Well... I bought an MGB

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
61

Congratulations! And a most auspicious purchase date (my birthday…) if I do say so myself! :slight_smile:

Check and see if your local bookstore-with-big-magazine-section carries a British publication called Practical Classics. Lots of good restoration and other sorts of info, lots of classifieds, club listings, etc. and probably a good idea to check out the back issues listing!

While I think of it, what are the electrical plusses and minuses (pun not intended, but rather good all the same!) of negative earth/ground as opposed to positive earth/ground?

Adding to the list of cars with the Buick/Rover V-8: The MG RV8, Morgan Plus 8, various Rovers (P5, P6, SD1), all the Land Rovers except the Freelander, several TVRs, as well as probably other small specialist makes (any of the Marcos cars have it?).

Bill

62

Don’t forget Westfields and other Lotus 7 lookalikes. But yeah, the Morgan Plus 8 kicks as. Does the new -ugly!- Aero have the same V8?

63

:smack: I forgot the plus 8 and the TVR’s. I saw a Marcos LeMans car that used this engine.

64

I think the list of makers using the Buick/Rover V8 is disappearing, its harder to make the engine conform to emmision regulations apparantly. TVR have their own straight 6 and V8 engines and Ford are dishing out their own V8 engine to Jaguar and Rover amongst others.

65

Johnny the English White/Red interior colour scheme sounds good. I saw it on a Jag’ S-Type, its very English :slight_smile:

66

Yeah, the red interior is pretty striking. Very '60s-looking. I like that. But…

Dammit, Coldie! I can’t get that British Racing Green out of my head! And a co-worker said she likes it better than the white (which she really liked, BTW). I’m remembering how I wished the MG I had was BRG instead of white. If I paint this one Old English White, BRG will be gnawing on my brain like a rat.

67

Johnny! Wake Up!

Things green belong in flower pots and/or fields/forests.

It has Never belonged on a motorcar, and NEVER WILL!

Come out of it, already!

[sub]next thing we know, he’ll be putting racing stripes on trees[/sub]

68

Stop that right now, heathen, before you say something you can’t take back. Don’t make me take this to The Pit.

The Bentleys that won Le Mans in the 20s; British Racing Green.

The C- and D-Type Jaguars in the 50’s; British Racing Green.

When Lotus starting kicking ass in Formula One in the 60s; British Racing Green.

Johnny can paint his car whatever color he likes, but you’re going against some hardcore traditions here.

69

Johnny, I don’t know how much experience you’ve got restoring cars, but one thing which really really helped when I was rebuilding my Hudson (which was a ground-up project)was to get a bound notebook and draw each section of the truck before I took it apart. The drawings weren’t any particular work of art, but they showed all the nuts and bolts, with notes on what type they were; how linkages went together; what holes in the firewall had what running through them; anything I thought I was going to want to know four months later when I got around to starting reassembly.

When I got done the notebook was full, and man, was it handy. There was a side benefit, too; to draw something you have to look at it very carefully, so the very act of drawing something helped fix it in my memory.

It also helps to have plenty of covered storage; I can tell you that a blown-apart Hudson pickup occupies one half of a two-car garage and most of a 1000 sq ft basement :slight_smile:

70

There is a free VIN check here:
http://autos.yahoo.com/cf/lemon.html

Congrats on the new car and move to WA! Was recently in Seattle and area. Good luck! :cool:

71

Thanks, Violet, but the page will only show VINs from 1981 and won’t accept some of the alpha characters in the VIN.

How do I know the VIN? The signed title came in the mail today! :slight_smile:

You’ll remember my earlier post where I said my mom told me she ordered her (my first) MGB in 1964, it came over as a 1966, and had some 1967 parts. Well, I turned to a page of my Moss Motors catalog that I’d missed several times over the weeks. Guess what’s on the page? Production data!

Of course the serial number of the first car built in the 1966 model-year is listed as “N/A”. But as nearly as I can reckon, the car I’m getting was built in late 1965 or early 1966. So a '66 it will be called!

I have the signed title. Now I need to get the odometer reading, fill out the back with my information, and get down to the DMV.

72

I got the car last week, but it was too dark out to see much. I went to the shop of the guy who will do the mechanical stuff and took photos today. (No, I haven’t posted them.) As expected, it’s a sad-looking littl car. It needs a lot of TLC to get it looking new again.

I was told that there was evidence that the car used to be Old English White. As it happens, it was equipped with wing mirrors and one of them is missing. Guess what colour was under the red paint? Old English White! The more I think about it, the more I like the white. More “Sixties” than BRG, especially with a red interior with white piping.

And now a decision… The body guy said he could paint the car inside and out with the engine in situ for $4,000. This would include welding in new floor panels (which I’ll have to buy for $300), and sanding all but the engine bay down to the bare metal. MGs have a bad habit of rusting from the inside out. No doubt that there will be damage that he will have to repair, and I don’t know if the body guy took that into account.

On the other hand, I can get a brand new 1966 body shell from the British Motor Heritage Trust. It can be crated and delivered to New Jersey for a total cost of $6,700, then there will be a charge to truck it across the country. The BMH shell contains all of the sheet metal with the doors, bonnet and boot lid hung and aligned, and primed for painting. That might be a better way to go, as it’s brand new with no hidden rust.

Engines are rebuildable and the seller says this one runs fine. I plan to get an overdrive transmission for it, so that will be new. All of the other parts are either serviceable and on the car, or they are readily available. Since there were over half-a-million MGBs made, parts are cheaper than for other cars. The mechanics guy says it’s easier to find parts for his MGB than for his El Camino.

FWIW there is a 1965 MGB, white with red interior, pristine condition, for $25,000. I’m sure I can bring this one in well under that mark, no matter which way I decide to go with the body.

73

I’ve just returned from Anaheim, where the car is, and talked to the guys who will be working on it. I mentioned the new body shell and they said, “Oh, that’s for rust buckets; not California cars.” They say that the car is not in bad enough condition to warrant a new body shell (not that I can shell out the buckage for it at the moment anyway), and “It would be a waste of money to get a new shell.” I said I was thinking of getting new locks for it since there are no keys for the existing locks. One of the guys, John, said that I could spend $70 for new locks with matching keys, or I could spend $20 to have keys made for the doors and cubby and have the boot lock changed to match.

I also mentioned the Moss Motors carpet kit. They said they could have “their guy” re-upholster (with installation, of course) for about half what Moss charges for the kit alone. (Or about a quarter of the price of the deluxe kit.)

John says he collects orders for all of the cars he works on and orders them all at once. Moss has a deal where the more you buy, the more you save; so I’ll be saving the shipping costs and John will make a small profit from the parts.

Given that John and Howard think the body is restorable I guess I’ll do that instead of replacing it. As I said, I have a ballpark figure of $4,000 for the metalwork and painting. John said he’s having his body guy come over for a look and that he’ll give me an estimate later.

74

Does “white piping” mean the “sides” of the leather interior would be white? I wouldn’t do it, personally. I’d keep it all red. Well, personally, I’d keep it BRG and black inside, but you knew that already. :wink:

With Old English white, I’d say stick to the all-red interior, don’t make it look too “accesorized”, for lack of a better word.

The guys that fix it sound like a cool bunch. Trying to save you money and all that: real enthusiasts. The pictures are a tough thing to go on, but from the looks of those, combined with the knowledge that this is a CA car, I’d say you don’t need a new shell at all. In fact, this one already looks better than most MGB’s parked on the canals here. :slight_smile:

Wouldn’t mind joining you for a spin when it’s done man! Keep us posted, I love reading about these sort of projects. :slight_smile:

75

And by “sides” I mean the lining, the stitching parts. Gah, English is hard. :slight_smile:

76

Hm. How to explain piping? Okay, piping is like a pipe. It’s cylindrical in cross-section and about 3mm in diameter. It trims the seams where the leather panels come together.

White piping on red leather is correct for the period, although I think the upholstery options were available with piping the same colour as the leather. I’ve seen BRG cars with black leather and white piping. There is also black with red piping, and I think black with light blue piping; plus red with black piping. Early cars (say, 1962-1964) seemed to be offered with light blue leather with light piping, to go with the light blue cars. As I said, the white piping on red leather is correct for the period, and it looks great – not “accessorized”.

You really think the photos look better than the ones parked by the canals? Or did you mean in the canals? :wink: Personally I think it’s in pretty sad shape. (Although I’ve seen Willys that were worse.)

Sure, I’ll give you a ride when it’s done. But you’re not nearly as attractive as your g/f! :smiley:

Oh, and as for the guys being enthusiasts… When I met with them today they were about to attend their weekly (?) meeting with The Vintage MG Club. (I think they’re more about the MG-Ts and MGAs, but they didn’t seem to mind talking to an MGB guy.)

77

Yeah, we’re talking about the same stuff here when we say “piping”, right on. I still say plain red would be better, but hey, it’s your wreck. :slight_smile:

Some of the MGB’s here (it’s quite a Yuppie car for some reason) look horrible. Bear in mind the Northern European sea climate, the lack of garages in Amsterdam: you’ve got a mint MGB that’ll look like a wreck in three winters. And a lot do, sadly.

You’re spot on about my girlfriend. Can’t argue with that. Thanks for still taking me along, then. :smiley:

78

Of course I meant “it’s round in cross section and cylindrical”.

“Yuppie car”, eh? I guess they might have had that reputation in the late-1970s here. Nowadays, it’s rare to see one on the road. I guess the yupsters are driving Miatas (“An MGB that works”), Mercedes, BMWs, Boxsters, and high-end Japanese cars.

I did see a white 1971-1972 (judging from the grille) near Santa Monica airport last week though.

One thing I’ll definitely need when I move up to northern Washington with its sea climate is a garage! (And I noticed a decided dearth of garages up there.) For the Willys, too!

79

Well, it’s been a while since I posted about the MGB. Christmas, New Year’s, trips out of the state, visiting friends, etc., etc., etc.

The engine still needs some work. Gotta get it modified to run on unleaded fuel. The drive shaft was re-built, and has recently been returned. The car was towed to another guy’s shop for some bodywork and painting. The seats are being rebuilt, and their frames will be powder-coated. The new floorboards should be welded in this week. There are three different formulas for Old English White ranging from just-barely off-white to ivory. I need to go to the shop on Monday and choose which one I want. I’ll also discuss exactly what I want vis-a-vis the paint job. (I want the engine bay, boot and interior painted, as well as the exterior. Plus, I want to make sure the rockers are okay and the bottom of one of them is properly welded.) I have a spare dashboard that I need to do some prep work on tomorrow, and I need to prep the stowable top frame as well. The transmission looks like it might need to be rebuilt, or at least needs some attention. The clutch slave cylinder has been rebuilt. The clutch itself is missing and will have to be obtained. The interior panel kit is on its way.

While I’ve decided (much to the chagrin of some Dopers) to paint the car Old English White with a red (with white piping) interior, I haven’t decided about the wheels yet. Right now it has steel disks. Everybody knows chrome-bumper MGBs must have wires! I’ll run on the discs for a while to let my bank account recover a bit, but I’ll need wires eventually. Here’s the dilemma: MGBs originally had (if not the steel wheels) silver-painted 60-spoke wheels. There are also chrome-plated stainless steel spoke wheels available. Chrome wires look awesome!. And stainless steel is not prone to rusting like the other ones. But the painted wheels are more authentic. Should I go for authenticity with the silver painted wires? Or should I go for looks with the stanless steel chrome plated ones? I’m already compromising authenticity by having the positive earth changed to negative. (More choice of radios, and I’ve heard they crank better that way. There’s also less chance of a screw-up if I need to get a boost-start.) Silver wires are pretty and authentic. Chrome ones are flashy and cool. Decisions, decisions…

80

From one car guy talking to another, remember two things:

  1. If it stops leaking oil…something’s wrong.
  2. Be ABSOLUTELY sure you know if it’s positive or negative earth!

-my- project car’s an 89 Corvette, which wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t already replaced damnear everything under the fibreglass…and it STILL needs paint and a new top.

Someone who ‘didn’t know better’ asked me if it was stock. I pondered a bit and said the distributor shaft is still stock.