1958 MGA Coupe

1Michel · Dec 29, 2013

Great job Bob, this is going to be an awsome car.

About the 22 year old T-shirt...
Youre lucky, lol if I find a T-shirt that I wore 22 years ago.... it wouldnt fit LOL

Great job and I'm following this with lots of interest sir.
Happy new year

MYBAD79 · Dec 29, 2013

Lots of photos, awesome progress.....from your son wrestling with it to you wearing your 22year old shirt !!! This is a very memorable project to say the least !!!

bobs77vet · Dec 30, 2013

thks guys, i didnt even know that shirt was still around apparently the kids found it and thought it was cool and they had it in their closet.

nothing fancy on the floor boards just black gloss rustoleum, i think this is coat 4 and is probably the last. and you definitely have to turn the heat up to help this dry or it stays sticky for a long time. tomorrow night the other side gets done.

bobs77vet · Jan 1, 2014

a couple more nibbles tonight, checked the trans mount bolt and it is correct.

2nd coat on the inside of the trans tunnels

this is an easy way to line up the drill for drilling a hole through a repair panel

getting ready to install E brake handle

maybe later if I have some extra cash I will get this rechromed unitl then it gets a painted stainless steel finish. i will admit they do look so good newly chromed

bobs77vet · Jan 3, 2014

installed the E brake handle tonight and the inner brackets of the trans tunnel and that was a PITA......if i had to do it again I think I would contemplate to do it on a bench and then slip the drive shaft in above the inner brackets. and I used a clamp to push the lever on to the serrated spindle of the handle. the reason I did it on the car was I wanted to make sure I got the lever pressed on in the correct orientation.

also added the trans oil i used castrol GTX 20-50 and 5.4 pints puts the oil fill line on the trans dip stick in exactly the middle of the low/high hash marks

Sam Cogley · Jan 3, 2014

What on Earth happened to your driveshaft?

bobs77vet · Jan 3, 2014

Sam Cogley said:
What on Earth happened to your driveshaft?

i have no idea....i suppose i should get it rebalanced. thats the extent of the mutilation though. must have been used as fulcrum point for a lever, or perhaps they put in a vise to change the u joints. its a tube shaft for 87 hp so its not that beefy compared to our vette ones

AGVI · Jan 3, 2014

Holy Crap Bob! You never stop!

Good luck to you and the boys it looks like quite the project you have ahead of you.

I can't wait to see the progress pics! :bounce::amazed:

Les

AGVI · Jan 3, 2014

Oh wait! Duh!

I didn't notice that this thread was 47 pages long and there are already a ton of pics.

Okay no one bother me, I have 46 more pages to read through. :rofl:

denpo · Jan 3, 2014

AGVI said:
Oh wait! Duh!

I didn't notice that this thread was 47 pages long and there are already a ton of pics.

Okay no one bother me, I have 46 more pages to read through. :rofl:

The most amazing part are the very first pages, when you see the kind of sad rust bucket Bob started with.
As I already said before this thread is shattering my conception of "beyond repair"

1Michel · Jan 3, 2014

Thats what I was thinking too .

bobs77vet · Jan 3, 2014

ok I have slipped off the path again.....you know those wooden Chriscraft boats with the beautiful panels.....well i have decided to paint the floor boards to a high gloss finish just for shits and grins....I will be looking at it for a while as I wrangle the body some more so it will be some inspiration. this will get wet sanded for the first time and painted again etc etc etc...

I forgot to paint my down draft tube and crank pulley and found these alternatives at Home Depot (HD) and walmart

so we remember which each got painted with to compare to the Moss paint

first blush it looks close

added my first sacrifical fluids....the quaker state defy and next to it is the Valvoline VR1 racing oil which I will use for real driving and then the sacrificial walmart rear end gear oil and next to it the valvoline I will use for real driving. when I change this oil it will be the second oil flush since I got the engine running.

easy to fill when theres no gas tank. it was totally empty but only took 40 oz, I was expecting it to take 52 ozs, maybe it needs to be driven and have the oil pushed out to the ends

bobs77vet · Jan 4, 2014

ok lets veto the idea of the Krylon paint it seperated regardless of how i pre treated it. i even sanded it after painting and totally cleaned it. so i totally cleaned it off and painted it with the rustoleum. heres what it looked like.

heres the problem

it may have darkend up with more coats of the krylon

heres the two compared to each other.

once the vent tube drys all the way i will get out the good camera.

bent the clutch line and used socket head cap screws, they make some nice stainless steel P clips in the hot rod world that i may use

cleaned off the crank pulley again and the M/C so i can clear coat it.

going to use the silicone brake fluid but will let the M/C dry for a day before I reassemble everyting

one more coat

and every time i walk by this i spray it with PB blaster

bobs77vet · Jan 5, 2014

finished the plumbing today on the clutch slave

put the MC back in and plumbed the banjo on the bench, use new crush washers you only want to do this once

used the power bleeder and pump it up to 10psi with no fluid to look/listen for leaks

after tightening the bleeder we were good to go and bled the system with no problem>

bobs77vet · Jan 11, 2014

a little diversion.....i have some sheet metal parts to make for the MGA coupe and since little joe went back to college i need another set of hands....or a motor

heres the install materials: mometary foot switch, dayton gear motor which spins at 2.8 RPM, reversible drum switch, and a vintage crank for creating tension, jaw coupling from McMaster Carr

the old business end a 25mm shaft on the crank

an already beefed up HF bead roller which doesnt deflect

the mock up using a hose clamp to keep everything together and lined up

wiring

"power in" is the power cord white and black

mocking it up to weld

cut out of 1/8" sheet steel

the offset was just where ever it landed but it is parallel to the bead roller

drum switch mounted

test run to make sure everything works right

it works perfectly tomorrow it gets disassembled and painted then the final wiring, and the tension wheel crank gets added

MYBAD79 · Jan 11, 2014

Hey, if you need some spry can paint to match your engine, they offer that matching spray can for like $20 or less.... Don't bother with that Krylon stuff....
Your oil filter seems to have enough paint on there for a paint color match

Electrical work gives me the chills..... Looks good what you're doing there

SuperBuickGuy · Jan 12, 2014

I keep trying to get my dad to donate to me his pullmax machine - less chance of taking fingers off

be careful!

bobs77vet · Jan 12, 2014

this is probably the least dangerous machine compared to a band saw or table saw....lets not even talk about fan blades and fan belts and pulleys

finished up the mock up and painted it.

cuts 18 really easily