Back to the LE - Sill Work

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

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.

The Minga Lives!

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

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

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!