Thread: 51 MG restoration.

The way my auto body instructor explained a DE VS an Orbital sander (like a Jitter Bug) is that both the DE and the Jitter Bug make little circles, but the DE also makes Big Circles so it removes material faster But also leaves a different scratch pattern.

While not all of the DE of my day would do it some had a lever and turned it into a Mini Grinder.

Back in the day self stick adhesives were just starting to be offered.Before them we had boxes of circles of various grits and we would spray the pads and stick a circle on it.

My DE and my Board sander were both Hutchins and they didn't take a lot of air, however some of them are air hogs. I hope your compressor puts out enough SCFPM so that the blaster and the DE will operate properly. Remember Standard Cubic Feet Per Minute is different than Pressure. I believe this is what my little compressor puts out: 5.0 CFM @ 90 PSI; 6.0 CFM @ 40 PSI Back in the day, if I'd tried to use my Binks to spray a car with the Binks would have run the compressor to death. These new High Volume Low Pressure guns use an enormous amount of air. You may be able to run one to apply primer but I'm not sure.

Before you use the blaster on the test sheet metal, be sure to use your hands and feel the surface for smoothness. Believe it or not, those cheap brown cotton jersey gloves can actually help you feel imperfections that miss with your bare hands.

Watching Ant Anstead building a TD special. Bottom up sand blasting frame etc. On Motor Trend channel.

Thanks Richard. I’ll look for it in reruns.

First hour was mainly the work on the frame and suspension. He wanted to build a Alfa retro car. That was not mentioned when I turned the program on.
Still, for me, a good way to spend the time.
JMHO
-Richard

Took her to work and then out for a rip.

I only procrastinate to tear her down now because she’s just so much fun to drive..
The guy who owns that red one racing in that video a few posts back responded to me on YouTube with details on his car.
We took it offline and he’s been a great help, and inspiration regarding performance since after a few seasons I know specifically where I want to improve. His little red racer has less hp than mine but with suspension and compression tweaks that make it a completely different class.
So, sway bars, and suspension will replace tonneau cover and interior upholstery on the priority list. I can get to the interior on an easier scale later on without to many redundant tear downs. What I have now, while not being perfect is good enough.

Many, many things on order now from UK as well as USA for her face lift.
Decided July’s a good month to start so took her out for a lil rip yesterday to burn down the fuel level some.

Found a steep rutted ole patch of road to really test my leg strong braking system and realized I am really looking forward to boosted brakes when she’s fixed up. Kinda scary when you just cannot actually stop!

Broke some driving etiquette rules and filmed a little bit of the descent.
Cheers gents, going to start to actually rebuilding her on this thread soon enough!

Enjoy it my friend. Working on something like that has to be fun.

Willwood sells a disk conversion kit for MG’ TDS I was looking at. But during research I learned that TD suspension was basically the go to design right up till the mid 70s with slight changes.
So, just got back from a road trip to northern Ontario with a 71 mgb front end in the trunk..
Brake upgrade to disks, sway bar install, tapered wheel bearing design instead of rollers, as well as spare hydraulic dampeners, for $300. Mikey likes..
Sure new seals bearings disks and pad sets will drive it up a bit more. But all the parts I really need to improve Noddy‘s stance and stopping power are now starting to accumulate in the garage.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Willwood sells a disk conversion kit for MG’ TDS I was looking at. But during research I learned that TD suspension was basically the go to design right up till the mid 70s with slight changes.
So, just got back from a road trip to northern Ontario with a 71 mgb front end in the trunk..
Brake upgrade to disks, sway bar install, tapered wheel bearing design instead of rollers, as well as spare hydraulic dampeners, for $300. Mikey likes..
Sure new seals bearings disks and pad sets will drive it up a bit more. But all the parts I really need to improve Noddy‘s stance and stopping power are now starting to accumulate in the garage.

My first challenge is going to be releasing the springs energy safely from the front end.
Normally these are easy when still on the car with the weight of the engine. Loose on the garage floor, not sure yet how to approach that challenge.