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Found in a Barn

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B767Driver

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O.k. it wasn't exactly a barn. It was more like an airplane hanger. Underneath a tarp I found a 1979 MGB with only 43K on it. I gave the man his $300 and got itto my hanger. Overall condition is good. No rust just about 2 inches of dirt and no ragtop. It also came with a hardtop. I put a new battery in it and with just a little starting fluid it turned over within 3 seconds. It has been sitting for 7 Years! Amazing! The main problem right now is that the rear wheels are locked up. Someone on another forum mentioned that I should check the emergency brake cable. So that will be the first order of bussiness Today along with changing all the fluids. This is my first venture into British cars. I should be quite an adventure!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
 
Tony, GREAT list! I think that could be applied to any car that has been sitting a while. :smile:
 
Great find. Show us some pics.
 
Sounds like a Peter Egan story; in fact, it is a Peter Egan story, he bought his MGB the exact same way, but it was a 73 I think. Congratulations!
 
Very cool! Mine sat for a bit longer (18 years!), but glad you got it running. Be prepared for some dried out rubber, some sticky mechanisms, and dirty electrical connections. The old, dry, rubber fuel lines on my car cracked not long after I got it running; you might check them before they leave you stranded or worse. Do flush the brake and clutch fluid and make sure your brake pistons aren't stuck. Good luck!
 
If you think the cable itself is frozen you can just pull the clevis pins out at the backing plates and get some relief. If it still won't roll, soak the adjusters, the square thingies sticking out of the baking plates in penetrating oil, not WD-40, for a few days. Spray them at least twice a day. Then try to back the adjusters out. You might have to use vise grips if they are rounded off much. This will probably give enough release inside the drums for the shoes to back off the drums surfaces so you can pull the drums and do what ever fixin' seems to be needed. If just backing the adjusters off doesn't do the trick you might have to give the drums a mighty whack tho break the bond.

Jack
 
I'd be for spritzin' PB Blaster on the outside of the drums too: at the base of each stud and around the circumference of the axle boss in center. And on the phillips head countersunk retaining screws.
 
naaaaa, PB dosen't work that good for that. When I worked at Chief Auto parts in the late 80's in Ft Worth, a buch of Mexicans were huffing gold spray paint. It got so bad no one could keep it in stock. They (mexicans) would call each store and ask for it by PART NUMBER (GS100).

Whenever they would call me and ask, I'd reply (in my best hispanic accent)" naw maaann, sombodee juz came incheer a lihhle while ago and bot 5 cases, dey aree havin' a pardy on 28th street maaaan." Hehehehe

p.s No offense to any Hispanics, I'm just tellin' a true story.
 
If the hand brake was set for those 7 years, the only thing you may need to do is release the hand brake and perhaps remove the clevis pin from the hand brake levers at each wheel as Jack suggests, then smack the brake drums a couple of times with a large hammer to jar the brake pads loose from the drums.
Cheers,
 
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