1958 MGA Coupe

[bobs77vet]

I am getting there I think its all off the front side, the machined back side is a bit more difficult to tell if I actually got it off or not. the pressure washer was a great choice for cleaning it. The problem is I can't tell if the machined side is clean and oxidized or the clear coat is dull. its definitely not turning white and coming off like the front. i guess i will do one more round of paint remover then use a buffing ball on it.

 

[BBShark]

That looks like new already.

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks they are better for sure but I hoping for that like chrome look that may only come from the clear coating, this was as much of PITA as you would have expected

i did find these from 5 years ago when I first got them and did my first cleaning attempt









and this time arounds final product

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

looks great, also a good way to lighten the wheels

 

[bobs77vet]

well everyone has a special day, same goes for cars. remember where we started









this last sunday I went to the Sully historic plantation Museum fathers day car show with my youngest son who is 30, this is a big mostly American car show about 400 cars , 30 different classes, put on by the model A car club, these guys make me look like a teen ager and they are still going strong. It was great day weather was perfect clear skys and for whatever reason my car just popped. I take the car to shows a couple of times a year and this time it had non stop attention, i have never seen this much interest in my car. I met Mike Hughes a fellow MG forum, NAMGAR member and MGA Coupe owner, this time he brought his very nice white MGC and we had a very nice chat with him. we met several other folks who had actually read this thread. I even had people asking me for the paint manufacture and the color of it. I let every kid sit in the car and they were pretty adorable, little kids just walk across the seats and the trans tunnel. I made this restoration grandkids friendly so no worries there and I have a quick electrical disconnect so no pulling of knobs is going to create any surprises. the cars were scored by judges as opposed to fellow entrants using a matrix. and all the stars aligned for me and I won 2nd place in the MG and Triumph class. I think there was about 20 cars in the class, mgtd, mgb, mgc, tr6, tr250, tr2 and tr3. my car was the only MGA. I think I need to go to more american car shows!!!!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

congratulations!

 

[BBShark]

Impressive transformation!

 

[Red77]

That's awesome, Bob! The before and after are two amazing contrasts and the bookends to an amazing transformational journey. I thoroughly enjoyed your build and the ingenuity it took to pull it off. This forum may be a small group, but the talent chronicled here and on other member's builds is simply inspiring. Thank you for letting us tag along!

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks guys, I do agree that we may be small group but there is so much talent here. i learn new stuff all the time.

 

[bobs77vet]

well this is several years delayed but better now then never. i have been doing this on and off for a while now and its time again to wet sand the clear coat to remove most of the orange peel and flatten out the paint. I should have done this when they were stand alone panels but I wanted the clear coat to really dry and well time seemed to slip by. again I should have done this before I put everything on the car.

so the areas this weekend both rear fenders, both doors, right front fender, the side panels of the top behind the door. front valence, both head light areas, and on either side of the grill


sanded with a variety of papers and 400,600,800,1500 and 2500
















and to power through the buffing a new toy, forced rotation ( gear driven DA) from HF, this thing is wonder full $129 i must have used it for 10 hours and its as nice as my Griots DAs, no vibrations or screaming at you and never gets too hot to handle


and for those small spots i also used my 3" DA buffer and lots of pads, and a DA random sander

 

[bobs77vet]

and done!!

























and some before and afters, the shine was never an issue

 

[Red77]

What a difference!!! Great work, Bob!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

wow, that looks amazing. Do you have a favorite compound brand?

 

[bobs77vet]

Thanks guys,

On the MGA I am trying the ceramic turtle wax “once and done” and you adjust the cut by changing the density of the pads, this stuff leaves no white over spray residue or white build up . I am really impressed with it. The Meguiars 105, 110 and 205, 210 are really good and also leave no residue. So if it’s a car that I use ceramic stuff on it’s the Turtle Wax. once snd done , then max wax followed by flex wax.
On some cars it looks kind of greasy like too much lemon pledge from the 70s on a polished dining room buffet, if you see that it is ftom too much product being used, used correctly on the MGA it just makes everything pop


If it’s a non ceramic car , like if I buff a scrstch out of a friends car I use the Meguiars products

 

[bobs77vet]

well i guess it had to happen some time. went to shift the C5 into reverse and something popped and it was stuck in reverse. it went through all the shift detents nice and smooth but no action at the trans end.

got it towed home, and of course the MGA was on the lift. so jacked it up the old fashion way and the trans lever cable was attached nice and tight so had to be something up front. factory way to repair is to remove the middle of the exhaust system then remove the belly pan covering the torque tube and replace the cable or the bushing. i wasn't opposed to this but it was just me, the MGA was on the lift and I don't have much length to the driveway before the apron to the street starts to slope down so i wasn't sure if i could get the MG off the lift unless the C5 was too far forward and rolling into the street and i wasn't sure i could push the C5 up the apron slope by myself. I figured i could get on the lift by jacking it up and putting the ramps under it so the rear wheels were level with the lift. but getting it up the apron was deal killer. so i decided to go in from the top.

sure enough the front bushing in the had cable had crapped out, cleaned up the cable with an orange pick from HF pressed in a dormann replacement bushing with really long needle nose pliers then used a long HF body panel removing lever to push the cable back on to the ball stud. and only had one bloody hand!!! a win!!
















i think now i buy the replacement kit from Zip corvette for the two bushings and next oil change when its on the lift look to see how hard the one in the back is to replace. apparently thats the one that breaks the most

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

impressive

 

[BBShark]

Wow. That looks too much like surgery. I think they went a little undersized on the shifter pivot

 

[bobs77vet]

Wow. That looks too much like surgery. I think they went a little undersized on the shifter pivot

One of the worst parts is of the 7 or 8 electrical connections to disconnect not one of them was the same type. I was more scared of buggering up those connections then any thing else. Imagine that, actually being scared of freaking plastic pieces with wires in them that magically push together. I will order the Zip bushings this weekend to replace the rear one preemptively, maybe even a full cable to stick in the trunk

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

One of the worst parts is of the 7 or 8 electrical connections to disconnect not one of them was the same type. I was more scared of buggering up those connections then any thing else. Imagine that, actually being scared of freaking plastic pieces with wires in them that magically push together. I will order the Zip bushings this weekend to replace the rear one preemptively, maybe even a full cable to stick in the trunk

you know, you could just swap a manual in there to solve those problems ... just...

 

[bobs77vet]

one of my daily drivers is a 5 spd, in the city where i live its a PITA, i am fine with an auto although i would like more then 4 speeds.

when i researched replacing the front bushing all the articles said do the rear also, and today was the day. easiy enough to do the hardest part was taking off the gas tank skid plate for some more finger room.

i honestly don't know what was holding that in place, i also bought a new GM cable and an extra bushing to throw in the trunk. i will say it does shift into the different gears very positively now