Another MGB GT V8, work in progress

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davemgb
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Post by davemgb »

I appreciate I'm arriving late here but if you are after Chrome bumper ride height then fit a chrome bumper front crossmember. The rubber bumper crossmember with lowering springs will give horrible geometry.

Also most rubber bumper cars still have the chrome bumper rear spring shackle mounts 'hidden' under the rubber bumper ones, or is that above?

Dave



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Post by 3xpendable »

chodjinn wrote:where will you be getting your wqiring loom from? CUstom, home amde or off the shelf? thanks
Not sure yet, but the current one is unserviceable, so most likely a new one or one from another car.
davemgb wrote:I appreciate I'm arriving late here but if you are after Chrome bumper ride height then fit a chrome bumper front crossmember. The rubber bumper crossmember with lowering springs will give horrible geometry.

Also most rubber bumper cars still have the chrome bumper rear spring shackle mounts 'hidden' under the rubber bumper ones, or is that above?

Dave
Thanks Dave, i've not heard of this before so will look into it before sorting out my crossmember, has anyone else done this?

Ok latest updates, the shell is stripped! All that needs to come out not is the fuel tank, pump and some wiring underneath which I will do when I get my rollover jig in the next few weeks.

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The crossbar isn't an attempt at a strut brace, but a 'cage' for a sound system the previous owner was going to install. I shall be removing it and fitting a strutbrace/rear harness bar.

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1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

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Post by 3xpendable »

First job done wjhich makes me feel like i've made some real progress. I removed the front suspension as a whole, stripped it and cleaned/painted it. Some of the bodges were horiffic and had I known I wouldnt have towed the car home. Firstly some of the spring pan bolts had no nuts, and while the 2 anti-roll bar links are new, someone has forced a car wheelnut onto one, cross threading it. The only way to get it off was to drill the nut and of course the arm is useless. Idiots.

Here is the assembly removed from the car.

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I've been told that the longer, rubber bumper steering rack mounts can crack when wider tyres and/or more loads are placed on them so I welded gussets to either side of both mounts to give it some better stiffness

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Crossmember and suspenstion parts painted in 2 coats of POR-15 chassis black. I'll be getting lowered and stiffer springs and polybushes soon.

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More photos when I make more progress
1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

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Post by 3xpendable »

Unfortunately I can't believe its been a year since the bodyshell got stripped down and apart from painting the front suspension little progress has been made :( HOWEVER, until today!!!! I'm so excited I had to post some pictures.

After cutting away the worst of the rusty metal over the winter I finally got a dry day where I was able to get the shell out of the polytunnel to do the much needed grinding, check out the cool shell trolley...

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Ground out the remaining metal and spot welds off bother the rusty areas of the inner wings on both sides

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And finally cut out the infected areas at the bottom of the A posts. A lot of shaping will be needed but I figured it best to cut this out properly so that no rust will spread/come back

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Post by ChrisJC »

Nice polytunnel - what are the other cars in there?

Chris.
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Post by 3xpendable »

They're both Hillman Imps Chris. The white one is my brothers Californian thats been restored, the blue one on the right is a very early Mk1 model thats had 1 owner from new, currently being restored by my brother with the help of my dad.
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v8trev
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Post by v8trev »

Please tell me you don't weld in the poly tunnel with all that cardboard on the floor :shock: :lol: :wink:

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Post by 3xpendable »

Haha Trev, no. Thats part of the reason the body work has taken so long. I've had to wait for a day where I am both home and the weather is nice enough for me to get the car outside, a rarity!
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Got the repair sections for the wings fitted yesterday, and despite them being BMH repair panels they required quite a bit of fettling to fit. Before fitting I sprayed them with Zinc Rich Weld Thru primer then seam sealed them with seam sealer.

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Fitment plate for the remote oil filter fitted to the inner wing
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Rear axle painted
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The Rover LT77 gearbox that will be fitted is taller and so requires a taller transmission tunnel. It can either be 'dressed' (beaten with a hammer) or I preferred the more professional method of making a taller plate.

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The wings have now been fitted to give a guideline to the shape the base of the windscreen repairs

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1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

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Post by 3xpendable »

Dad made up some pattern plates and welded them elaborately

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This was the shaping done, initially with fibrofill as its flexible and won't crack.

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This will be shaped more finely with a skim of filler now.

Cleaned all the underseal from the engine bay and scraped off any non keyed paint

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A new rear wing was put on the car, yet they filled this entire area with fibreglass?! Its been removed and repair sections will be welded in when we relocate the fuel tank

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Got the car on its side and scraped off the loose underseal and paint ready for painting. I had a problem here that the POR-15 'paitn to rust' paint seemed to react with the original underseal of the car, and the seal sealer reacted with the underseal the previous restorer put over the newly welded castle rails. So i spend a day scraping any loose paint/seal off then used the 'paint to rust' paint on any bare metal and will just underseal over the whole lot now.

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Going to spray the engine bay and interior first, then roll it on its side to paint the underside thus reducing the overspray. After this i'll be fitting the suspension back on so that I can start fitting up the engine bay then paint the body.
1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

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Post by 3xpendable »

Have got the engine bay & interior painted, and undersealed the inner wings

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I'll get the car on its side to paint the rest of the underneath when the rear wing repairs noted earlier are carried out and the modifications for the centralised fuel tank are done. Talking of the fuel tank. I removed the said item from my 'donor' car and it turns out its had a stainless steel fabricated tank made that fitted to the original mounting points, result! Its slightly narrower than the standard tank but this works out perfectly for clearance with my twin exhaust pipe layout. I'll scrape the poorly keyed paint off the tank and may or may not re coat it. When using the car over the last 4 years fuel capacity was good so i have no worries there.

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I had intended to carry over the 'battery in the boot' solution from my donor car to the new car, but seeing this has put me off.

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A post repairs are almost complete, because the wing profiles differ side to side they have been shaped according to each wing being fitted

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Reached a milestone yesterday on Saturday 24th September. The rebuild of the car began!

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I removed these vents from my 1971 GT, and when fitting them to the shell noticed the 77 car only has two holes instead of a four. Must have been a BL cost cutting measure!

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I finished painting the underside with underseal. I used Schutz as its plyable but also a LOT cheaper than POR-15

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I found that if you 'stipple' it with the brush it removes any brush marks and looks more professional

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The back axle is now fitted

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Engine bay with the crossmember and steering rack fitted

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Front suspension built up

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I modified the bump stops for the lower ride height by cutting and welding them together, removing the aluminium spacer.

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Project V8 is now rolling! Front and rear suspension and the steering is fitted so I took dad out for lunch to celebrate :D

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1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

DaveEFI
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Post by DaveEFI »

The battery tray corrosion is caused by a combination of a poor charging system and a non 'sealed' battery. You can get batteries these days sealed but with a vent pipe so any fumes ( much less than once anyway) can be routed clear of the body. A modern alternator will solve any overcharging which caused excessive 'gassing'.
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Post by 3xpendable »

Thanks for that info Dave :)

Its something I can decide later, as the newer bodyshell has the electric fuel pump mounted there so i'll see. It may requie a smaller battery if I can get away with it.
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chodjinn
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Post by chodjinn »

great progress mate looking really good, need to get on with mine now!
RIP MGB V8 .... served me well as a learning curve.

R32 Skyline V8 .... this one is gonna be a monster!

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Post by 3xpendable »

Just to let you know I haven't forgotten about the old girl. But i've started a new job lately so the hassle of that (and time, darn jobs) took me away from the MGB. However we have also been finishing off the longly awaited (15yrs) inspection pit and concreted floor my father and brother have mostly done. Its a joy to use as its nice and big and will allow a lot of jobs to be easily done. So after christmas I shall be going home put the car over the pit and help dad finish the welding on the rear quarter, relocating the fuel tank and fitting the heater panel I mentioned earlier. After that it can be primered though we might wait for the worst of the cold to pass before doing the top coat.

Another plus, my min. 6 months contract job gives me lots of money to spend on it and I have a feeling once I get the wiring loom and engine/box, things will progress much quicker.

More piccies soon!
1971 MGB GT (V8 project)

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