1976 MGB GT Rebuild
Discussion
This is officially the second but technically the 4th MGB GT I have owned (some of us never learn!)
I bought it a few weeks back from an eBay advert as a semi-abandoned project. The previous owner was restoring it with a friend who sadly passed away. He had owned the car for 13 years and as far as I am aware it has been off the road for a minimum of 4 years.
The car has had a full bare metal respray on top & underneath, new rear quarters, new front wings, one new door and all of the sills + castles replaced which is a big bonus!
Mechanically all of the suspension has been rebuilt with new bushes, the rear brakes have been completely replaced including the drums and the engine was rebuilt around 400 miles before it was taken off the road.
Also another big bonus is the car is fitted with a complete new wiring loom.
When the car is ready to go back on the road I'll be fitting the engine and gearbox from my current '77 daily driver as the engine has been tweaked and the gearbox was rebuilt approximately 2/3k miles ago.
The car is a 1976 model year but is the very first of the 1977 chassis and so is a bit of a pick and mix between the 2 years. The main change at this time as I see it is the radiator was moved forward several inches to allow more room in front of the engine.
Anyway on with the pictures!
This is how the car looked when I got it:
I bought it a few weeks back from an eBay advert as a semi-abandoned project. The previous owner was restoring it with a friend who sadly passed away. He had owned the car for 13 years and as far as I am aware it has been off the road for a minimum of 4 years.
The car has had a full bare metal respray on top & underneath, new rear quarters, new front wings, one new door and all of the sills + castles replaced which is a big bonus!
Mechanically all of the suspension has been rebuilt with new bushes, the rear brakes have been completely replaced including the drums and the engine was rebuilt around 400 miles before it was taken off the road.
Also another big bonus is the car is fitted with a complete new wiring loom.
When the car is ready to go back on the road I'll be fitting the engine and gearbox from my current '77 daily driver as the engine has been tweaked and the gearbox was rebuilt approximately 2/3k miles ago.
The car is a 1976 model year but is the very first of the 1977 chassis and so is a bit of a pick and mix between the 2 years. The main change at this time as I see it is the radiator was moved forward several inches to allow more room in front of the engine.
Anyway on with the pictures!
This is how the car looked when I got it:
Since collecting the car I have been making slow progress. I've spent most of my time sourcing parts and refurbishing original parts that came with the car.
The main thing I have done to date is modify the bulkhead to take the later style pedal box. By fitting this I can run the in-line servo set-up I am used to on my later B and (apparently) the later pedal box also has a nicer layout. Having never driven a car with an early pedal box I can't say how much different it is but I don't want a car without a servo!
If anyone is considering fitting the later pedal box to an early B the only slight issues I've come across is the wiring needs extending to go over the servo and the throttle pedal may need heating and re shaping slightly to line up with the other pedals.
I've also bought a few roles of closed cell foam to add the soundproofing these never had when they left the factory. So far I have done the insides of the doors but plan on also doing inside of the rear arches, the floor pan and the centre tunnel with the thicker sheets and then the roof + inner wheel arches with the thinner sheets.
I've also fitted the stainless fuel tank that came with the car, fitted the fuel lines along with lots of smaller bits such as fitting the battery cables, plastic battery box (Not fitted from factory), stainless front splash guards, early type metal washer jets and the aerial to fill the hole in the wing!
I plan on having the metal parts of the dash and the roof lining (+other roof panels usually white vinyl) re-trimmed in a charcoal suede so have removed the dash board. I'm also considering having the plastic part of the dash, centre console and radio console all trimmed in either vinyl or leather.
Other items which are planned but not yet bought or started are fitting plastic wheel arch liners on the front (not-fitted from factory), gas struts for the boot + bonnet and fitting the later ignition lock / barrel so there is no release button for the key.
Again on with the pictures:
Door sound proofing:
And just because I like to show off my shiny underside:
The main thing I have done to date is modify the bulkhead to take the later style pedal box. By fitting this I can run the in-line servo set-up I am used to on my later B and (apparently) the later pedal box also has a nicer layout. Having never driven a car with an early pedal box I can't say how much different it is but I don't want a car without a servo!
If anyone is considering fitting the later pedal box to an early B the only slight issues I've come across is the wiring needs extending to go over the servo and the throttle pedal may need heating and re shaping slightly to line up with the other pedals.
I've also bought a few roles of closed cell foam to add the soundproofing these never had when they left the factory. So far I have done the insides of the doors but plan on also doing inside of the rear arches, the floor pan and the centre tunnel with the thicker sheets and then the roof + inner wheel arches with the thinner sheets.
I've also fitted the stainless fuel tank that came with the car, fitted the fuel lines along with lots of smaller bits such as fitting the battery cables, plastic battery box (Not fitted from factory), stainless front splash guards, early type metal washer jets and the aerial to fill the hole in the wing!
I plan on having the metal parts of the dash and the roof lining (+other roof panels usually white vinyl) re-trimmed in a charcoal suede so have removed the dash board. I'm also considering having the plastic part of the dash, centre console and radio console all trimmed in either vinyl or leather.
Other items which are planned but not yet bought or started are fitting plastic wheel arch liners on the front (not-fitted from factory), gas struts for the boot + bonnet and fitting the later ignition lock / barrel so there is no release button for the key.
Again on with the pictures:
Door sound proofing:
And just because I like to show off my shiny underside:
The engine I have in my current daily to go in has been taken away from standard already with head work, fast road cam, balancing etc.
As far as suspension goes I've got my eye on a coil over conversion kit for the front end with adjustable camber and castor whereas for the rear I'm eyeing up Frontlines 5 link kit. These probably won't come until a much later date when the car is finished and the other is sold though.
I'd like to find some different seats to go in but haven't really found any that suit my tastes so far
As far as suspension goes I've got my eye on a coil over conversion kit for the front end with adjustable camber and castor whereas for the rear I'm eyeing up Frontlines 5 link kit. These probably won't come until a much later date when the car is finished and the other is sold though.
I'd like to find some different seats to go in but haven't really found any that suit my tastes so far
Not managed to get as much done as I wanted over the holiday. Once again being stalled by finding things that don't work and running out of parts to do certain jobs.
I tried my best to get it to a running state but it would appear the ignition switch is dead so not giving power to where it is needed. Also it would appear that the starter motor is no good (when I bypassed the ignition switch) after cranking for a short while it was obvious it isn't cranking fast enough and the smoke was also a bad sign...
I have how ever been successful in settling the rear ride height after finding the rear spring shackles were pointing the wrong way so not allowing the leaf springs to spread out. I also managed to fit the handbrake cable, rebuild the brake callipers, fit the clutch pipe + hose, do some more sound proofing and paint various bits and pieces ready to go back on. Pretty sure I also did some more that is escaping my memory...
Anyway on with the pictures:
Inside of rear arches sound proofed and waxoyled (the yellowy substance is a spray version of waxoyl nothing to do with soundproofing)
Repainted prop shaft:
Painted the brake disc bells as rusty ones annoy me!
Braided clutch hose:
I tried my best to get it to a running state but it would appear the ignition switch is dead so not giving power to where it is needed. Also it would appear that the starter motor is no good (when I bypassed the ignition switch) after cranking for a short while it was obvious it isn't cranking fast enough and the smoke was also a bad sign...
I have how ever been successful in settling the rear ride height after finding the rear spring shackles were pointing the wrong way so not allowing the leaf springs to spread out. I also managed to fit the handbrake cable, rebuild the brake callipers, fit the clutch pipe + hose, do some more sound proofing and paint various bits and pieces ready to go back on. Pretty sure I also did some more that is escaping my memory...
Anyway on with the pictures:
Inside of rear arches sound proofed and waxoyled (the yellowy substance is a spray version of waxoyl nothing to do with soundproofing)
Repainted prop shaft:
Painted the brake disc bells as rusty ones annoy me!
Braided clutch hose:
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