1958 MGA Coupe

[bobs77vet]

the body is on but not bolted on.

two of us about 2 hours, no lifting used the floor jacks the entire time, treated the M/C like a brake caliper, no real issues

lifting lowering the back i put two bolts in the bolt holes that were long enough that when the body came down it helped align it





treated MC like a brake caliper


removed all jacks under saw horses



slowly lowered went from front to back










last spot before we could use the smaller floor jack in the back








you can see the alignment tools sticking up to help get things lined up right


front extension install


and valance






and the first drive




and measuring up from the floor the front tires openings are exactly the same height and the rear tires openings are 1/16 off....not bad

celebratory first wets

 

[Danny Boy]

Congratulations!
You do GREAT work.
It was so interesting following your step by step postings!

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks

well my three week push to get the body on the chassis has come to a happy end....time to take a break for a little while and recharge the batteries

today i put most of the body bolts in , the gas tank is in and i got the brake master cylinder bracketry/pedals and MC in that is a PITA.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

nicely done! congratulations!

 

[denpo]

So it finally happened:clap:
Celebrate, you deserve it.

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks guys i am super excited to have half of my garage back again too!!!

these cars are small but having them divided in half with all the other parts taking up floor space kills garage space.

left to do: put in radiator 1 hr, attach 7 bullet connectors 15 mins, wire rear lights 1 hr, put compression fitting on fuel line 15 mins, fit carpet 2 hrs, reinstall seats 1 hr, install hood 1/2 hr, install seat belts 1/2 hr. install inner fender splash guards 4 hrs,test electrical system with power supply 1 hr. install grille 3 hrs, install horn 1 hr,


unknown time frame: install door seals and a sheet metal piece that goes between inner sills and over frame opening, refurbish the window mechanisms, install bumpers and license plate bracket.

so enough to tinker through fall

 

[bobs77vet]

admittedly this is just self gratification at this point

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

And you totally deserve to do it - amazing job!

 

[Red77]

You sir, are a magician! The real trick is that there were no tricks here, you showed us everything and the magical transformation is almost complete. What an amazing ride!

 

[bazza6977]

Congratulations on an excellant journey , those before/ after shots really say it all. I have been following this from the beginning and it truely is inspirational . Your thread is always the first place i check when i log on.
Well done it looks beautiful.
Are you planning to dive into another basket case rescue after this one ?

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks guys...

i am not sure on the next project......after my last two C3's i really wanted some metal work.....well the last 4 years gave it too me.


it is nice to walk into the garage and see only one car.... i think its been at least 3 years the body and frame have been separated. so i need to finish this one up and bask in the after glow for at least a day or two or until the right offer comes around. the thing is that these coupes are pretty rare and just now people are realizing that, so holding on to it for a while isnt such a bad thing.. you know just putz and polish and wash the windshield.

good news is i sent the application in the mail for the antique tags and i expect them in the next two weeks, so we will be driving it very soon

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

oh boy, you're going to be a lawnchair racer? :sos:

you know, I have a Fiat(ish) project that's languishing .... I'd make you a heck of a deal on it

 

[JPhil]

Are you going to drive it over to show the man you bought it from? I would love to see his reaction! I'm sure he'll be happy as can be to see it now.

And one more great big thumbs up from me :thumbs: This has been a very entertaining project to be vicariously involved with. I know it is finally down to all the myriad tiny details to finish up, but with the bulk of the work behind you, these little things (in my experience) become almost fun to wrap up.

Congratulations, Bob. I certainly look forward to the first drive pics & video!

 

[bobs77vet]

i am excited to be at this stage of the project also, with just little things to do now and they are all "clean projects" it does move to the "fun" stage.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm at that point too, but tonight I pulled the Buick out.... but I'm still basking so the Buick deal is kind of a "when I have nothing better to do" deal.

 

[bobs77vet]

that buick build will be fun.....if only i had more space......

 

[bobs77vet]

vacation, house projects and family events have had me preoccupied....

so today lets grab a low hanging fruit and get back in the swing of things....the horn install



we test every thing



put bullet connectors on




and done.....where the wires are exposed at the last 6 inches or so i used shrink tubing on it zip tied closed at the ends

 

[bobs77vet]

pick some more easy stuff of the low hanging fruit tree......fasten pipes to bulkhead, snap two wiring harnesses together, route safety gauge tubes







make life easy on your self and take your time sorting out the wires so they are nice and straight and then line up the striped wires so you can see both sides of the connector for easy identification in the future






i am plumbing the capillary tube up by the wiring harness it looks cleaner to me.

and lastly can some one confirm that the big fat 3/8 spade connector is for the heavy gauge solid yellow wire to "D" and that the small 1/4" spade connector is for the yellow/green wire to "F"

 

[bobs77vet]

lets keep pushing.....radiator in and bonnet on.....

and heres the sweet spot for the lower radiator hose clamp

i had drilled the small hole into each hinge plate when i had the bonnet aligned before disassembly and it worked great, tomorrow i will fine tune the plunger rod alignment

give it a quick buff its been alone by itself for a while

the moment of truth and probably 30 feet of edges to chip

 

[bobs77vet]

adjusted the bonnet plunger and cleaned up the shop a little bit






i wonder if just cleaning thie inside of this is going to be enough? any miracle cures for this crude? i have a new gas tank and dont really want to introduce any of this crude into it