MGB "warehouse find"

Hi,

I just purchased a 74 MGB that has been sitting dormant for at least a year. Never mind its hiatus, it needs a lot of work. Left rocker panel and the anterior section of the right rear fender have rust. The paint is old. The entire interior will need reconditioning/replacing. It remains equipped with an air pump and other emissions paraphernalia. The rubber tube leading from the air pump is plugged with a spark plug. No visible fluid in the radiator or brake master. There is oil on the dipstick and it is black and Above the full mark. I don't see water in the oil. Hoses seem a little dry and brittle. You get the picture. The top is okay and the rear window is clear. It has SU carbs!

I put it in gear and pushed the car. The crankshaft pulley did not turn. However it did not seem as thought the motor were seized. There is no battery in the car and I found the ignition switch lying on the floorboard. Ideas about this? I was going to pull the plugs and push again to see if I could note piston movement. Any other thoughts here appreciated. My second question is the gas tank. I haven't seen a plug. If indeed it doesn't have a plug, should I pull it and drain it? Should I clean it? If so, how?

Obviously I've never dealt with a car that has been left sitting. Some guidance would be appreciated, especially with regards to prioritizing.

Thanks,

Bill K in Greensboro, NC

You should pull the plugs and squirt some oil down the cylinders and let it soak over nite just to get the rings lubed before you try to turn the engine over. It may help loosen it up and save from scraping up the cylinder walls. You may want to pop off the valve cover and squirt some oil on the rocker assembly. Check the plugs when you pull them and that may give you an indication of how the engine was running before it was parked. When you get to the point of being able to crank the engine, check the oil gauge to see if you are getting pressure. BTW is there a key for that ignition switch and is it hooked up to anything? Hope this helps.

All of the above, plus, change the oil - and, don't try to start it with old gas - run an external tank and then, yes, I would clean or replace the tank.

I would also say from the get go that you can buy a running car in good condition for less that the work you describe. I am not suggesting you not take the project on, but, understand what you want first. I happen to love wrenching but, if you want a driver (or a driver soon or a driver cheap) there may be other routes. If you enjoy the wrenching and want to "know your car" keep going, but, you can't restore one for less than it costs to buy one.

Oh and welcome!

Welcome indeed! For a thorough plan of attack to rouse your B from its slumber, here's something one of our moderators, the late Tony Barnhill wrote up some years ago. His website has long since vanished, but there's a pdf file with the pertinent info available. I've copied his intro, which has a bit more useful information as well. Here's the intro and the link to the list:

Back in 1995, I took my Vermillion Red 1979 MGB roadster off the road so its speedometer wouldn't "roll over"; it had just passed the 96,000 mile mark. She was my daily driver during good weather for as long as I can remember, and she had never disappointed me or left me stranded. Before I retired her, however, I redid her body with a beautiful new paint job. And, I properly prepped her for her hibernation. Now, almost 10 years on and even though I went through all the proper steps to store her, I'm not sure that it was such a good idea to just park her in a corner of my garage.

Why? Because, as Jerri and I look forward to my retirement and the "15,000 Mile Circle" trip through the western part of the US, Canada, and Alaska that we've planned to celebrate that event, I want Vermillian Red to be part of it. She'll be the dinghy towed behind our RV on a purpose-built trailer. However, she's an old girl who will need some serious prepping to make the trip and perform as she did every day of her life. I've got to overcome 10 years of sleep to ensure Jerri and I enjoy her like we did "back in the day".
At the same time, I'm going through all her systems to ensure we will have fun with her, lots of my fellow MG-dom citizens are also wrestling with the same situation - bringing an old car back to life. I have standard things I do to all the old cars I acquire to see if they're gonna be restorable or are gonna rest in peace in my MG Graveyard. I also kept a listing of everything I did to Vermillion Red when I put her up so those have to be reversed.
With all that in mind, I decided to develop a comprehensive checklist for "Awakening a Sleeping MGB". Every car and every situation is different but if you follow my checklist, you'll have no trouble reviving a well sorted out car.

Remember, however, Vermillion Red was in excellent condition when I put her up. I had, from day 1, always done all maintenance as outlined by British Leyland in my owners handbook, had made any repairs necessary with quality, OE parts, and had kept her 100% original. She never had anything except 93-octane pumped into her gas tank, I always used either 10W-40 or 20W-50 Castrol in her engine and tranny, and she was never wrecked or abused.

And, I'm gonna lavish the same amount of time and energy bringing her back to life. This won't be a quick Saturday afternoon of sticking a battery in her, squirting some starter fluid up her carb and firing her up. This will be a methodical refurbishment of all her operating systems.

As always, I keep a Bentley manual open to the section on which I'm working to ensure I don't miss a step. And, my checklist is not designed as a step-by-step guide for how to accomplish each item. It's only a tool to remind me of what to do, not how to do it.

https://tidentenn.com/pdf/AWAKENING A SLEEPING MGB CHECKLIST.pdf


Mickey

That is a brilliant checklist Mickey. Thanx for sharing that!

If your new to mgb, go ahead and order a moss motors catalog and a Victoria British catalog. Even if you don't order much from either, the catalogs are free, and contain lots of good information and the most helpful exploded diagrams.

All,

Thanks so much. John-Peter-Smit's advice is so noted. I worked in a British Leyland garage about 100 years ago and wanted to refurbish/restore a car that I was somewhat familiar with to start. Have a Healey as well but despite many similarities, it is a different beast. To Mr Smit's point, little did I know what replacement upholstery costs these days, just for example. I now realize that I will be spending a wad to get this one back to life. Only saving grace here is that I bought the car cheep! Yes I get that the "savings" will be going away pretty quickly. The car is bringing back mostly good memories. I guess I'm a sucker for some nostalgia.

Mickey's list was indeed incredible and very helpful!

Getting back to the motor. I did pull the plugs and have a black sooty coating. I assume that it ran rich before it went to sleep? My Healey mechanic is excellent and suggested that squirt Marvel Mystery oil into each of the cylinders. I did. The car IS in gear. It Rolls. The pistons are not moving. Drive shaft is in place and engaged. My mechanic said that he thought that something funky might be going on with the clutch assembly. I think that he's right. He wisely suggested that I be very careful about turning the motor over using the starter once the oil has set in the cylinders for awhile. The car could lurch even if it were out of gear! I was thinking about putting a socket on the crankshaft pulley nut and seeing if the engine would turnover that way. By the way the gear box feels great. It moves through all of the gears with that "double click" that I had loved so much. Any other ideas about what is going on here?

Thanks again,

Bill

One more tool you'll need - easy to read wiring diagram. Scroll down to your year: https://www.advanceautowire.com/mgb.pdf

Either Marvel or ATF down the plugholes. Brer Mickey's list is correct. As for the clutch/driveline issue, it is possible the driven plate (clutch disk) is rusted to the flywheel. Not uncommon in a car that sat static for some time.

Turning the crank with a wrench can be a problem. You need a BIG offset box-end. Can't recall the size offhand (ISTR 1.25" mebbe) but there's no room for a socket and ratchet.

Wish I could claim that list! But it was all Tony's doing. I'm just glad we still have it available!

Please keep us posted on your progress, Bill.

Hi All,

Good news, I believe. Finally got an appropriate battery. The engine does turn over and did not lurch! Compression in #4 was 120 and the rest of the cylinders hovered around 130. I'm happy with this. Didn't hear the fuel pump click which is okay because I'm going to pull the fuel tank and most likely replace. As far as replacing fuel lines, are there some that should be replaced over others? Will go on to check spark at some point and let you know.

Another glaring issue would be the floor pan, castle rail and inner sill. As far as I can tell, they appear to be oxidized metal at this point. Cross members and jacking points are shot as well. The rest of the car seems to be mostly free of rust as far as I can tell. It appears as though an attempt was made to cover above with a replacement floor pan. The outer seal appears intact. Perhaps it was replaced to cover what was behind it? I will have to fix this myself. The internet, various forums, and u tube searches have been a little confusing. I am aware that this is a complex issue. Does anyone know if there is one source that is clearer than the others?

Hi Mickey,

Much thanks again for your list and the wiring diagrams.

The engine did spin and didn't lurch! Measured compression was 120 in #4 and ca 130 in 3,2, and 1.

In my opinion, the major issue would be around the sills. The castle rail on both sides will need replacing. There is extensive damage in both. The rocker panel appears solid but won't know of course until I remove it. I am assuming that the rocker panel and inner membrane will need replacing. I am hopeful that he inner sill will be solid or at least repairable. The side member and jacking point are gone. Am thinking that the floor panels will probably need replacing, not as sure about that right now. I will have to do , most of this myself due to cost.
The car is a 74 with rubber bumpers. It has SU carbs and so I am Assuming that it is an early 74. In my estimation it is still worth fixing despite above and all of the other things that will need to be done. I paid $2100. for it. What do YOU think? Would appreciate your opinion.

This guy has bitten off as much as you have... worth a watch.

If I am reading your description correct removing your slave cylinder will keep the car from rolling while in gear. I would guess the slave hose is clogged on the inside and blew out the piston on the slave cyl and its got the clutch arm wedged open. Bodywork =money and remember to just do one side at a time. Never cut out both sides at the same time. A rubber bumper 74 with 2 SU carbs is a 74.5. There were 3 versions of 74s. Small guards built the last few months of 73, large rubber block guards until around Sept of 74 and the 74.5 full rubber bumper , twin carb ,no booster brake cars for the last few months of 74.
Bob

DrEntropy said:

Either Marvel or ATF down the plugholes. Brer Mickey's list is correct. As for the clutch/driveline issue, it is possible the driven plate (clutch disk) is rusted to the flywheel. Not uncommon in a car that sat static for some time.

Turning the crank with a wrench can be a problem. You need a BIG offset box-end. Can't recall the size offhand (ISTR 1.25" mebbe) but there's no room for a socket and ratchet.

Click to expand...

I believe that the crank bolt on an MGB is 1 5/16. I use a socket on a breaker bar.