1971 MGB GT - Been shopping, budget smashed - see page 13

[chadders]

3,000 rpm is far, far too high in my opinion.

Mine is a max of about 2,000 with the choke out when starting from cold

I suspect that your choke cable is seized.

[Wibble]

What a difference. Nice job Peter👍

[SiC]

24 minutes ago, chadders said:

3,000 rpm is far, far too high in my opinion.

Mine is a max of about 2,000 with the choke out when starting from cold

I suspect that your choke cable is seized.

I suspect saying 3k was idle is a bit tongue in cheek...

[SiC]

Don't forget to check your Toms Knob is not blocked up. It's under the car where that grille is. If it blocked then you'll get a wet foot well in heavy rain as it won't be able to drain properly. 

[garethj]

Nice job!  It’s always nicer to work on a car that looks presentable.

What are the tools of the trade for the polishing?  This is the only mop I know about

[High Jetter]

16 minutes ago, garethj said:

Nice job!  It’s always nicer to work on a car that looks presentable.

What are the tools of the trade for the polishing?  This is the only mop I know about

Ooh, Kentucky 😀

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, garethj said:

What are the tools of the trade for the polishing? 

Best £60 I’ve ever spent.

[ianjobber87]

looks great! 

[artdjones]

23 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Ooh, Kentucky 😀

16 or 24oz?

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

16 or 24oz?

16, or a 24 that's had a haircut 😀

[Peter C]

@artdjones @High Jetter

Kentucky? 16 or 24oz? Haircut?

#confused
 

[somewhatfoolish]

Apparently that style of mop is a kentucky. I'd like them on our ship but the suppliers we're tied to only stock the cheap shit round ones.

[Peter C]

3 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Apparently that style of mop is a kentucky. I'd like them on our ship but the suppliers we're tied to only stock the cheap shit round ones.

Bloody hell, I’m not surprised that I didn’t get the reference.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Peter C said:

Bloody hell, I’m not surprised that I didn’t get the reference.

It's one of those things you either have come across, or haven't. I tend to remember daft stuff like that. They came in different weights according to either the strength of the operative or the application, I think. Being flat, they could be squeezed out in buckets like this:

More modern plastic versions are available, usually on wheels.

[Christine]

My red childhood MG , used as a roller skate..   shame ,  it was a lovely model. As a grown up, I bought the blue dinky one ,  but it's not as good as the corgi  model ,nothing opens and the seats don't recline .

 

 

 

[Mr Pastry]

 

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, Christine said:

My red childhood MG , used as a roller skate..   shame ,  it was a lovely model. As a grown up, I bought the blue dinky one ,  but it's not as good as the corgi  model ,nothing opens and the seats don't recline .

 

 

 

I didn't have a B from either brand, but considered Dinky a bit above Corgi. Spot-on took the top spot, 60's mind.

[Peter C]

I miss my MG.

[Rustybullethole]

Smitten ain't ya. Rightly so looks a cracking car and as been stated by others am looking forward to watching the magic at work. Enjoy your hols that's a lovely part of the world. 

Edit; Perfect chance to grow a beard out too. 

Edited September 25 by Rustybullethole

[Matty]

8 hours ago, Rustybullethole said:

Smitten ain't ya. Rightly so looks a cracking car and as been stated by others am looking forward to watching the magic at work. Enjoy your hols that's a lovely part of the world. 

Edit; Perfect chance to grow a beard out too. 

Woah, I've a beard but I don't have an MG.

 

(Yet)

[Peter C]

When cars like this come up for sale, it makes me wonder whether I should have spent more and bought something less of a project and ready to drive.

Thing is, I really enjoyed getting the Sierra back on the road and my MGB will provide more opportunities to spend weekends in the workshop, which for me is a positive. As already mentioned, I want to modify my car and it would be a shame to mess around with an intact interior and in the process devalue the car. I’ve also never driven an MGB and I have no idea whether I will enjoy the experience so spending less to find out might actually work out for the best.

No regrets.

[artdjones]

10 minutes ago, Peter C said:

When cars like this come up for sale, it makes me wonder whether I should have spent more and bought something less of a project and ready to drive.

Thing is, I really enjoyed getting the Sierra back on the road and my MGB will provide more opportunities to spend weekends in the workshop, which for me is a positive. As already mentioned, I want to modify my car and it would be a shame to mess around with an intact interior and in the process devalue the car. I’ve also never driven an MGB and I have no idea whether I will enjoy the experience so spending less to find out might actually work out for the best.

No regrets.

That car looks ok, but it will also need money spending on it. Your car with 3000 spent on it may be a much better car, plus you obviously enjoy improving the condition of your vehicles.

[Rustybullethole]

21 minutes ago, Matty said:

Woah, I've a beard but I don't have an MG.

 

(Yet)

Ahem, A40...

You probably should just buy that @Peter C just put up to be safe though. 

[Shite Ron]

30 minutes ago, Matty said:

Woah, I've a beard but I don't have an MG.

 

(Yet)

You will also need a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. Now that I am over 50 MGB’s and Morris Minors are starting to look appealing, an early 70’s MGB GT looks great.

[cort16]

I think you've found one in sweet spot as I bet all the ones at 5-6 grand have the same issues just covered up.  

It's an absolutely shit job but over the winter I would get in there with the wire wheel or paint removal discs int the arches and underneath and clear off as much as you can . It'll give you a good idea of how structurally sound it is and what needs done welding wise.  I would say it looks quite honest so hopefully it'll just be bits of rust here and there and not loads of fannied up repairs. 

either that or just get it running and safe without spending too much and worry about the rust later. 

[Peter C]

2 hours ago, cort16 said:

either that or just get it running and safe without spending too much and worry about the rust later. 

The plan is to tidy up and rust proof the underside and rivet metal patches over the rust holes. I know that will upset a lot of people but, as previously advised, I can’t weld and getting someone to do the welding for me would cost £1k+, which would make this project financially unviable. Providing that I don’t find any more significant rust issues, the few bits that I have discovered are not sufficiently serious to have a significant effect on the car’s structural integrity and let’s face it, if I have a collision as 50MPH in a 53 year old MGB, a rusty wheel arch is going to be the least of my problems.

All my work will be honestly presented within this thread and if I decide to sell the car, the buyer will know exactly what they’re in for and can improve the quality of my repairs should they wish to do so.

If I find this MGB a pleasure to own and drive, I might sell it and buy a better one, however, as it’s already been said, chances are that a £5k car will still need lots of bits doing to it.

[IronStar]

6 minutes ago, Peter C said:

The plan is to tidy up and rust proof the underside and rivet metal patches over the rust holes. I know that will upset a lot of people but, as previously advised, I can’t weld and getting someone to do the welding for me would cost £1k+, which would make this project financially unviable.

Provided that you paid 2k for this one, and pondering if you should've bought a 5k one, would it maybe be worth getting it welded properly? I can't see prices going down or you losing money on it. 

[chadders]

26 minutes ago, Peter C said:

The plan is to tidy up and rust proof the underside and rivet metal patches over the rust holes. I know that will upset a lot of people but, as previously advised, I can’t weld and getting someone to do the welding for me would cost £1k+, which would make this project financially unviable. Providing that I don’t find any more significant rust issues, the few bits that I have discovered are not sufficiently serious to have a significant effect on the car’s structural integrity and let’s face it, if I have a collision as 50MPH in a 53 year old MGB, a rusty wheel arch is going to be the least of my problems.

All my work will be honestly presented within this thread and if I decide to sell the car, the buyer will know exactly what they’re in for and can improve the quality of my repairs should they wish to do so.

If I find this MGB a pleasure to own and drive, I might sell it and buy a better one, however, as it’s already been said, chances are that a £5k car will still need lots of bits doing to it.

Assuming the pseudo chassis is intact they're surprisingly strong as I found out after being T boned by an Escort coming down a main road that didn't slow down for a roundabout.

I'd recommend adjustable telescopics at the back if it doesn't already have them.

[Peter C]

36 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Provided that you paid 2k for this one, and pondering if you should've bought a 5k one, would it maybe be worth getting it welded properly? I can't see prices going down or you losing money on it. 

I’ve paid £2k for the car.

Let’s say I can get the welding done for £1k.

Once property welded, I could easily spend at least £2k on a respray, which would be desirable if the shell was all solid.

To get it running properly, fully serviced, with a new exhaust, tyres and what ever else it might need, that’s another £1k easily.

Theoretically, by spending £6k I would have a car worth about £6k, which doesn’t seem completely unreasonable, however I would rather spend as little as possible to get it running and leave it as it is, providing that it’s not unsafe to use.

[Peter C]

19 minutes ago, chadders said:

I'd recommend adjustable telescopics at the back if it doesn't already have them.

Not sure whether they are adjustable but someone has already fitted a pair of telescopic rear dampers.