Finding packets of joy.

As some of you may have heard, we had a humdinger of a Nor’easter snowstorm last Saturday night. We had no power for four and a half days and no internet (or cable connection) for nearly seven days. Not to mention the 21.5” of snow we received! So as can be expected the major restoration plans were put aside as we were in survival mode. But, the good news I have is worth passing along.

First, on Wednesday afternoon, the moment I arrived home and found out that we had our power restored, I discovered that my rear bumper from my secret parts source was delivered! The outside of it is very good and will probably only need a good cleaning and polishing.

The inside needs to have the car body sheet metal (that he smartly kept on in order to save the bumper) removed because the nuts and bolts are rusted. It will receive the same wire wheel and chrome paint treatment as the front bumper.

And, somehow John found my brake calipers in a box in his garage! They will be restored and rebuilt. I just have to find out the correct color for them, which will be either red, brass or yellow…I cannot tell until I start to clean them up.

They happen to be the same calipers used on 1963-1979 MG Midgets. The only difference is that the center groove is wider on the Midgets because the rotor is wider.

This is my example of “you never really know what you are going to get when you buy things on eBay sometimes”. This pad set was one of two that I bought from a fellow in Ontario Canada a couple years ago. First he listed them as an auction for one front brake caliper kit/box for an MG 1100. He had two sets available so I bought both sets from him in a relatively inexpensive ”Buy It Now”. When I received them I noticed that each box had a set for a pair of front disc brake calipers. Not only that, but they are definitely NOT for an MG 1100 nor any ADO16 car! So knowing that the calipers are the same as a Midget, I had to order a new set of pads, clips, and shims from Moss Motors today. Now I have to find out what cars these fit and put both sets back up on eBay and be accurate (and honest) in their description!

I hope we can finally get to the sub-frame removal this week.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

Front suspension prep

The final step to do before removing and then rebuilding the front sub-frame on Old Biddy was to collect all the restored front suspension parts together so I could organize them to see what needed to be done.

The final remaining task was to install new roller joint kits in the upper support (or radius) arms. But there were no instructions anywhere on how to do it. I even consulted the “Book of Highly Exalted Words” which explains “for reassembly reverse the process for disassembly.” Um……OK then.

When John took a look at them and could not figure out how to do it either, I decided to take them down to Chris, who loves to work on Minis. He scratched his head for a minute and then started to figure out how they went together as he assembled them.

Yeay! And after three years of waiting, another pesky task was marked off the list! (Note: the 1100 roller joint kits are unique. Many people think they are assembled like a Mini or 1800 “Land crab”, but they are quite different.)

And of course, Chris sent me home with more homework…to refurbish the timing chain cover.

Since it is Halloween, I thought I would give you some eye candy as a treat to enjoy. The machined and painted block will be reassembled this week.

The completed transmission and differential patiently wait on the bench to get attached to the block.

This week’s focus at home will be to rebuild the front sub-frame and to prepare it for the motor.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

The pedal box assembly project

The pedal box assembly was placed up on my bench to sort out the parts, and to remind myself what needed to be done to complete it. When I pulled the assembly out of the old car four years ago it was a rusty hulk. For instance, the brake pedal was rusted and frozen to the pivot shaft and did not even move! Since then, I spent many hours cleaning up the parts to get it to this point. To reassemble it now, four tasks had to be done. Both the clutch and brake master cylinders needed to be refurbished, the brake pedal needed new bronze sleeves put in and then it had to be painted, and the pivot bolt needed to be rethreaded.

In order to get the frozen pivot shaft out I had to tap (err, I mean “beat”) on the threaded end, which then buggered it up. It was placed in my vice and a 5/16” x 24 die was twisted on.

For the first time in my life I got it right and did not cross thread it on the first try!!

Next up was to refurbish the master cylinder. Here is the before shot with the new (Lockheed SSB 703) kit.

And…the after picture with the old worn out kit and all polished with “0000” steel wool and Nevr Dull.

Then it was on to the clutch master cylinder with new (Lockheed SSB 716) kit. Before.

During…better known as the “guts shot”.

And the after. I am not going for a perfect Concours look to the car. I actually like a little patina on the bare metal parts.

This past Thursday evening we had our monthly Litchfield County group gathering of the Connecticut MG Club. I brought the brake pedal to the pizza restaurant to ask for advice on how to change out the bushings. My friend and neighbor Silas Kinsey offered to take it home to swap out the little bronze tubes because he had a press. “It’ll take me five minutes to do”, he said. I did not hear from him after that. Then, on my doorstep Saturday morning I found the re-bushed brake pedal that Si dropped off. Thank you, Si!!

So after I painted it up and let it cure overnight, the pedal box assembly was reassembled as it was installed in the car!!

After I get the 5/16” x 24 nuts and washers for the cylinders, it will be time to celebrate another victory!!

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

A Brazin' we will go!

This week I had a chance to go with John to visit our friend, Daryl, in his Tech Ed shop at an area high school. I could have used the shop in the high school where I (substitute) teach but instead I enjoy the camaraderie. I took three projects along with me to complete.

One end of the holding strap for the windshield washer fluid bottle holder popped off and needed a quick repair.

Four years ago I tried to remove the bolts to the brackets that hold a brake caliper to the brake dust shield. I busted all three off! I was young and dumb back then...what can I say?

The sub-frame motor mount on the passenger side of the Austin America sub-frame (which is the one I am using because it is in the car now) is 3/8” narrower than the (motor’s) original 1100 engine sub-frame (pictured below.) In order for the motor to fit properly in the Austin America sub-frame, I had to make a pattern then fabricate a spacer out of a spare 3/8” aluminum sheet that John had.

When we got to the shop, I first cut the spacer out on a very dull band saw. Once the sub-frame is taken out of the car (to install the motor and front suspension), I will have to measure for and then drill the holes in the spacer before we install the motor.

John used the torch to loosen the bolts. He reinstalled the nuts onto the dust covers and brazed them in place instead of spot welding. He likes to braze things.

Next, we took the bottle washer holder and measured the bottle for fit. He clamped the holder into place so he could braze that, too, instead of spot welding it together. Did I mention that John likes to braze things?

It only took us an hour and a half to complete all three projects. I just do not have the tools (nor the skills) to do those repairs at home. I then took the parts home to sand, primer and paint them. And after four years…Viola! They are finally done!

I am hoping the new clutch master cylinder repair kit and NOS clutch slave cylinder arrive this week from England. The next project in line for going up on my bench is the pedal box assembly. I would like to repair, finish, and install that before we get the motor back from Chris.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

Another jumbled week of progress.

This was another week of completing more little tasks that do not seem like much now, but will add up later on. No theme or main focus to it, which is why I call it “jumbled.”

I had a quick moment to finally finish Old Biddy’s face. The bumperettes (or over riders) were installed. The rubber strips were slid on and cut to length, then the over riders (or bumperettes) were bolted into place. She’s purdy!!

I completed the “homework” that Chris assigned to me. All the engine parts were cleaned, sanded, primed, and painted. I think they came out nice.

Check out this example of a really bad oil filter. It was clogged with grit and dirty, black oil. It smelled really bad just like the oil sludge at the bottom of the transmission case did! The oil canister also had a little bit of sludge in it which I cleaned out. The new filter was then installed as the oil filter assembly was assembled. This white  filter was cheap and it is temporary. There will be an original paper filter back in there.

I brought the refurbished parts down to Chris. He had the head in the press and was putting the valve guides in. They are 1/1000^th too small and pushed right through. The guides were from Moss and made in India but not to specs. They will be sent back and exchanged!

He was also working on getting the yokes all cleaned and set up. They will hopefully get polished this week. The offending valve guides are right there in the plastic package waiting to go back to Moss Motors.

Last night he bead blasted the casing. He wanted to wash it out before doing anything else to it to make sure all the beads are cleaned out.

I also got a chance to talk to Chuck, my secret parts source, today. Sure is nice to actually chat with someone on that old-fashioned device called the telephone like we used to do way back in the 20^th century before the internet! He has a nice rear bumper for me which he will send to me this week. I cannot wait to pay the shipping fee…THAT ought to be fun!!

One last thanks to David (he did not want me to mention his last name) in Bodicote, England who has this site set in his “favorites” as he enjoys following the progress of the car. He used to have a 1965 MG 1100 “with the steering wheel on the right side” when he was courting his wife. Right side or correct side, either way it is nice to have you watching!!

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

A jumbled week of progress.

Now that the wire harness is installed, I can work on other various odds and ends that do not require as much thinking. The clutch kit finally arrived from Minimania (who had to order it from the UK) after a month of being on back order! I also cleaned up and painted the exhaust manifold with high heat barbeque grille satin black paint. The valve cover badges also arrived (with a couple other parts for my '76 MG Midget, "Joe".)

Chris needed all these parts for the motor so I took the 11.2 mile, 21 minute ride down to deliver them. When I got there he showed me his progress on rebuilding the differential.

He opened it up so I could take a picture. Pretty…ain’t it?

He then sent me home with a batch of parts (valve cover, thermostat housing, both valve guide covers and the oil filter housing) to clean and paint, which will save him time and me money. I hope to finish these by Monday.

I also had a quick spare moment to put Old Biddy’s eyes in! Her face needs just the bumperettes now, which I hope to get on her this weekend. I have received the rubber gasket strips for them. Now it will be just finding the spare moment to get out there to install them.

I also had to make another couple calls (to Moss Motors and Minimania again) to order various bits and pieces that I either forgot to order or did not know I needed at the time. You know how it goes… The crank shaft was ground and balanced this week. And, the block should be done getting machined by early next week. Lots of progress is being made right now which makes for a very exciting time!!

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy

Getting wired up...Part 2

Had a quick few moments to put a few electrical components and parts on the car this weekend. It was nothing spectacular but exciting nonetheless!

The first thing I did was to install the fuse box, solenoid, and flasher unit on the inside passenger fender well. Then after adjusting the harness to align it correctly, the voltage regulator/control box was installed next on the firewall. (Notice the original cool looking black clip cover on the control box. It almost puts happy tears in my eyes!)

Once the engine compartment wiring was all laid out and the headlights and turn signals were hooked up, I moved inside to install the steering rack support unit. The wire harness was then threaded through the support.

After finally getting the harness all strung out in its proper place, I needed to take a break. This wiring diagram became my best friend for a couple hours.

 I decided to install Old Biddy’s original hood latch that I found buried deep in the annals of a forgotten box in my cellar. I restored it first and then installed it. (I have no picture of it as I was too excited and impatient while doing it.) Why was I excited? First because I actually found it! Second because installing the latch was the only thing holding me up from doing this!!

The grille is not perfect and will need some restoration later on, but it is just fine for now! If someone has a better grille please let me know. I also need a complete rear bumper. At least Old Biddy has a nearly complete “face” now, although she is still missing her headlights and bumperettes.

This week is another busy week. Whenever I have a spare moment I will do something on the car as always.

Thanks for visiting.

Toddy