Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Figured I’d start a thread to avoid flooding the Classic car thread with this project.
Got her home today.



Up on jacks already, wheels off and draining the tank.

Already got the fuel pump working, bad ground. But the fuel smells like shellac so draining everything and starting fresh before I try to get her started.

Brakes come off next. Only been 20 years since my last drum brake job.


So far, all electrical checks out but brake lights and heater, which it has. Choke is seized as well. Parking brake cable barely moved so I didn’t force it.

Need better light in the garage now.
Time to buy some led strips..
Cheers.

Beautiful!! What a fun project with so much enjoyment when finished. A friend had one just like this in yellow when we were young. Fun car!

Awesome - looks like it's going to be a blast....congratulations, know you've been thinking about this for years - looks it great shape actually....if you wanted, how long would it take you to get it running enough for a quick spin around the block?

Hopefully tomorrow..
Or when the snow melts. Just looked outside. Frikkin blizzard.
Ahh well. Last snow of the season. At least I have her in the garage finally.

Congratulations Mike!

The car looks beautiful. I'm sure that it's going to be one heck of a fun project.

This is going to be great to watch.

Pete <:-}

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'.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Hopefully tomorrow..
Or when the snow melts. Just looked outside. Frikkin blizzard.
Ahh well. Last snow of the season. At least I have her in the garage finally.

Really? We've got some wind here, but no snow...Easter Parade down the street tomorrow, should be fun, if it isn't ferkin' freezing....winter tires scheduled to come off both cars in the next two weeks....yikes!

My mom used to want a 52..... I used to have a triumph spitfire...

your garage looks similar to my dining room table.

My ‘dining room table’ ready for a feast!!
And to make a shave reference on this thread, I will be shaving new wood to resemble all these pieces, hehe. Then reassembling them in sections and using a product called total boat penetrating epoxy on said sections before connecting them back to the steel frame, and each other. Figure this way I will achieve improved modular strength, but still allow for some flexibility of the overall car body in relation to its main frame. Think this will be important since the car originally flexed significantly, and there in allowed for vibration mitigation. If I don’t account for some, things will crack where they used to flex..
S.s. Hardware will be used throughout the frame rebuild as well.

I’m going ash on most, as originally used, but may opt for something like mahogany on a few pieces I intend to leave visible once restored. Pieces like the rear top rail and the firewall outer frame under the engine cowls..
Still to decide as the car comes back together.
Cheers gents..