connectors (shown under the dash).
I should have fire now. Next I need fuel. The tank is in, so that leaves the carburetor rebuild before I can try firing her up again.

Minger Defined

2007-05-31T17:12:00.001-07:00

From urbandictionary.com: (I'll spare you the link lest some definitions offend)

minger - Now often used by chavs all over Britain to define anything remotely disgusting.
or from Wikipedia:
UK (slang) uncomplimentary description of an unattractive person, usually female.

Yes its true. The GT interior is a real minger. It looks disgusting. It smells bad. Its generally nasty. Check out the "carpet" behind the seats. It pulled away easily leaving little but dust. It was well on its way back to nature.Some wasps were building a nest on on the driver's side rear wheel well.
Most enticing of all was the mouse nest found under the body panel over the rear wheel well. I had a run-in with the previous tenants a few weeks ago and all six (adults) were dispatched to the great block of cheese in sky. That's the nest in white, with mouse-urine drenched insulation near the back. Fantastic.
With the vermin and disgusting carpet removed perhaps it will at least start to smell a little better?

GT Fuel System : Mounting the new tank

2007-05-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

I had planned on a full weekend of working on the car, but I decided to run a full virus can on my home PC on Friday after work. Virus scan found a virus, removed it, and at the same time corrupted the operating system beyond repair. Many, many hours later I'm back in business, having only lost a few email and the time I had hoped to invest in the GT.

Back to the fuel system! First step was to etch prime and then paint the mounting hardware with acrylic paint. Then bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 200F to harden the paint. Mmmmm - Just like mom used to make! I scrimped on the prep work so it did not adhere as well as I had hoped. Never skimp on the prep, kids.
The new tank previously coated with truck bed liner was ready for the install. Although you can't see it in this photo, the black isolation rubber strips were run along the tops of the ridges on the tank. Traditional install is to run the strips front to back but they tend to trap dirt and moisture and start to rust the top of the tank. Some spray-on adhesive kept them in place until the tank was raised with the jack to help hold it while it was bolted on. The original isolation piece around the vent and the filler were reused.
The tarp is in place to catch drips from underneath where Penetrol was applied on some rusted areas that were easier to access while the tank was off. Penetrol is a paint conditioner that helps prevent rust by adhering to it and forming a film when it dries. It is often used by owners on the MBG Experience for rust prevention in the sills. Will it help here? Who knows? Its better than doing nothing and I'm not doing a proper restoration at this point. Here it is, all tucked up and bolted in. Now that's some nice GT badonkadonk!
Fuel lines were detached and blown out with compressed air (the carb is out for a rebuild). Some nasty, rusty gas came through the lines. Rubber lines were replaced in the rear area as a precaution. The metal lines will be left alone for now.The original tank had a fuel pickup line built in. The new tank does not and uses a pickup line integral to the gauge. Minor adjustments were needed to the metal lines. Sure, its not pretty and definitely not original, but it gets the job done!Carb rebuild is the next item for the fuel system - a good rainy day job. Body work on the replacement wing is coming soon too.

My Favourite Stripper is not named "Lola"

2007-05-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

OR: GT Fuel System (Sort of, but not really)

I thought it would be a good idea to assess the rust damage in the spare tire area prior to replacing the bolts for installation of the new tank. NOTE: This kind of "while you are at it" behaviour is never a good idea when the goal is to get the car on the road. I just could not help myself and need to constantly remind myself of the 80 LE that is sitting in bits in my garage. But, I needed a physical task to burn off some stress, so I took into it. First step is removal of the cover.
Then a closer look at what lurks beneath. It appears not too bad in this picture but there is a lot of deep rust on the "shelf" near the front, in the corners, and near the rear of the car (not in photo).
I cleaned it up a little and used low-odour "Aircraft stripper" to remove the paint. The low odour stuff does not work as well as the regular but is hopefully less toxic. Paint stripper generates a lot less dust than using a wire-wheel to take it off. A wire wheel was used for final cleanup. "Stripper" and "take it off" in the same paragraph and I can't think of anything witty to say. I must be tired!

Here's why they say to put this stuff in a metal or glass container. The stripper was in this cup for about 2 minutes and no, I was not holding the cup at the time. Always do what the instructions tell you, kids! All the paint in this photo was removed before the next steps.After stripping I cleaned the surfaces with Marine Clean, flushed with water, dried, primed with Metal Ready, flushed with water, dried, applied two coats of POR-15, all per the directions. Here it is after one coat. That's a little nicer.
I still have to paint the tank mounting hardware but that's an easy job. What's next? Going to bed! One of my Great Danes had me up most of last night because of thunder storms and I took the other one urban hiking today. I'm bushed!

GT Fuel System (Part 2 - New Fuel Tank)

2007-05-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

A new fuel tank was obtained from the local Advance Auto Parts just up the road. The tank is manufactured in Canada, is not baffled and does not have an integral fuel pick up line. No worries - a pick up line will be installed with the fuel gauge. The first step was to strip off the oily coating on the exterior then sand lightly to ensure a good starting surface.This next step is not really necessary, but I felt that a good coat of etch primer would give an excellent base for the next layers. Ah! There's nothing like a freshly primed surface!
Truck bed liner was applied using a brush. A roller would give a smoother surface but the tank is barely visible so appearance is not a concern. Bed liner will help prevent chipping and is a very robust coating. Duplicolor from the local Advance Auto Parts was used. Any cheap brush-on liner would do nicely and you could brush this on directly to properly prepared metal.
With the bed liner flowing it was a good time to do my LE's tank as well. This tank was painted with POR-15 rust paint and required a good scuffing with sand paper followed by a cleaning with mineral spirits before applying the bed liner.Why put bed liner on the top of the tank?? I will be pulling the tank when welding, and much of my work will be accomplished as a rolling restoration - not a full stripping of the car all at once. This approach will require the tanks to come off several times. Coating the top of the tank will prevent any scratching during installation, removal, and storage. Any little scratch is a prime entry point for the tin worm.
Here are both tanks complete after two coats of bed liner. I'm very happy with the result. If I were to do this in a more visible area (like wheel wells) I would try the roller method to get a smoother surface. The key to brush application is to lay it on in a single smooth motion, not back-and-forth brushing like you would with paint.
Next up: Rebuilding the carburetor...or removing the front wing. Whatever weather and time allows!

GT Fuel System (Part 1 - the Saga Begins)

2007-04-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

After two months working on other projects I finally had some time to spend on the GT. The car started easily but faltered and stalled out whenever I touched the accelerator. "Likely a carburetor problem" I thought. Good thing I checked because the carburetor was actually leaking fuel at the manifold gasket, a short drip away from what would become a very hot exhaust manifold.

With the 32/36 Weber coming off to replace the gasket, its a good time to look inside the float bowl and see what's up with the fuel starvation problem. Uh oh! That's rust in the bowl, even with a filter prior to the Weber. Its time to order a full rebuild kit and clean it out right. Its likely the jets and accelerator pump are full of this crud.
Lets drop the fuel tank to get to the source. How about the fuel itself? MGB fuel tanks are notorious for rusting from the inside out so its not surprising to find almost 1/4 cup of rust when draining the tank. This is not good news, but at least the source of the rust has been identified. Some tanks can still be restored at this point after a thorough cleaning.
The tank looks salvageable at first blush. There is rust on the top but no more than expected on a 34 year old car. Removal of some rust scale reveals the true state of the tank. Pinholes become evident at locations almost identical to the ones I found on my '80 MGB-LE two years ago. Just like that tank, this one is also rusting from the inside out. Its time for a new one! What started with a faltering carburetor is now a full run-through of the fuel system. Lets hope the fuel pump is in good shape.
Next up: Obtaining and prepping the new tank. Rebuilding the carburetor. Continuing my search for a replacement front wing to repair the accident damage, and looking into a new rim for the front driver's wheel (or maybe a set? :)

Getting Keyed Up ( 73 GT)

2007-02-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

Rather than go to the expense of a mobile locksmith I decided to remove the lock cylinders and take them in to obtain keys. I need a complete set, so the first step was removal of the glove box that was already hanging open. The ignition was next and the steering column cover came off easily. Removal of the ignition lock cylinder presented a problem because there was not clear way to remove the mechanism. After posting a quick question on the MG Experience forum I was cutting a slit for a screw driver into the bolts that hold the mechanism to the column. The bolts were then easily removed.The passenger door panel was removed with the goal of extracting the entry lock cylinder, but a retaining tab on the cylinder proved insurmountable due to poor access. The rear hatch lock would be much easier. While the door panel was off I coated the inside of the bottom of the door with Penetrol to inhibit further rust. The door internals on the '73 are in better condition than the '80 roadster!

Moving on the rear hatch I first removed the catch at the bottom of the body so the hatch will not lock when closed, then removed the retaining ring on the lock and the cylinder popped right out. This is a view of the inside of the lock showing the retaining ring that was backed off using a hammer and a small punch (the cover was previously removed).

Now I have everything I need to take to the locksmith.
'80 Roadster
I prepped the inside section of the inner sill on the '80 for rust paint by washing it with Marine Clean, then etching with Metal Ready. Two coats of POR-15 and it looks like new. Next up: fitting the inner membrane and plug welding it into place after applying some cavity wax and weld-through primer. More on that next week.

Liberation of a 1973 MGB GT

2007-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

I took off the first full week in February with the intentions of, among other things, making some progress on the 80's sill work. Then I got distracted....

A couple of months ago, after making a wrong turn when going to meet some friends, I spied a 1973 GT sitting in a local impound lot.Its not every day that you see one of these cars in a situation like this. It looked rather desperate behind the chain link so I dropped by to talk with the owner of the yard. The car was impounded and he asked me to check back "in a month or so" to see if he could sell it.

I waited almost two months and went back this past week. The car was abandoned at this point with no title and no keys. I searched the car and found the original title! With the help of a vehicle transcript from my local DMV and the internet, I contacted the party listed on the title and they gladly signed it over to me. After titling, towing, and impound fees, the car is home.
Now what to do? First off will be stabilizing the car so it does not deteriorate further. A front wing replacement is needed and the paint is in dismal condition. There is some bubbling in one dog leg and the condition of the sills is somewhat unknown. With any luck the motor is in good condition so I can have it up and running by summer while I finish up the body work on the LE.

Cross Member to Castle Rail

2007-01-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I messed up the edge of the cross member when removing the original castle rail.

This left little to no edge to attach the new castle rail so I cut back the cross member and made a replacement section from sheet metal.

The first step was to cut a template. Cardboard from file folders is ideal. I transferred the measurements to the cardboard, folded and adjusted through a number of test fittings until I had the desired dimensions and shape. The cardboard template was transferred onto scrap sheet metal I picked up from the local scrap yard (Coiner's in Charlottesville).

The edge that will overlap the original cross member was flanged using the pneumatic flanger. The flanger was later used to cut plug weld holes for the cross member and castle rail attachment points (not shown). The flanger/hole cutter will soon come in handy when cutting all the holes needed for plug welds in the inner sill membrane.

The piece was then bent into the appropriate shape and went through numerous fittings and adjustments before being welded in place.

The final pic shows the reconstructed cross member after welding to the castle rail directly below the jack reinforcement piece. Sure, it ain't pretty, but after paint and undercoat the replacement section will be barely noticeable.

The castle rail was previously clamped and welded to the inner (side) sill member with 1 inch welds spaced every 1.5 inches. I had been concerned that my Hobart 125 would not have enough power for the sill work but I easily blew through the inner sill when on the highest setting (4 voltage, 80 wire speed) and had to back it down to 3 voltage/60 wire speed for welds with good penetration and no blow through.

The day ended after I found that sparks easily melt through the fluorescent bulb in my trouble light. Regular bulbs trigger the autodark feature in my welding helmet so its off to Walmart for spare bulbs before doing any more evening welding

Next up: Finishing the welds for the castle rail. The original floor pan will be plug welded onto the new castle rail and the remaining attachment welds for the castle rail will be completed.

Sill Section Fit-up

2007-01-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

Since December I have managed a few hours on the B, mostly for cleanup and prep work required for fitting up the sill pieces.

The ability to salvage the inner sill side member provided an ideal reference point for building out the additional pieces. I fit up the castle rail using measurements taken from the original before removal, then ensured it was even with the inside of the side member using a straight edge and a level for the outside lip top lip of the side member to outside edge of castle rail. Clecos from Airparts Inc in Kansas City to held the castle rail loosely in place. You can also purchase clecos from Eastwood but they cost significantly less at Airparts. Clecos are normally used for holding sheet metal panels so I was pushing their limits. Their advantage over clamping at this stage is that they allowed easier fitting of the inner membrane and rocker without clamps getting in the way. Again, I was just going for a rough fit to make sure nothing was too out of line. They do not provide enough holding power for welding.

The inner membrane was then fit to the outside of the castle rail. Some adjustment was needed at the front for proper fit where a tab on the membrane wraps inward around the end of the castle rail.Fitment of the rocker followed. Front wing and door were refit to get an idea of alignment. It is looking good at this stage but aligning the door will take much finessing. Next steps are to remove the wing, door, rocker and membrane to begin final alignment and tacking of the castle rail in place. The connection point to the cross member will also be refurbished.

New Metal at Last

2006-12-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

With the coming holidays I set a modest goal of replacing the rotted metal in the front wheel well that was under the castle rail attachment point. The area was cut back to good metal with the outer edge barely salvageable.

File folder material was used to produce a template that was transferred to 22 guage (.8mm) sheet metal. Locations for plug welds (to replicate the original spot welds) are marked on the template.

Edges were tidied. Ends of the inner sill were painted with weldable primer (Bloxide, from Eastwood) as shown by the bright silver colour.

The new metal was tacked in place with a Hobart 125 MIG on the lowest setting (1/45) and plug welds at 3/75 (power/speed) then the weld ground smooth to the final product viewed from the side (first pic) and front (second pic)

The next steps will be tapping up and prepping the inner sill areas for fitment of the new castle rail, sill membrane and rocker. Damage to the floor panels and cross member will be repaired. It will be slow going over the next few weeks, but at least there is new metal on the car today!

Deeper into the Sill Abyss

2006-12-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

To paraphrase the character Jim Lahey from the TV Series "The Trailer Park Boys":

"He who looks into the abyss realizes that there's nothing looking back at him. The only thing he sees is his own character... You understand bud? The abyss? The sill-abyss?"

My journey into the sill abyss continues. In the last week I have only been able to grab a few hours here and there to continue the tear-down. Removal of the castle rail proved more troublesome than I had anticipated because I am saving the floor pans and trying to save the cross member. Cutting out around the jack point took a lot of time and I still managed to bodge the connection tabs on the cross member. Now I must either fabricate new connection points or replace half of the cross member. I don't want to drill out the floor pans all the way to the center, so I will first attempt to fab the connection points. If that does not work I will give in and order the half cross member. Its only $6.95, but where is the satisfication in buying something you can build yourself?

Great news! The condition of the inner sill was much better than expected and can be left in place. Not removing the inner sill increases the chance that the body will stay in alignment and means a lot less work. There is some surface rust on the inner sill near the front but nothing of structural concern.

There is some rust at the front where the castle rail met the wheel well. This will be cut out and replaced with new metal. The tricky bit will be forming the bend from the wheel well underneath to the connection point between the castle rail and inner sill. This will be accomplished without a metal brake and should be an interesting challenge.

Until next week....

Getting Started

2006-12-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

With the car running like a top for the summer of 2006 it was time to tear into the body work.

A previous owner placed body fill over rust in the rear dog leg panels and lower front wings. Body filler was easily pulled away to review the rust underneath. It's not looking good at this point.

Windscreen removal is necessary to remove the front wings. Note the size of the work space - a single bay in the basement of my house. Staying organized will be a must.

Interior was stripped but the dash left in place. Driver's door was removed by unbolting at the door (not at the A-post) to preserve door alignment. The door can be left in place but access to the sill area is much easier with it removed.

Front bumper removal is also necessy for detaching the front wing.

1" square stock braces were added across the door frame and cockpit before cutting into the silks. The outer sill (rocker) was removed by drilling out the spot welds that attach the outer sill to the inner sill (membrane), taking care to retain the flanges at the A-post. The picture at the right shows the outer sill removed with the inner sill visible (the piece with the triangles).

Removal of the front wing and rocker shows damage similar to that found in the dog leg.
There is no doubt that this car is in need of work.

The tear down started in November 2006. This weekend I removed much the inner sill and started to remove the lower castle rail. Blog entries from this date forward will contain more fine detail about the process and include the passenger side (if I ever get there).

Lessons learned:

This is an extremely labour intensive process
Drilling spot welds from underneath the car builds character and vocabulary

Introduction

2006-12-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

This blog chronicles the ongoing restoration of my 1980 MGB LE, purchased in 2004. Major sill work will occur during the winter of 2006. I hope to be back in the drivers seat by the summer 2007. I started this blog as an incentive to keep working on the project and to document my progress. This will be a lot of work.

About the car

The car has been "de-smogged" and has a 32/36 Weber DGV and lowered front suspension. In 2005 I added a Pertronix distributor, flamethrower coil and Bosch alternator conversion. Other recent work includes:

2005

New gas tank and sending unit (POR-15 on the outside of tank)
New SU fuel pump

2006

Peco exhaust
Conversion to MGB-GT rear brake cylinders, rear brake and axle work
New front brake cylinders
Rebuilt master and slave clutch cylinder