General MG New Project

[PAUL161]

Mickey, is it for sale yet? Aren't you a little frustrated already? . Gosh, I would love to have that car. Keep me on your call list if it gets too tiring! PJ

 

[Mickey Richaud]

You're first in line.

But don't hold your breath!

 

[bcliff]

Paul,
The blue one I have will be for sale soon. Done. Ready to go.
Bruce

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Been a while since I posted; summer was spent traveling and I didn't have much time (or money!) to work on it. However, I did acquire an overdrive transmission and sent it off for a refresh. It arrived yesterday and looks good; overdrive unit was toast, but the transmission itself was solid.

I didn't like the color of the gauge set (new ones from Speedhut) that came with the car, so I sent them off to replace the white face/ bright red numbers with a more subtle grey face and dark green numbers. Am now looking at redoing the dash, as it's not exactly to my liking.

The painter came by yesterday to look the body over to see what will be involved. I was able to remove the body over the last month or so and reset it and align the panels a bit better. He (the painter) was satisfied that things looked straight, and I'll be removing the body and getting that to him probably sometime after the first of the year, unless he has an earlier opening. He's done lots of custom work and had several suggestions for tweaking it even more.

The previous owner had reworked some of the wiring harnesses supplied with the kit, and I'll have to fiddle with that, due to the changes in the dash that I'll be making. But overall it's laid out pretty nicely. All that will go in after the painting's done.

The frame is in good shape. Brake lines were started, and I'll finish those off, along with the fuel lines while the body's being painted. Front and rear suspension were also installed. The front is a new coil-over from Moss that the previous owner installed; not sure what that will be like, but I have all the pieces to return to stock if I don't like it.

I have an engine that came with it, from a '69 B. Will be tearing it down over the winter as well and getting it in proper shape. I had toyed with swapping out with a 2.8/3.1/3.4 GM V6, but decided that was overkill. This thing will only weigh about 1700 pounds, and a fresh B engine with overdrive is more than enough for my needs. And it will keep it all MG.

Lots to do to keep me busy! I'll post pictures as I progress.


Mickey

 

[PAUL161]

Paul,
The blue one I have will be for sale soon. Done. Ready to go.
Bruce

Nice offer Bruce, but if I bought one I would want it for a project, you know, retired with time on my idle hands! Projects keep me out of the wifes hair! :highly_amused:

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Finally reconfigured the dash, which meant purchasing a new piece of wood which more closely matches the steering wheel. After a woodworker friend planed it down and cut the holes for the gauges, switches and indicator lights, I mounted all the goodies and re-ran the wiring. Pretty pleased with how it came out.

Before and after shots:

Thinking about placing the MG logo from the radio blanking plate on the passenger side for balance. There will also be a grab handle over there as well.

The two push-button switches above the ignition switch are for the turn signals - pretty neat setup. All the indicator lights in the center are Dorman off-the-shelf items; turn signal indicator arrows were lifted from the centers of '69 MGB and JB-Welded in place - they just happened to fit perfectly!

 

[JPSmit]

Looking good!

 

[drooartz]

Very nice indeed

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Thanks, guys. Although it's hard to tell from the picture, I had the gauge faces, back lighting color and needles changed. They were originally white faced, red background lit, and bright red needles; a bit too flashy for my taste. I sent them off to Speedhut and had them changed to grey faces, green back lighting, and deep red needles. Much more subtle looking.

And the dash came with some black plastic toggle switches, I think from Radio Shack. I put proper Lucas switches in; much truer to form and a lot better feel to their action.

And while I like the idea of having the gauges in the middle, I think the new placement will be better for driving.

Engine's all apart and I'm waiting for an opening at the machine shop to have it all cleaned up, checked out and necessary machining and balancing taken care of. Apart from the pantry items a mouse was storing in number 3 cylinder, the innards look very nice. Hopefully, I've a decent rebuild in the works.

 

[PAUL161]

Mickey, did you find the mouse? It would be very kind of you to find it another home, with a place for corn storage! PJ

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Mickey, did you find the mouse? It would be very kind of you to find it another home, with a place for corn storage! PJ

Didn't find that one (the engine came with the silo full of corn), but I did find one that began building a home in our '73 B. Sadly, he met his demise...

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Long overdue update!

After eight months (!!!) at the machine shop, finally got the motor back. I've begun assembling, and having some fun with it. Took these two pictures this morning; since then, have installed the timing chain and gears, tensioner, and timing cover. Also the oil pump and oil pan. Not in a big hurry, as the paint and body guy still doesn't have an opening, though he ~may~ be able to get to it in a couple weeks. Once I take the body over to him, I'll install the motor and transmission onto the frame and get that all buttoned up - do the startup and break-in while the body's at the paint shop.

May get to drive this thing yet!

 

[DrEntropy]

ARP head studs?

That's lookin' nice, bro. Have you given thought to CC'ing, port 'n polishing the head? Plenty of info in the "Special Tuning" section of the Bentley MGB manual!

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Yep, those are ARP studs. No plans to do anything special to the head; machine shop did the normal work on it. I've no plans to do anything special; just want a decent build on it.

 

[DrEntropy]

Valve seats?

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Valve seats?

Yep - head was completely checked and surfaced. New springs, guides, stem seals, etc. New cam and lifters. .020 on the pistons and .030 on the crank and rod bearings. This is going in a <1700 lb. car and will have overdrive, so performance and drivability should be great. Hope to have the engine buttoned up and painted next week.

 

[DrEntropy]

Very nice. Now I feel as if I'm slackin'! Need to get back on the Alfa project and consider putting a Lotus engine together as well. Got quotes to set a "PODS" thingie on the driveway so as to empty the garage and do a complete refurb in here. Strip th' place to th' gunwhales and selectively reinstall 'stuff'. I've most of the shop in here ATM, not enuff room to swing a dead cat!

 

[AngliaGT]

You do realize that will alter the balance of the Universe?

 

[JPSmit]

You do realize that will alter the balance of the Universe?

Open the PODS bay door Hal....

 

[Mickey Richaud]

More progress - took the body to the painter yesterday! He and his helpers were very impressed with the quality of the fiberglass and overall condition.

Now that the body's off, I can finish work on the frame and get the engine/trans installed. The body tub should be ready in two-three weeks, weather permitting.

Settled on a color - Connaught Green, code GN18. Local paint supplier had it in his database, and it is DARK! But should look good.

Pictures to follow.

Mickey