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MG A Project!

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dmgior

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Hey guys, my name is Dave I'm 19, and I'm completely new to these cars. Recently my dad and I have dragged a late 50's-early 60's (we are not sure on the date) MGA out of my uncles
neglected property. It has been sitting since it was last on the road in 1969. Some of the tenants appear to have messed with the car. Any and all Help is appreciated.
Currently I am trying to get all 4 wheels moving (only one does) Most of the nuts are frozen. I have managed to remove the nuts that hold the drums together, but I do
not know how to remove the drums...feel free to chime in here.

Pictures of the car:

MGA7.jpg
MGA6.jpg


disc brakes?????

MGA5.jpg
MGA8.jpg


and the cabby for good measure..
coils3.jpg



looking for all the help I can get!

Thanks!
-Dave
 
Hi Dave,

"Welcome" the wonderful world of "LBCs" (Little British Cars) from the Pocono Mtns of PA.

Relative to the "DRUM BRAKES". Spray everything with some penetrating oil(PB Blaster works real well). Let sit for a day or so & "WACK" the front of the drums. They should start to come off. Then remove the shoes & she should roll. Its a good chance that the shoes may be rusted to the drum so; If you can get some of that Blaster inside the drum; Flood it!!

Basically the same with the front "DISCS". Spray the Blaster all over the calipers, let sit for awhile & then pull out the pads & you should be rolling at this point.

Surely introduce yourself to the folks on the "MG Forum" and they`ll be more than happy to help you out.

Have Fun and Enjoy the Project.

Russ
 
Welcome, Dave....in addition to what Russ mentioned above...try to back off the brake shoe adjuster on the rear drums until it is completely loose....then, whack the drums with a BFH a few times to try & dislodge the rust.....oh, if you can, disconnect the park brake at the rear wheels also.
 
Sounds good. so correct me if I am wrong here. the outter drum should come off once the bolts are off (after whacking it a few times, which I have done with my big ballpene) on my vw there is a adjusting wedge that retracts the shoes, is there any little thing liek this on the MG that will make them come off easier?

also in regards to the discs...one moves with a scraping sound, the other is just frozen completely. how do i get the shoes off? i assume i need to pull the calipers, however toysrus's reply made it sound as if i could just "pull" it out...
 
also is there a way to get email notification of replies on this site? I am familiar with 80s-90s vws and on those forums there is an email option...
 
Here too but this place ain't your average forum! Answers come quickly and you'd be flooded with e-mails. Just open it in a tab and refresh it regularly.

You can pull the pins from the calipers and ya may need to "persuade" the pads out, but no need to take the calipers off.

Welcome! :savewave:
 
As for the front rotors...yopu have to remove the caliper & the bolts/screws holding in on & then it should slide off....

There's an adjuster on the rear drum brakes that'll release some of the pressure....you'll have to slide up under the car to see it.
 
The rear brake adjusters on a MGA are thru the hole in the brake drum. It sits on the top of the wheel cylinder(for location ). If you can not turn the drum then you would be very lucky if the hole was perfectly aligned. A straight (slot) screwdriver is used to adjust MGA rear drum brakes. Bob
 
awesome thanks alot for the info! the drums will not rotate so i am out of luck with the adjusters...best way to beat it off anyone?

i need to get this thing on solid ground so i can actually EASILY work on it...
 
Its not a easy task. I would probably put the 4 nuts back on the rear drums loose. Then whack them with a hammer to unseat them from the inner hub. Then remove the nuts. (be sure the nuts go on fairly easy so they will come off easy). Now when you are whacking the drum you are not fighting against the studs. They can be reinstalled after the drum is off. Try whacking the drum straight toward the center of the car. whack at 180 degree and this should rock the drum on the hub. then move along the drum at 90 degree and whack again. you are trying to get the stuck shoes loose from the drum. If you try to hit the drum off from the back the only place to hit is the outer edge. That will break off pretty easy. Once you get it rocking, hammer a old screwdriver between the backing plate and the drum.The backing plate will flex. Then try to get one in 180 from the first one.Once there is pressure on the drum tap it again from the outside toward the center of the car at 90's from the screwdriver or screwdrivers. This job as you can tell can be a bugger. MGA's have funky springs that hold the shoes to the backplate. You may mess these up but new ones should be available. I may even have some used ones if needed. Good luck on this frustrating job! Bob
 
Bob - you're correct...I was thinking MGB on those drums because of the discs on the front.
 
This does take patience. And PB Blaster applied liberally and often won't hurt a thing but the shoes... but those will be replaced anyhow. The drums are cast and brittle, as Bob says they will break if struck on the thin edges.
 
UPDATES!!! I got it rolling! drums still have not come out but i tapped the studs off and the axels spun freely enough. drums have been beat with a 8lb sledge and have rocked back and forth a good amount and want to come off...but still no luck. took apart one of the calipers so it would roll as well. got the trunk open and the latch release now works rouughly. super old and cool stuff was in the trunk including a full size spoked spare with a nice old goodyear, and my missing taillight lenses, and a retro soft pack of marb reds! pics!

MGATrunk.jpg

dragging her out with the merc
MGATow.jpg

MGATow2.jpg


more to come!
 
When you get her on the road & you're towing home, slip it in gear & release the clutch to see if the engine's free.
 
well thats probably not going to be for a long time....as for "slipping" it into gear...i think the main linkage is snapped in half...put simply the motor is one of the sleast of my worries...i was going to rebuild it eventually anyway. i worked on it more with my dad tonight trunk is solid...did these all have wood flooring? im pretty sure my floor is gone...the rockers are gone (someone bent a piece of aluminum around them and used wood screws to take it in place)...got the windshield off....litterally ripped the drivers seat out (wood on the floor is rotted and the seat frame is the same)and rook the gas take (which is obliterated) off as well. It seems to have had tan interior before the idiot who messed with it decided he want to SPRAY PAINT the leather black.... :hammer:
 
Yep, wood flooring......you probably want a Moss MGA catalog & a copy of "The Original MGA" also.
 
Neat car. You are starting the addiction at the right age. Looks like someone got a little funky with the placement of the rear tailights. Do you have a vin#? That way we can help you determine a year. Judging by the disk brakes, it looks like an early 60's 1600 car-check to see how the engine is stamped on the block.
 
ah! i was thinking maybe it was an early/late model witht he tail placement..thats not stock? as for the vin sure thing! next time i go to work on it ill be sure to get the vin. someone definately messed with the car. the wiring harness is in pieces with WIRE NUTS all over it. idiots.
 
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