jims-terrano MGB GT Project

[jims-terrano]

OK Guy's here goes for another project thread and I'm sorry but this is going to take a long time with sporadic updates. After completing the Terrano Project I came across a barn find MGB GT at the right price. It's been in the garage since 2004 not being touched, it's owner had every intention of bringing it back to life but sadly now has decided it was time to say goodbye.

I have to assess the car and see if it's a fixer or not, I really want to fix it up and so far the signs are encouraging despite the tin worm. Have got a folder full of history with it and inside I've found a bill for restoration from 1987 for £4700.

So I knew it wouldn't start and had been stood with handbrake off which is fair enough. I hired a transporter trailer again from Rothwell Trailers near Leeds who are really great to deal with. so a few days before hand I went to see the car and blow the tyres up and see if it would roll. Need jacking up and wheels freeing off a bit so glad I went.

The morning arrived to collect and fortunately was great weather despite the warnings of snow earlier in the week. First problem was the lights not working on the trailer, the guy came straight back out and did a repair job on the trailer wiring which delayed us a little but not too bad and would rather be legal. The garage where it had been stored was up a narrow winding driveway so we had to unhitch. Unfortunately we got stuck in and didn't get any photo's but trust me it was narrow! However my Terrano coped really well and having manual locking hubs was great as I could use low box and still be in 2wd so lots of control to bring the outfit down the drive. Took two attempts to get out of the drive as the lane was narrow too but managed it and did a quick photo shoot.







Took about an hour to get home but as expected the Terrano performed faultlessly:clap Reversed the trailer on to my drive and dropped the car off before returning the trailer back to the hire centre. Had loads of fun collecting the car but shattered so slept well that night. Once home first job was to give it a wash off to remove the cat hairs from the garage:doh

Here's a few photo's so far.

This was a long time ago



Long time since I used one of those



Cute mirror but have you ever tried to use them:nenau



The boot with a few bits including the air filters:thumb2



Got the Tcut and Polish out to see what happened, you can just see the before and after sections. Actually not too bad at all really. :thumb2



Inside, will need to evict the spider population at some point:doh



Harnesses Rock:augie



The business end, needs new radiator for sure. Actually quite sound under there, no rot spots on the inner wings.



Will need a pair of batteries, two 6 volt batteries.



Had a look at the rear brakes as the wheels were still not running freely. For the moment I've left the rear drums off as the adjusters are seized:doh



So there it is, I've got a lot of work to do and hopefully some more fun and quality time. Was speaking to Bigbunny today and spoke about getting it on the road and use as a rolling restoration which to be honest is an attractive idea as a proper nut n bolt resto will take a long time and a lot of money. Still need to have a good look around and take some more picy's.

What ever I choose to do I want to replace brakes as well as a major engine service before I attempt to start it. Got a big birthday coming up so have asked for membership of the MGOC.

Smitten with this car, I love the classic shape of it and something about the marque too. I'm going to be busy for a while so might not be able to do a great deal for a while.

As before guys any comments and advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Bigbunny2007]

Great looking motor mate, I'm sure you and mat will make a great job of the resto :thumb2 ill pop down and see it when I get the chance

 

[spinna]

Great looking project. Look forward to updates. Always liked the mgb's

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Blocky10]

Yes looks good. Being on a L plate it'll be tax exempt then?
Looking forward to the thread bulging with photos and write ups. :thumbs

 

[elty001]

That brings back some memories Jim.
Did most of my training in the bodyshop on mg's and daimlers when I left school.
My boss at the time had a collection of them he was restoring.
Good luck with the project :thumb2 can't wait to see the finished motor.

 

[macabethiel]

M.G. restoration project.

You have plenty of work to do by the look of things and will need some pretty deep pockets if you intend to do a serious restoration on her unless you go for the oily rag option.
Looks like a pretty complete vehicle that's not been messed with so a labour of love is ahead of you !

 

[Thomas61]

Have a real soft spot for this car, when I lived in Jersey my old boss had one, it was great traveling around the country lanes in it. Not that there was many places to really let it go but when he could it really flew. High hedges, low car, narrow road, growling engine and throbbing exhaust up to the maximum Jersey limit of 40 mph of course :augie Seeing the pics brought it back, oddly the mirror one especially as I always thought the same about the size.
Looking forward to seeing this project take shape, I reckon it is in great hands.
Take care and good luck.

 

[bry]

Will be following this project.Good luck Jim...

 

[johnb5177]

Great project, love those cars, misspent a lot of my youth in these and sprites/midgets/sprigits..........those were the days.......cold uncomfortable. ......couldn't get your leg over properly after you'd pulled.......but absolutely brilliant days.....ah, nostalgia ain't wot it used to be........:thumb2

 

[don simon]

Have you finished it yet?
It'll be good to see another classic back on the roads. :thumb2

 

[clivvy]

that looks fun, Jim!

I really must pop over to see you sometime...

 

[firebobby]

Good luck, same age as my GT6 :thumbs

 

[Sweety]

I love the old MGB GT's, spent years working on them & the Rover dealership I worked for was the top restoration place in the NE:augie I know could still get every body panel for them a few years ago as Rover sold off the factory tooling etc to make the panels & a company did start production of them but can't remember who now:doh the twin SU carbs will need a strip down & clean for sure & nice fresh oil will need adding to the carbs just try not to mess around with the throttle linkages as balancing up the carbs can be a right PITA:doh
My old boos has a totally stripped MG Midget in the shed out the back of his garage just needs putting together & the body painted as everything had been restored sadly just don't have a garage otherwise i'd be asking him how much for it

 

[Banshee]

Have you finished it yet?

:lol :lol

Give him chance

 

[jims-terrano]

OK guys not a lot of progress really yet, been doing some tcutting and polishing which has brought back quite a lot of the body. Going to have a go at turning engine over by hand tomorrow just to check that there are no problems. Will then connect a battery just to test condition of the electrics, no point trying to start it though at the moment. If weather isn't too bad might drag it out of the car port and clean the engine bay.

Hopefully get a few more photos uploaded tomorrow.

 

[macabethiel]

Might be worth some Redex down the bores first ?

OK guys not a lot of progress really yet, been doing some tcutting and polishing which has brought back quite a lot of the body. Going to have a go at turning engine over by hand tomorrow just to check that there are no problems. Will then connect a battery just to test condition of the electrics, no point trying to start it though at the moment. If weather isn't too bad might drag it out of the car port and clean the engine bay.

Hopefully get a few more photos uploaded tomorrow.

When I bought a Honda 250 Dream that had stood for a few years I started by taking out the spark plugs and squirting Redex down the bores as the kickstart would not even start to turn the engine and the electric start just clicked. Each day I added a bit more Redex as it worked its way past the piston rings. After a few days the pistons moved about an inch and by the end of the week it was cranking nicely without spark plugs. Fitted the spark plugs and after a full carb clean she started with new fuel.

Had to take the multi plate wet clutch apart as it had stuck firmly but salvaged without the need for new plates !

 

[jims-terrano]

No update today, the cold weather got the better of me so started clearing the garage instead. Bigbunny popped around with his family to see the car though, great to see ya pal.

 

[Bigbunny2007]

This motor is a little gem :thumb2 even Rebecca (the missus) said she would have bought it!! Good to see you all :thumb2

 

[jims-terrano]

6th March 2016 Update

Well guys me n matts-terrano braved the weather and did a little on the MG. Got a few pics which I'll include below, some from today and some last week after I'd been doing a little polishing.

So first of all marked the plug leads just in case they got mixed up, easy done I'm sure and have memories of a mini years ago. Removed the plugs, number 3 took some removing but a squirt of plusgas and a few minutes to soak soon had it shifted. Used a screw driver gently supported in number 1 cylinder just so that we had an indication of cycles. We then turned the engine manually enough so that number 1 had done 3 compressions which to me means engine 1 1/2 revolutions. All fine no sticking or noises. Then disconnected the cable linking the two batteries and then jump leads from a leasure battery that I have. Good news no smoke:clap One or two lights to look at but the wipers and blower work. Then the ultimate test, cranked it over :clap a bit slow but the battery hadn't been charged for ages :doh This to me has proved the engine doesn't seem too bad.

So this week will go out and buy some service items and ignition bits and pieces. Not forgetting a gallon of petrol of course. Who knows I may even get it started this week :thumb2


Checked the oil, actually seems quite clean.



Engine Drivers Side



Engine Passenger Side



Let there be light!



A Couple of polished photo's, a little elbow grease combined with Tcut and Turtlewax





Manufacturing Date under sparewheel cover:clap



Original Jack, the actual cover is still there but it's very messy and falling apart.



Sparewheel Well, only really surface rust :thumb2



A bit worried about this repair, think the screen should come out to be on the safe side. Will cut the rust out and then weld in new metal then fill and paint.



Passenger Side Wheel Arch, needs some attention but may actually get it on the road before I worry too much about this to begin with.



Passenger Side Sill, now this will be an interesting repair. The sill has 3 sections plus a plate along the bottom called a castle rail. I'll link a youtube video below to give you some idea of this repair.



Here's the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXFhrfN1QHw

If you've not seen this series it's worth a watch.

So as you can see this is going to be a slow project. I've decided to do enough to get it through an MOT and then do a rolling restoration from then on. This way I can do things as time and money allows but also get to enjoy the car. Looking forward to working with Matts-Terrano again this year.

 

[briggie]

shame you don't live near rick , im sure he would love to help you on that :naughty