Restoration Questions

I'm going to be aquiring the family '72 MGB in a month or so. The engine hasn't been started in over 2 years and it hasn't been driven in nearly 4-5 years. I'm hoping to clean it up, repair it, and get it working to peak performance over the next couple years.

I was just wondering though, after all this time sitting is there anything that NEEDS to be changed desperately before attempting to start it or get it running? I'm learning about cars as I work on them so this'll be my biggest project to date. I already know of a few parts that require replacement but should I replace any seals or gaskets before starting her up, or just see what leaks and replace those?

Any hints/tips would appreciated. Thanks!

look here

http://www.theautoist.com/CHECKLIST.HTM

Mark covered it. There is no more to say :)

I am awakening a GT right now after a 14 year Maine barn nap.

Ned, welcome to the forum. 2 years is nothing on some of the "awakenings"! Yours will be fine if some maintenance was done before going to sleep.
Hope it runs well and is in good shape.
Rob

"I'm learning about cars as I work on them "

how lucky tou are to have such a nice thing to learn on , all the systems are quite simple and pretty straightforward . easy to understand, no black boxes like the newer cars. sad to say most parts on new cars can not be serviced , very few on these machines that can not be serviced/refurbished .

get a manual

haynes manual is inexpensive

bentlys is said to be best, [ have one on back order, not available just now from my source]
[ps this is a common experience i find, i waited 3 month for a part to be fAbricated in GB and shipped over by slow boat once]

the I have a chiltons MGB maunal too, those seem to be not so easy to locate ,but in many ways the directions explanations are easier to understand in that one ..


get some parts catalogs .they are just as handy as the manual some times
they are nice reading , my wife looks at me very strangely now since i sit around reading parst catalogs , little does she know i am trying to second guess what will break next HahHHa haha


http://www.mossmotors.com/


http://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/mg/t.asp


have fun
working on these little things is a joy and a pleasure.

ps: as was said 2 years is nothing hardly a nap at all , when my alternator died and the bridge fell in [ we had a long rough detour ] i left the one i have sit a year , when they got the bridge fixed after a year i got a new alternator, charged up the battery and away we went!!!
a lot depends on the service level it had when it parked last, little engine has probably been waiting just for you to sing its engine song
'[ anthropomorphism .... there is a word to look up]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Wow, just looked at the checklist and it covers everything and more than I could think of. I'm just worried when I start taking parts off it's gunna get angry and explode on me. So far I've only worked on a Wrangler and and Grand Prix. So I'm used to the electronic cards with fancy OBD II systems.

I know it was kept in excellent condition until around '96ish when my Grandpa gave it to my parents. They just haven't had the time to give it all the TLC it needs. They ended up parking it because the brake pump failed and it took them so long to get the old one out that they ended up buying a new car to use as a daily while they worked on it and in the meantime the fuel pump failed. Been there ever since. Poor girl.

Looking at all this I think the hardest part of the whole project will be convincing my wife to let me keep the original color. It's still got the original Gold/Orange color it came off the line with. hoist.

Thanks!

Wow, wish I had seen this earlier. It does cover everything.

Here's a few pictures of her current state. Had my dad take some pictures before they prep her for the drive...well, ride up to CT. You can't tell in the last picture once I made it smaller but the License plate is a '72 Antique Florida plate that expired in Sep '00. (My Bad, read it again and it's only been '03. Guess I lucked out a bit)

Flush the brake and clutch fluid before the trip. Sitting for awhile is hard on the master cylinder and the rear wheel cylinders. Use Castrol LMA.

It's going to be towed behind my car, would I still need to flush the fluids? Unfortunetly the only type of tow setup my current car can handle requires the rear wheels to stay on the ground. I was either just going to leave it in Neutral or detach the driveshaft.

hello i'll have a 79 with the same problem you have hasn't been on the road for 2.5 years the check list is great to run through be sure to change all fluids including the fuel. run through the sleeping b check list and you will be fine these guys and gals will help you nicely and their knowlage is outstanding be patient and dive in this is a great adventure and never a dull moment

Ned, if you're flat-towing you should definitely disconnect the drive shaft. There's always some discussion as to whether or not that's needed, but this car hasn't rolled in 8 years or so. You don't have any idea what fluids - if any - are still in there. Better safe than sorry....

Ned,

Congrats, Bet you love working on it, just put all of your purchase invoices in a drawer and don't count up how much money you have spent.

First thing on your list should be PB Blaster

Cheers

Paul