1958 MGA Coupe

[SuperBuickGuy]

a one-cheek car, but if you get a run at it - you should be okay. :devil:

 

[bobs77vet]

when you are in it its ok......its great for guys with long legs and long arms.....i am more like a T-rex.

the challenge for me is bending to get your head in, i am not real flexible any more.....my varsity college soccer days and marine corps marathon days have long since faded into glory days, along with my 32" waist...... i think i found the sweet spot you sit on the rocker sill tuck your head in and then the butt and the legs can swing in one at a time... the seats are new foam and like the vette that takes away head room until they settle down some..of course my portliness isnt helping anything in getting in but should help compress the seat foam.

 

[bobs77vet]

the big guy doesnt fit...he leaning towards me




so we will take my old bomber seat bottom and take out half the foam....and make a tall guy seat

 

[JPhil]

I sat in a TC with the top up a few months ago. I could hardly get in or out, it was so cramped I could hardly move and the footwell was so small and the pedals so close together I could not work one pedal at a time with my size 10 cowboy boots. I don't think I could have worked the pedals even barefoot. British people must be smaller than us beef & corn fed Americans.

 

[bobs77vet]

The pass side has lots of room......thats there drivers side.

 

[JPhil]

:lol: Well blow me down. That never occurred to me. Makes sense.....

 

[bobs77vet]

oh yeah lots of leg room and the E brake handle on the pass side

moss part 457-240 retainer door sill for an MGB

this is combined effort of Mike Dianna and me to make some parts we are short, Mike has the original and he sent it to me

the new part is 3/4 shorter then the original



the profiles are close but not perfect







i plan to run it through the bead roller to get the nice curved radius and then the shrinker stretcher to get the slight upward bend

 

[bobs77vet]

moving forward install heater box fresh air hoses, paint inside of rear bumpers, and use vinegar and a wire brush of gas tank filler spout


gas filler spout







back of bump[ers



painted with self etching primer



with wheel silver paint


fresh air hose

 

[bobs77vet]

and we have a rear bumper

 

[bobs77vet]

choke cabling, heater box cable installed....another two hours....why does everything take 2 hours??????

these are MGB aud 135 carbs

cut the cable sheathing




this is the long "tappet wrench" that is very thin to hold the inner nut on the cable clamp


you can see how thin these are.







does the heater flapper cable get held down any where?

 

[bobs77vet]

pushing ahead ...

install compression fitting and gas line to MGB carburetors




install license plate and bracketry, next wire the rear lights

 

[bobs77vet]

lets wrap up the electric


fish wires through







there is grommet on the loom where it goes through the body

use a gasket punch to make the holes



use the power supply to make sure the wires are hooked up correctly

parking lights



brake lights


and done

 

[bobs77vet]

well todays the day!!!!!!

added gas, disconnect the battery and put a power supply on the terminals and tested the electrical and it every thing works. the front left parking light has the terminal studs reversed so the parking light is bright. i think i just have to take the bulb out and spin the brown terminal base plate around. the wires are connected properly.

click on the photo for the video





drove around for 20 minutes. i dont have door latches so the doors are just bungie corded closed on the interior door pulls

 

[Sam Cogley]

Sounds like an angry bumblebee.

Awesome to see it out on the street!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

beyond awesome, congratulations

 

[Red77]

Awesome to see it moving under its own power! What an amazing ride getting to this point

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks

the muffler is a straight pipe.....i guess the baffling fell apart along time age so its literally a straight pipe running through it. i will put that on the list to look at.

the speedometer cable is in and to get it to route the way I like it has some extra cable up by the brake master cylinder,

the parking light was as i expected, the brown base in side the light had to be coaxed out and rotated 180*...no biggie.





and i set the toe to 0 . and if your wondering in the fight of bumper extensions vs a forehead the bumper extensions win.....

and my son and i went for a ride

 

[bazza6977]

congratulations , it looks great .

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks

tonight lets move the cutoff switch from the drivable chassis position to the final resting spot





test the location



view from the bottom this is the chassis ground i am switching



final look

 

[bobs77vet]

another 20 minutes and 4 miles, its tough breaking in a car when you live in an urban area.....so far 1 hour and 14 miles.

so we have the goldilocks seats......one just right for me



and then the one for Junior who is 5 10' to 5'11, the one from the bomber seat with half the padding removed







and then one for little Joe 6' 3"+, just 2" of foam between the rails




we are still not sure his feet can fit between the pedals...

 

[bobs77vet]

my birthday was this week and my family gave me what i always wanted.....new moto lita 15" wheel





actually not a bad design the set screws stop the steering nut from moving











i cant wait to drive it...

 

[rtj]

I'll bet that car gets parked as far out in the parking lots (away from other cars) as possible. Lots of effort there.

 

[bobs77vet]

funny you mention that, thats one of the easy ways to use the car is to be the runner for quick trips to the grocery store. rush hour traffic sucks so bad in DC driving it to work would be miserable

 

[GoVetteGo]

funny you mention that, thats one of the easy ways to use the car is to be the runner for quick trips to the grocery store. rush hour traffic sucks so bad in DC driving it to work would be miserable

Great progress Bob!!! Looking fantastic. Back in he late 70's, I commuted from Waldorf, MD to Merrifield, Va Monday thru Saturday. An hour in the morning, as ,much as 2 hours getting home at night. I can't imagine what it would be like today!!! NO FUN would be an understatement!!

Love following along with your build. Wish I could get back to mine!

John

 

[bobs77vet]

funny you mention that, thats one of the easy ways to use the car is to be the runner for quick trips to the grocery store. rush hour traffic sucks so bad in DC driving it to work would be miserable

Great progress Bob!!! Looking fantastic. Back in he late 70's, I commuted from Waldorf, MD to Merrifield, Va Monday thru Saturday. An hour in the morning, as ,much as 2 hours getting home at night. I can't imagine what it would be like today!!! NO FUN would be an understatement!!

Love following along with your build. Wish I could get back to mine!

John

oh that commute would be pure hell now .....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

the worst part would be the people and their phone cameras. They think when you're not moving fast that they have plenty of time to take your car's picture - all while swerving at you because they're not paying attention that silly thing we call "driving"
:cussing:

 

[bobs77vet]

well i did something i don't usually do, i bought a car that doesn't need any work from a local guy. we had a mutual friend. its really nice and i am kind of looking forward to just polishing it for a change...

1953 mg td

 

[Red77]

Very nice! Enjoyment of a car can come in many forms, whether it is just driving with the occasional cleaning and maintenance, or the other extreme as with your MGA. I for one will miss the updates now that the MGA project is drawing to a close, but you have earned a long respite and need to go out and drive.

 

[bazza6977]

wow , another red one ! Gotta love those handles on the dash board

 

[bobs77vet]

yeah the car with those 30 style headlight buckets just catches my imagination and the engineering is so simple. its almost like you are a steward of automotive history. I do miss the restoration aspects that went along with the MGA but it also was a **** load of work and time.