Journal: David Shelly's Journal

July 2007

She arrived from Seattle with serious issues. Someone...tried to plug a hole in the gas tank with a screw and bondo or something. The fuel gauge was malfunctioning and displayed just under "half-full". This would explain why the car would not start after coming off the truck hauling ramp.

The transport team had wrapped a chain around the rear axle and crimped the hydraulic brake line as they cinched the vehicle down for the trip...another problem I had to deal with early on.

My wife followed me home from the mall parking lot and at a stop light, informed me that the brake lights and turn signals were not working...great.

It had a horn, but a pitiful sounding, single high tone eeked out. Steering was sloppy, brakes were mushy...but I was still grinning from ear to ear as I drove the 'ol gal home.

August 2007

A vehicle evaluation by Motorhead Unlimited somewhat eased my cognative dissonance and provided me with a long list of items to repair and attempted to prioritize them. The owner of the shop assured me the car was structurally sound and recommended a basic set of good quality Craftsman tools and necessary equipment to begin a rolling renovation project.

Tools to purchase:
Craftsman set of sockets (short / long)
Craftsman set of open-end wrenches (with some duplicates)
I added Craftsman Professional Series Flared wrench set ($35)
Craftsman screwdriver set (the biggest one) Christmas gift
Set of 4 jack stands
Hydraulic lift (2 1/4 ton)
Battery cable brush, electronic spray

The results of the initial inspection by Motorhead, UnLtd. in Fairfax, VA and Jeff confirmed that I have a good car. However, it looks like a money pit from the long list of expensive items to repair or replace. Inspection cost $175.

Jeff thinks the top frame is not original, probably a 1970 “scissor lock” version.

Turns out that “scissor lock” was unique to the 1963-64 MGB and I may have one of the few left. The soft top is deteriorated to the point of near rot, so I chunked it in the garbage.

Notes from the evaluation include:
Hot idle oil pressure is registering 15#
Engine compression readings: 130-135-110-130

Under the “Fix Now” column with "worst case" estimate of repair in parenthesis. Actual cost of repair follows:

1) Needs ignition light ($475).

2) Needs left rear brake pipe ($100). $21 This was accomplished with 51” brake pipe from Advanced Auto. I bent the pipe with Mike's tools (neighbor) and had to replace his 3/16” double flare adjuster after I snapped while practicing a flare. Spent $10 at Motorhead flaring one side of pipe.

3) Needs annual service ($675).

4) Turn signals don’t work well. They blink too fast and the dashboard indicator doesn’t flash properly ($250). $15 They work now. I ordered a flasher control unit and replaced it near the passenger side firewall.

5) Wipers don’t work ($375). $46 They work now. I purchased another complete wiper assembly on ebay ($15.50 + $28 shipping) and used the male casing section and one wheel box. Motorhead spot welded the wiper motor mount. The switch was bad and Kevin gave me a replacement.

6) Washers don’t work ($250) $15 Replaced on hand washer bottle that came with the car, bought tubing and “T”. Then primed the manual pump.

7) Dash panel lights don’t work (could be bulbs) ($100) ($0) The panel rheostat is worn, but operates. Just rotate slowly until contact is made and all the dash instrument panels light up.

8) Bonnet release needs to be lubricated to work freely ($175). $0 Lubed release...bonnet works fine.

9) Fuse box service ($75) $14 Fuse box bead blasted and new fuses.

10) Needs Brake (hose?) rebuild ($375) $42 I replaced the brake hose when I replaced the front suspension bushings.

11) Needs clutch hydraulics ($675) $200 Replaced clutch master, slave cylinder and slave hose. Bleeding the system was the issue. Not until we pumped fluid up to the master cylinder from the slave bleed screw did the pressure hold. My master cylinder is probably still good and I’ll keep as a replacement item.

12) Needs exhaust ($750) $280 February 2, 2008 update – purchased complete mild steel exhaust system off ebay…from the manifold flange gaskets back. Should arrive in the mail next week. Punxsutawney Phil says 6 weeks of winter!

13) Rear shock links rusty?

14) Needs handbrake cable ($250)

15) Needs universal joints ($375) $85 Purchased a set of u-joints with grease points on the end. Expect to tear it down this Spring. Replaced entire driveshaft with one off ebay.

January 29, 2008 update – Pulled driveshaft and discovered the shaft itself is damaged. Purchased two online. Difficult to determine accurate length. Should be 30 3/16 inches compressed and 31 7/8 fully extended.

February 2, 2008 update – replaced driveshaft assembly with one of the ebay purchases. Mike (next door neighbor and former mechanic) was able to free up the rear u-joint, as it was stiff, and sanded off the burr on the face of the rear flange. I drove her around the neighborhood first, then went to the local grocery store to stretch her legs after being on ramps and jack stands for two weeks.

16) Needs Fuel tank ($950) $215 I purchased a 1963 tank from George in Washington (ebay) for $175 plus shipping. Ordered sending unit gasket from Victoria British $5. Moved Smiths sending unit from old tank and correctly mounted “TOP” facing up and got correct reading on SMITHS gauge. Some genius previously installed the sending unit upside down. This would explain why the needle would not go down to “E” or register empty…it was limited by the arm.

January 29, 2008 update – replaced sending unit and gauge, then one day while driving noticed that it was registering under half a tank…which should be correct. Stay tuned.

17) Needs Rear brakes ($750) $50 Replaced lockheed brake cylinders, new shoes with new pipe before adding new brake fluid (spent $50 for flared brake wrench set, spring wrench, brake cleaners and lots of shop rags)

18) Needs Right battery box ($425) $60 Won two battery boxes inserts on ebay.

19) Needs water pump; Recommend fuel pipe wires ($475) January 11, 2008 – $15 Replaced water pump with one that came with the vehicle. Old unit had a damaged mount point where generator/starter bolts. I replaced the fan belt and radiator hoses.

20) Remove Chrome rockers; some rocker rot Removed chrome rockers and polished them for sale on ebay. Sold for $45.

“Fix Later”:
21) May need front suspension ($2000) $10 Replaced front suspension bushings with V8 type. Kingpin bushings, bolts and washers were also replaced. A complete set came with the vehicle from auction.

22) Has Weber carburetor ($1750 to convert back to SU) I have the SU carbs and will get to this last. $300 See journal entry for Britain on the Green (April 2008)

23) Side Covers? Seep ($175). $12 replaced silicon gaskets with cork. I used high temp Permatex sealant and didn't crank down on the bolts.

24) Needs rack boots ($175) ($0) Replaced rack boots with ones that came with the vehicle.

25) Needs steering arm bushings ($650)

26) Right window needs work ($275) Window slide guide is set too close to outer door and the glass rubs against inner door rivet. Attempted to bend or adjust without success.

“Later Still”:
27) Steering column sloppy ($675) Made adjustments to tighten up and align steering wheel. Also won ebay auction for correct “banjo” style steering wheel…stay tuned. $1 inserted bolt, lock washer and nut into lower steering column bracket and tighted the steering wheel nut. "Banjo" style steering wheel turned out to be '68-69 steering column...not 62-67. June 2008, won $102.50 auction for correct vintage "banjo" wheel and installed in five minutes.

28) Overdrive needs work ($4750) This has to be a typo…fixing the overdrive should not cost more than the car. The wiring is directly from the dash switch to the unit solenoid, so the relay and switches associated with the overdrive harness are missing. $100 I ordered a new switch from Victoria British before taking it by London Auto for them to assess the overdrive components and tell me what I needed to get the electrical up and running. Instead of replacing the manual switch, the mechanic inspected the old switch and spent time cleaning it...

The contacts were dirty and once cleaned, operated the solenoid on the overdrive perfectly...but it was an hour of labor...so $100 to fix instead of $4750.

Renovation progress as of 19 August 2007:

Purchased above tools in preparation for “do it yourself”.

1) Lubricated the bonnet cable release for the hood.

2) Removed the passenger door panel to gain access to the window mechanism and found that the upper window track secure point is what pushes the window into the door frame and rubs against the rivet.

3) Cleaned the brake wire contacts, applied electro-grease and reattached wires. Now have consistent brake lights.

4) Changed the oil and oil filter which brought the oil pressure from 15 pounds to 50 pounds.

5) Decided to remove the “shop of horrors” engine heater w/ AC cord wrapped around the washer bottle. I unscrewed the center screw and immediately found out why that was there…to hold the anti-freeze coolant in the lower engine compartment!

I replaced the freeze plug and replaced the heater valve while the coolant was out. Only the valve that came with the car had a bad internal seal and leaked once I got the engine up to temperature. Soooo, I replaced that one.

I used gas tank putty from an auto parts supply to temporarily hold gas in the tank until I could get a suitable replacement. All the gas related components have been switched out except the electric fuel pump.

Started collecting materials to replace the Miata seats. Located original frames on ebay and purchased seat rails, seat cushions and vinyl seat covers from various MG suppliers (Victoria British, TRF, etc.).

Replaced seat belts with three-point harness seatbelts.

Replaced the horn's old plastic tubing with new, flexible tubing so the twin Italian horns work. Nice, classic dual horn sound!

I continued to get a bad gas leak from around the sending unit and noted pressure build up after being driven or significant change in temperature. I described the symptons to Jeff, who diagnosed the problem as the gas tank cap not venting correctly. I switched gas caps and it stopped leaking.

February 6, 2008 update:

The mild steel exhaust system arrived today. I uninstalled the old system and found that someone had modified the rear and middle hinge points. They used JP weld to mount a bolt onto the face of each mount, between the screw holes (covering one in the rear) so a rubber strap could be used as a hanger...amazing.

I'm in the process of grinding off the bolts and JP weld and tapping the screw holes so I can use the proper hangers for the middle and rear.

The front bracket support for the downpipe was somewhat of a mystery. None of the catalogs I had from Moss, Victoria British or TRF had illustrations of how the front brackets were installed. The Haynes manual doesn't refer to it, nor does Lindsey Porter's Restoration Manual!!!

Here is where I found it....Anders Clausager's "Original MGB With MGC and MGB GT V8: The Restorer's Guide to all Roadster and GT models 1962-80", page 82. The picture is of a manual gearbox, however, a closer look shows the exhaust mounting strap (black) attached to the clamp (grey) and all this is supported by the front exhaust mounting bracket (black) that is attached to the (two) transmission bell housing bolts at the bottom. AHAH!

February 9, 2008:

Completed the exhaust system installation. This is the original, 5-piece exhaust system. After cutting and grinding the middle and rear hanger mounts, I began to line up the downpipe and used a hydraulic jack and piece of 2x6 board to create a platform from which to steady the downpipe and slowly raise it as the flanges were offered. I made sure that the exhaust gaskets were "metal side down" but did not use exhaust paste.

This was tricky, given the restrictive space allowed to get washers and bolts on. Just as I began tightening the slack out of the bolts, one of them stopped...apparently some metal shaving or something got into the treads, so I backed it off...well the stud came out with it...nice.

The bolt was seized, so I replaced the stud and drove on. I used white-out to mark the joint positions once I got all the pieces lined up like I wanted. I used 1 3/4 u-clamps and acousti-seal on the joints and tightened from front to rear making sure that the "white out" lines met.

The exhaust joint paste is setting overnight and I'll test the system tomorrow. Awesome!

April 26, 2008 - Replaced the gaskets on the engine side covers to stop the oil leaks. Replaced the rear engine mount bushings and ordered polyurethane bushings for the stayrod. Assembled the newly repainted transmission crossmember and all seems to be working well.

Could not get the HS4 dual carburator back in because the exhaust manifold is too thin. Must have been shaved down by DPO (D*@% Previous Owner).