4/21/06
Repaired the exhaust system by installing a generic center hanger that I bought from my local auto parts store. It solved the problem of the exhaust slapping against the rail. On Friday, my speedometer stopped working so I bought one from an MG Experience member. I should have it the week of April 24th.

4/12/06 Wednesday
Well...it seems I needed to rebuild my calipers. The pistons were pretty much seized up on the passenger side and I thought it best to buy a new lockheed rebuild kit for both. When it comes to brakes I don't fool around. Always buy the best. I should be getting the parts today or tomorrow and will be able to get my car on the road this weekend.

4/17/06 Monday
Rebuilt the front calipers on Friday and had the car on the road on Saturday. Drives great. All the work was worth it. No more shaking at 55mph. There is one problem that I need to address. The drivers side rebound strap was not connected to the lower pin because the lower pin is missing (this has been corrected). When I jacked up the rear of the car, it seems the weight if the rear axle was placed on the exhaust system which caused it to torque and shift out of position. This caused the center part of the system to slap against the center rail of the car at certain speeds. I will need to repair this tonight.

4/3/06 Monday
The car has been uncovered from it's long winter sleep and work has started. I received almost all the parts needed to do a front end rebuild as well as all new hubs and Dayton 72 spoke chrome wheels. On Saturday April 1st, I removed both spindle assemblies and replaced with new. Cleaned up and painted the dust shields and re-installed. A-arms and A-arm bushings were in good shape. On Sunday April 2nd, I started on the rear brakes. I removed the drums and hubs. Drivers side rear wheel cylinder was leaking so I cleaned and polished the bore and pistons...re-assembled and all seems OK. Also needed to repair the brake adjuster. I snapped off one of the studs when removing it. Passenger side looks OK but I will be installing new shoes on both sides. Drums and calipers will be painted silver. New rotors are being ordered from B-hive along with a pair of new brake lever boots.

4/5/06 Wednesday
Last night I installed a battery cut off switch that I bought from Harbor Freight.

I started repairing my manifold leak. Took off the carbs, heat shield, inlet manifold and exhaust manifold. Everything came off easy. removing the manifold from the lower exhaust pipes was a bit of a chore but it came off. I was missing one exhaust gasket and that was causing the leak along with a missing stud.
Trying to remove the old exhaust studs was a PITA (pain in the you-know-what). Some came out easily but two broke off and I had to drill them out. Re-tapped the holes and all is well.
The manifold, inlet manifold and heat shield are now ready for primer and paint. It's gonna be nice to have a not-so-noisy "B".

EDIT...10/11/05...Here's an update...
Last week I painted my exhaust manifold only to find out I used the wrong paint. I used 500 degree instead of 1200 degree. I had re-assembled everything...started it up and after 5 minutes the paint started to melt off. There was mucho smoke-o.
Ok...so I took everything apart and had a local guy sandblast the manifold and I re-painted it with the 1200 degree stuff. It's cureing in my BBQ grill as I am writing this.
On the up-side, the car sounded great when I had it running for those 5 minutes. No exhaust leak under the hood.
I should have it back together and running in a few days.

EDIT...10/16/05
I got everything back together on the 13th and the car is running fine. The engine sounds like it should and because I had to re-do everything, I had time to really clean the carbs.

I did a little bit of work on my "B" last night and I thought I'd ad it to my journal. I replaced the chrome end caps on both the wiper stalk and turn signal stalk. Nice and shiney now. I also replaced the bezel around the light switch with a chrome one. It had a black bezel on it and should have been chrome. The dash looks "correct" now. Also added the missing "BRITISH LEYLAND" badges on both wings/fenders.
I re-activated my charcoal cannister with fresh charcoal and then re-installed it. My car was "de-smogged" and the cannister was removed at the time. I didn't want the gas fumes venting into my garage so I thought it best to re-install the cannister.
I also received, from LBCC, most of the front end parts I need to rebuild it. I need to buy new hubs and Dayton 72 spoke chrome wires, then I can go ahead with the rebuild. Also will be buying Vredestein 165R14 Sprint+ tires. I'll probably start working on it the end of September. Can't wait!!!!

I’ve always wanted an MGB ever since I was 17 years old. I used to see them “wiz” by and say to myself “I’m gonna get me one of those”. When I turned 19 in 1976 I bought a 1974 Mercury Capri. It was more practical to buy a car with 4 seats. More room for friends and it had a “back seat” for those special nights. The Capri was a nice car but it wasn’t an MGB and I’ve always had a want for one.
In March of this year (2005) I sold off some of my gun collection (I collect Colt Single Actions) and bought a nice 1971 MGB from a very nice gentleman from Connecticut. I lucked out with this one. It came with the factory hard top and was maintained by the previous owner. The PO did the following…had it painted New Racing Green, valve job, rebuilt carbs, throttle shafts re-sleeved, rebuilt alternator, rebuilt clutch and TO bearing, sump dropped and cleaned along with the oil pump screen, new heater valve, new oil lines to cooler, all wiring replaced with very good used harnesses, brake and clutch master cylinders rebuilt, new motor mounts, all new hoses.
I have done the following since April….tune up, wheel alignment, new rear bumper, new wood steering wheel, repaired door locks, re-wired radio to work in the “on” position, re-installed missing hazard flasher switch and relay, chrome carb filters, alloy valve cover, new spark plug wires, trunk carpet and assorted little fixes here and there.
I plan on buying 72 spoke Dayton tubeless wire wheels with new hubs and 2 eared knock offs.
That’s about all for now…I’ll update when I get the new Dayton wires on the car.