Lowering the front end

The front end of the car sat way to high off the ground so I took the suspension apart and cut the coils down about 2", now it sits down low like a sports car should. You can see the difference in ride hight between the two pictures. Eventually I am going to have to lower the back a little to.

Interior progress

The car is coming along, I found a great steering wheel that is 14" instead of the original 16" wheel that hits you in the legs. I also finally found seats that are comfortable, and match the color scheme that I am going for. It is hard to pick out seats for an MGA because you only have 18" of width to fit them into the car.

Rebuilding the top

I have started rebuilding the top for the car. I had to go through And weld every joint because it was completely falling apart, then I greased up the moving parts and it seems to work fine now. It just needs to be sanded down and repainted, and it will be ready for its fabric.

Master cylinder rebuild

I started the process today of rebuilding the master cylinder. This controls both the brakes and the clutch. When you push on one of the pedals in the car it directly pushes one of the forks sticking out of the cylinder which in turn injects hydraulic fluid through the lines to make the brakes work. Pretty simple system, it just needs a good cleaning and a few new parts and it will be back in business .

Front end modifications

I have decided to go with the historical mga race car look. This means that the body needs some modifications. I took the front panel off the car, then welded it back on so that the front of the car is one smooth flowing line. The holes in the metal were fiberglassed. To give the car a little race car styling i have changed the grill to make it look better. There is still a lot of fine tuning to do on the body before she is ready for paint, but it's getting close.

Rebuilding the motor

I have started taking the motor apart to rebuild it. The cylinder head was hard to get off, it definitely needs a lot of work. This motor is going to run great once everything is fixed.

Carpet

After looking for a couple of months I found some carpet that will work well for this fine automobile . I am going to do the vinyl in black also. The trim pieces that get wrapped in vinyl were heavily damaged so I have been reconstructing them with fiberglass.

The gearbox

I figured out how to pull out the gearbox today. I am sure it needs some attention since it has sat unused for so many years. The gear oil that was in it was as thick as molasses !! When the motor is rebuilt I think I will bolt it back to the gearbox and try to put them back in the car together.

Steering wheel restoration

I got the new steering wheel center piece in the mail today. It is a lot better than the plain metal piece that was on there before . I also sprayed the metal around it with gloss black to match. These little details really make the car a beauty.

Progress update

The body work is just about done, I have sprayed the car with primer and it is starting to look good. I bought some tan vinyl and put it on a few trim pieces to see how it looks. I think it will look pretty good with the tan carpet I plan on using.

Tail light rebuild

I just put together the tail lights with all new rubber to replace the old ones that had been painted over, these little details really make the car look good ! The plastic lens for the taillight is new also.

Working on the dashboard

I was able to remove the dashboard and get all the nobs off. This is going to be the first part of the car to be painted, then I will bolt it back on and start putting the gauges back in.

The motor is now out

I spent the morning removing the motor, it really was not that bad. It took me about three hours. I am hoping that this motor can be rebuilt, if not maybe I could get an MGB motor for it !

Putting the inside back together

I have started the process of recarpeting the inside of the car. I also was able to remove the rest of the wood trim pieces that need to be wrapped in vinyl and put back on after the painting is done. I still have not decided on what color carpet I will use in the end, this is kind of a practice attempt at installing the carpet and giving me something soft to lay on when I am working under the dash.

New floors going in

The old floors were made out of wood ! You don't see to many cars with wood floors, this is an old car. I have cut new plywood and painted it with an oil paint and now they are as good as new ! I am going to bolt them down now and then glue in some new carpet. When I get these floors done it will be back to doing body work and getting it ready for paint.

The wheels actually turn now !!

The wheels are now moving!!! Up until today the wheels were frozen so that they would not turn at all. When the car was brought here on a flatbed we had to winch it into the garage. After taking the wheel off and taking out the two screws holding the brake drum on, i had to beat on it with a hammer and crowbar for about thirty minutes to get it to pop off. Then i was able to pull the brake shoes off witch now allows the wheels to rotate. This car is unique in that it has drum brakes on all four wheels. Now that the wheels turn i can push the car in and out of the garage, but i better be carefull because there is absolutely no brakes!

Progress

I have spent the last week working on the hood, when i got this car the hood was creased down the middle. It looked like someone had hit it with a sledge hammer. After pounding it back out from the inside and about six coats of bondo it is almost back to its origanal shape. After it is perfect i will use this hood as a mold to make a fiberglass hood that should work better and be more stiff. The factory hood was made out of thin aluminum that is very easily damaged. I am also toying with the idea of puting a racing scoop on the hood to make the car look more like a Cobra. That picture above is an example of what it might look like !

I started this project in January of 2012, and i expect that it will take me around two years to complete. I have started the project by removing old layers of paint with liquid paint stripper. This is way easier and less messy than sanding with an electric sander. All you have to do is spray it on and it liquifies the paint and you can scrape it off. I have been pounding dents out and filling them in with Bondo. When all this body work is done it will get the paint job that it deserves.