MGB Must be the cold -- MGB will have a nice Xmas

[drooartz]

Maybe it's the cold weather (-2f outside my office this morning), or maybe it was the Moss sale (purchased through British Sports Car Restorations, roughly 19% off before Dec 28) but I've been planning the spring work on the MGB already and just got a big order in. Amazing how quickly a parts order can grow.

So come warmer weather when I can work out in the barn, we'll be doing the following to the old B:

• New interior panels -- current ones are incorrect and have big speaker holes cut in them
• New cover for the rear cockpit moulding -- time to get rid of the black duct tape
• All new heater/coolant hoses -- just preventative stuff
• New clutch hose (did brakes last spring) -- don't know how old the existing one is
• Switching to plastic fan -- bought it since last spring to replace the original metal 3-bladed one, never got around to installing it

This is on top of the carb rebuild (Hap) and distributor (Advanced) that I'm having done right now. Should have a few nice days worth of work once the snow starts melting. Doing my best to stay ahead of the maintenance curve.

So, any nice winter/spring projects planned for y'alls MGs?

As an aside, this is why I'm limiting myself to one old vehicle at a time. This is not a massive amount of work, but I'd be overwhelmed if I had to do this sort of thing for a whole fleet.

 

[Stewart]

My only project for this winter/spring is to see how the bridgestone tires I put on wear. Hopefully they will last longer than the last set which were bald after 8 months.

 

[Hap Waldrop]

Well the only MGB I have now is thew race car, and it will having a very Merry Christmas, here's a short list of the improvments.


The race engine has been gone thru, and improved, should be good for antoher 5-10 Hp and more reliable
Roll cage has been changed to make the car more user friendly
New Raydot mirrors, with really cool aluminum brackets to attach them to.
New engine stabilizer set up, control both fore/aft and letral movment in one location
New Moss HD moto mounts
New custom aluminum Dash, with larger Autometor 2" gauges
New aluminum ductwork for radiator, oil cooler, and dedicated air feed to carbs
new puller electric fan, maounted in ammer that si can removed in seconds
New custom front valance

A few store bought goodies, but mostly self fabricated items.

 

[NC Mike]

Until I get the house renovations done and can make the time (and money) to install an a/c system, winter is the preferred time to drive the GT. Coastal, sub-tropical NC summer temps make the car one hot little box to drive; as in sweat dripping from your elbows hot, not dang!, that car looks good hot.
Typically mild winters, today's bitter cold excepted, with the oil cooler cover and fresh-air intake cover in place, make for a toasty LBC.
Open the center vents, turn on the fan, and it's like having a new car's heat set to recirculate.

Mike :friendly_wink:

 

[drooartz]

Been below zero (f) here in the mornings, and up to the low 20s (f) during the day. Too cold for me! I've got this nice stack of parts and an engine to dig into, and can't work on them... garage is insulated but not heated, and the new barn is neither. Brrrrrrr :cold:

 

[aeronca65t]

Mine is resting in the garage (next to race-Spridget).

I just picked up a (used) turn/hi-lo beam switch so I can replace the exisiting one (high beam switch is goofy). Will try to work on that as I have time (super busy with two night classes plus FIRST Robotics right now).
And if we get a warmer day, I may try to reposition the exhaust so it clanks less on bumpy roads.

 

[drooartz]

Made a modicum of progress this past weekend. On Sunday it was up into the low 40s (oooh, heat wave) so I was able to clean out the barn and make room to work on the MGB. Pulled the motorcycle out (put it in the main garage) and drug out a few other things. MGB is now centered and ready for work... though as it's 18* as I write this it's going to wait a while.

Did get one tinsy project done -- been meaning to remove the front overriders as I'm not particularly fond of them. Okay, it's a really small accomplishment but it's the best I can do this winter.

 

[drooartz]

Real progress

So I've made some real progress now. I'm moved into my new little barn, though still working with just one outlet for power (soon to be fixed). It's not a huge space, but it's plenty adequate for working on one MGB.

So I've got all the old panels off, and took the vent window assembly out of the driver's door so it can be replaced with one that is not broken. I also pulled the seats, as I need to do some touch up paint work on the floors. They're really solid (the red you see is some sort of sealer/glue, not rust) but there are some areas of bare metal where the old paint has failed and flaked off. I want to sort this out before putting the car back on the road this year.

Did I go a bit too far? Pulled all the carpet out of the interior so I can do some clean up and repainting without messing up the carpeting. I'm really pleased with the general condition -- the more I dig into this car, the happier I am with the condition. It's not perfect but it's *very* solid. I'm really happy.

Here's what I need to fix. When I first got the car the carpets were all wet -- It was shipped with the top down and I think the truck leaked just a little. At the time I pulled the carpets to dry them and noticed that the paint on the floors was flaking off. I scraped off the worst of the peeling paint, and figured I needed to repaint it eventually.

Well, two years later is eventually. One real benefit of Utah (it's an otherwise strange place sometimes) is that this is a desert, very very very dry. That bare metal is still rust-free after two years unpainted (red in the picture is not rust, it's some sort of glue of covering). Still, I'll get the floors scraped and repainted in the next few weeks if it warms up enough. Doesn't have to look good, just needs to be protected.

Have a couple important gigs in the next week and a half, so probably won't get much done until after that. Still, I'm just about at the point where I can start installing new parts. The new interior is going to look very nice, I'm excited to see it done and to be driving again.