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You always make it look so simple! I will take that as a compliment. Thank you. I guess that the message I try to communicate is that this is pretty simple; anyone can do it if they have the patience. It is dirty, hard-work and tedious, but at the core you drill holes and point a MIG gun at the new part for two seconds. Over and over and over.
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Got 2 of these black corner pieces installed today. Kinda important for the front spring mount integrity. So now I can move on to getting these things prepped to weld in.
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Well, the crossmember is done. That took a minute or two longer than expected. Pretty happy with the results. Matter of fact I was so happy to have it done I considered ordering a spare crossmember: just in case I ever tried to restore another rusty MGB, someone could use it to knock me over the head! Also got the remains of the floors removed. If you have not removed MGB floor panels from the foot-well area, well, you just don't know what you are missing in life! Health reasons ( thank u Covid) have slowed me down, so hopefully floors in by first week-end of 2024?! Hope y'all had a good 2023 and lets do it all over in 2024! Pete
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Dec 25, 2023 23:56:41 GMT
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The crusty but well-attached cross-member is out. It put up a valiant struggle, but I own an overwhelming amount of power tools and defeat was inevitable. Can we get the floors in by New Years day?
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Last Edit: Dec 25, 2023 23:57:29 GMT by bjornagn
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And just like that a few hundred spotwelds are done in time for Christmas! The sills are officially DONE. We next move on to the spaces between the sills.
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Dec 23, 2023 23:59:33 GMT
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Not a panel beater by a long shot. Just a retired desk driver who has done this as a hobby for a while.
As for speed, I think I have hit a plateau. I don't do enough of this for muscle memory or repetition of task to become automatic. I have to puzzle may way through many task. But then, that is the fun bit.
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Dec 23, 2023 20:34:18 GMT
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I'd guess 4/5 hours work in those two sections ? Surprisingly close. I put it down as 4. You must have some experience with this kind of entertainment.
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I lied. The RH side did require a full inner sill replacement. Cause why not? eh? The good news is that with the installation of the middle membrane, the car is now solid again. It takes a fair bit of time to weld in all the spot welds ( puddle welds ) that hold this structure in place. Need to clean up that manky bit or corrosion at the bottom of the A-pillar to-sill juncture before the outer sill can be welded in place. Sure that wont consume but a minute or two of time.
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The LH sill assembly is done. Moving on to the RH side the demolition is mostly done. This side wont require the full inner sill. Just a repair section at the front.
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Made some progress today with the new sill. Got all the new parts test fit. Almost looks done eh? One of the things that drives me crazy about doing MGB sills is that the LH sill is made too short. It was actually done this way by the factory back when the cars were current. No idea why? If you look carefully you can see where the outer sill does not meet the rear wheeltub. It needs to be welded to the wheeltub. Also there is a gap between the will swage and the bottom of the rear wing. So the sill has to be shoved back. No problem other than it then creates issues at the front and the front sill swage does not align with the front of the door. But easier to solve the issue at the front than at the rear. I will just look at the inside then cause it looks better, Just look at all those puddle welds I get to do!
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Nov 30, 2023 15:59:02 GMT
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Got started by leveling the car on shimmed axle stands and started to remove the LH side sill assembly. Got most of the LH side sill assembly removed and it took 7 hours. Maybe another 1-2 hours to clean up the edges and start trial fitting the new metal. Then rinse and repeat on the RH side. One pet gripe that I do have is that the parts for this job were collected over years of time from various sources and manufactures. So a sill will have Heritage parts, Steelcraft parts and parts with tags so old that I never heard of the vendor. This certainly did save some money up front, but it will not make my life easy and will add hours to the budget as they are made to work.
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Last Edit: Nov 30, 2023 16:05:40 GMT by bjornagn
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The MGB shell arrived today. It look much to the better after a good dusting with the sandblaster and a good coating with epoxy primer. The doors are still red because the door skins will be replaced. Getting the doors on and properly fitted was the first order of business since I will essentially build the car around the door/door-gaps. don't let the lack of holes in the floor fool you. Damn near fall through if you stand on the floor panels. I have a feeling this car was stored on a grass or dirt surface for a while. The blaster found a few previously unseen carbuncles that will need localized repair. This shows the value of having the shell blasted before you launch on the repair path; I would hate to find this stuff when I start on the coatings stage of the project.
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Thats the issue with paid for builds - less 'bonding' with the car so less care taken with driving. Sounds like he ran out of talent? Somebody did. And it was not paid for, I did this as a favour for a life-long friend who has fallen on some challenging times since 1987. He was pretty bonded with this ride.
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Last Edit: Nov 29, 2023 3:37:45 GMT by bjornagn
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What a waste, all the time effort and skill for 2 months driving 😳 you have my sympathy, I'd be heartbroken Its even worse than that. The car has been under construction since like 1987. It has quite the story. I probably should have not touched it since I forecast the exact reason for its demise before I even started working on it. And no, alcohol was not a factor.
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Nov 27, 2023 13:16:36 GMT
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And the deck gets shuffled once more. The Healey is done and on its way home. This rather crusty MGB is moving in today. And sadly, I have received word that the Hot Rod has been damaged beyond repair. Two months of driving seems not enough for the effort put into it. I asked NOT to see pics of the wreck. Fortunately nobody badly injured. The Molvo had a good 2023 and is now tucked away for the winter. Other than the usual list of small things to attend to, it will stay pretty much the way it is. For now. Maybe.
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Last Edit: Nov 27, 2023 13:24:05 GMT by bjornagn
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Nov 11, 2023 11:57:24 GMT
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The best part about this build is that I know the car is going to be driven a lot. It has been off the road since 1974 and it now has a couple of cross Canada trips planed for next summer.
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Say Goodbye to the BJ8 Healy. The front grill was the last of the major task and it was a task. Hard to describe how poorly designed a lot of the parts are on these cars, but the front grill is literally a square peg in a round hole assembly.
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Last Edit: Nov 11, 2023 4:03:36 GMT by bjornagn
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Sept 18, 2023 0:38:48 GMT
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The Healey is starting to look a lot more like a car now that the doors are populated with 10,000 parts that did not want to co-exist and the windshield who hates the car is now firmly attached.
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