Post by grumpynorthener on Jun 16, 2021 7:32:13 GMT
Nearside quarter glass has a broken frame in the respect of the upper hinge is missing - a previous owner has drilled the frame & pinned the opening frame permanently shut
The bottom pin has rusted to the point it simply sheared off even after being heated - most of the parts are available to repair the frames through Brown & Gammons - However they are premium priced - i.e. a small stud braised to 20mm section of 3mm flat bar is £15 - it doesn't even come with the nut to fit it and we need x 4 of the studs - other frame parts suffer from the same excessive over pricing - a complete quarter glass frame is £220 + vat - we will have to do the sums with a view to what will work out has the best / most economical route
With the glass & inner frame removed to access the bolt locations I could trial fit the frame - nearside is a poor fit to the door aperture and contacts the roof rain channel / drip rail
This is pretty typical of the type problems encountered with major restoration work - what should fit - wont fit - its either been altered at some stage or there is some other factor along the way that is preventing the correct fit - it requires further investigation and some possible alteration / reworking of the area - before I went any further I built the offside up has this will possibly provide suitable reference points which may identify the nearside fitting problems
So far - so good
Door glass & window regulator fitted
Closure to the door aperture is ok but far from perfect - then again the build quality & tolerance standards back in the 70's are very much removed from that which is found in vehicle manufacture of the last 20 years or so (not that I use this as an excuse)
I compared the glass fitting to several other examples of the model and its of equal fitting quality if not better than some examples - once fitted with the horizontal glass weather trims to the top of the door skin & frame which retain the door glass in a rigid position along with a new door aperture seal it should provide for a weather tight & draught free glass to door aperture seal - there are roof gutter trims, windscreen & B post pillar trims to be added once the car is refinished which all close up the currently wide gapping between the glass & aperture
Door glass will require replacement - its badly scratched by the previously fitted worn weather seal - and therein lays the problem of a high quality restoration / build - its very difficult to refit damaged / poor quality cosmetic parts to a vehicle that degrades the quality of the work undertaken elsewhere on the car
I turned my attention back to complete the nearside rear wing modifications under the rear lamp
Completing the welding with the bumper removed
And with it now dressed back - final profiles will be achieved with it being lead loaded when the car returns for its paintwork
Lamp refitted to check fitting clearances
Whilst on the nearside I made some changes to the bumper iron aperture on the rear panel to allow sufficient clearances
And the bumper iron crush tubes to the chassis rails were welded insitu on both sides
Offside rear wing modification under the rear lamp is now well on its way and just requires some minor finishing
Post by grumpynorthener on Jun 16, 2021 21:37:07 GMT
Lots on the go at Grumpy Towers sees my available workshop time currently reduced but I'm keen to get the works on the body shell completed so I'm slotting the hours in where I can
Completed the works on the rear offside wing modification & checked against the rear lamp once it was refitted
Repair required on the nearside lower quarter glass retaining screw - the cage nut had let go hence a little surgery was required
Cut a key hole into the pillar to allow a repair on the cage nut from behind -then I could wind the screw out
With that sorted a repair was required at the top of the rear wing within the quarter glass aperture
Soon sorted
In between the repairs I kept making alterations to the nearside quarter glass frame to achieve a basic fit and eventually started to get somewhere
And matches the fit of the offside
I have had to make some alterations to the top of the door skin / door frame to achieve the fit with the frame - everything is tacked in place currently
I now need to fully weld the area up & dress it back
Rear bumper has gone back on to check the clearances - should be ok but this bumper is quite distorted in places
Its fine for now but I'll need a decent & straight pair of bumpers for when I commence the profiling prior to paint - so just the nearside door to complete in conjunction with the quarter glass frame - then the bonnet repairs to finalise - should be complete by Friday all being well - then its time for it to head to Norfolk to be introduced to several quite shiny & powerful elements of its new drive train
I wonder what is next into the workshop? Can't remember if the BSA 3 wheeler was finished or moved out to make space for the MGB.
Ray - Yep BSA 3 wheeler is returning for paint along with a Jowett Javelin that I had previously commenced works upon and several other 4 wheeled visitors on a ad hoc basis for a few days for minor things - some fresh faces arriving over the next few days too so a few new threads on the horizon too
then its time for it to head to Norfolk to be introduced to several quite shiny & powerful elements of its new drive train
Funny you should say that I had time for a bit of a play last night, predominantly focusing on this
As you can see I'd removed the front cover and a few other ancillaries to enable me to get it on the stand to fit things properly. Properly you ask - were they not before? Err no, allow me to explain.
When the engine is shipped for safety/protection reasons it's put on a pallet and located/supported with wooden blocks, perfect for the job they are designed for, not so good when you can't fit the front cover etc as they foul the casing for the oil pump at the bottom. So it had to come off the pallet regardless, and as these are not the heaviest engines, for ease I thought I may as well put it on the stand for a more comfortable working height. That's where the fun started.
Due to its positioning on the shipping pallet (see the supporting framework in the pic below) and the awkwardness of the legs of my engine crane, it meant I couldn't get close enough to lift it in the right orientation meaning I needed it to lift it with the stand mount facing the crane, it could then be rested on a slightly smaller pallet while I swung the crane around 180 degrees to lift it again
It was a little toasty given the rather humid weather but I got there eventually - never did like doing these jobs and still not 100% confident in the mountings so decided to leave the crane there as back up for the time being.
Front cover could then be reattached with a closer fit at the bottom this time
albeit only bolted up finger tight in a few places for now, I'll torque everything up as per the usual specs in due course.
I could then start to add a few bits needed for clearance checks and positioning purposes ready for when the shell is back - one such example are the exhaust headers
You can see how much they add to the width
Last thing was to order a couple of bits I'm still missing such as the vacuum attachment for the inlet manifold which locates here:
Given Chris' findings I also did a bit of detective work on sourcing some new glazing but at a better spec to standard. Knowing I wanted something akin to what is used on the Frontline and CCHL specials I decided to see if I could find the suppliers direct for the rear quarterlights, sure enough an old evilBay listing told me everything I needed to know, so I've fired off a couple of emails to see if they are able to supply as COVID seems to have understandably caused chaos with their workforce. Fingers crossed.
Next on the procurement list are some replacement chrome bumpers befitting of Chris' handiwork, if I can help it I don't want the repro chinese versions as on the rear bumper the corners don't taper in as per the originals meaning they fill up with rubbish from the wheels... will see how I get on.
So nice to see some shiny mechanicals. I've been watching the bodywork and especially panel fit quite closely. But after each update - I had to go for a lie-down, and it brought back the bad memories of my Morris Oxford panel fit. BL in the 60's and 70's - I don't know how they slept at night with that workmanship on their conscience.
I decided last night to have a bit of a sort/tidy of a few bits that won't be needed for this car but may come in useful for the other one (partially inspired by the ' So, what do you keep?' thread). I really do have multiples of things I really shouldn't have!
Anyway while sorting through and allocating to the keep / move on piles, I decided I'd also start to line up a few components as a series of mini kits for fitting for this project. Last night was the turn of the gearbox and ensuing I had all of the relevant parts in one place, or in this instance a moveable one as I made use of the previously occupied engine pallet. So fixings, brackets, main parts and instructions were all lumped together:
Not sure it will stay this clean once it's been fitted
^^^ Good example of how narrow these boxes are and why they are perfect for swapping as no tunnel mods are required.
Now the weather has taken a bit of a turn (so no garden-related orders) and I'm actually at home this weekend after being away for the last three, it's the perfect excuse for some workshop time... although one is cosier than the other at the moment due to reasons outlined in the workshop thread (probably my own fault it's raining thinking about it...)
Post by toomanyprojects on Jun 21, 2021 13:36:44 GMT
So some more tinkering on the engine over the weekend while not getting distracted by everything else (see Celica thread).
I revisited the front cover once more and was reviewing how the distributor would locate to ensure I get the drive connected in the right place, particularly orientating the small gear at the bottom correctly - here's how it was affixed to the old distributor in the 3.9 lump so I can't imagine it should be any different
Anyway while doing so and taking the front cover off again, I spotted a minor issue
So some more tinkering on the engine over the weekend while not getting distracted by everything else (see Celica thread).
I revisited the front cover once more and was reviewing how the distributor would locate to ensure I get the drive connected in the right place, particularly orientating the small gear at the bottom correctly - here's how it was affixed to the old distributor in the 3.9 lump so I can't imagine it should be any different
Anyway while doing so and taking the front cover off again, I spotted a minor issue
So some more tinkering on the engine over the weekend while not getting distracted by everything else (see Celica thread).
I revisited the front cover once more and was reviewing how the distributor would locate to ensure I get the drive connected in the right place, particularly orientating the small gear at the bottom correctly - here's how it was affixed to the old distributor in the 3.9 lump so I can't imagine it should be any different
Anyway while doing so and taking the front cover off again, I spotted a minor issue
Not sure it is supposed to be like that?
I may be being dumb but can't see the problem?
I thought the same seeing this picture Unless it is the sump profile to the front cover
Seen that done a lot on similar design of engine, lazy mans way so you dont have to take the sump off, they would just use the front bit of the gasket and a bit of sealer on the join
If its normal masking tape on the throttle body thingy dont leave it on too long as it can be a pain to get of once its gets a bit dry!
Seen that done a lot on similar design of engine, lazy mans way so you dont have to take the sump off, they would just use the front bit of the gasket and a bit of sealer on the join
If its normal masking tape on the throttle body thingy dont leave it on too long as it can be a pain to get of once its gets a bit dry!
Hmm well the proper gasket was delivered today so will sort over the weekend. I can see why they have done it as the engine came part assembled and without the front cover so in theory I guess it could get damaged, suffice to say it isn't ideal so will whip the sump off while I have it on the stand and fit properly.
Good shout - it's low tack stuff but I may err on the side of caution anyway.
Seen that done a lot on similar design of engine, lazy mans way so you dont have to take the sump off, they would just use the front bit of the gasket and a bit of sealer on the join
If its normal masking tape on the throttle body thingy dont leave it on too long as it can be a pain to get of once its gets a bit dry!
Hmm well the proper gasket was delivered today so will sort over the weekend. I can see why they have done it as the engine came part assembled and without the front cover so in theory I guess it could get damaged, suffice to say it isn't ideal so will whip the sump off while I have it on the stand and fit properly.
Good shout - it's low tack stuff but I may err on the side of caution anyway.
All clicks into place like a well made jigsaw - I was looking for issues with the chain etc. durrr!
Post by grumpynorthener on Jun 26, 2021 8:15:02 GMT
Progress over the last week or so whilst many other things get in the way - I have the nearside door glazing fitted but I'm far from happy with the fit
Frame fit is too tight to the top edge of the windscreen pillar & roof line
And the door glass is equally a poor fit and will not raise at the correct angle - the window regulator mechanism appears to have significant wear / play along with making some very strange noises when operated - the frame & regulator have at some stage been messed around with by a previous owner and they are both at the point where replacement needs to be considered rather than spending any further time on attempting to get them functional / fitting
Whilst I achieved a fair fit with the bonnet
Which consequently went pear shaped when I fitted the hydraulic support arms (this is a retro fit option) unfortunately with the bonnet having seen a previous life it would appear that the rear underframe of the bonnet in the area that supports the hinge mountings has been compromised hence the hinge mountings now lack the structural integrity - with the bonnet closed the pressure from the compressed arms force the bonnet up beyond flush with the bulkhead & wings - I'm aware that Sam has a choice of bonnets so the next route is to fit one of those in order to resolve the issue - I'll talk the options through with Sam over the weekend but I'm aware that he had a long day of transporting vehicles around the country yesterday so I'll give him a chance to catch his breath first
Always found the standard self locking bonnet support to be adequate....but then that was with a stiffer steel "B' bonnet. Is the intention to achieve a higher lift with the struts?
I had time for a bit of a play last night, predominantly focusing on this
