1958 MGA Coupe

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think I'd take advantage of the dissimilar metal properties and heat (MAP gas) the aluminum up to break the bond...

 

[bobs77vet]

when i get a chance i will link up a guys thread where he slightly modified the drive line.....this is pretty sweet

http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?2,2542209


well I didnt have any problem just work.....

hard to see but i cut and sectioned the inner sleeve with a body saw and collapsed the mount in on itself



mated the trans bracket to a socket for support and tapped the mount out




i win, remember its just metal



seems like a newer trans then should be there



cleaned




clear coated

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

nice, I had images of pounding that out with a BFH and having to reweld the tab back on (not that I'd ever do anything like that :bounce

 

[bobs77vet]

Merry Christmas what a great day today for the family..


when the boss curled up for a little snooze i beelined out to the garage for some clean work.

started by carefully examining the trans mount bushing to make sure there were not any nicks in the casing shell and there was so i took a file to those and then polished it with 600 grit paper and oil to make sure i had a really nice smooth surface, then cleaned it really well and set it out side on a block of ice with the "press socket"

came inside and "brake honed" the trans mount and made sure there were no nicks inthe outer most part of the mount and deburred it with a fine file on both sides and cleaned it with brake clean and then oiled it up. i prestaged all the tools i would need and i put on gloves so i didnt transfer any body heat

i found the pitman arm off of a corvette worked pretty well to start the process



it was a pretty good upper body work out even with the 2' long breaker bar, i had one foot on the trans base or i was just picking up the trans when i tightened the bolt



done





and Santa was very good to me all the parts i ordered on Monday to wrap the engine/trans install up were deliverd yesterday afternoon, I dont often set timeframes but the goal is have the engine in the car by sundown Sunday.

 

[bobs77vet]

dry fitting of the oil filter head to bend the tubing to fit



off alittle bit



just a vise and dead blow hammer



give it a little bend




done


checked specs and washed with soapy water and a bottle brush , lubed up with engine build grease





hammered down the bottom with a piece of wood and dead blow hammer on the floor


sanded and cleaned





not sure how other do this but this is what i conjured up




divine inspiration the sun shone in i did put the new tenisoner in also must have missed the photo



this really screwed with me for a moment trying to use the new one but the woodruff key wasnt long enough




didnt finish it all though before the boss came looking for me.





ready for the inner trans tunnel to get painted and an engine install

 

[MYBAD79]

As always, this is some awesome work !!! I really can't wait to see this car on the road (well, photos or video) .... Lol...... You're making so much progress I wonder if you have the plates and drive it before I get this VW done.....

 

[bobs77vet]

it was a good day today


i decided to paint the oil filter head to engine color

it lines up nicely and has two new crush washers



tabs folded over



torqueing oil pan bolts.....72inch lbs not much





collapsed the wrong core plug in on itself



not too much gunk



cleaned up



done



cleaning one more time







paint time









inside and outside painted





garage turned up to about 75* for drying purposes.

 

[Stpman]

Very nice can't wait to see the finished car

 

[bobs77vet]

thks tying up loose ends



easy way to help seat the bolts



replaced front trans cover seal



pressing in new seal





new one measeured 3/16

 

[bobs77vet]

everything went very well today

tightening trans to engine



the kids even pulled out my MG shirt from 22 yrs ago...



torqueing bolts







one trans bolt and 10 motor mount bolts





still need to get the right seal for the timing chain cover or get a new cover to match the seal i got

 

[1Michel]

Great job Bob, this is going to be an awsome car.

About the 22 year old T-shirt...
Youre lucky, lol if I find a T-shirt that I wore 22 years ago.... it wouldnt fit LOL

Great job and I'm following this with lots of interest sir.
Happy new year

 

[MYBAD79]

Lots of photos, awesome progress.....from your son wrestling with it to you wearing your 22year old shirt !!! This is a very memorable project to say the least !!!

 

[bobs77vet]

thks guys, i didnt even know that shirt was still around apparently the kids found it and thought it was cool and they had it in their closet.

nothing fancy on the floor boards just black gloss rustoleum, i think this is coat 4 and is probably the last. and you definitely have to turn the heat up to help this dry or it stays sticky for a long time. tomorrow night the other side gets done.

 

[bobs77vet]

a couple more nibbles tonight, checked the trans mount bolt and it is correct.

2nd coat on the inside of the trans tunnels



this is an easy way to line up the drill for drilling a hole through a repair panel



getting ready to install E brake handle



maybe later if I have some extra cash I will get this rechromed unitl then it gets a painted stainless steel finish. i will admit they do look so good newly chromed

 

[bobs77vet]

installed the E brake handle tonight and the inner brackets of the trans tunnel and that was a PITA......if i had to do it again I think I would contemplate to do it on a bench and then slip the drive shaft in above the inner brackets. and I used a clamp to push the lever on to the serrated spindle of the handle. the reason I did it on the car was I wanted to make sure I got the lever pressed on in the correct orientation.




also added the trans oil i used castrol GTX 20-50 and 5.4 pints puts the oil fill line on the trans dip stick in exactly the middle of the low/high hash marks

 

[Sam Cogley]

What on Earth happened to your driveshaft?

 

[bobs77vet]

What on Earth happened to your driveshaft?

i have no idea....i suppose i should get it rebalanced. thats the extent of the mutilation though. must have been used as fulcrum point for a lever, or perhaps they put in a vise to change the u joints. its a tube shaft for 87 hp so its not that beefy compared to our vette ones

 

[AGVI]

Holy Crap Bob! You never stop!

Good luck to you and the boys it looks like quite the project you have ahead of you.

I can't wait to see the progress pics! :bounce::amazed:

Les

 

[AGVI]

Oh wait! Duh!

I didn't notice that this thread was 47 pages long and there are already a ton of pics.

Okay no one bother me, I have 46 more pages to read through. :rofl:

 

[denpo]

Oh wait! Duh!

I didn't notice that this thread was 47 pages long and there are already a ton of pics.

Okay no one bother me, I have 46 more pages to read through. :rofl:

The most amazing part are the very first pages, when you see the kind of sad rust bucket Bob started with.
As I already said before this thread is shattering my conception of "beyond repair"

 

[1Michel]

Thats what I was thinking too .

 

[bobs77vet]

ok I have slipped off the path again.....you know those wooden Chriscraft boats with the beautiful panels.....well i have decided to paint the floor boards to a high gloss finish just for ***** and grins....I will be looking at it for a while as I wrangle the body some more so it will be some inspiration. this will get wet sanded for the first time and painted again etc etc etc...



I forgot to paint my down draft tube and crank pulley and found these alternatives at Home Depot (HD) and walmart





so we remember which each got painted with to compare to the Moss paint




first blush it looks close








added my first sacrifical fluids....the quaker state defy and next to it is the Valvoline VR1 racing oil which I will use for real driving and then the sacrificial walmart rear end gear oil and next to it the valvoline I will use for real driving. when I change this oil it will be the second oil flush since I got the engine running.




easy to fill when theres no gas tank. it was totally empty but only took 40 oz, I was expecting it to take 52 ozs, maybe it needs to be driven and have the oil pushed out to the ends

 

[bobs77vet]

ok lets veto the idea of the Krylon paint it seperated regardless of how i pre treated it. i even sanded it after painting and totally cleaned it. so i totally cleaned it off and painted it with the rustoleum. heres what it looked like.

heres the problem




it may have darkend up with more coats of the krylon





heres the two compared to each other.



once the vent tube drys all the way i will get out the good camera.

bent the clutch line and used socket head cap screws, they make some nice stainless steel P clips in the hot rod world that i may use












cleaned off the crank pulley again and the M/C so i can clear coat it.






going to use the silicone brake fluid but will let the M/C dry for a day before I reassemble everyting




one more coat



and every time i walk by this i spray it with PB blaster

 

[bobs77vet]

finished the plumbing today on the clutch slave



put the MC back in and plumbed the banjo on the bench, use new crush washers you only want to do this once



used the power bleeder and pump it up to 10psi with no fluid to look/listen for leaks









after tightening the bleeder we were good to go and bled the system with no problem>

 

[bobs77vet]

a little diversion.....i have some sheet metal parts to make for the MGA coupe and since little joe went back to college i need another set of hands....or a motor

heres the install materials: mometary foot switch, dayton gear motor which spins at 2.8 RPM, reversible drum switch, and a vintage crank for creating tension, jaw coupling from McMaster Carr



the old business end a 25mm shaft on the crank



an already beefed up HF bead roller which doesnt deflect



the mock up using a hose clamp to keep everything together and lined up







wiring






"power in" is the power cord white and black




mocking it up to weld



cut out of 1/8" sheet steel




the offset was just where ever it landed but it is parallel to the bead roller





drum switch mounted


test run to make sure everything works right




it works perfectly tomorrow it gets disassembled and painted then the final wiring, and the tension wheel crank gets added

 

[MYBAD79]

Hey, if you need some spry can paint to match your engine, they offer that matching spray can for like $20 or less.... Don't bother with that Krylon stuff....
Your oil filter seems to have enough paint on there for a paint color match

Electrical work gives me the chills..... Looks good what you're doing there

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I keep trying to get my dad to donate to me his pullmax machine - less chance of taking fingers off be careful!

 

[bobs77vet]

this is probably the least dangerous machine compared to a band saw or table saw....lets not even talk about fan blades and fan belts and pulleys


finished up the mock up and painted it.

cuts 18 really easily



16 ga was a little more labored but it still did it but was not an issue



heres the motor information



final wiring







final reassembly tonight

 

[bobs77vet]

DONE!!!!! now to make some more MGA parts

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

nice, so nice, in fact, that I'm going to totally plagiarize you