Project MGB

Running her in

2009-08-31T19:04:00.003+01:00

The more I drive her, the better she is feeling... the steering is lightening up a lot and its actually getting good fun to drive around in. I really need to wire in the overdrive, as going over about 60 feels like I'm ragging the nuts off it.

Today I had a go at sorting out the door locks.. the passenger side problems were due to whoever fitted the mechanism back plate, not giving enough clearance for the parts to move enough. So I cut bigger holes, took the mechanism apart and cleaned it all up. The drivers side was pretty much just lack of lubrication and some over-spray on the mechanism. So that's all cleaned up, the only problem now being the lock wiggles about a bit, so it can be difficult to lock and unlock.

I tried fixing the speedometer the other day, but with no luck, it looks like its just totally off balance and all the internal springs are too slack. I cleaned it up the best I could, but now I think that there might be a problem at the gearbox end as it all wound its self up when i went into reverse, and now the drive doesn't spin.

First failure

2009-08-28T15:00:00.004+01:00

Picture of Nelly outside the owners club.

The fan ate the radiator. its wasnt on tight or square enough... new rad and fan. no more needs to be said. not fun.

It drives pretty nice, we just need an interior.

I need to fit a new brake light switch, as the other isn't returning every time, so the lights are staying on.

Its legal

2009-08-25T08:57:00.004+01:00

I went up to Peterborough yesterday and got the car reclassified as a Historic Vehicle and got its tax then and there. So the car is 100% road legal... that's not to say its 100% road worthy, it still only has one seat bolted down, and no interior, and you can watch the ground fly by through the battery holders under the back seat.

But i took it to the glass recycling for its first chore, and then to the petrol station to fill up the tank.

Its almost legal

2009-08-24T11:22:00.002+01:00

Well, whilst i was away on holiday, Matt had the few remaining problems sorted and its passed its MOT... :)

I had the insurance sorted a while ago so all it needs now is TAX... obviously its Tax Exempt, but i still need a tax disc. Problem... the DVLA in their wisdom decided to not reclassify the vehicle as Historic, so i need go to the DVLA station in Peterborough to get it all sorted out... what a pain. Well at least i still need to put the other seat in etc.

MOT

2009-08-14T20:20:00.004+01:00

Well, obviously it failed the MOT.. but the good news is that pretty much all the problems are things that I did, or can be fixed easily.

When I get back from Scotland I will post a proper list of the failure points. But Matt might see if we can get anything done whilst I'm away.

Its a shame that I could not get the car started earlier in the week so that I could have chance to work on the failure items... but that's life.

good news

2009-08-13T22:52:00.002+01:00

Ok... well i had to give up. i bought a new condenser, points and rotor arm. but still no joy. I called the RAC who shouldn't really look at a car with no MOT or Tax. Well the guy was convinced it was the points, so we played around with them, tried to fit the new one, but it was miss-shaped, so he cleaned up the old points really well. we fitted the new condenser and rotor arm. Then the main problem was the engine being flooded, so we took the plugs out to clean and i turned the engine over a little. Then we took the caps off the dash pots, nailed the throttle and gave it a whizz. BINGO!

So basically it was a combination of contaminated points and heavily flooded engine.

I think I'm going to have to get some kind of better ignition once I have the MOT, like magnetic or optical.

So its at the MOT centre... but we are leaving for Scotland tomorrow night... so its VERY unlikely that we will be taking the MG B :( boo

bad news

2009-08-10T21:05:00.004+01:00

the car won't start, we spent a couple of hours trying to get it going, i thought it was the batteries to begin with, but even jump and bump starting doesn't work, the only thing i can think of is either a loose wire, or a broken coil... i ordered a new coil and lead set today. The car is sitting at the garage. Hopefully they will get chance to look at it tomorrow.

There is also a lot of smoke coming out of the oil cap... its been suggested that i have a blown valve :( i hope its just the valve clearances (ie, they are not closing)

Also, the rust on the wing is apparently on a part that should fail an MOT... lets hope they don't fail it.. i will fix it eventually.

is it ready?

2009-08-09T18:39:00.000+01:00

I don't know, there is so much still to do on the car that i don't think it will ever be 'finished', but hopefully its about ready for an MOT...

We even cleaned it today!

I re fixed the number plate because it was only held on by one tie-wrap.

I found that I had somehow managed to wire the dashboard lights up so that they came on with the side lights, but went off on mains... weird... i cant think what you could use that for, because side lights normally stay on with the mains.

batten down the hatches!

2009-08-08T20:17:00.000+01:00

Today we bought and fitted the weather seals for the doors.

I bought some bolts that we needed for the bumpers and windows, and the passenger window now fits... the glass is not quite right on the car however, and i think i need to get new runners and play around with the geometry.

I also got the number plate lights working... after some playing around with earthing the rear bumper... it seems that by sealing the bottom of the car and using some of the old rusty bolts, the bumper was no longer connected to earth.

wipe!

2009-08-05T19:18:00.000+01:00

I wired the wiper directly onto the input to my wiring module, and voila it works.

the rear / brake lights were indeed the wrong way round. I now have the indicator warning lights on the dash too.

The car felt very odd today, it stalled on me twice after shuddering and sounding like it was misfiring.

and there was light..

2009-08-02T21:26:00.000+01:00

So all the front and rear lights are done as well as the indicators. One of the rear lights seems to be a bit dodgy, but I'll just keep an eye on it. I think i put the bulb in upside down on the dual stop side lights as the brake seems very dull.

I did a load of other stuff too, like resizing the battery clamps and fitting them. Fixing the gearbox cover.

The window wipers still don't seem to work, but they are only pulling about 9amps instead of 15. I'm not sure that the batteries are fully charged, but i would have thought that the alternator would have helped out provide the rest of the power.

Just need to wire in the overdrive and tie up all the wires and lines (fuel, brake etc)

Trim, Harnesses and Wing Mirrors

2009-08-01T18:06:00.000+01:00

Its getting closer, but there is still a million things to do. Everything I look at seems to need some kind of attention.

I'm not 100% with the positioning of the Harness straps, I will chat with the guy at the MOT place as to the best position of them. Vicki wants to know what happens to people in the back.. ha ha

It took all morning to get the chrome back in, if I'm honest, I could have done with replacing all the chrome and rubbers... but I used some sealant to cover the perished rubber bits, and the main seals seem to be fine.

Windscreen

2009-07-31T21:53:00.000+01:00

Well we picked up the windscreen today, and I was going to have to wait until next Friday for the guy to come and fit it, but I got bored and decided to have a go myself. I think I was lucky that the rubber was in good condition, but still old enough to allow me to get the new glass in. The old one cracked as i was taking it out.

Bonnet / Hood Pins

2009-07-30T19:54:00.000+01:00

After the bonnet on the last classic British car I worked on with an aluminum bonnet decided to fly up and almost cause an accident, I have decided to fit fixing pins to the MGB to stop it from happening.

Let there be light

2009-07-28T21:12:00.001+01:00

The lights on the front are getting there, we now have flash, main beam, side and head lights.

just indicators to do.

On the rear there is the brake, and rear lights to do, as well as the indicators and license plate lights. There are no reversing lights on the back... not sure if i need them for an MOT? Any ideas?

Then its just dash lights and interior lights and we are pretty good to go.. on the light side of things.

oh and of course Hazard lights.

2009-07-25T13:06:00.000+01:00

2009-07-18T17:20:00.000+01:00

Just a quick video of me driving the MGB

I bolted the drivers seat in properly today, although it still seems to slide along the rails...

I tried setting up the carbs today, not sure if i did a good job or not.

2009-07-15T23:25:00.000+01:00

I have done a couple more bits and pieces this week so far. I found that the oil pressure gauge pipe was cracked and was spraying oil everywhere, so that has been replaced.

Martin came over and we looked at why the Alternator wasn't charging.. for some reason the exciter was not getting any voltage through it... After wiring the alternator directly to the live feed, we ruled out a busted alternator. The next thing to test is if the wire gets voltage when i wire in the accessory circuit in... i figured that was just for the radio etc, but it might also be linked to the alternator exciter.

So now I can start working on the other electrical components.

ITS ALIVE!!!! again, ha ha

2009-07-13T10:42:00.000+01:00

Well, it turns out that i am now AHEAD of where i was when i first got the car! It drives!

The wiring continues

2009-07-12T16:41:00.000+01:00

Ok, so today was very productive. I filled the radiator with water. Tightened the exhaust to the manifold. Mounted the fuse / relay board. Wired in the horn... damn its loud. I wired in the starter, and the fuel pump and coil.

I tried firing it up, but i think the batteries are flat, so they are on charge now.

More odds and ends

2009-07-10T20:52:00.000+01:00

Today, Vicki and I set the valve clearances on the rockers. I then filled the engine with Oil... just the water (and anti-freeze) left. I ran the bonnet release cable to the catch. I trial fitted the drivers seat to work out the location of the rear bolts.

The wiring begins

2009-07-09T23:02:00.001+01:00

Today I started on the wiring. I started unraveling the old loom and working out the circuit for the starter.

I also screwed in the Tachometer cable, which, due to the angle and position, was the most fiddly thing I have done on the car so far.

I'm pretty sure I did something else too, but for the life of me, I can't remember.

Odds and Ends

2009-07-08T19:38:00.001+01:00

Today I filled the gearbox with oil. Started drilling holes for rivets to hold pipe clips (but snapped my drill bit). Tightened the bolts holding the master cylinders in. Bolted the fuel pump in. Found the bolts for the gear stick retaining bolt, and bolted them in.

Finding Bolts

2009-07-07T21:56:00.000+01:00

For a little while now i have been trying to find some bolts that i thought i had lost, but i managed to find some that fit... so now the Anti-Roll Bar and steering rack are in.

Deja Vu

2009-07-02T21:47:00.000+01:00

Seems like I have been here before, but the exhaust and fuel tank are in, the fuel pump needs mounting back on.... but thats pretty much it now, other than finding bolts and tightening everything up.

Carburettors

2009-07-01T21:34:00.000+01:00

Well the carburettors were not in perfect order.... so i took them back off and took them apart and cleaned them up. The feed was sticking on the choke on one of the carburettors, so i gave it plenty of soaking in penetrating fluid and it came free. i then reassembled and cleaned them up as best i could. They are now back on the car... if they work or not, once the car is running I'm going to take them off and give them a really good clean with a Dremel polisher.

head (2)

2009-06-28T22:27:00.001+01:00

The head is now torqued down and most of the components are on. I think the carbs will need some work as one of the jets aren't moving.

Head (1)

2009-06-24T20:12:00.000+01:00

Its been a while but i finally started work on the MGB again.

I got a Tap and Die set for UNF threads, and cleaned up the problematic head stud that was going to cost £80 to remake.... well today i cleaned it up and refitted the head with the new copper gasket, i need to put the rocker studs back in and might end up taking the head back off to check its all clean etc.

We now have a new goal.. 15th of August!!! we are going to Scotland.

2009-05-31T23:18:00.000+01:00

The brakes are all done... save from some more bleeding of the fluid. The clutch seems to work too. The steering gaiters are on and i found all the extra bits to make the water hoses fit.

The head bolt is still worrying me, so I'm going to take it back to Warboys Services tomorrow and see if they can finally make it.

I have decided that we are not going to take the MG to France this year, I could get it finished in time, but I wont have time to get it ran in. The new target is a small break in Scotland later in the summer.

2009-05-27T22:07:00.000+01:00

the front brakes are now complete. we bought a load of stuff today, but I'm pretty sure the water hoses they gave me are all wrong.

2009-05-26T09:05:00.000+01:00

The car now has the rear brakes set up, just waiting for me to make the brake lines. The hand-brake works, just needs slack adjustment.

New Wheels

2009-05-20T18:15:00.000+01:00

The new wheels arrived today, they look pretty good. They could do with another restoration at some point, but they are more than fine to get us to France!

Only 3 more weekends... its getting almost too close now, i still have all the interior and electrics to do, and thats after rebuilding the rear end, engine and brakes... some long evenings i think.

2009-05-19T21:45:00.000+01:00

Im trying to clean the rust off the stainless exhaust that came with the other car... its slowly coming along.

2009-05-17T20:31:00.000+01:00

The front cross member has all new bushes and bolts. The new brake discs are on, as is one caliper.. i need 2 more pistons for the other caliper. We also re-greased the bearings after giving them a thorough cleaning.

Front Axle

2009-05-16T20:29:00.000+01:00

We didnt have much time today, but we securely bolted the gearbox and engine in, with nice new bushes. Then we set about getting the front sub frame off ready for new bushes tomorrow.

I also bought some reconditioned wheels, they are not perfect, but much better than the ones i have, and i will just put the existing tyres on to them, and we can always sell the ones we have.

Lots of work still to come, but MOT in mind

2009-05-14T11:46:00.000+01:00

Well, the car is on the way to coming back together, after one more huge push from my friends this coming weekend, we should have an almost drivable car.... save for some electrics, but i might be able to wire up the starter and fuel pump. Then hopefully I can crack on getting all the items for my MOT

engine back in

2009-05-12T22:25:00.000+01:00

The engine and gearbox is back in... we do need to move the gearbox mount back a little, but essentially its in. Other than the suspension, its pretty much just a job of putting everything back together!

more painting (2)

2009-05-12T17:34:00.000+01:00

I painted even more parts yesterday, and today i tried to get all the things on my shopping list... the guy at the owners club seemed less than willing to help me, and suggested i phoned the order in. so i got some things, and others were not available....

More painting

2009-05-10T20:46:00.000+01:00

We finished prepping the bottom of the car and even got some Stone Chip on.

This is all the rot we cut out

this is going to look really smart when its finished!

Floors finished

2009-05-09T22:26:00.000+01:00

there she is in primer, ready for some nice black paint.... looking good, and no rust!!!!

thats pretty much the entire electrics for the car... i will be making my own from scratch!

i was taking a brake line off the master cylinder and as i pushed down with all my weight, the copper pipe flew up and whipped me in the eye... i'm lucky it wasnt the bit that was sharp.

floors all welded in.

More engine painting and prep

2009-05-08T22:11:00.000+01:00

Today i gave the engine another coat of paint, it looks pretty good now.... i also cleaned up the clutch, however I'm finding it hard to get the old one off.. i have some ideas though..

I cleaned up the stainless exhaust, damn thats going to look nice.

Engine Paint

2009-05-07T21:05:00.001+01:00

I painted the engine black today with High Temperature Paint. It looks ok, but it was never going to be perfect without sand blasting the engine, or chemically dipping it.

Cutting and Welding

2009-05-06T23:00:00.000+01:00

My friend Martin has been helping me a lot as usual, but last night he finished painting the engine bay and welded a patch in the boot (trunk)... looks really nice, i cant wait to start filling it.

So today i stripped the spare engine for its flywheel, tappet chest cover, heat shield and oil filter adapter.

We then set about the job of cutting the old floor out, prepping the area for welding, adapting the new floors to fit, and tack welding one in place. Its going well so far.

Back from the wedding

2009-05-04T23:10:00.001+01:00

Well, I'm back, my wife isnt (visa problems), but work has been going on whilst i was away. The car has been thoroughly shot blasted, and today we stripped the engine bay and sprayed on a coat of Acid Etch Primer... black paint to follow.

You may notice that there is another engine and gearbox and front and rear suspension.... that is because my friends have put the rest of the car, as a prank, in my living room... on the 3rd Floor!

Sand Blasting

2009-04-29T15:40:00.000+01:00

Whilst i was away my friends Sand Blasted the car.

Odds and Ends before Wedding

2009-04-05T18:26:00.001+01:00

Well I'm getting married in 2 weeks, and am leaving for New Jersey next week, so there is nothing i can get done for at least 3 weeks! Just some more pictures of the gearbox and engine... i removed the water pump and gearbox mount bracket.

Engine Out (2)

2009-04-02T21:43:00.001+01:00

All Floors

2009-03-31T19:45:00.000+01:00

I had the day off today (needed to use up my leave before the new financial year) and mostly sat around... well i decided that i aught to go and collect the other floor.

Here it is.

Headless

2009-03-27T20:04:00.000Z

I removed he head today. Looks like the cutouts have already been made in the block, so that's one less thing i need to worry about. The valves are the same size, which is slightly disappointing, as i thought the new head was going to have bigger ones with more power.

Oddly the new head does not have as many coolant galleys as the old one... slightly concerning.

I need

Rocker pedestal shims
head bolts for intake / exhaust
heater control, unless old one is serviceable

Shopping

2009-03-24T19:03:00.000Z

More shopping.

Drivers Side floor pan... still need to pick up passenger side from Essex
Clutch kit
Clutch Hose
Copper head gasket kit
Thermostat housing + studs
Water Pump
Odometer cable
Choke cable
Bonnet cable
Thermostat

Cylinder Head

2009-03-23T18:34:00.001Z

It was light when i got home from work!!! so i took the chance to check the rockers on the old head, because the guy I bought the new head from said that the rocker on cylinder 4 is wider to accept a different oil feed location... he is going to send me the modified rocker, but I'm just slightly concerned that the oil galleys might not line up on the head... but I'm sure they will.

as we can see the rocker is thin.

This is just a picture of the stripped engine finally ready to come out

Faffing and Shopping

2009-03-22T19:41:00.000Z

I carried on stripping the engine and car yesterday, only to find that almost the entire cooling system is clogged and rotten. It was so bad that i stripped the bolts that were holding the thermostat into the head, so they were stuck into the head... this is a big problem so i figured i would go all out and buy a replacement cylinder head that also had the later large valves and hardened valve seats for running unleaded petrol. At least now we shouldn't have to worry about head gasket failures. I also managed to find a floor on eBay for the passenger side.

I have also painted the inlet plenum, hopefully most things will be this nice and clean when im done.

Engine Out (1)

2009-03-18T21:30:00.000Z

I took the day off today to strip everything off the engine ready to take it out to work on the clutch, i am also going to paint the engine and replace gaskets and hoses.

The only thing left to do is undo the two engine mounts, and hopefully the propshaft will seperate.

Clutch Woe

2009-03-15T20:08:00.000Z

So, i got the fuel system in, and the car starts on the key now. but no gears :( the clutch is stuck to the flywheel, so we have tried starting it in gear to pries it off, but no luck, the engine doesn't seem strong enough, we also tried toeing it in gear, we heard a little scratching and squealing, but its still stuck on.... next attempt will be engine out.... never mind, needed doing at some point.

Fueling 3

2009-03-08T15:42:00.000Z

Fueling 2

2009-03-08T15:23:00.000Z

Fuel tank finally polished, clear coated and fitted.
Braided fuel lines, solid state pump and glass filter.

Fueling

2009-01-30T14:20:00.000Z

So, i removed the old fuel tank and have started cleaning up the new one. i have decided to just buff the new one up and lacquer it. We have ordered most of the new fuel system including 4meters of braided fuel hose, a solid state fuel pump, and a new filter. I need to find some hose finishers, I'm going to use Sytec style ones in the engine bay and just rubber ones everywhere else... they are about £4 each! and i need 9!

I just need to swing by the owners club and pick up a new fuel lever sender unit and a mounting kit for the tank.

Fuel Tank

2009-01-07T17:26:00.000Z

I drove to Daventry to pick up a nice shiny stainless steel fuel tank. It needs a little clean, but looks like its in good condition. It also has a fuel sender in it, this little thing is what tells the petrol gauge how much you have left in the tank.
The next step for fueling is to get a new pump. I'm sure the old one will work, but its very old fashioned and prone to breaking. I will also need a fuel filter as the current system does not have one, and finally lots of new hoses and connectors. I think ill use Aeroquip.... because i like them.

She Lives!

2009-01-04T13:30:00.000Z

Nelly lives, Matt came over and we improvised a rudimentary fueling system, and with a little easy start she came alive! she even idled!!!! amazing. a bit of smoke, but nothing i wouldn't expect.

I have also managed to remove the fuel tank, and other than one sheered bolt, it looks good under the car. ill get some waxoyl on there still.

2009-01-03T16:49:00.000Z

I have started removing the fuel tank. The fuel pump is out and is being cleaned up, i need to replace all the fuel lines right from the tank to the carbs, i need to install a fuel filter! as there was not one.

The electrical problem that i was having has been solved. the batteries we wired in parallel rather than in series, so now I'm getting 12volts instead of 6v. so its all good.

I bought some easy start, just to check that the car was going to fire, and it did, see below for the video.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-28T23:15:00.000Z

Well, I'm back from my Christmas break, and its time to start work on the car again. Today i tried to remove the fuel pump, but was struggling to get the hoses off, ill give it another go tomorrow, then i can find out if its salvageable. I cleaned up the backing plates for the air filters today. Tomorrow i need to get some new power cables and post ends for the batteries.

Update

2008-12-24T18:26:00.000Z

Just a quick update.
I fitted some fuses... 35AMPS!! that's pretty huge, so eventually i want to fit a whole new fuse box with relays to make the wiring system somewhat more robust and safe.
I blocked off the breather pipes running from the crank to the carbs as its only a breather and fitted a small cone filter that i had kicking about to the crank.
I replaced the points and condenser in the distributor, they were had a lot of corrosion on the points, so that should help a lot.
The back plates for the air filters turned up already! so i will fit that as soon as i can.
The pistons on the dash pots look like they have seen better days, so i might have to get a carb recon kit to service the whole lot.
It looks like when the new steering wheel was fitted they didnt get a proper horn attachement. so instead they wired the horn into a switch :S so i have removed all of that and will eventually get a propper boss kit for the steering wheel.
I checked the oil level and quality, and it looks pretty good
I had a look at the water level and its pretty good
I also started fitting a battery isolation clamp so that i can safely disconnect the battery when working on the car. it will also act as a crude immobilizer.

The Clean Up Begins

2008-12-23T10:04:00.001Z

I did not manage to get the car started this weekend, but i did give it a good clean out and find many things that i need to get sorted.

I removed the alarm system on the car, as it was very basic, and could cause more problems than it solves.

I found that the car already has Negative earth electrical system, so thats one less thing to have to set up.

There is more rust on the drivers side floor that will need a lot of work.

Shopping

2008-12-19T21:56:00.000Z

Ok, so the plan is to get the car started this weekend, i already bought an engine service kit and today i went out and bought some batteries and an air filter.

I got 2 air filters with the engine service kit, but there is no way of attaching them as the 'cans' that hold them in place are missing. So i will take the standard filters back, as i now have a K&N air filter kit.

The batteries are a bit strange on an old MGB, they dont have a regular 12v battery like most cars, they have 2 6v batteries connected in series. This allows them to have the equivalent of a very large battery, and therefore a good amp rate. It also allows them to have 2 small batteries under the rear seats to distribute weight better.

One thing i did on wednesday night was to take the seats and door cards out of the car to clean, and condition with leather feed.
I have just noticed that there is only 1 seat rail... i think ill be going to a scrap yard at some point.

Collection(2)

2008-12-16T13:59:00.000Z

Well the car is back home now. Lots of work required, but luckily it looks structurally sound.

Getting Ready

2008-12-13T14:20:00.000Z

Today, I cleaned out the garage ready for the car, i noticed some big leaks in the roof, so tomorrow Matt is coming over tomorrow to help seal those up.

The car is smaller than my MR2 so it should be a good fit, and hopefully i can work on it in there too.

Collection (1)

2008-12-09T21:43:00.000Z

Ok, so im going to pick up the car on Tuesday (16th December 2008) with the help of my good friend Matt. He is going to drive a car with a trailer all the way to Tamworth in Staffordshire.

The Plan

2008-12-08T23:38:00.000Z

The plan for the car

Get the car and assess the worst parts
Get it running and driving
Get any structural work done and anything needed for an MOT
Pass an MOT
Make the car safe (seatbelts, brakes etc)
Make the care reliable (major service and replacing as much as possible)
Work on making it pretty
Drive to Millau in France on holiday

Welcome to Project MGB

2008-12-08T23:29:00.001Z

Hi,

Welcome to our blog! This blog will detail the progress of our restoration and enjoyment of our new car, a 1967 MGB GT.

Today we bought the MGB GT off ebay, and I will hopefully be picking it up later this week!

Hi, it's Vicki, the wife-to-be! Isn't she cute! I'm naming her Nelly!