After all the problems I've reported, it's nice to provide a status
report like this one...
My '73 MGB is now running AND it looks good too!
I got the car smogged and drove it around for about a week before deciding
that running well wasn't enough, I had to make this car look like it had
been worked on.
I took out the interior and drove it to Monterey, where it spent about a
month at the Fort Ord auto shop. Working with my cousin, who knows a
lot more about bodywork than I do, we pulled and filled the small dent
in the right side door and took care of a few other little dings. We
fabricated two metal plates for the inside of the tops of the doors,
where the common MGB cracks had appeared. Those plates were welded in
by the shop expert. Another small plate was welded into the trunklid,
which someone had apparently tried to close without first releasing the
prop. Lots of grinding, sanding, thin applications of bondo, and more
sanding followed until it was finally ready. I was amazed at how smooth
it ended up.
My cousin sprayed the insides of the hood and trunk one day, the rest of
the car the next. Final preparation had EVERYTHING off the car, the only
masking was over the dashboard and the engine. No bumpers, windshield,
seats, carpet, lights, molding, trim pieces, etc., just a stripped-down
shell of a car and a big pile of parts. A new exhaust completed the job
(I replaced the muffler and resonator but did not replace the downpipe).
Unfortunately there were some runs in the paint, the result of trying
out a new paint (they all spray differently, I hear). But some wet
sanding and buffing produced amazing results, the paint looks quite
sharp now. The paint is called Nason, it's a urethane with a clear
coat that you mix in with the final coat of paint. Seems like
good stuff and the price can't be beat ($38/gallon, vs. something like
$70/gallon for another brand). All in all, the paint and other liquids
totalled $100, it would have probably been double that with another
brand of urethane.
Reassembly is now finished, with all new rubber around the windshield,
windows, doors, headlights, etc., new chrome trim all around, some
good headlight rings out of a parts car at Burnett's, chrome mirrors to
replace the black plastic ones, a new grille, and a bunch of other stuff
I don't remember right now. And last night I installed the dash cap and
third windshield wiper.
I'm working on repositioning the exhaust system a bit; the mounting
bracket is a little off and therefore at an angle from where it would
normally hang, which causes the pipe to vibrate noisily against the car
at times. And I still blow a cloud of oil under hard acceleration when
the revs hit 3000 (when the engine is warm). Maybe it's the pressure
under these conditions. I had switched to straight 30 wt., which ran
through the engine like water, but under the advice of Roger Garnett I
switched back to 20W-50 and am only getting the occasional blowby. Also,
I may be running a bit rich, as the gas mileage appears low (about
20mpg). Maybe some Colortuning is in order this weekend, once I rehang
the exhaust.
One thing I've noticed since I've gotten this car on the road is the
number of other LBC's out there. On my first Sunday morning drive, not
far from my house, I noticed an identical glacier white MGB behind me.
Turned out to be a wire-wheeled '69 B in excellent condition that the
owner had gotten for $3000. Since then I've seen a bunch of Midgets,
MGB's, Sunbeams, etc. It sure is fun driving around here now!
-Dan D.
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