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Since there seem to be a few MGB's on here at the moment, I thought I would post up my new car and join in the fun. The story goes that with my old 2004 diesel Mondeo insurance coming up for renewal, i did some maths and figured out it would only cost myself £40 a month or so more in fuel to get a petrol again (i hate diesels) So i start to look at Alfa 147's, E36 BMW's and other sensible cars to replace the Mondeo. Nothing catches my eye, and with the classic car bug burrowing deeper into my head i make a rash eBay bid on an orange rubber bumper MGB, whilst sitting in McDonalds on my girlfriends iPhone. As always seems to happen in these situations, i win the car and start making arrangements to pick it up (120 mile drive away). I was set to pick up last Saturday. The Mondeo was already sold so my only chance of a lift was with my girlfriend in her Morris 1000. Friday night before we are due to set off, her car starts making a horrible knocking noise (being fixed as we speak) and i have to find other transport to get to the car. I look up train times and thankfully there are links to get from mine to the dealers local station, which he agrees to pick me up from. Saturday morning comes, i am up at 5:30am ready for the 3.5 hour train journey with cash in my pocket. All goes without a hitch (thankfully the car is just as described) and i make the 120 mile drive home around the M25. Here are some pictures from the advert. Current plans are to give it a good service, sebring valances, lowering all round, polybushes, interior refresh with new seats and carpets etc, some new wheels, CD player and fixing a couple of small bits of grot. I will keep the thread updated with progress         |
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Excellent - looks like a nice honest example, and will make a great daily driver. My Dad and I recently came to the conclusion that the MGB is probably the most sensible classic daily out there - simple, tough, reliable, fairly economical, and with awesome parts backup. ;D
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Thanks And yes it seems really nice and solid, not perfect obviously but i didn't pay much for it. Its sits at 70 quite happily on the motorway and is definitely more useable than my old Hillman Minx. The Morris has been providing good service for 3 years as well, and the misses has covered over 20,000 miles in that time! There is a lot to be said for classics that are easy to get parts for! |
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,881
Club RR Member Number: 58
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That looks pretty clean all in all nice MG! your plans sound good to me, and I'm loving that period radio its got haha |
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I wish the radio worked though First thing i will do is pull it out to get my working CD player in, hopefully tomorrow for my first (albeit small) update. Unfortunately body mods are on the back burner for a month or two as unexpected costs have wiped me out  |
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,881
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Ah i know that feeling, when I first got mine it had an old tape deck radio but only an ignition live wire going to it and no speakers so it wasn't much use  |
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Mar 13, 2013 22:30:08 GMT
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Had my first breakdown today Feed hose to the heater blew, leaving an impressive trail of smoke behind the car. Luckily I was near my parents house and my dad had a piece of hose the right size, so three quarters of an hour later I was back on the road. Here's some pictures of my CD player installed. I now have music in the car! Unfortunately though one of the speakers is blown so it might be a good opportunity to get some new door cards and install some decent components.   |
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Mar 21, 2013 21:33:11 GMT
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Well i have had a very eventful day  After joining the MG owners club, I got a nice offer of a free inspection at the club headquarters which is thankfully only 30 miles away. The inspection was booked for today and that was the start of my troubles. About 2 miles from arriving, the oil pressure on the gauge started fluctuating. I limped it there and checked the oil; below minimum  After getting it in the workshop and refilling the oil, the engine was restarted and it could easily be seen that the oil line from the filter to the oil cooler was leaking. Thankfully as i was at the owners club, they had the parts on the shelf and it was done in 2 hours, unfortunately at a cost of £90 The inspection went well, with the only things being flagged are things i knew about already (rear springs, bushes and engine mounts) I spent my time wasting money at the shop at the front of the building whilst i was waiting for the car to be repaired, so came away with some nice goodies  New engine mounts, lowering springs, lowering blocks and polybushes  On the way back I made it 15 miles before developing another fault, a horrible misfire that was killing any acceleration and making the car a pig to drive. Fearing the worst i got it home and cracked on with finding the fault. With the engine ticking over and my head under the bonnet, i heard the unmistakable ticking of a rogue spark, Searching around the HT leads i found the culprit, lead number 4 arcing on the steering column. One spare HT lead from my box later and all is well again ;D Engine mounts are the priority so i will get them fitted tomorrow (i will update with pics). These were the cause of the oil line breaking but i will explain more tomorrow |
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task
Part of things
Posts: 374
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Mar 21, 2013 22:05:21 GMT
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Nice, same age as my current project, looks lovely in that colour. I'd been considering painting mine a nice orange similar to that when I eventually get to that stage.
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Mar 21, 2013 22:54:43 GMT
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Thanks Task I have been reading through your thread with interest as well, should be a great car when its done! |
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,201
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Mar 21, 2013 23:31:16 GMT
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It is great to see a straight MGB once again on here, and even better to see it being used daily (this does bring back memories : Excellent - looks like a nice honest example, and will make a great daily driver. My Dad and I recently came to the conclusion that the MGB is probably the most sensible classic daily out there - simple, tough, reliable, fairly economical, and with awesome parts backup. ;D I'd agree with that. Even the market prices are sensible for good examples in comparison to other cars out there. Regarding the components (speakers I would got another way about them (doorcard mountings are flimsy and IMO will not release the full potential of the speakers by quite a way, but having any kind of decent sounds in a retro is a bonus IMO (I have been trying to put ICE into a retro for years, finding one which is simple to do (944 is ruled out with its crazy speaker locations and lack of depth in the doors) or a car that doesn't leak (The Stag is getting closer to being leak free (needs a new windscreen seal) is a mission though... Keep up the good work though. |
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Mar 22, 2013 20:42:37 GMT
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Well today was a right ballache. I only managed to half fit the drivers side engine mount and remove the front bumper, as i couldn't remove 1 bolt on the steering rack. You can see the mount was totally seperated from the metal plate. The new mount is in and bolted up except for the one underneath which i can't get access to as the steering shaft is in the way. This will wait for another day and i will have another go at removing the steering rack. The engine is now sitting a good couple of inches higher in the bay and the new oil hose has plenty of clearance  Took it for a test drive as i had to get it back together for work, and it is now running so much better with the damaged HT lead replaced, and with the engine now mounted properly the gearchange is 1000x easier which is a nice bonus. I guess the linkage was not in a happy place with the engine so droopy. Next up is to get the other mount replaced, and remove the rack to bolt the drivers side mount up properly.  |
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Nice purchase |
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 1965 Mk1 Mini 1989 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Sport 2004 Audi A2 TDi 2007 Lotus Exige S 2011 Mini Cooper SD |
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Mar 24, 2013 22:25:41 GMT
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Been a rough few days weather wise, but the MG has been faultless and even getting me home safely on ungritted country roads. Even though i have no money, i have still been doing the dreaded ebay searches, and won a nice bargain today to help with the sebring conversion. I have also decided on a final look for the car so now i have something to aim for    |
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,201
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Have fun chopping the legs. Whilst many recommend a hacksaw I believe I used an angle grinder :/. The ends were soon MIGged up and then the grille was fitted into place upon acquiring the relevant mounting brackets for the top of the grille.
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Oh i will How far back do you have to take then, do you know anywhere that has pictures? |
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Mar 27, 2013 21:01:50 GMT
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Picked up some new (secondhand) rear springs today, just some polyurethane spring pads to buy and i will be ready for the suspension overhaul. I also set up the carbs quickly as it was running quite lean. Much better but still not quite there, hopefully i will get a bit more time on it at the weekend |
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Mike
Part of things
Posts: 352
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Mar 27, 2013 23:32:26 GMT
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you have to chop a good couple of inch off the chassic rails its a pain to get the grinder in!! i started with the grinder and went at it like sea biscuit with the hacksaw. do what you can with the cutting wheel tho, are you losing the rear rubber b umper? i think i saved 80kilo from removing the two bumpers!  shocking amount of wieght!! |
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Yes the rear will be coming off next Both my Sebring valances have turned up now, but first up i need to get the suspension and brakes up to scratch so the bodywork won't be for at least a few weeks |
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Glad that the grille went to a good home (it went up too far for me!). It is amazing how heavy those "rubber" bumpers are - the steel girder hidden inside is the culprit!
The MGOC shop is habit forming though.....I was there on the 14th.
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shocking amount of wieght!!