Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Double wishbones....Hopefully, you can do the springs with a floor jack. A spring compressor may be in order. Gotta bust the ball joint (upper?)
Rears should be easier? 2 hrs is optimistic I think? Be careful!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

A good summer season behind and Noddy is tucked in for the winter.
Attachment 354994
She ran well all season.
I think I should have had the cylinder head redone by a machine shop and may still, if only for the slight oil burn I attribute to the gap in the Vv stems but was trying to save money along the way.
Even though she ran well I always sensed resistance from the Misses to go longer than an hr out in her and never on the big hiways. So, got me looking for a newer roadster that she might be more confident in. An add to the garage not to replace the MG cause I have way to much blood in her to consider selling.
Always wanted a 911 but never looked at them seriously. Took a cpl that needed lots of work for a test drive and felt that I?m just too old to rock that car any longer. Refuse to be one of those ?old guys? puttering long in a Porsche.
So, worked out a deal for this 05 SLK
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Seems more age appropriate, and a 6 spd std hard top convertible.
Needs some freshening up, busted lights and a thread worn drivers seat bottom. But compared to the scope of the last project, everything she needs is relatively cosmetic.
A few weeks work and she will be a nice upgrade that has windows that are built in, and roll up with the top down. Think that?s Ruth?s biggest hang up wit the MG. It?s just too little for her to feel truly safe. I might drive to fast as well but am unconvinced on that cause.
Anyway, buddy was real eager to make a sale as Christmas is coming so I worked it out.
Cheers gents.

Isn't that what you said about the MG? Just a couple of issues and it will be great! 4 years later and well, you're still making improvements. Good Luck to you on this new adventure!

Yeah, in my experience, at least with sports cars and hotrods that's just how it is with cars. One's I had I was under the hood as much as I was behind the wheel.

It all came apart as it should.
The Corvair being from California and spending its life in a garage or driving has made working on it so much easier than most old cars. Front coils are so wimpy and the rears having a simple single A-arm on the lower half made the job go well. Yep, Pop the lower ball joint on the front after getting the car up high enough. Use a floor jack. Had to get a pry bar in there after pulling the shocks to get the front springs in and out. Rears just about fell out. Oh, I had to remove the horse-shoe type clip that holds the brake hoses to the bracket where it connects to the steel lines. Cant remember what they are called. But they came right out. I needed a little more slack on the hoses for more movement. Maybe an inch extra was all I needed. And even the shocks upper nut just unscrewed. I have those special sockets that you can put on the top of a shock to turn the shock and hold the nut but there wasn't enough room in the rear to use them. Still, They weren't needed. Vise grips to hold the tip of the shock and break the nut loose. Then it just came apart.

It took me 3 hours to do all 4 corners plus cleanup. And I used hand tools only. Didn't even start the air compressor so no impact guns or ratchets used this time.

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Isn't that what you said about the MG? Just a couple of issues and it will be great! 4 years later and well, you're still making improvements. Good Luck to you on this new adventure!

These projects keep the hands and mind engaged. And when done, it’s just a race to the next one, or the next upgrade on the existing one.
The reward’s when driving that sweet curved country road with the right tunes and the right company.
Gear head till I die, or can’t pick up a spanner I suppose.
Excited to download the Mercedes service manual and start chasing gremlins, hehe.

Gearhead is turning into a computer head.

Thats my probelm.

Wish you luck.

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You might need to program your new heated seat into your car with the factory programing.???

I have been busting it on some projects the last several months. My boat is topped-up finally with exception of a good cleaning.
Tons of hours on a gifted old Miller welder/generator retired from farm duty after much neglect. A favor bought an ancient welder trailer. So much work on both I hate to think of it.
Ugly, but runs a treat.
Next is a trans for my Barracuda. After much work and disappointment from the locals, I paid-up and ordered one from a specialist in Indiana.
Hope to get started installing it later this week.
Shit never ends.....

Originally Posted by MikeB52

These projects keep the hands and mind engaged. And when done, it?s just a race to the next one, or the next upgrade on the existing one.
The reward?s when driving that sweet curved country road with the right tunes and the right company.
Gear head till I die, or can?t pick up a spanner I suppose.
Excited to download the Mercedes service manual and start chasing gremlins, hehe.

I guess you just have to love working on cars. That's the one thing in life that I have never learned about. I'm not afraid to get greasy or dirty, I just don't know what I don't know about cars. Never had the ambition to learn.....

For me it was necessity. I didn't grow up with money, my family didn't use seasons as a verb if you know what I mean. I was used to working so I had money to buy a car and put gas in it but not enough to pay for repairs. If I wanted to drive I had to know how to maintain and repair my car. Then, in my infinite wisdom I bought a 15 year old BMW 1600. THAT is when I really learned to repair cars partly to keep it running and partly to max out performance. After that came the hot rod period and I think I was under the hood MORE than behind the wheel. That all withstanding, I think there's a differwnce between working on cars to keep them running and being a "car guy" or liking to work on cars which I really think are the same thing. That love for performance takes it to another level.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Enjoy Mike. For me it'll be a 68-70 Mach1(always lamented losing grip on that 69 GT) if I ever do it again. Always wanted the 429 Boss 4 speed. Hey a guy can dream can't he?That or that 65 Riviera this time like I wanted instead of the 63 I had. And this time it would have to be the GS (425 dual 4bbl) if at all.

Interesting that I was so recently thinking about this car. Got a call from a guy I went to high school with to work on something else who not only has a 429 Boss Mustang, he has 4 of them.


The jade black, royal maroon and candy apple red are all S-Code models. He also has a wimbledon white one (not in the picture) that is not an S-Code. That made my day just getting to see them. Thought you gents might appreciate that also.