• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

MGB About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips?

Share this page

Luke_E

Luke_E

Freshman Member
Offline
Hey everyone! I'm just beginning a restoration of a 1971 MGB, and I would appreciate any tips or suggestions that may help a newbie along the way.

Since this is my first resto, I'm expecting to spend all winter at it. Paint and body will be done by a pro, as will the engine, but I'll be doing the rest myself.

Now for questions.. can anyone recommend a reliable source for parts, preferably in Alberta Canada? How about a mail order/internet seller who's reliable with a good response time?

Thanks everyone! I'll be sure to start posting pictures soon. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

-Luke
 
I can give the name of a couple of shops in Calgary (British Auto Specialists is the one I used - very friendly 230-3373 or britishauto@telus.net). The big problem with mail order is most of it is US based. By the time you pay the high shipping costs, customs charges ($$$), and currency conversion figure on paying at least double what the cataloge price says. You can order from Moss through one of the Calgary stores (or similar if you can find near you) its a lot cheaper. The turn around time is longer but if you could order in batches and plan ahead it will save money. For used parts try the VSCCC classified https://vsccc.ca/classif.htm or the bargin finder (buysell.com)

Good luck!
 
You are embarking on a sometimes frustrating but ultimately very rewarding experience. Enjoy! Mechanically, MGBs are pretty simple and tough little machines whose Achilles heel is rust. Make sure that the sills (inner and outer rocker panels) are rust-free and solid. This may mean some digging around as these cars rust from the inside out. If you have small rust bubbles or holes in the outer sills, in front of the rear wheels or bottoms of the front fenders I can guarantee that you have much worase rot inside them. The good news is that parts are very available and relatively inexpensive (although as the pound Sterling strengthens versus the dollar they are getting pricier). Moss Motors is the best source of parts overall but Victoria British has a good line as does The B Hive and The Roadster Factory. All are on line and easy to find via search engine. Many independent shops are Moss dealers and offer discounts of up to 10 or 15%. Two that have good reputations are Roop's MG in Pendleton, Oregon and Tony Barnhill, aka The Autoist, in Huntsville Alabama.

Keep us posted!
 
There is Octagon Motors in Vancouver, 800-459-0251, and Sports Car Parts in Calgary, 403-640-4411. Also, flip through this list of Canadian Parts & Garages /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/canpatriot.GIF
 
Thanks for the help and suggestions! The car does sadly have lots of rust, and I foresee major trouble on the horizon, but oh well, it's not my car, it's a friends, and he's determined to fix it up no matter what.

I wish *I* could say "cost is no object".. and mean it.
 
I have a tip...ship that '71 down to me!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Lot's of rust? Where does the car have rust? John Moore who posts on this forum regularly has just replaced the floor boards and sills on his B. He can probably give you lots of advise on what to do and not to do. He's been on vacation, but I'm sure he'll wander in here soon.
If the car really does have lots of rust, be prepared for lots of work.
As far as parts, go on the Moss website
https://mossmotors.com/
and order a catalogue. This catalogue has great "blown-up" illustrations of every aspect of the car and you'll find it very helpful.
Also, there are a couple of books I would recommend.
MG restoration guide. Great book on restoring a rusty MG.
Also get either the Haynes MG Service manual or Bentley's MG service manual.
As Jack mentioned Chris Roop and Tony Barnhill are two Moss Distributors that will give you discounts off of Moss's catalogue pricing. Chris is nearest you in Pendleton, OR
https://www.oregontrail.net/~roopsmg/
Chris has parts used and new and he restores MG's.

Tony has the most extensive used MG part supply of probably anyone and is a Moss Dist. as well. He is very knowledgeable of these cars and regularly posts on this forum. Tony is located in Alabama and you can see his website (a GREAT source of information) at
https://www.theautoist.com/index.html

Good Luck.
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Ok, the stripping has begun. I'm just doing a quick look around to find somewhere to start hosting the pictures while I build an actual site about the progress of the car.
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

I think I'm just going to use my telus web space..

www.agt.net/~lukeevan

A work in progress... I'm uploading pics and building some pages as we speak. Not fancy, but what do you want from notepad? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

-Luke
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

have plenty of smaller boxes and a variety of zip lock bags to store parts you remember where they came from now but how about next spring when you are rebuilding a sand blaster and parts washer is also invaluable in a total restoration keep a journal and take lots of pictures
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

BTW that looks like a 70 rather than 71 MGB 70 was the only year of the split rear bumper unless it has been converted
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Tke pictures. Lots. And/or video.

Make lots of clear notes. Label everything.

Bruce
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Actually, the car has been confirmed as being a 1970 *blush*

How can you tell I'm new at this? Anyways....

I've taken a load of photos already, and we are archiving everything right into a computer. We have been labelling everything so far also.

All the lights on the rear of the car are reusable! All the lenses are intact and in great shape. One less expense... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'll be at it again tonight, so I'll be sure to post updates tomorrow. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Luke,

Good luck and have fun. I'm in the middle of a ground up restoration of a '70 B. I did mine a bit backwards. I sorted it out mechanically first and then did the body. This last year when I stripped it for paint, I discovered it had had some dodgy rust repair in the past and it was rusting inside out. Long story short, I ended up replacing both sills and floor pans.

As said before, take lots of photos and bag everything.
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

John Moore: We are stripping the body completely and doing all the metal work. Engine is going to be built by a professional.. we dont have nearly enough experience/ability to do it on our own.

So far I've been bagging and labelling everything that we pull off the car, and last night I took photos and numbered all the bags so we know exactly what we have.

I also made a big cardboard sign/list of all the parts so far, and all the jobs left to do before we can do shell prep and panel replacements on the car.

Had to cut ALL the bolts on the bumpers (front and rear), as well as drill out all the hardware holding on the grill.

I'm proud to say that I swore my face off at the dash also.. what a PAIN to remove!!! Should i drop the steering column to pull the dash? Would that help?

The fellow that owns the car insists that we buy new everything.. not really a restoration at that point.. more like a rebuild. Plus, i cant even imagine how much this is going to cost him, so I'm trying so hard to salvge as much of the car as we can. My reasoning is that even if we dont re-use something, someone else may want it.

I'm going to start ordering parts for the car either today or tomorrow. Just panels, sills, and floors for now. Any suggestions for little things that I might miss?
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

Luke,

Sounds like you have a good handle on things. You bring up a good point. DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!! lol! You never know when you might need it or can sell it or maybe make a pattern from it. When I first got my B, it came with alot of extra parts, I tossed some stuff and now I really wish I had kept it.

Sure, it's going to cost your buddy some bucks, but compared to many sports cars, MG parts are plentiful and relatively cheap.

Keep us posted.

As far as the steering column, I don't see how it would be a benefit for removing the dash, but you never know.
 
Re: About to start 1971 MGB Restoration.. Any Tips

It seems that there are two bolts directly above the steering column to release the dash. I'm sure I could work about the column with an extension and some finesse, but I'm somewhat impatient when it comes to tear down. I feel that we should have accomplished more already, but are being held back by improper tools, etc.

I know that things arent going to go as well as say "Overhaulin" or something, but I still feel like we should have accomplished more so far. Oh well.. time to stop drinking in the garage maybe. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The other limiting factor is that the car is located about 45km away from me, so I can only get out there once or twice a week. We've only done two sessions so far (totalling about 9 hours), and have encountered so many rusted bolts that the only progress we made last night was bagging/organizing, photos, and dropping the bumpers. Almost got the dash out.

More photos next Tuesday, as monday may be the soonest I can get out there again. This is going to be a long project.
 
I have 2 suggestions - - If you are going to take anything apart, take pictures from all angles. When you take things apart put items in plastic ziplock bages and write on them with a permanent marker. Try to keep your sanity and do a lot of research.
BarryE /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
Figure out what you need to spend in time and money, then budget 3 times the amounts.
 
Back
Top