1973 MGB GT - Now with MOT :D

Hahaha! . I had to laugh when I saw that. Sounds pathetic doesn't it? It's not the best car really.

Worst thing is when setup, it's probably quicker than the Sebring too (Big Valve head and a Lucas 25D4 Dizzy). I did consider actually getting rid of both, and getting something diferent next year, but we'll see when both get a ticket and then I'll be able to make my mind up.

I do have a few more bits for it now though, or rather I am ordering, and on the brown one, I've cut the rust out of the floor, so that's now ready for new metal to go in.

BTW I see that you have done what I planned to do, smart . Like your choice of cars, being a closet Volvo fan.

TBH I was drunk when I wrote that...

Still, I like those cars very much... But I'm sure that you'll find the best solution...

Not much progress really on this. I've been trying to weld the other one up (look in the other thread), but considering my dad needed some sleep during the day I figured I'd leave the grinder, which meant I couldn't really clean the panels up, So I went on to work on this instead.

First thing was to sort out the wet footwells. They have surface rust, but after prodding about underneath and top, it all seems to be ok thankfully:
I may take that bitumen curse word off soon to be honest. Horrible stuff.



A coat hanger, prodding about in the plug, crud onto the hanger, water on the drive, and it seems to be all clear now .

I also set about some of the cosmetics (the lazy man's way). I noticed the exhaust is a stainlesss SC Parts 'Bomb' box system. So I firstly set about taking the tailpipe off as it was all rusty, although if it wasn't rusty I probably wouldn't have figured it was a tailpipe! Here's a before and after, although I think I prefer the before.




And a shiny tip which will benefit from some Autoglym Metal polish .

Also the chrome isn't as rusty as it looks in the pic. (Great things flashes eh? :lol:). So, what's the best way to go about preserving the chrome. I was going to get wire wool and brush the outside gently, and then rub the inside so the rust comes off (it's worked well before for me), but what would you use to protect it? I was thinking Vascelence, but any more ideas? I hear WD40 does it well. Bumpers are stainless thankfully .

Still more to do, but I want to get one of them roadworthy first. But that may be a slight problem now... Read on the Sebring project for more details.

To be honest, I may just take the door and leave it at that, that is if I even do decide to do it! Whilst it's not rust free, it certainly IMO seems to be a good base. How much would you want to offer me for it? Can do it over PM.

Although as we speak, I'm already ordering bits and bobs for it . Heater valve and hoses on order, and a little bit of metal too.

Well, Santa (at my expense) delivered me some goodies this Xmas for it from various sources, but they all got here one way or another over the Xmas break. These involve general service items like points, oil, filters etc., metalwork to sort the car out as well as some bling around the car, if you can call it that!

And well, here is what I got:



Now you are wondering why I have two castle rails considering the earlier post. Basically I spotted one castle rail (genuine Heritage) at a very reasonable price on ebay. I intended to use a castle repair section, but the price/build of these swayed me otherwise. The seller did a deal for the pair after the other seller fell out. I may keep the castle rail for the future on the brown car (it may not need it), or I will probably sell it on, and stick with the plan of using about 3" out of the new section and use the flange on the brown MGB (the previous patch rotted out part of the flange, another reason I decided to get a whole section as opposed to a repair (so I'll be using one section for two cars). Bling bits include the splash shields (one was rotten slightly) and an inerior lamp cover (old lens was no more). Other bits include a heater valve and relating pipes.

Now to fit it all. It's about 2 degrees on a good day over here, but I have been assured that it will warm up a little, but we'll see.

Niels, you're not helping here . Lalalala.

Although despite the exterior (and if you bar the wings out of it) the shell does seem better than the brown car .

Looks like it might be a nice little project..
I also have an MGB GT which is my pride and joy.
The Brown one looks nice with the smooth rear end.

That is the plan. I am planning to get the Brown one done first (and so was my dad) but he now wants me to get the white one done :lol: (For the MOT I found the previous owner did all of the work bar the welding (N/S castle rail at the front, outer sills were changed about 3 years ago), so it's not quite that big a mountain for the MOT. But we'll see how the persuasion pays off :lol:. I too had thoughts of the B230 engine or the Nissan CA18 DET engine, as I reckon both (the CA18 potentially being easier) would be a nice fit, especially in the rubber bumper car, where the steering rack is already a V8 item from the factory .

MGBV8, Is your MGB the one with the air intake on the front with a modified RV8 on I think an Autobox? If so, nice 1/4 mile times . What power is it making?

More progress has been made (with it being winter (for the first time in yonks it's reaching -6 degrees here)) and a leaky heater valve, I've attend the cooling section, as I did on the brown one a year ago. More pics soon.

And well, I'm planning on zero mods. Not before one (probably the white one) is sold, and/or both are running. (Sebring needs a floor repair, and a new flange on the castle section (have to love patched floorpans)), suspension (seized trunnion bush and ARB refitting), brakes, brightwork and interior is done so not an awful lot on both. I do have a spare set of unchromed Rostyles though...

Progress has been slow, but effective. I will get a pic of the old heater valve, but it was a sight for sore eyes. The rubber diaphragm within was trying to go into the matrix in the form of some stringy yellow stuff coming out of the outlet. So there's a little more 'bling' some may say under the engine bay, but more importantly I'm now losing zero coolant so no more wet distributor either .

I also gave the engine bay a clean which was a state as a result of the the iffy heater pipes, clips, and heater valve.

Here are some before and after I could be bothered shots:






I also gave the interior a good clean, and I must say Muck Off does do a sterling job of taking years of grime off dashes New dash light was also fitted:


But now it is time for the inevitable... the Weldathon. Wish me luck!