Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Mike: a really great project. It looks like you are going to have a world of support from friends (known & unknown) on this site. I agree with
those suggesting that you get it running and take it for a spin before you tear it down for a restoration. It looks like that is what you are going
to do. Don't be surprised at what comes out of the exhaust pipe the first time you fire it up. I fired up a TR 6 a few years ago that had been in
limbo for some time - a rodent and parts of a nest went shooting out. Keep the faith.

Mike, awesome car and great project; really looking forward to watching your restoration unfold--thanks for sharing with us! We all get to vicariously join you for the ride!

As a side note, threads like this are one of the many things I enjoy about our forum--the forum isn't strictly just about SRs and shaving...it's a bit about all our lives and sharing some our of respective journeys!

Thanks gentlemen.
I will appreciate the shared support through the resto, and on the road, once there.
This thing is truly a sexy piece of automotive craftsmanship.
For now, I can’t wait to get it running. For next winter, a complete restoration.
Cheers.

Nice car!!! You would have to feel classy driving something like that. And now the waiting.....

With it in gear I rolled the tire and turned the engine free a few times this am. Everything moved, as expected.
After verifying I had fuel to both float bowls on the twin SU H6’s and both Air pistons moved up and down I tried to start her up.
Start she did!! Roughly as expected, with loads of dark smoke at first.
Once she warmed up, idle stayed high at 1250 but lots of throttle response. Exhaust note is quite aggressive actually, much to my surprise.
Think I need to pop off the H6s and give them a good cleaning, find where the idle adjustments are made and free up the choke linkages.

Was able to find neutral with some difficulty as it’s a very short throw shifter and I let her run for 20 minutes.
Temp gauge works, and she stabilized at around 175. Car has a manual electric fan on a dedicated switch, which also works. Ahmeter and alternator work. Blows some oil out of breather or on drivers side, not sure which yet.
But all told, a great Easter morning. A resurrection of sorts has occurred once again this day..
Cheers.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I'm really looking forward to following your progress Mike.

By the way, nice work on finding the bad ground. Surprising how many people fail to start with the basic things.

I can't remember the name of the movie but it was about a guy who had spent years in prison for murdering his mother and her lover but when let out he got a job working on small engines (lawnmowers etc) and a a guy had brought in his mower and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run. The first thing the ex con did was remove the gas cap and say 'No gas'.

The movie was called...SLINGBLADE
with Billy Bob Thornton. Loved it, mmmhmm.

Sweet ride, Mike.

My father restored quite a few MG's. My sister still has her 63, my brother has my mothers Austin Heeley, with only 31000 miles on it, original spare tire. Dad also restored some old JAG's as well as Oldsmobile's, and Studebaker's. I'll have to get some pics of them up, some day. If ya got any problems, give me a holler. We've got contacts for finding those, hard to find, parts.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

With it in gear I rolled the tire and turned the engine free a few times this am. Everything moved, as expected.
After verifying I had fuel to both float bowls on the twin SU H6’s and both Air pistons moved up and down I tried to start her up.
Start she did!! Roughly as expected, with loads of dark smoke at first.
Once she warmed up, idle stayed high at 1250 but lots of throttle response. Exhaust note is quite aggressive actually, much to my surprise.
Think I need to pop off the H6s and give them a good cleaning, find where the idle adjustments are made and free up the choke linkages.

Was able to find neutral with some difficulty as it’s a very short throw shifter and I let her run for 20 minutes.
Temp gauge works, and she stabilized at around 175. Car has a manual electric fan on a dedicated switch, which also works. Ahmeter and alternator work. Blows some oil out of breather or on drivers side, not sure which yet.
But all told, a great Easter morning. A resurrection of sorts has occurred once again this day..
Cheers.

My friend it is a bit Ironic that your newly acquired toy's engine should indeed 'come back to life' on Easter Morning.

Happy Easter my friend and to all you love.

Grabbed some oil cause lord knows the last time it was done.
Came out almost Gray.

Normally with a colour like that I’d be worrying about a blown gasket and coolant leaking into the oil. But before I panic, change the oil a few times and see what is really going on.

Also found out the valve cover gasket is blown, as in chunks are missing, while filling up the oil. 2 liters ran down the backside of the engine out from under the cover as I filled too quickly.

Ordered my SU H6 rebuild kit and wheel cylinders from Moss. Already shows shipped.
Thinking the jets or something may have clogged up after my first run as it’s back to ether again even though the fuel pump is good now. Ordered a fuel filter just to be safe as well.

Won’t be trying to start it again till I redo the carbs and finish reviewing the fuel system. As much as I want to test drive it, certain steps must be followed..
On to drum removal..

Mike: when you rebuild the carbs be sure to check for play & wear of the butterfly shaft. The bearing material for the shaft is the carb body aluminum.
With use the hole for the shaft wears and air gets sucked in through said holes and causes uneven idle and unreliable air/fuel mixture ratio. If worn
the body needs to be re-bored for a larger diameter diameter shaft or bused for a new standard diameter shaft.