MGB V8 Roadster restoration project Report 120

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1 20th February 2017 Still stuck perhaps I should have used contact adhesive instead of super glue. Sorry, I jest, I couldn t resist it. I blame it on Robert who called round at lunchtime to drag me out kicking and screaming to the Black Boys for a lunch time drink. It has been a beautiful sunny day here in North Norfolk. We expected the pub to be busy as the weather was so nice. Surprisingly there were only two people in the bar and nobody outside. Julie, who runs the pub and normally cooks the Sunday roasts, was sweeping up outside, as she only had two people in for lunch. What s happening to country pubs? I am sure the villagers will kick up a fuss if the pub closes, even if they don t support the pub themselves. The back of the boot rear panel trim board. When it came to sticking the wing beading around the curve of the rear panel interior boot trim panel I cut the plastic up to the bead so that the bead would follow the line of the panel. This is a view of the finished trim panel, if viewed from inside the boot area. Just a little bit to cut off this edge. I found the best way to cut the mill board, if it was a straight line, was to use a really sharp scalpel or Stanley knife. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 1

2 After much thought I have decided to fit an oil cooler and a thermostat. The car came with an oil cooler radiator and some new stainless covered bolt on hoses. The problem is that none of them are the correct shape or fit. I looked at having a company make them up for me. In the end i decided to use the cheap Mocal oil thermostat with rubber hoses and pipe clamps rather than swaged on ends. I was pleased to find at Merlin Motorsport the oil pipe fittings including this 180 degree bend union that would mean that I can keep the oil pipe line from outlet of the oil filter to engine out of the way of the exhaust manifold. I just hope it is big enough for the 3.9L engine. The thermostat opens at 80 degrees. I think I will try and contact Mocal or Merlin Motorsport to check. The other problem is I have lowered the engine. The bolt on swaged stainless braided oil pipes won t fit! I bought some really expensive oil pipe flexible hose from CBS. Flexible, it was not flexible, trying to push it onto the unions was knackering. Clips also a problem! V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 2

3 BACK TO THE BOOT Fitting the last grommet for the oil pipes to fit through the right hand side radiator mounting panel was another problem. I thought I would try the string method that you use on windscreen rubbers. I only had a bit of Bowden cable in the garage and tried that no joy. Here I am using a profile gauge to find the shape of the rear panel. A friend Robert is going to make me some plywood blocks, to glue in under lip, to screw my rear trim panel to. My woodwork skills are nonexistent. In the end I gave up and cut the grommet and fed it into the hole by putting in one end first and then screwing it in as you would do with a nut. The first fixing screw, fitted for holding the boot trim board in place. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 3

4 Using clothes pegs to hold the beading in place while I glued it was much easier than my first attempt on the other side with mole grips. You may be pleased to hear, and see, that I forgot to take any photos of drawing out the shape of the carpet. I did take a number of measurements and drew the shape out on the back of the carpet. I was pleased that the hole I cut in the carpet where the fuel filler pipe comes into the boot turned out to be in the correct place. The boot is surprisingly large when you don t have a spare wheel. All there is to do now is trim some of the carpet sections and glue them down. Fit the wooden fixing blocks on the rear panel and finally fit the rear trim panels to the inside of the rear panel. CENTRE GLOVE BOX FIXINGS I am getting there slowly. I suppose I had better battle with making the boot floor carpet. To replace the plastic clip in the centre glove box lid you unscrew the two screws, take off the plate, Squeeze the prongs together and push out the old broken clip. The replacement clip pushes in easily, then screw the plate with the clip back on. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 4

5 The glove box hinge fitted. I had to replace the rod through the hinge as it was very rusty and bent. To the right of the photo you can see the fixing hole for screwing the centre plastic glove box and gearstick surround to the transmission tunnel. Originally it was just a self tapping screw; I may fit a Rivnut instead to the top of the transmission tunnel and use a M5 bolt to fix the plastic box.. This is the sprung clip that the previously shown clip fits into. Fit this clip in first and then fit the male clip, shown on the last page, in the correct way round to mate with the above clip. I didn t and had to take the clip out of the box lid and turn it round the correct way! I am sorry this is such a poor photo, but it is important as it shows the threaded metal plate for the glove box hinge on the underside of the centre glove box. This part could be easily lost as it is not glued to the plastic. I think I would like the gear knob slightly lower. I may cut the gear knob thread down as far as it will go and cut off about 1 (25mm). V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 5

6 Jane had a go with the rubber/plastic cleaner on the hood. It seemed to work. She said she would come back to finish the hood I haven t seen her since! My suggested modifications to the carpet section. I made a cardboard pattern of the carpet section before I sent it back. If all else fails it would not cause much of a problem if I covered this area in the black boot carpet. Moss contacted me to ask for the section of carpet back that I was not happy with the fit. They said the carpet material would be with me at the end of the month. I decided to mark up the carpet for the alterations I felt needed doing to make it a good fit with a roadster that had 10mm sound proofing material fitted. I then sent the carpet back to Moss. We will see if I just get a section of carpet material or the carpet made to my pattern. I think it would look much nicer with a carpet that shape. We will have to wait and see what eventually turns up from Moss. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 6

7 VACUUM TAKE OFF BY THE THROTTLE BODY FITTING THE FIXINGS FOR THE HOOD & TONNEAU COVER I guessed fitting these was going to be a problem. I ve been here before on other convertible cars. Simple, fit leather washer to peg put stainless steel lock nut in socket. Somehow I have managed to break the plastic on the throttle body end of the vacuum pipe for the distributor. I am sure it wasn t original broken when I got the engine. Maybe it got damaged when I fitted the engine. After phone calls to Rimmer Bros and Brown and Gammons I found it was not available and not even listed on the parts drawings. B&G sent me this rubber one the left that they said would do the job. I am not a happy bunny as I am sure it is my fault that I broke it in the first place. I may have to superglue the rubber one, or part of it to the broken original. I ll put it off for the time being and have a think about it. Coat thread with some Vaseline and bolt in position with a washer on the underside of the panel. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 7

8 First attempt split the leather washer. Let s go to plan B. Trying to put the hood fixing peg into the hole and then trying to put a nut and washer on the other side was impossible. The hole is hidden up in a box section. Previously I had ground away some metal on this side when I was working on the bodyshell, before painting, as there was no way I could get a ¼ drive socket onto the nut. I ended up having to grind the peg off the bodyshell. The method I used to fit this new peg in was to poke a scriber down the hole. Thread the washer and nut, in its socket, onto the end of the scriber. Then by lifting the scriber and socket I could hold the washer and nut on the underside of the panel and screw the peg into the nut. Let s try replacing the leather washer with a black rubber washer. On my first attempt the socket was too deep for the nut to reach. I then put another nut into the end of the socket so that the nut was near the top of the socket mouth. The stainless steel washer was stuck onto the nut with Vaseline. V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 8

9 I bought new chrome fixings for the metal bar of the hood frame and tonneau cover, as the old ones were a bit scabby. All well and good so far! No gaskets are available for theses fixings so I thought I would make a couple out of part of an old leather belt. I cut the hole using a punch and a block of wood. Marked where the other hole should be and then trimmed the excess off with some small scissors. I fixed the cup and screw and washers onto a magnetic screwdriver bit using a dab of Vaseline. Now, put my head in the boot area and try and start the screw into the hood fixing, easy NOT! V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report-120 9

10 That worked for the first screw. But no way could I get the second screw in that had the cup. In the end I got Jane to have a try. She had a go for about half an hour and said it was impossible! How the hell they fitted them on the production line I don t know. In the end I gave up for the day and hoped, yet again, that the fairies may do the job during the night. OK, thinks let s try the other screw that does not have the cup. That didn t work either. Perhaps, if I use the hood fixing as a nut to start the screw? Come the next day after hours of persistence both the screws fitted. I reckon that just fixing these two chrome hood fixings took the best part of four frustrating hours of work. The photo above shows the problem. I held the camera underneath the panel to take this photo. The hole in the under panel did not line up with holes above. There was no way I could get my head into the area, where I held the camera, to take this shot. Looking back on the problem, it would have been a good idea to use the camera before I started the job, to show me the problem I was up against. I rolled myself a cigarette and took my first ever selfie. I needed that ciggie after the trauma of fitting those hood fixings. I am supposed to be doing this restoration as a hobby and enjoying myself. After a cup of tea I felt a lot better about the job in hand and felt, at least I have achieved something. If you have any suggestions, comment, or tips I can pass on through these reports. You can me at: mikemacartney@btconnect.com 22nd February V8 Register MG Car Club V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Report