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31 December 2005
1979 MGB LE Restoration (JG) 12 Dec 05 ->
This 1979 MGB LE was purchased NEW at Engle Imports in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Now, the son of the owner has arranged to rebuild this MGB LE as a present to his mother. The approach for restoration is nearly always the same. Remove a piece, work with it, remove the next piece, work with that. NEVER remove more than you can repair/restore right then. This is the mantra for our restorations. You are instructed to follow our lead. It works. Watch! 02 Dec 05  This is a "production restoration" in which we have already performed the mechanical repairs and will now commence the body and interior rebuilding.  Off comes the top 06 Dec 05 
Apart come the doors  
I wish I'd taken "before" pictures of these LE wheels. The restored wheels are simply dynamite! 07 Dec 05 
The LE is now nearly stripped. 08 Dec 05 
Fitted with replacement wheels, now the seats are removed 12 Dec 05 It is now stripped of all external fittings and ready for the bodyshop! 19 Dec 05 
Off to Mark's for welding and paint! 21 Dec 05 
The paint is removed 
Huge sections of damaged and rusty metal are cut away! 22 Dec 05 
Filling and smoothing has begun 
But still more metal must be removed -- here the whole sill section 28 Dec 05 
A whole rear section is replaced 
The sills are complete on this side 
The "crack of doom" is repaired here with an extra piece of metal on the inside of the door. 29 Dec 05
The bonnet looks pretty good, but this car is to be repainted BLACK. Believe it! Black is the most expensive color to prep for. Any tiny flaw is magnified. 
This fender, just the other day was missing altogether! 
The left rear is undergoing the smoothing treatment. For those who say "I wouldn't want bondo in my car" they are either kidding themselves or simply don't have a car! Every vehicle uses some sort of filler -- it's the application of the filler that is in question. A thin coat is always required; a 1/2" of the stuff is something else! 30 DEC 05 
The front end is starting to look pretty nice! 
Just a little smoothing and filler here and there. 
The back corners always require a little more diligence! 06 Jan 06 Mark has really made progress! Note the MGA in the second picture. That one's for Eclectic Motorsworks in Holland. 
Now in black paint, for the most part! 
After this paint is set and buffed Mark will fix the stripe 
and the chrome strips! We should have it back this week 
01/10/06 Back, LE wheels fitted, and ready for assembly! 
01/11/06 Front bumper fitted, some lights, and coming right along! 
01/12/06 Getting right into it! Ken is working with the wiring, and then staying inside so we can get the latch working correctly! 
01/16/06 The rear is looking pretty good now, luggage rack fitted and all! 
01/18/06 Mark Kenworthy fitting the stripes, then a picture from the front right, showing a completed side. 
01/25/06 Stripes on, boot lid off to fix a paint problem, and waiting for the windscreen 
01/27/06 Now getting all washed up -- it's nearly done!
1954 MG TF 12/20/05 ->
20 DECEMBER 2005 
The secret to restoration: One piece at a time. The grille is off and is getting cleaned up BEFORE any more pieces are removed. The grille received the four ought steel wool treatment, along with some painting on the black metal support pieces for the grille slats.
21 DECEMBER 2005
One piece at a time. Here the windscreen stanchions get cleaned.
Now the rear wings come off
22 DECEMBER 2005
Now the Front wings and running boards are free of the body!
Ken's legs are just barely visible as he disconnects the dash fasteners. 27 DECEMBER 2005 
Ken has removed nearly all of the components from the bulkhead which will make Mark's job easier in getting paint on all the body that will be seen. The TF is very nearly ready for the paint shop.
1964 MGB Overdrive 27 December 2005
 This nice red MGB is all set to go. It runs out well and the overdrive works just great! It's all set to go.
1974 TR6 21 December 2005
 Our goal is to increase the horsepower in the TR6. Our route is to increase the ability of the cylinder head to breathe by porting and polishing. So, we removed the cylinder head. Gosh -- as long as the head was off, we better check the cam followers or lifters.  Whoa! This one is horrid.  So now we have to change the cam!
1974 TR6 20 December 2005
Carl Heideman and his associate, Josh Strohm, collected the TR6 today to take it to Baker Engineering to check the BHP. They achieved 74.9 BHP at the rear wheels. This is our baseline, our starting point.  
30 December 2005
1973 MGB 28 December 2005
 Oh Boy! We're starting to make some progress now! Note the "shop" wheels on the front end.   The rear end goes together pretty easily!   By the end of the day most of the lights were wired and working!
1973 MGB 27 December 2005
 Gosh! We've followed our own advice. Each part was cleaned and prepped as it was removed from the car. Now the shelves are filled with cleaned and prepped pieces -- all neatly wrapped. All we have to do is reassemble the car!  Trevor cleans the dash and interior. Cleanliness is the MOST important part of a restoration!
1973 MGB 20 December 2005
 Mark has returned the car from the body shop, painted and striped. It sure looks different than two weeks ago!
29 December 2005
1956 MGA
 Now we're starting to cook on this project!      This is one of the first 250 cars, so the engine does not have an hydraulic timing chain tensioner but the rubber rings as used on the Spridgets. It's a very early car!
1956 MGA 9 November 2005
   Here the chassis begins it's move to a running machine. The body is draped and stored for now.
1956 MGA Restoration 08 Nov 2005
    I rebuilt the engine for the car in about 1982; the owner had it painted about that same time. He stored it away, planning to get to it "someday." He finally realized that "someday" was today at University Motors, so up from Chicago it came on a large truck -- boxes and boxes and boxes of pieces and parts. We assembled the chassis and that is a running, driving, piece of motorcar. Now we're working on the body! Here the parts are laid out and the frame is ready for a workup!
22 December 2005
1974 TR6
The goal with this TR6 is to get more power. We started by asking Carl Heideman from Eclectic Motorworks to get it onto the Dynojet at Baker Engineering. The steady HP curve peaked at 74.9 -- Curt won the pool.
Carl wishes that trailers were easier to use -- easier to tie down the cars! So, after the test, we removed the head to send it out for porting, polishing, and to raise the compression ratio. Lisa thought it would be a good idea to check the lifters. Now a good lifter looks about like this. Really careful inspection will show one or two tiny imperfections in the surface. But when we got to this one, we knew that the cam was toast! So, today, Thursday, Curt pulled the cam. I then cc'd the volume between the piston and to the top of the block to find only 3cc. This number is an important component in the math in determining how much to remove from the cylinder head to raise the 7.75:1 engine to 8:1 or higher.
17 December 2005
1964 MGB Overdrive
 You will remember from an earlier post that the planet gears in the overdrive had lost their bearings and chewed up the inside of the annulus. Now the OD is rebuild (by yours truly) and ready to install on the back end of the gearbox, pictured in the foreground. There will be a flurry of activity on this vehicle in the next several days! This is Casey's project.
1954 MG TF
 Here, Ken Gauld cleans up some small parts from the TF. We just received authorization to run at full speed on this restoration. The owner purchased it in California in 1962 (I had earlier reported 1957), but that is still a remarkable length of time for ownership. During that time the wipers never worked -- she didn't know that they were electric. They will work when she gets it back! More pictures next week!
1973 MGB
  Mark is done with this MGB at the body shop. He has fixed the black stripes along the top edge of the chrome strips (not pictured here). We expect to get it back into the shop on Monday, at which time he'll pick up the 1979 MGB LE. Then we'll begin reassembling this one! I do believe that if you scroll back you will find that it's been at the body shop for only about two weeks. This is a "production restoration."
1937 MG VA (JH)
This 1937 MG VA has been in the shop longer than any other project. It's all done now and just needs a last test drive. When we received it, it had been stored for thirty years -- everything had been disassembled -- and it was all wrapped up in newspaper full of Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. We have had to purchase a body tub from England, new wheels from England -- and repair so many individual items. Here, Curt assembles the water pump, the shaft for which we just had hard chrome plated. More pictures next week! It has been Curt's project from nearly the very beginning.
It certainly is a stunning vehicle!!
And now the carburetters work correctly -- it ticks over at about 500 rpm
   01/13/06 Before calling the shipper we thoroughly tested every system and looked over every inch of this fine motorcar!  01/13/06 And here it is, ready to make it's journey to Massachusetts.
15 December 2005
1954 MG TF RESTORATION (12/15/05)
 We are within a day of starting a partial restoration on this TF which the owner purchased used in California in 1957! Here Andrew and Trevor clean out and clean up the car for the owner's visit tomorrow.
1976 MG MIDGET (12/15/05)
 I made a run around the test drive track in this Midget 1500 today. The oil pressure was great and it ran really well! It will go home very soon!
1958 MGA (12/15/05)
 Curt worked along on the clutch hydralics, but it wasn't until we pressurized the master cylinder reservoir that the system would bleed properly. Now the clutch feels GREAT! There isn't much for us to do to make this car complete.  Lisa worked the clutch while Curt worked the bleeder screw. 
1974 ACONITE MGB (12/15/05)
 Casey worked to get the windscreen lined up, but even with Andrew's hard work he wasn't able to get the bolts started.  In the end he had to call on a 57 year old MG mechanic who huffed and puffed as he got in and out of the cockpit -- but the exercise was a success. Now we just have to fit new wiper blades! 
14 December 2005
GOLDSTAR LUCAS DISTRIBUTORS
 Rebuilding these 25D Distributors, in quantity, is a careful, step-by-step process. Here, Andrew handfits the shafts to each body. Watch the GOLDSTAR page as these will be available in about a week or two!
SUNBEAM TIGER
 The Sunbeam Tiger is all set to go. Here James washes the front of the car so quickly he's just a blur. He usually doesn't work so fast!
1973 MGB RESTORATION
    For those of you who argue with your paintshop, who have been put off time after time, look at the first post on this MGB -- 12/05/05 -- just nine days ago it was in our shop waiting for transport to Mark's body shop. Now it is all but finished there! I'll bet it's back in our shop withing the next couple of days and you'll be able to see the parts, which we've already cleaned and prepped, go back on in relatively short order! The one picture is dark and the paint appears yellowish -- the other pictures are sort of "cold" and the paint appears a but more blue than it actually is. Glacier White has just a blue tinge.
1976 MIDGET 1500
 I thought Casey would have this running today. He's very close! Here, with Curt aloft, Casey works to tighten the manifold and exhaust.
1958 MGA GEARBOX
  Curt asked me today if there was an easier way to remove the old exhaust gasket from the top of the exhaust pipe -- easier than piercing it with a prick punch and peeling it off. I told him he could try heating it up. Little did we realize that what was still lodged in the exhaust pipe -- after the engine has been out of the vehicle for two weeks -- was combustible. Lisa ran up to get the camera and quick snapped a shot -- it's a little shaky, but the plume of fire was quite spectacular! I do believe this method worked. At home, when you have a lot of time, you can use all kinds of penetrating fluids. At the shop where time is our most precious commodity, we use the "blue tip wrench" -- the torch for many applications. Removing the exhaust gasket with heat apparently works, too. Later in the day Curt had the engine and gearbox back into position.
13 December 2005
TD/c CYLINDER HEAD PREPARATION
    This TD/c cylinder head was prepared for a retired judge in the greater Chicago area. We started with a round head, late, TD Head, fitted the larger MKII TD or TF valves, shaped, ported and polished the inlet and exhaust ports. Plus, we welded up the rockers and refaced them. This entire job was about $1000 but will give this TD owner MUCH more power. Remember that the greatest impediment to powerful running is the restriction in the inlet throat. Shaping, porting, and polishing are all critical steps to allow the air/fuel mixture to slip into the cylinder with as little restriction as possible.
SUNBEAM TIGER
 Everyone in the shop jumped when Curt turned the key and this V8 powered Sunbeam spun to life. We're not used to such a sound -- especially since the exhaust is not much more than a couple of cherry bombs. What a rumble! Please notice the old bedspread now used for a car cover on the top of the soft top. See the stripes? It's a tiger striped comforter or bedspread. Casey pulled it out of our stock of padding just for this Sunbeam Tiger!
Midget 1500 Engine
 Casey made dramatic progress today by fitting the engine/gearbox assy to the Midget 1500. By tomorrow it should be running -- but there's still a lot to do!
12 December 2005
1973 MGB RESTORATION
   Mark is making tremendous progress on this body. The bonnet is now in Glacier White. The body is in light yellow primer and, if you look carefully, you can see the gray guide coat. The guide coat is a very, very light application of a contrasting color of primer. After application, the bodyman uses a long board and sands the guide coat away. Where the long board does not clear away the guide coat the bodyman applies another layer of sandable primer as that area is too low. Prime and sand, prime and sand, prime and sand. The more time during preparation the better the final product.
MG TD GEARBOX & REAR SEAL
 Andrew had this TD on the hoist today, cleaning and painting the frame rails so that the owner can keep the underside a little cleaner -- a little more easily. We have to adjust the ignition in the morning and the owner will then collect it. Note the seat from an MG Midget temporarily on the driver's floorboard.
MGA GEARBOX
 Curt worked away on the hydraulics on this MGA today after finishing the Volvo. You can see the new line he ran from the master cylinder to the clutch slave -- that new, silver line running horizontally across the toeboard. There is another, red, MGA in the background.
 This 1977 MGB had the most unusual problem. As you placed your foot on the brake pedal to begin slowing down the car would actually speed up! A more disconcerting feeling is rarely felt! It turns out that there was a hole in the diaphgram in the servo, and when he brakes were applied a great quantity of fresh air would enter the inlet manifold. Since the car was running rich, this extra air leaned out the mixture and made the engine run considerably faster. We had to rebuild the rear brakes, too. It was running and stopping at the end of the day, Monday 12/12/05.
SUNBEAM TIGER
 I finished the repair panel for the rear of the left leaf spring today and got it welded into place. Curt should have it assembled and on the ground tomorrow.
1979 MGB LE
Stripped down and ready to go out to the body shop! You will note that everything has been removed from the exterior -- from the lift the dot studs for the soft top to the side markers, from the riveted buttons that hold the chrome strip to the windshield washer squirters. Now the body shop can repair and paint without anything in the way! 
1963 Volvo P1800
 Curt finished the P1800 this morning, took it for a drive, and then Trevor did the checkout this afternoon. It carries twin sidedraught webers and is really in very, very nice condition. It will be a while before you see another Volvo on this site!
09 December 2005
Volvo P1800
 This is, indeed, an usual project for us -- but I have a dear friend who called on me to help him out getting the gearbox re-installed. He complained that, at 61, he no longer has the strength and agility to wrestle this heavy gearbox onto the rear of the engine. Curt is our Volvo expert -- he drives one, his wife drives another, and his daughter yet another.
1958 MGA Gearbox
 Curt finished the gearbox on this MGA today. The layshaft had snapped and caused a host of problems, including stripping teeth from the third speed gear. Oh, it was a real mess -- but now with new gears and a replacment case, it's all set to go. You know, we often sign our work -- especially gearboxes on the inside of the side cover. When we removed the side cover on this box it read "Looks like Reagan will get a second term." Obviously we'd been inside it before!
08 December 2005
Sunbeam Tiger
 Curt removed the gasoline tanks today (saddle in the rear fenders) and cut away the frame section that was rusty. Tomorrow we make up the repair pieces.
1952 MG TD
  The engine is fitted, gearbox is full of oil, engine has oil pressure, radiator is in place, and the car runs. Just the finals now -- then the test drive, and then the bonnet! It will be a cold test drive tomorrow!
1973 MGB Restoration
  In the first coat of primer today. Still some low spots to fill -- and perhaps a guide coat before the final coat. The Glacier White paint came in today.
07 December 2005
Sunbeam Tiger
  This Sunbeam Tiger looks really nice! BUT the rear shackle for the left leaf spring has rotted out of the frame. Curt disassembled the brackets from the spring and frame. Now we have to fabricate a repair panel to fit the good metal -- and accept the rear shackle bushings. Stay tuned!
1979 MGB LE Restoration
   Well! We're down to just the windscreen! By tomorrow evening the car will be stripped all the way down for Mark to collect next week. Here Andrew cleans up the luggage rack parts and Ken removes the driver's seat.
1973 MGB Restoration
   Mark is making dramatic progress on the body! He has much of the car welded and some of it slicked. Soon we'll see it in primer!
1952 MG TD with Moss Seal
  We got most of this engine/gearbox refitted today. Not only did we fit a new Moss seal, but we rebuilt the gearbox. The gearbox was noisey in 2nd and 3rd so I knew there was a problem with the laygear -- I was not prepared for the loss of teeth on the first motion shaft. This was one of the more damaged T type gearboxes we've ever repaired!
1976 Midget 1500
  Curt finished the engine today and put a nice coat of black paint on it. Then he fitted the gearbox. It's ready for re-installation into the car.
1964 MGB Overdrive Repair
   We knew that there was a problem with this overdrive unit -- type D -- since there was so much swarf in the filters, magnets, and drain plugs. Plus, the OD made an unusual swishing sound. I was not prepared for what I found! The planet gear carrier, fitted with three planet gears, was black and blue from the heat created before or after the needle bearings on all three planet gears failed. These gears (shown above) moved outward much farther than they should have and ate up the inside of the annulus. What a mess! But, I carefully disassembled the unit, cleaned everything, and laid it out. I'm waiting for the customer to provide a donor overdrive or I'll pull parts from stock for the rebuild.
06 December 2005
1964 MGB Overdrive Repair
  This overdrive has some part spalling -- we have yet to disassemble the unit to discover just what has failed -- but there was ALL kinds of swarf in the filter screen and on the magnets. Casey is heating the manifold so he can more easily remove the exhaust studs.
1976 Midget 1500
 Curt has another day assembling this engine. The most critical part is timing the cam. Maybe I'll have some pictures of that tomorrow.
1952 MG TD with Moss Rear Seal
 I got the seal installed, then today I fitted the timing chain and gears, the front cover and the sump -- plus I painted the front and touched up some chipped places on the block.
1979 MGB LE Restoration
    Take a piece off, polish it, paint it, whatever. Wrap it up. THEN take the next piece off. Step by step here. Look at those wheels! G-O-L-L-Y Sarge! I sure wish I'd had a "before" shot of them -- they were HORRID!
1973 MGB Restoration
05 December 2005
1979 MGB LE Restoration
   12/05/05 This is an originally owned MGB LE, purchased from Engel's in Kalamazoo in 1979. It was driven and driven and driven and then put away wet. The owner's son is underwriting the cost of the restoration. Here the soft top and frame are coming off. Each piece is cleaned, painted, buffed, whatever, as it is removed from the vehicle. Then, each piece is wrapped in plastic, labelled, and stored on the large shelves seen in the background. When the car comes back from the bodyshop everything is ready to re-install. Pictured here are Andrew Caponi, a highschool senior, and my son James, an eighth grader.
1973 Glacier White MGB
   12/05/05 Gary purchased this MGB new, I believe from Butler Imports in Indianapolis. He sold it about 20 years ago to a fellow who disassembled it, welded it up, painted it -- but nothing was really straight, nothing was really right. Gary bought the car back last year. Now it's getting the real job! We fitted shop wheels and removed the windscreen after these pictures were shot. Mark collected it last week Thursday. My guess is that it will be back pretty soon, welded and repainted!
1952 MG TD w/Moss Rear Seal
   The first installation of the seal was not successful. I then read the instructions, outloud, twice, to ensure that I understood every step! I discovered that the seal and the crank rear flange were not concentric so I used an end mill, opened the countersunk holes for the flathead screws, and fitted panhead 6x1.00mm screws. I pinned the top half in place with 1/8" tension pins after ensuring that the crank and the seal housing were within 0.001" of being concentric (it was off about 0.006" before). In the step pictured I have liberally used the Loctite silicone sealant and allowed this to dry for two days before disassembly. The speedi-sleeve fitting was very critical and was done with the crank in the block so that I could push that sleeve as far forward as possible without fouling the seal housing.
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