Nearly there...

Once again I've not update the blog for ages.
So here's a summary in pictures and a few words:
After some thought, I decided to have the windscreen frame professional recondtioned. Not cheap but the MGB screen is a major visual focal point of the car and I wanted it to look right. It was away for about 3 weeks and I'm pleased with the result.

Work on the engine bay continued.

The carbs went away for restoration. Bling!

Engine bay nears completion

Attention turned to the interior. Dash and sound deadening.

Installed the fuel filler neck

And then worked on the doors

Next job will be the side moldings and refitting the boot and bonnet.

Progress...

It’s been ages since my last update, so here’s a summary in pictures:

The rebuild has started in earnest. After 18 months of shell restoration, I’m now definitely in the ‘put it back together’ phase.

First the services were fitted underneath, followed by a trial fit of the peddle box.

Next the loom.

I had the air filters and a few other bits blasted (Thanks Bob!)

The dash top vinyl followed. I’m really pleased with my restro of the fasteners. It’s the small things you know :-)

Moved to the rear…installed the axle, tank, pump etc.

Brakes as well. BTW I found two new Banjo axle brake drums, however one of them has stud holes that are too small???

Tackled the heater next. What a pain even after careful planning. Fitting the internal heater outlets was a nightmare.

Engine bay getting more gear.

After some time considering option for the windscreen I bit the built and sent it away for restoration.

The engine had been reconditioned about 500 miles before the car was taken off the road in 2000. I wanted to be sure that no corrosion had taken place whilst it stood around in the shed. So I stripped off head and sump. No surprises, just lapped the valve and rebuilt with new gaskets and a fresh coat of paint.

Made a modification to the gearbox crossmember so that the gearbox mounting block bolts can be easily accessed.

Engine bay ready!

Engine ready! (I must thank Vern for loan of the hoist)

In we go.

It’s in!

Now time for some mindless cleaning and painting of engine ancillaries…

It's Back!

I have a grin from ear to ear!

I must thank Phil Jackson for a fantastic job!

Ready for Paint!

Check it out, the MG goes away for painting. It’s taken me 16 months to get to this point.
Hopefully in 3 weeks it will be returning in glorious Tartan Red.

The last several weeks have been challenging. Getting a good fit on the front wings took forever and included a repair to the scuttle, but I’m happy with the final fit. I also painted the inside of the front wings with anti-stone chip followed by body colour cellulose.

The car came of the rotator, which meant fitting the suspension to get it rolling.

I had a trail run of fitting the under floor services. I’m not going to put the car back on the rotator, it's just too risky with the paint on.

In between getting the shell ready I have cleaned the gearbox and a number of parts associated with the pedal box. Not the most fun part of a restoration.

My first jobs on its returns will be: Fit fuel tank, pump, services and pedal box.

Progress...

We had great weather over the Easter weekend. This and an extra couple of days holiday that I took has enabled me to make good progress.
The highlight had to be installing parts for the first time. I wanted to ensure that the underbody services fitted before I removed the shell from the rotator. This involved the routing of the fuel pipe, rear brake pipe, rear loom and the battery cable to the solenoid. I temporarily installed the fuel tank and pump to get the correct lengths and routing. Here’s a picture of shiny parts back on my MGB.

The shell is now ready for coming off the rotator. I will install the rear axle and front suspension so that it can be rolling ready its trip to the painters.

While the weather was good I prepared the front wings. First I keyed the factory primer, then sprayed anti-stone chip and finally sprayed Tartan red cellulose to match the rest of the underside. It’s great spraying outside. Lots of room to move and no masking of the garage required.

I almost forgot…I also repaired the ‘crack of doom’ in the driver’s door. That really should be the last bit of welding for a long time!

Front wing fit and scuttle repair

Fitting the NS front wing has taken a lot longer than expected, but it's worth the time to get it right. I also had to finally repair the rot on the NS scuttle before the wing could be properly fitted. The repair was difficult as the scuttle is a compound curve and the heat from welding introduced distortion. After a lot of minor panel beating, I still had to use some filler to restore the scuttle shape. Anyway it's pretty close now so I'm ready to trial fit the OS wing.