Just thinking out loud here now.... but working on the (understandable) theory of loosing the grim rear roof seam/badge/bodge , would the A pillar seam not benefit from the same treatment?
Just thinking out loud here now.... but working on the (understandable) theory of loosing the grim rear roof seam/badge/bodge , would the A pillar seam not benefit from the same treatment?
Not too sure that would work - firstly we are not attempting to be overly radical with the changes on the body and secondly it would leave a tapered windscreen pillar - its perfectly doable but from my mind would look as if we are trying too hard to set the car apart from others - However, I'm just the monkey that's sorting the body & paint - I'll let Sam make the decision on if he wants it left as is or gone
Post by grumpynorthener on Jun 25, 2022 6:04:38 GMT
Door hinges fitted to the A post on the nearside
Once I'm happy with the positioning of the door I'll make up some permanent spacers to replace the temporary packing washers
Door hung
The apertures / gapping /panel alignment will all get fine tuned & detailed as the the work progresses - this all has be done in conjunction with the fitting of the glass / frames / locks / external trim etc
Front wing is next - again separate bagging & labelling of the fastenings saves a great deal time on the alternative method of just throwing everything unlabelled into a box
Nearside front wing fitted
Door catch & striker plate fitted
Coming together nicely - quite a bit of detail required yet to the gapping's but has previously mentioned more fine tuning than anything
Front wing is next - again separate bagging & labelling of the fastenings saves a great deal time on the alternative method of just throwing everything unlabelled into a box
Much more organised than me. Im one of the aformentioned throw it all in several boxes types
The shell is looking great, Im going to have to try my hand at lead loading at some point.
Post by grumpynorthener on Jun 27, 2022 21:44:06 GMT
Fine tuning of the aperture gapping & panel fit is underway
But this is has far as I will get for the next week - I'm off on a bit of an excursion to a little race circuit in a foreign country for several days in the morning
Just thinking out loud here now.... but working on the (understandable) theory of loosing the grim rear roof seam/badge/bodge , would the A pillar seam not benefit from the same treatment?
Apologies, missed this previously.
The a-pillar seam does seem to be hidden on some cars but not others. I think it's a manufacture date quirk. Like you I prefer the smooth look as per the below, however as to how easy or difficult it is and the likely impact I'll defer to Chris
From what I understand the rear seam was hidden under badging as a a result of MG stopping using lead which would explain why the fronts is visible on later cars.
What some folk do is filler it instead, however that doesn't have the same flex as lead leading to...
In keeping with the overall theme of minor tweaks, my preference is to de-seam the wings as well, meaning you lose another usual rust spot on these and in the real world they never come off anyway
Post by toomanyprojects on Jul 4, 2022 13:31:52 GMT
While Chris has been enjoying a busman's holiday I've been carrying on with a few odd jobs on the parts I have here.
Starting, or should that be continuing with the rear axle, a few little items have been tweaked and added.
The rear axle breather on these is notoriously brittle and are prone to snapping off with the slightest knock. A simple upgrade is therefore to swap it out for a land rover variant. Same thread, same function, just a lot more robust, and dare I say it, better looking too, not that anyone will notice I suspect being where it is.
I also made a start on routing the brake pipes, and trying to form them as best as I could around the new suspension set up
Ordinarily they would hug the tube of the axle and then be secured by aluminium straps
I was also able to add the cleaned up bracket to hold the distribution block that is NLA
Happy with that, it was onto shaping the pipes some more and then finally adding the straps (and a couple of subtle cable ties) to firmly hold everything in place. Last job was to rub clean up the drums from the minor surface rust they'd picked up from various bits in the workshop (see phoeo above) and bag them for protection with a couple of oil lined bags
I'm just waiting on a couple of replacement rubber lined P clips for the pipe routing over the diff and then I can tighten everything up properly, give it a clean and a touch up in places and that'll be the rear axle finished and ready for refitting.
Post by toomanyprojects on Jul 5, 2022 9:29:11 GMT
Right, onto the next little win.
As Le Mans classic didn't happen for me and I had a free day, I decided to jump in the car and head over to the ever-popular road trip destination... yup, that's right... Hinkley.
The rationale? There were two places close together that meant it was worth doing in person and I could also call in to the MGOC in Swavesey on my way back for some more shopping . First a visit to the good folk at Retropower to drop off some loaner items for one of the co-owners Celica.
Lowering springs and various suspension options. They are unlikely to be needed for mine for a considerable time so if I could assist another in getting the car to the right ride height then it seemed an ideal opportunity to help out.
Next stop a mere 10 mins away, Vitesse Global, suppliers of the 5 speed conversion kit for the MG
..and more importantly all the related parts. So armed with the flywheel, clutch and clutch cover I paid them a visit. Having spoken to them on the phone previously and checking all was as it should be in terms of part numbers etc. they were super helpful and as I was there anyway suggested calling in to prove I wasn't going completely mad.
So another cover was pulled off the shelf and tested on the flywheel... with the exact same result . So at least I was safe in the knowledge I had the right cover, something going on with the flywheel then.
After a bit of a tour and a chat through of their latest developments (quite the fascinating place), it was time to head home and revisit things once more.
First, out came the dowels
They took some effort but we got there eventually... and guess what
The cover only then went and fitted - I didn't know whether to laugh or swear, you live and learn, but at least it wasn't just me. So it seems they were throwing a curveball for some reason - lesson learned, never assume
With that little hurdle finally overcome, I could then assembly everything as intended - much better
On the theme of not assuming, I also threw the starter on as well just in case there were any hidden surprises with that , thankfully not
Just to prove how helpful Vitesse are, having emailed them to say I'd solved the issue by removing the dowels etc. the next day an unexpected little package arrived in the post from them with three shouldered bolts to help ensure the cover remains central - nice touch.
Final win was the oil cooler connectors arriving for the uprated front cover
Top is as supplied with the front cover, bottom is what is now needed, happy days
Retropower.... my guaranteed sunday evening youtube viewing. I love the variety and quality of what they push through (just wish they would refuse to fit ghastly led headlight units on builds though!
Back to body seams , i can fully understand the reasons for deleting the wing seam strips but might it be at the risk of ending up looking a bit like a jelly mould? (Think de-seamed mini...!)
Just to throw my spanner in aswell i like the mouldings. They give the car more shape and lines to look at. Good to see a company with good customer service and sorting out your clutch issues.
Retropower.... my guaranteed sunday evening youtube viewing. I love the variety and quality of what they push through (just wish they would refuse to fit ghastly led headlight units on builds though!
Slowly, slowly - I'm hoping that while I'm in the office in town this week there may be a few other bits appear in the post, sure SWMBO will inform me when they arrive!
Yup they do turn out some lovely bits of kit, lots coming up too judging by my little tour of the workshop .
I completely agree re the LED headlights, they just look wrong IMO and I've yet to see a design I like but each to their own. I've purposely not gone down that route with this build, but there will be subtle LED upgrades in places you won't (hopefully) notice.
Back to body seams , i can fully understand the reasons for deleting the wing seam strips but might it be at the risk of ending up looking a bit like a jelly mould? (Think de-seamed mini...!)
Just to throw my spanner in aswell i like the mouldings. They give the car more shape and lines to look at.
OK seeing as you both mention it re body mouldings/seams, let me address it as it's an interesting one.
I've always had it in my head that I'd do away with them, shell looks cleaner IMO as a result, however I take your point re jelly mould, although I suspect that's not helped by the mini's body shape to start with.
More research required perhaps, and it may be they don't make that much of a difference visually to warrant worrying about, however it seemed (see what I did there) a worthwhile exercise to remove the fronts to avoid the rust issues given it's only a short section and as such the rears then followed for consistency... perhaps not. I shall have a chat with the oracle and we can come to a conclusion.
Orrrr perhaps I should go best of both and go smooth on the front and keep the rear? Examples of removal below just because...
I rather like the de-seamed look and personally I would go for it even if only to remove an area where corrosion is present on most of the models. Now is the ideal time to do it when the shell is bare.
Post by grumpynorthener on Jul 6, 2022 12:36:54 GMT
Ok - For what I know - They suffered corrosion at this point because way back when good old BLMC were producing cars that they applied poor quality paint with a virtually nil paint density and absolutely no form of anti corrosion protection - With the use of good preparation alongside high quality paint & good anti corrosion protection any problems are eliminated - From my own viewpoint the deseaming to the wings deletes quite an important part of the cars atheistics - makes it appear as if you trying too hard to separate the cars visual appearance apart from what was intended originally but again what do I know - I'm just the monkey that straightens the panels & applies the paint - I'm quite happy to do whatever the client instructs at the end of the day
I like what your trying to achieve but from my point of view(not that its worth anything as its your car!) but removing the wing seams makes it look like youre trying to hide something like previous rust or a poor repair, we know your not but just my view!
I've been carrying on with a few odd jobs on the parts I have here. 
. First a visit to the good folk at Retropower to drop off some loaner items for one of the co-owners Celica. 
so if I could assist another in getting the car to the right ride height then it seemed an ideal opportunity to help out.
. So at least I was safe in the knowledge I had the right cover, something going on with the flywheel then.
, thankfully not
