1958 MGA Coupe

bobs77vet · Jan 10, 2016

this is a parrallel thread from then MG web site and these parcel shelfs are really hard to find so i am making them for some other guys who dont have them

lets put the bends in the small brackets, use a "standard" to make the folds and ensure dimensions are uniform

Sam Cogley · Jan 10, 2016

bobs77vet said:
this is a parrallel thread from then MG web site and these parcel shelfs are really hard to find so i am making them for some other guys who dont have them

Good deal. :thumbs:

Your work in this thread continues to be most enlightening.

Red77 · Jan 11, 2016

So in a sense, you are actually fabricating unobtanium for the guys on the MGA forum. That's pretty cool.

bobs77vet · Jan 12, 2016

Red77 said:
So in a sense, you are actually fabricating unobtanium for the guys on the MGA forum. That's pretty cool.

thanks that is exactly what I am doing, the coupes are really rare 100,000 mgas were made but only 9982 were coupes.....they have always been the favorite of racers and that takes a toll on the number of cars left. for a long time the coupes were cannibalized for the roadsters when people thought roadsters were something special...so that takes a toll on the coupes. add to that regular attrition and theres not many left.

I have only ever seen (other then race cars at the race track) about 4 or 5 in my lifetime of going to cars shows,

at Watkins Glenn 2 yrs ago when MG was the featured marque there was 1 Coupe among hundreds if not over 1,000 roadsters.

My guess is the near future people will realize how rare they are.

bobs77vet · Jan 12, 2016

the next things to make look new again or make for my car.....

the back side has an extra strengthening bracket under the tire hold down.

bobs77vet · Jan 17, 2016

holes drilled, next i will make sure there are no sharp edges and test fit the parcel shelves in my car and off they go

bobs77vet · Jan 18, 2016

finish and test fit the parcel shelf. the car is not sitting level front to back while its on the saw horses

we want the same distance off the small shelf

these are all the same length so the stand off is the same

I can not rotate this for some reason

bobs77vet · Jan 26, 2016

I wanted to take January off to get all the restoration juices flowing again. but too many snow days had me going stir crazy so time for some planning

I still need to put the hole in the boot floor for the gas tank and attach the spare tire clamp

bobs77vet · Jan 30, 2016

I don't use the air nibbler very often but it does have its place. cut a triangle in the middle with a thin cut off wheel and then rotate the nibble head so the body doesn't get in the way. theres a set screw for doing this very easy..

where we left off

sanded

bobs77vet · Jan 31, 2016

today wrap up gas tank opening , install felt channel for boot release rod and play around with drivers side shut face panel....

I am not sure why this screw for the door buffer is giving me a fit.....so lets try making it a cone so it will fit into the hole on the back side

bobs77vet · Feb 6, 2016

not really hard to make buffer backing plates just a grinder with a flap disc, a drill and tapping stuff. if you are so inclined heres how you do it. and use a a larger drill bit at the end to chamfer the hole that's going to be tapped.

so its cocked when I take it out

lets play around with adjusting the door fitment

add some shims

and we are getting closer.....time to quit for the day

bobs77vet · Feb 7, 2016

time to tweak it a
little more, i have only been playing with the body side of the hinges not the door side... it turns out that the pillar post front face that holds the backing plate under the shut face panel panel needed to be tapped down a little. it had been pulled out over the decades and i never noticed it in my zillion of trial fits

this is like 95% where it needs to be, next i will play with the door side of the hinges to get the bottom pulled in a little bit

Sam Cogley · Feb 7, 2016

I think you already have it fitted better than the factory ever did.

SuperBuickGuy · Feb 9, 2016

I'd be frightened that it'd move once mounted on the chassis.

bobs77vet · Feb 12, 2016

SuperBuickGuy said:
I'd be frightened that it'd move once mounted on the chassis.

yes apparently it does move some so I think I am only going to fit it to the 90 to 95% mark on the doors for now.

bobs77vet · Feb 13, 2016

this was totally a self inflicted wound.....i upgraded the battery supply line, thats something we always do in the hot rot rod world. so i Had to make new life line P clips

this is 18 gauge and was time consuming

original P clip

tap the end

put dent in the middle

make them the same size

all drilled holes and edges filed smooth

now to the boot weather seal

check to make sure no adhesive failures/incompatability on test piece of painted sheet steel

mark the center of the back so things dont get out of shape

bobs77vet · Feb 14, 2016

installed hood buffers that i wasnt really happy with, i dont like the shape of them and the screw is riducously long. and i had to cut off the end of the screw....also installed the passenger side shut face panel, i am not adjusting this door any more until the car is on the frame.

bobs77vet · Feb 15, 2016

todays mission rejuvenate my tire holddown bracket and install DZUZ fasteners

use thread cleaning dies to clean up the stud

original

i drilled up through the bottom

originally the rivet was the other way around and the boittom portion was peened over on the top side but that seems unsightly to me

this is the old one left outside for a long time with only the green self etching primer on it

now to find the specs for the hold down bracket....so i can make one....

bobs77vet · Feb 15, 2016

time to play around and make a replica tire clamp one.....lets see what i can come up with....a generic replacement

using Barneys dimensions

before i bend the other side i better get the bead in the bracket

use the shrinker

now to the strecher to bend it the other way

improvise for bending the flat piece.....too hard to make it as one piece but i dont think the tire cares.....so i will cheat a little and use a sheet welded to the bracket

a generic replacement

from Barneys site

still needs a little more work on the bottom end and weld in a support plate and round some edges....about 50 minutes of play time

bobs77vet · Feb 16, 2016

my first proto type is a tad bit different at the top end and the bottom end is like the 1600 coupe end

make the stiffening piece

spot weld in place

test fit

sand the corners

and paint

that was fun to make

SuperBuickGuy · Feb 17, 2016

looking really good!

about the rivets, I bet they peened them over because on occasion, when the pop rivet stud pops off, it leaves a jagged point. peening over would leave the ball-end up and keep sharps from happening... not that it's better underneath, but it'd be a lot easier to fix if it was under rather then on top....

bobs77vet · Feb 17, 2016

good point.

lets see If i can make it truer to form/dimensions to include the rolled over heel and an enclosed top.

bobs77vet · Feb 20, 2016

lets do a common up grade to the shrinker strectcher

some guys remake the die holding straps so they are stationary and are not a quick release set up, the idea is that since the strapping stops them from moving you get more shrinking and stretching going on. the quick release set up does tend to walk away from the base after lots of using it

well i have been mulling this over in my head and i came to the easy realization i didnt have to remake anything complicated with ....i could simply add a fixed strap that would accomplish the same thing.

time to move to the interior and test for the dash fit to make sure i have everythingfigured out before i make it look pretty and cover it. Those top fasteners of the dash are a PITA. I may put studs in the top three mounting spots to make life easier

SRountree · Feb 21, 2016

Man it looks nice!!! I can't wait to see a video of you driving it out of your driveway.

bobs77vet · Feb 21, 2016

thanks

easy day today , painted the tire clamp bracket, installed the steering wheel bracket and cleaned up the dipper switch bracket

Richard454 · Feb 22, 2016

Incredible craftsmanship-impressive attention to detail!!!

Carry on!!!

bobs77vet · Feb 27, 2016

thanks

how do you take an easy job and make it take forever......you model everything as you go

modeling gives you a really nice job and there are less unexpected turns but its certainly not a production environment

cut and paint backing plate

getting the holes right on the bottom piece with one person is a PITA

ideally this should have been done before paint and been spot welded in place, "but that ship done sailed"....so its riveted in place.

and piece of rubber tire cut to go under neath as a cushion, now to get a the big butterfly nut

bobs77vet · Feb 28, 2016

lets move to the headlights

one is broken off
i was hoping slotting it would work but it didnt

drill out the hole and tap

and voila

work on inner ring some

sanded cleaned and primned...and in one hour it gets painted

and who makes these?

I made one that is functional but would mind two new ones, still have to drill the speed nut which i cut down to size

bobs77vet · Mar 5, 2016

since you guys called me out on leaving this like it was.....

so lets wire brush it and clean with a degreaser

and yes there is no baffling what so ever in the muffler....its a straight pipe and this is left over ceramic paint from my corvette projects

now to build a hot box to cure it.....i cant smuggle it into the house this time

bobs77vet · Mar 5, 2016

i have looked at this headlliner thing way too long hoping for some divine inspiration...
so we start with the insulation, i think its called flexibel ceramic insualtion from Mcmaster carr, Jim C split his supply with me, and i dont know what the heck i am doing, and i see no expert swooping down to do this .... so lets just do it...

jim layed it out for two pieces but i am going to do three. since i am doing it by myself. i use a paper template to mock it up