Today was a very happy day! The new MG started and ran, albeit on jack stands. I bought this car last month and put it in the shop to complete the restoration started by the PO 9 years ago. We put in new fuel lines, fuel pump, all new brake lines, clutch lines, new batteries, and the normal little things here and there. Today we fixed a few electrical problems, bled the brakes and clutch and then the magical starting. We've still got a few problems to fix. The oil cooler has a hole in it and the oil flex line leaks, but she is almost ready to go for a test drive.

Here is a Pic, I just put on the lamp bar. I think the Lucas lights look great.

Here's another of the new Carbs. The PO had put on a weber but I prefer the original HS4's

Well the car is still in the restoration shop. Greg is very meticulous and I have told him to take his time and try to get as much right as we can. When Greg first got started on the car he removed the top to make working on and around the car easier. I came down to the shop and he asked me to look at the doors and tell him what I saw. As soon as I did I saw that the door seals were on backwards and the cushioning part of the seal had been cut off. We were both a little stymied as to why this was done. Later it become painfully obvious. I had gotten new door seals and when Greg put them on he noticed something odd about where the outersill and the inside sill meet. Ordinarily you would see three strips of metal where the outer sill the inner sill and the inside sill meet. We were looking at five strips!! How can that be? I didn't ask the PO who did the body work when I went to pick up the car. He had said the body work was done 8 years ago but not who did it. So, I don't know if he did the body work or a shop that was not familiar with MG's. Anyway now the doors will not shut without a lot of force and when they do shut the doors stick out from the body. I'm certainly not going to redo the sills and repaint the car right now, but we do have to come up with a solution to the seal dilema. I'll let you know what we do later. Greg is progressing well on the finishing resto and now we are shooting for completion before The Classics on the James. I'm keeping my finger's crossed that the engine will start up alright as it hasn't been started in over seven years.We'll see.

19 July, 2009. Trailered the 65 to the Restoration shop today. The previous owner had started the restoration 9 years earlier. As you know patience is indeed a virtue when it comes to restoring any vehicle. The body work and paint were completed in 2000. The engine and overspeed transmission were completed in 2001, the car then went into storage for a few years. The engine was never turned over after the rebuild. Years go by and then the previous owner was forced to sell his baby. When I bought the car there was still a few things to complete. No batteries or battery cables. No fuel pump or fuel lines connected. No brake lines and no emergency brake. no clutch lines from the master cylinder or slave cylinder. The weber carb had been sold but the owner gave me the unrestored SU's. I opted to buy new SU's rather than try to rebuild the old ones. I will probably rebuild them later. Greg Jones, who operates the MG Works, began the resto immediately for me in hopes of completing the remaining items by the weekend of 8 August. Not much time but we hope to get it running so we can take it to the Street Scene Car Show here in Covington. Not sure if we can make it.

18 July, 2009 my wife and I picked up my new 65 MGB in Glenville, New York. It was even nicer than the pictures. Even my skeptical wife was impressed. She remembered when I brought home the 66 B. It looked alright in the pictures, but upon closer inspection I should have walked away. Unfortunately, I am cursed with the ability to see what something could look like while totally ignoring the work and money involved to bring my vision to fruition. But I digress.
The gentleman I purchased the vehicle from impressed me immediately with his (hate to use this word)"love" of the early pull handle MG's. You could just tell he hated to let her go. He was extremely helpful throughout the purchase process to include insuring we had a nice place to stay the night before picking up the car.
After a nice visit , we got the car loaded on the trailer and headed home to Virginia. Thank the good Lord the traffic was light and we arrived home safely after a 10 hour drive. Tomorrow the car goes into the restoration shop.