Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Originally Posted by 32t

I have lots of jars but am short on lids.

I gave a friend some honey today but told him that if he wanted it he should bring a jar or two.

Although I have given him 5 gallons before I am not ready at this time and what I have is in 5 gal buckets.

Check your email-----

Originally Posted by RezDog

5 gal is a lot of honey

That it is ! that is what I averaged from my hives this year.

12 pound per gallon. Not bad but only had a couple of hives..... Long story.

To keep this on track Propolis is a bee glue.

It works wonders on bee hives and I wonder how it might hold together a 51 MG????????????

Sounds like a sweet glue too.

Frames as far as I’m going to take it. Everything but the rear diff are off, including all the brake lines, which will be made anew.

Next big tasks will be frame repair, engine mount change and Engine and frame painting. Hopefully all before it gets to cool to cure outside.
Hoping for an Indian Summer up here this year. 2020 owes us that much at least!

They were out of stock of MG engine maroon, and I decided to heck with it, my car, my rules.
So the green machine is going to have a little “pop” on the inside. Seeing as how I’ll be running without the side bonnet panels, initially, and possibly permanently, depending on if I can get skinny carbs once the engine is reinstalled further forward. I decided to go with what I hope are complimentary colours for the engine.

The timing cover and crank pulley shall be done in complimentary aluminized silver to match the exhaust header. Hoping the valve cover will clean up more once I break out the 3m when I tackle all the chrome, in the spring.
Temp dropped below 65 though so had to stop at this point till another day.
Cheers

Tried my hand at TIG welding on a few pieces of steel about the thickness of my frame repair.
Only been half a lifetime since I did any significant TIG work so I’m sure it’ll come back to me. Har..

First kick and I quickly realized I didn’t need reading glasses last time I TIG welded like I do now.
I could barely see the molten puddle I was forming.. for those unfamiliar Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG) uses no flux, just electricity and an inert gas to keep the weld zone clean. You create a very localized molten puddle with the tungsten rod and push it across the work. No consumable rods required.
In the above I traveled right to left. The weld ripples trail the work. Can see I stopped too soon as the puddle on the left edge should have trailed right off the work without the dimple.
Two different thickness can be welded together and the weld is cleaner, and ‘softer’ or more workable than either MIG or stick can create as it only melts the two base metals together without adding a third filler or binding metal. The exception is filling holes or spanning large gaps which necessitates filler regardless of weld process followed..

Really good penetration actually, and I’m happy for my practice run, it’s an awful ugly weld compared to what I hope to get back to, proficiency wise, but it’d hold in production.
I’m a millwright, I make things work. You want pretty, call a licensed welder, lol.

The big thing with TIG for me is the machine set up.

It has been years for me regularly using one so I am also out of practice but I have laid a bead on an aluminium pop can.

My son is a pipe fitter and boy can he make some nice welds.

But then convincing him to spend his time off to help dad and do what he does all week is not that easy to do.

Sort of like the cobblers kids go bare foot..............

That's a pretty darn good looking bead for being away from it for a long time. I've never done TIG only MIG but it takes some experience to get a stack of dimes like that.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Tried my hand at TIG welding on a few pieces of steel about the thickness of my frame repair.
Only been half a lifetime since I did any significant TIG work so I’m sure it’ll come back to me. Har..

First kick and I quickly realized I didn’t need reading glasses last time I TIG welded like I do now.
I could barely see the molten puddle I was forming.. for those unfamiliar Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG) uses no flux, just electricity and an inert gas to keep the weld zone clean. You create a very localized molten puddle with the tungsten rod and push it across the work. No consumable rods required.
In the above I traveled right to left. The weld ripples trail the work. Can see I stopped too soon as the puddle on the left edge should have trailed right off the work without the dimple.
Two different thickness can be welded together and the weld is cleaner, and ‘softer’ or more workable than either MIG or stick can create as it only melts the two base metals together without adding a third filler or binding metal. The exception is filling holes or spanning large gaps which necessitates filler regardless of weld process followed..

Really good penetration actually, and I’m happy for my practice run, it’s an awful ugly weld compared to what I hope to get back to, proficiency wise, but it’d hold in production.
I’m a millwright, I make things work. You want pretty, call a licensed welder, lol.

Oh it's not so ugly! How strong the weld is! Many years ago a guy had shortened a '56 four door Ford station wagon by removing the rear door section plus some. He'd cut the frame to bring the body to meet up but there was still an angled gap and instead of trying to butt weld the frame, he'd used 1/4" plate and welded all four sides to the original frame and those welds were a bit 'lacking' in appearance .

He lost interest in the project and it had sat for several years when a buddy of mine took a liking to it and bought it for $50. Once he'd seen the welds we towed it to a local welder to see what he thought and he crawled under the Ford and once on his feet he said "They aren't pretty but they won't break, run it"!

I made a cardboard pattern to fill in the gap from the removal of the doors and my buddy had a guy cut pieces out of 1/8" steel and my dad heated them and welded the pieces in.

The engine was a 312 Y block and it ran straight pipes, there was an adapterpurchased from JC Whitney to the old Ford 4 speed truck transmissions so you had to double clutch but it was a riot to drive or even be a passenger.

Spent some time straightening steel over the last few days before all the weld repairs.


To this


Supposed to loook like this.

And will again.
Seems made out of mere 16 gauge steel, I’m going up to 1/8” thick by doubling the plate with a second skin welded too, as my new sway bars going to connect to this, as well as the rad mount bracket.
Need to weld and tap a new front bumper mount on the left as well.
Fussy work, before the more fussy work begins. But technically on the rebuilding side of the job now.