Seems the bearings I got were the wrong ones and the correct ones are not available in the cheaper version.
So $100 odd later I got the right bearings and they went in today.

Used 'quick metal' on one of them again and the second one went on in about 1 hour.

Did a 'super dumb' thing after the first one and forgot to put the brake drum on.

I know, I know! Scares me when I do stupid things like that.
It took a few seconds for the penny to drop when the pedal went to the floor and I pumped it a few times.

It popped a piston from the wheel cylinder out but I was able to wiggle it back and the pedal is still firm.

Haven't had a chance to go for a drive to see if it has stopped the noise yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Update: After a few drives, it appears that the majority of the noise is gone. I still have a little whining on downhill coasting, I'd say from the diff. but it appears that the new bearings were warranted.

Remember this!
Well, I've kind-of given up on this - too much stuffing around.

There's one on Ebay from the guy? I got the fuel tank from. I think I might just go this way.

Much later edit: Should mention that I did buy this and it went in fine after some serious moulding and shaping to make the new one fit. The shape of the new one was nowhere near the shape it had to be.

This is close to the text I put as a question on the forum:

I've only put less than 100 mls on the car since the rebuilt and when it came to the rear end, I pulled it down almost completely but didn't do anything to the diff. except drain the oil, pull it out and check to see all the teeth where there. New gasket, new oil and it all went back together after I'd painted it.
The bearings got the same treatment and as they seemed ok and I thought it would not be too big a deal to replace them later if I needed to, so they went back in with new seals and O ring.
Well, I getting an intermittent, 'sort of' grinding noise that is becoming more regular. It's not a 'whine' like a wheel bearing noise and it doesn't seem to make any difference if I'm accelerating, coasting or backing off.
I was able to duplicate the noise with the car on jack stands in 3rd and 4th, high risk, I know and I wasn't game to leave the drivers seat to listen exactly where it was coming from. My gut feeling is the diff.
I made sure the new universals had plenty of grease and I thought I'd check the oil level in the diff while I was there. (actually I was checking to make sure I'd actually put oil in it, I had.)
The oil was a little discoloured, which concerns me a bit. Is there anything in the diff which would destroy itself and discolour the oil. A soft metal bearing or shim rather than a roller or ball bearing which I would expect to 'whine' before failure?

I've decided to replace the wheel bearings and I bought the bearings and new seals today.

Here's the text from the followup question:

Have decided on a plan.
Replace wheel bearings and see if noise goes - without replacing oil seals.
If noise is still there, attack diff.
If noise is gone, replace seals and forget about it.
Question relates to the style of wheel bearings available. Have decided to go with $20 China bearings as opposed to the $50 Japanese bearings.
They have seals both sides and are pre-packed with grease. I sure the old ones didn't, they got there lube from the diff.
Is this a plus or a minus?
Does this make the oil seal redundant?

Got the bearings and seals today for $38.

Checked the receipt from Sportsparts - $11.80 each, just for the seals.
Kind'a makes you think doesn't it?

'Gosford Bolts and Bearings'. These guys are the real deal!

After a dismal Wednesday postponement because of the weather, yesterday morning I was successful in getting the MGB registered for road use.

David and I took off at about 10 am for the drive into Erina, (about 5kms)

I was apprehensive about it but with mobile phones in our pocket we arrived without incident and the fellow did the inspection.

All of my fears about things maybe not working were unfounded as he was really only interested in the body and engine numbers and that the brakes were working. He asked me if I wanted him to check out the front end and I said, yes please. He only jacked it up and wiggled the front wheels. No problem he said and we filled out the paper work.

Sold me a green slip and off to the RTA. There the guy took a bit of interest in the car as he had had a Midget in his youth - he was now into motorcycles. He had a bit of trouble reconciling the numbers with the computer and had to ring the RTA help desk but eventually we came out with the certificate and a set of plates.

All done. The plates are now on and I've taken it for a few short drives.
Now I just have to develop a bit of confidence with it and I can spend my time on the other little issues at my leisure.

After two and a bit years, this is a significant milestone. I think some of my friends thought that I'd never get here.

Pulled a rear wheel to see 'what's-what' with the hand brake.
Basically I can't get enough adjustment on the hand brake lever and the lever is all the way up before it holds the car.
I was lead to believe that this is caused when the drums are machined - but I'm not so sure.
The PO dealt with the situation by removing the anti-rattle spring, allowing more movement on the adjusting nut. I replaced the spring because it should be there but I believe the cables are stretched so as an interim 'fix', I did what he did and removed the spring.

While I was at the rear brake, however, I noticed that the spring holding the hand brake levers on each wheel, were fouling the rubbers on the wheel cylinders. If left, I believe they would have worn through.
The springs were a solid coil and should have been a two coil arrangement separated by a straight section where it passes over the wheel cylinder.
After some discussion on the forum, I decided to have a go at coiling my own.
After a few trials, I think I got a successful result.

The one shown above was what was there before, below are pics of one of the first I made. With practice I got better at it and the two that went on, I believe were better than that.


I think I'm ready for Rego.

Few weeks ago, during the school holidays and on the way to visit the in-laws, we called in at Heritage MG and I bought a new side mirror. I intended to get the 'bullet' style but when we got there I compared it with the more traditional style and because it was lighter and had a bigger glass area, I decided to get the more expensive, rectangular shaped mirror. The part of the door where the mirror went looked a bit like 'swiss-cheese' from past efforts with mirrors and I should have sorted this out much earlier, before painting. I suppose I thought that the base of any mirror I would put there would cover up the holes. Well, they didn't.
I was able to use one hole but there were three others that had to be filled and a new one drilled.
Today I attacked this by using the 'bash and bog' method then repainted and late tonight I put the mirror on. It had a sort of rawlplug type fixing which could be done all from the outside so the door lining didn't have to come off.
I'm not totally convinced that it's terribly secure but it feels pretty good so time will tell.
The only thing I'm a bit 'iffy' about now for Rego. is the hand brake issue that I've mentioned before.
The fix for that apparently is cutting the levers and lengthening them at each rear brake.
I'm not convinced that this is the best solution so I'm exploring alternatives in that area. In the meantime I think I may be able to do a short term fix by removing the spring on the end of the cable which will allow a little more adjustment. This may be enough for the inspection.
The other issues are cosmetic and shouldn't impact on it's roadworthiness.