1958 MGA Coupe

[bobs77vet]

I trully do like the fabrication aspects of the restoration, making that temp scuttle was a lot of fun for me.

I got some electrical goodies today so spent some time looking and figuring..

real battery cable #1 welding wire



old vs new



any body know if the rear wire harness is bigger then a rectangular 1/4 x 1/2" opening...if so i will be making some new double P clips




this is a sweet fit 1/2" insulated single p clip. i will use this at the end where the battery cable has a p clip on one of the floor board screws



so lets play around with terminating the ends on the old scrap cable becasue of the gauge difference the scrap piece had the insulation still on it. it would have shrink wrap on it for the final version



i havent done this in a while and with most things its takes a couple of practice trys to remember how to do it.





i tried pulling this apart by clamping it in the vise and i could not pull it apart

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I hate to mention this, but you bought a faulty ruler. Only the bottom 1/2 is useful :stirpot:

I say this because last night I was working on my CR500af and the instructions - from an American company - said to cut 20 mm off the exhaust pipe. 20mm?!!! ummm, now where did I put that tape measure with the funny markings? In the end, I guessed that it meant 3/4" and it all seemed to work out okay :2nd::suicide:

 

[denpo]

I hate to mention this, but you bought a faulty ruler. Only the bottom 1/2 is useful :stirpot:

I say this because last night I was working on my CR500af and the instructions - from an American company - said to cut 20 mm off the exhaust pipe. 20mm?!!! ummm, now where did I put that tape measure with the funny markings? In the end, I guessed that it meant 3/4" and it all seemed to work out okay :2nd::suicide:

obligatory:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7x-RGfd0Yk[/ame]

 

[bobs77vet]

for lay out work it easier to use the metric system its easier to divide in base 10, it just is. that video says it all


snow day today so that means garage time .....

where we left off



easy way to clean things up



lets get some reference measurements from the thbest one





clean up the inside to shiney steel



grind the outside an fill up the hole





get this right





and number 2



same process again and drilled to 19/64s i will do a final cut when i have the new clevis in my hands



same routine for the pushrods except I welded only on one side of the hole and used a file and then a drill



painted and ready to final drill and install, I suspect the clevis are 5/16 but who know these days with all the different suppliers

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I hate to mention this, but you bought a faulty ruler. Only the bottom 1/2 is useful :stirpot:

I say this because last night I was working on my CR500af and the instructions - from an American company - said to cut 20 mm off the exhaust pipe. 20mm?!!! ummm, now where did I put that tape measure with the funny markings? In the end, I guessed that it meant 3/4" and it all seemed to work out okay :2nd::suicide:

obligatory:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7x-RGfd0Yk[/ame]

If you make a system even idiots can use... :devil:

 

[GoVetteGo]

Bob - I sure wish I had your welding skills!!! Amazing watching you fabricate as you roll along! Great stuff. I have a real nice SNAP-ON I got in trade but haven't spent the time to get the "feel" for it. Been stick welding for years.

I had a woodworking friend who did everything in millimeters!! Same reason - base 10 was easer to work with - even with wood!

 

[bobs77vet]

I had a woodworking friend who did everything in millimeters!! Same reason - base 10 was easer to work with - even with wood!

all you have to do is try to lay out ballisters in inches and then you will be converted.............the Mig is so sweet .....we were doing an alternator swap on my daughters Infinity and the sepentine idler pully got pinched by the alternator pivot bolt and before we realized it the tension rod had snapped in half....so i welded it back together...my son inlaw just looked on in amazement. get some gas and fire that MIG up you will love it. the welding aspect is what i missed most on my vettes

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Bob - I sure wish I had your welding skills!!! Amazing watching you fabricate as you roll along! Great stuff. I have a real nice SNAP-ON I got in trade but haven't spent the time to get the "feel" for it. Been stick welding for years.

I had a woodworking friend who did everything in millimeters!! Same reason - base 10 was easer to work with - even with wood!

I don't do wood - when (not if, when) I cut it too short, I can't just weld a bit on the end

 

[bobs77vet]

circling back to where the floor board madness started

I drilled the hole for the E brake cable and hydraulic line

for the ebrake cable 3/8 P clip







that gives a really nice arch



every once and a while I do buy clips



mocked up the M/C i guess i will clear coat this since i will be using silicone fluid

and I treated my self this time and bought the preterminated lines. i am running out of things to do on the frame/chassis i guess this is next

 

[bobs77vet]

bounced around some tonight, started by painting bottom of frame where i had welded in the nuts for the floor, then moved to taking out some of the seat tracks on a set of seat bottoms unitl i couldnt get the screws and bolts seperated so they are soaking, then moved to clean up brake brass...oh and the best part Team Evil donated a mirror and vent for the scuttle!!!! thks

i think tomorrow i lay out some brake lines

 

[bobs77vet]

brake time....anti sieze on everything

 

[bobs77vet]

all told 6 hours of work not technically hard but it was a lot of work. i had one piece i could use as a guide. still need to get some p clips and other hard ware. decided to move the P clip of the differential back to the 11:00 position.

 

[phantomjock]

That last pick has me thinking...hmm I could use that approach - I'm running out of room in the engine area/space - after having moved the engine and tranny 15 inches aft!
I need as much footwell space as I can gain for my size 12's and long legs. That just may do it.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers - Jim

 

[bobs77vet]

seat time.....worked on the seat bottoms from AN5L564 and mated them to my seat backs

the seats meet the wire brush



test fit



i strengthen the brackets in the ends







cleaned and degreased



painted black and i turned the heat up in the garage

 

[bobs77vet]

so i got up this morning and was drinking some coffee and eating donuts browsing the internet to figure out how to use the one good seat bottom i have left and i found this.....

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slEOKrZnnXI[/ame]

and then this

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=859YBxgpgPw[/ame]

I have never done this before but bought a tipping die last summer, so what the hell..............



























the same lean angle as the stock back






that was fun... and i learned a lot

 

[1Michel]

that was fun... and i learned a lot

Well I just learned a lot too just watching you.
I'm very impressed sir.
Seats will look hell of a lot better this way
Great work

 

[1Michel]

Dont know if you saw this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/lazzemetalshaping?feature=watch

Lots of metal shaping.

 

[bobs77vet]

i did see his videos before and i bought the tipping die after watching him make a fender bead roll and in fact was thinking of doing that on the top of the bomber seat if it needed strength but it doesnt.

so that seat foam has me thinking ahead for a snowy january or february day.....my project came complete with a complete interior kit from Moss, carpet, leather seat kit and door panels. all of these are now 35 yrs old and have lived in storage for a long time. so i had to buy the seat foam and plywood base. on my last MGA i made these but this time they were purchased, last time I also made my own wiring harness and i had to stand on the dining room table in order to wrap the wire loom around it, i remember it well it was new years eve and the Mrs was snoozing on the couch.

any how here we are tonight to start the stretching process ot get things back to where they were 35 yrs ago....SLOW is a good thing on this project.

i never really noticed it but two of my old kitchen chairs are larger then the rest so i will start with the smaller ones, i put a trash bag on this and it easily slipped over, almost too easy but SLOW is the operative word here.



these look so nice, they are off of ebay and i have no issues with the quality what so ever




i find it strange that the seat bottoms and foam are handed but the seat coverings are not



you know how much I love clamps



not such a bad first fitting





no rush on these just to start to get them use to the new shape.

 

[bobs77vet]

easy work tonight added 4 more clamps to each seat bottom....the stretch is coming nicely, notice the crease is gone from last night

 

[bobs77vet]

not sure how this took 2 hours but anyway....I got the rest of the brake parts in that I needed and I replaced the rear copper washers and tightened up the hydraulic hoses, drilled brake pedals for final clevis pin fit.

ever wonder how they get those brake lines so tight with out any rounded edges? i suspect they use something like this. this is a Proto tubing socket wrench. it slips over the brake line and then the ratchet spins and you get a really tight fitting with out any thing slipping off the hydraulic fitting and since it ratchets you can move the handle so you don't hit things. still need to put the brake anti rattle springs on.

 

[bobs77vet]

I cut the anti rattle springs although i am not sure why, they didnt look like they would hit any thing.



with a grinder and a cut off wheel



i will bend the tabs after its on the road with the real body



had little Joe make a seat bottom



hes going to have to get a pair of those skinny driving mocassins for those aircraft carrier size feet




and todays work....



made some room to work

 

[bobs77vet]

good day today......




looks like a good match



clean baby clean



1/2 and 1/2





plan is to change the oil pump and i see no reason to get out the engine stand



this will get scotch brited and clear coated



that my friends looks like a new pressure plate



and of course the 2nd hardened gasket



typical of an engine that has been sitting for decades



looks like originalstyle pump



new pistons



another new piston, that makes 3 new pistions and one with oil stains



cleaned up




measure this tomorrow



need to do some research on this freeze plug on why its out so far, when i got the car it still had antoifreeze in it and the radiator was full and had not split.





a good day in bob land

 

[bobs77vet]

well I took care of the spin on oil filter adapter, I modified the approach Lee Narjam took and only did the grinding to the filter side of the retaining nut, this allows the machined surfaces to be mated to each other










full face mask so icould see what i was doing and the final poisition was with the grinder on top paralell (sp?) to the wood












its now 3/16 and it took about 30 mins of just slow work so i didnt screw up

 

[bobs77vet]

had a family holiday party so my time was limitied today....pulled oil pump off and removed pressure plate.

pump came off easy



heres how you measure it



tough to hold and take a picture



the oil pump is right at the point of out of specification and will be replaced

thats pretty clean in there considering that both the throw out bearing and clutch disk show about 1/3 wear








no ridges or grooves almost looks like a new flywheel same with the pressure plate.

 

[bobs77vet]

so if the oil pump is just out of specs what else is going on?????

a one person show this am so this is how i wedged the crank to remove the crank nut






well that doesnt look right










so what else is going on????

pulled # 1 CR cap and this looks good the the crank has not been turned





you probably know where this is going



i think this is one of the left over front end parts it had a castellated nut on it





yeah baby thats what we are talking about



so you dont screw up



and always take two pictures of imporatant stuff......it looked really nice



on to the trans



throw out bearing pivot bolt





slightly worn clevis









looks pretty good



so heres my on the scene conclusion......some 40+ yrs ago and 10K ago they put in a new clutch,pressure plate,throw out brg and flywheel (based on a 30K mile clutch life of kids)then they drove the car until the engine started needing some help....then when it went to the shop it needed 3 pistons and this threw the budget out of whack, they replaced the 3 bad pistons and maybe the crank....cam is original and they replaced the main and con rod bearings. I know this car has good compression and i will not be taking the head off so who knows what new up there....and for some reason they had to replace the rear engine core plug

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

you won't pull the head? the cynic in me is laughing at you because he knows you will.... while you're in there, and while you're at it, and since it's the right way to do things.

:bump::skeptic:

 

[bobs77vet]

you won't pull the head? the cynic in me is laughing at you because he knows you will.... while you're in there, and while you're at it, and since it's the right way to do things.

:bump::skeptic:

nope not this time..... i have great compression and it doesn't burn oil, i dont have any reason to think theres a problem or an issue. On these cars the 1500cc is the first generation old dog and most guys upgrade to a 1600cc or the 1800cc engine. so if you are going to spend any serious engine money you would just step right up to the one of those and spend the money there.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

you won't pull the head? the cynic in me is laughing at you because he knows you will.... while you're in there, and while you're at it, and since it's the right way to do things.

:bump::skeptic:

nope not this time..... i have great compression and it doesn't burn oil, i dont have any reason to think theres a problem or an issue. On these cars the 1500cc is the first generation old dog and most guys upgrade to a 1600cc or the 1800cc engine. so if you are going to spend any serious engine money you would just step right up to the one of those and spend the money there.

then you will be an example to us all

 

[bobs77vet]

did some more quick clean up on the trans







in case you ever wanted to know....the trans mount has a stepped outer ring



the trans mount is soaking in PB blaster i have no idea if that works with steel and aluminnum galvanic corrision but since i did this before i am more careful with trans casings,see that nice shiny area....i broke it off by accident

 

[Sam Cogley]

nope not this time..... i have great compression and it doesn't burn oil, i dont have any reason to think theres a problem or an issue. On these cars the 1500cc is the first generation old dog and most guys upgrade to a 1600cc or the 1800cc engine. so if you are going to spend any serious engine money you would just step right up to the one of those and spend the money there.

So before long we're going to be seeing a bored, stroked and supercharged 1800cc in there. :bump: