1958 MGA Coupe

bobs77vet · May 26, 2013

about 2hrs today , i needed a little sense of accomplishment so i removed the trans tunnel, wirebrushed the frame and painted some of it with Jasco rust converter

wire brushed certain parts

painted with the rust coverter

1Michel · May 26, 2013

What a project LOL
And some tought that my birdcage was bad....

Keep it up Bob.
Tell me, are you putting the suspension, brakes etc original?
Or you gonna Vettemod it?

bobs77vet · May 27, 2013

all original this time, i got absolutely hammered when i sold the vette

about 3 hrs today

removed engine and power washed the rest of the frame

if you have an engine stand that fights getting the legs pinned let the leg hangs over the garage apron so the wheels dont touch

little joe

yours truly

grab the beast by the tail

bobs77vet · May 27, 2013

well as you know I am tearing away at the frame and thinking about what I am going to do to the engine while I have it out....so the car sat for 35 yrs....and the engine did not rotate when I got it. so last summer/fall I soaked the cylinders in trans fluid for a week and then got it to rotate by hand and then later I started it up . it has run maybe 45 mins-1hr total, it ran well and didnt burn oil. the first two tests were before the engine ever started. three and four were done today and the engine hasnt run in 6 or 7 months I would guess

first test (cold) results after the engine rotated #1 # 2 #3 #4
90 60 110 90

second test (cold) after doing the first test 105 105 130 115

third test (cold) after about 45mins -1 hr run time 163 160 140 162

fourth test immediate following third test 165 160 140 162

fifth test with some oil in #3 155

so the first two tests arent really worth beans because I could see the PSI increase with every compression stroke. I recall # 3 had the exhaust valve open and I know I saw some "seeds and nuts" in there. so I guess probably some mouse pee has fouled the cylinder walls. the question is will they repair them selves from the engine running??? what do you think?

heres some info if you ever wanted to know more about compression tests results

http://www.gregsengine.com/cylinder-compression-testing.html

bobs77vet · May 28, 2013

about 90 minutes tonight and most of it was just standing and looking....finally i said screw it and just started cutting

fitting an inside curve is tricky..... so use the sacrificial tab as a part of a lever with the needle nose pliers , on the outside tabs grab on and put the nose on the frame and then pull towards you. you get more leverage then just straight on pulling. this is 14 ga and doesn flex much. the black you see on the far left is the marking line. the middle tab gets welded first being pulled towrds you then you move to the ends

bobs77vet · May 29, 2013

about 1 1/2 hrs tonight or so

i think it would take the same amount of time to do the big sections as the small sections, not hard just time consuming

bobs77vet · May 30, 2013

about 2.5 hrs tonight with my son helping not all of it was work though

going to make two of Barneys battery trays one for each side for symmetry sake

it would have been easier for me to have cut it on a 45* angle all the way through, i wasnt able to bend it tight enough, so after bending it i then cut it

number 1

number 2

this is sitting on the cord and it makes it look out of square

and this is tomorrows work, the brace on the right is sitting about 1/2" up higher then the others, i need to look at that more closely and see if it was welded wrong right from the start or if it is bent out of alignment

SuperBuickGuy · May 30, 2013

unless you have a press brake, those 90* corners are a pain to make straight when you bend them.... so you're right, cutting them all the way through then rewelding is actually easier.

bobs77vet · May 31, 2013

yeah i can see where it would take alot of pressure to square those ends

about 3 hrs or so

took a little slice out of the bottom

added some 1/2" tubing to the side of the bracket to strengthen it up right next to brake hose bracket

bobs77vet · Jun 1, 2013

a cool 95* out side and lots of humidity.....73* in the garage...the ac is nice but this inexpensive window unit doesnt have an out side circulation feature so between plasma cutting, grinding wire brushing and welding it can get kind of hazy inside so its time to stop

i made my brakdets with the 90* up not down

use some angle iron to make sure it stays horizontal

tack it in place....i am down to 500 lbs of shielding gas so we are only tacking non essential stuff in place this weekend

the plasma cutter works best with a guide

the bends are simple and with a piece of angle iron. 16 ga this long is too much for my metal break

and the bottom piece

bobs77vet · Jun 2, 2013

about 3hrs almost out of shielding gas

typical rust

made the bracketry and primed it this took about 45 minutes

and some cutting grinding measureing and getting really dirty

and for another time

bobs77vet · Jun 4, 2013

about an hour tonight, its all welded in place now i still have to do the pass side front area

bobs77vet · Jun 5, 2013

30 mins while the BBQ was cooking, i got the fron all cleaned up and ready for repair panels.

bobs77vet · Jun 6, 2013

90 mins tonight cutting the repair panel and welding it in place and fitting one of the floor braces.

some times there are burrs inside the frame from the grinder cuts, i use a 3" grinder to grind those away

i need about another hour to finish the bracketry up.

bobs77vet · Jun 7, 2013

right on 1 hr of work...tomorrow i will fully weld it in....next will be to remove any of the old weld nuts to make way for new ones.

MYBAD79 · Jun 7, 2013

looking great, you're getting better and better with this..... keep the updates coming !!!!

bobs77vet · Jun 9, 2013

thks

2 hours of grinding, i think i found something i like less then sanding....still need to make the small piece that bridges the rear floor rail and the side rail, where the blue tape is.