1971 MGB GT - MGOC Spares SHIT SHOW - see page 34

[SiC]

That brake hose. I can hear it's screams from here. 😵‍💫😒

 

[SiC]

Iirc (long time ago now) I undid the spring pan, put the spring back in, used a jack to bring the pan up to alignment and put the bolts back through the pan. I might have even only undone one pair of bolts on the spring pan but I can't remember now. Also stay well out of the way on the potential firing line of the spring when it was starting to be under tension.

[danthecapriman]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

Iirc (long time ago now) I undid the spring pan, put the spring back in, used a jack to bring the pan up to alignment and put the bolts back through the pan. I might have even only undone one pair of bolts on the spring pan but I can't remember now. Also stay well out of the way on the potential firing line of the spring when it was starting to be under tension.

Changing coil springs is still one job I really do hate and shy away from! It’s the thought of what can happen when they break loose that does it. I saw it happen one back when I worked in a garage and although nobody got hit, it still rattles me now.

Ive got the rear springs and shocks to do on the Volvo but I just can’t make myself go and do it😆

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, SiC said:

That brake hose. I can hear it's screams from here. 😵‍💫😒

 

Yep, that was my bad. I kept the hub upright the entire time but when I went to take the photo, the hub moved and pulled on the brake hose.

[Peter C]

I had a go at aligning the upper and lower steering column shafts yesterday.

The alignment must be right for the UJ that connects the two shafts together to be happy. Just by looking at it, there is no way of knowing which shaft is incorrectly positioned. 

Removing the UJ is easy, takes two minutes.

By fitting these cones over the ends of the two shafts, I could see that the two shafts were misaligned both horizontally and vertically. 

The idea is that four fixings that secure the upper column shaft to the bulkhead are loosened, the upper column shaft is aligned with the lower column shaft, the fixings are tightened up and the job is done. Unfortunately, the upper column shaft had no more available vertical adjustment left.

Therefore, I had to loosen / remove the four bolts that secure the steering rack to the crossmember, place washers that act as spacers, which alters the alignment of the steering rack, thus the alignment of the upper end of the lower column shaft. Are you still with me?

With the lower column shaft now at a happier angle, I managed to adjust the upper column shaft into the correct position.

Bingo.

A very brief drive up and down my road before the heavens opened revealed that all seems well, the steering is no longer binding. 

I have a theory as to what may have been causing the knocking that I could feel through the steering wheel.

The upper steering column shaft passes through an opening in the bulkhead. The gap between the shaft and the bulkhead is only a few millimetres wide. The rubber grommet that I have now reinstated, see photo below, should fill the gap. It didn't before yesterday. 

I wonder whether it was possible that the worn crossmember pads were allowing the crossmember and thus the steering rack that is bolted to it, to move up and down as I drove over bumps, which caused the upper and lower steering columns to move up and down too, which caused the bottom section of the steering column to impact on the bulkhead and that impact was transferred up to the steering wheel. 

Looking at the state of the crossmember pads, whilst they were a bit squashed, I don't think they were that worn to allow the crossmember to move so much that it was knocking on the underside of the chassis. 

Fingers crossed that the problem is now sorted.

More soon. 

 

[Peter C]

I went to Beaulieu last Saturday. The weather was great, I spent almost six hours traipsing up and down the aisles, clocked up over 16k steps on my app. Not bad for a man of my vintage. 

This MGB GT was up for sale at Beaulieu back in May, asking price was £2k. It was on offer again, this time the vendor was after sensible offers. It is rotten, completely, either needs months of welding or a re-shell. I would give him twenty quid for it, if he delivered it to my house. 

Just proves what a bargain my MGB was, when I bought it at Beaulieu last year. This Sunday will be exactly a year since that day.

I've always struggled to get comfortable behind the wheel of the MGB, partially due to the absence of an arm rest for my right elbow. I was after a matching pair of black plastic handles / armrests and found exactly what I wanted for a fiver. Fitting didn't take long, I have secured the handles with small nuts, bolts and washers, to the backs of the door cards. Not pretty but I can now get more comfortable.

I'm still working out how to fill the gap between the underside of the dashboard and the top of the centrally mounted speaker. My latest plan is to fabricate a bracket for some additional switches, out of metal, which I will cover with black vinyl. I have all the necessary materials, hopefully enough skill to do the job but, at the moment, not enough time to make a start.

More soon. 

[Marina door handles]

The door handle mod is pretty subtle, seems like a good idea to me.

[Peter C]

9 hours ago, Marina door handles said:

The door handle mod is pretty subtle, seems like a good idea to me.

I was lucky to find a pair of armrests that are the right material, texture and colour and don’t look too offensive.

[Dj_efk]

Personally, I think if you eliminated the chrome door pulls - which to me now look like more of a owner-modification than what you have added - it would look like it was always meant to be like that. To my mind this makes it a very good upgrade.

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, Dj_efk said:

Personally, I think if you eliminated the chrome door pulls - which to me now look like more of a owner-modification than what you have added - it would look like it was always meant to be like that. To my mind this makes it a very good upgrade.

Maybe, the thing is that the original pulls are secured to the door whilst the armrests that I installed are only fixed to the door card. The MG's doors need a good slam and I wouldn't want to use the armrests as door pulls.

[vtec-e]

6 hours ago, Peter C said:

I was lucky to find a pair of armrests that are the right material, texture and colour and don’t look too offensive.

They look a good match to me. I hope the door card is stout. I remember a few in the past from cars of that era that have crumbled under any weight.

[Peter C]

4 hours ago, vtec-e said:

I hope the door card is stout. I remember a few in the past from cars of that era that have crumbled under any weight.

The door cards are dilapidated but remain structurally sound.

They’ve already been cut for speakers so I had no qualms about drilling a few more holes.

[Peter C]

I wanted to fill the gap between the central speaker and the underside of the dashboard since the day that I fitted the central speaker - that was months ago.

Plan A was to buy something that would fit straight in. The speaker is 230mm wide and the gap between the top of the speaker and the underside of the dashboard is 50mm along the front but it goes down to approx 35mm along the back of the dashboard. I couldn't find anything that would work.

Plan B was to make a wooden panel, stained a dark oak colour, which I tried to make but without a lot of messing about, I couldn't make the wood thin enough to make the switches fit. 

Plan C was to make a metal panel. This is what happened today.

I marked up a template on a thin piece of steel.

I cut it with my tin snips.

Then I bashed it into shape with a large hammer.

Looks promising.

Once I cut down the side sections, it fitted a treat.

I drilled holes for the light fitting and switches.

Then I repurposed a piece of black vinyl and stuck it to the metal panel with contact adhesive.

Once the adhesive dried, I cut openings for the holes and refitted the light fitting and switches.

Looking good, almost factory.

The plan is to extend a new +12V supply directly from the battery, with an in-line fuse located in the battery compartment, to the back of the panel. The new supply will provide an electrical supply to the four switches.

The first switch will operate a volt meter, which I will fit to the left of the new panel. Unfortunately, the volt meter is too big (52mm diameter) and it wouldn't fit on the panel. 

The second switch will operate the central light fitting.

The third switch will operate a light fitting that will be located in the luggage compartment.

The fourth switch will operate a +12V socket, which I will fit somewhere beneath the dashboard.

Weather permitting, I might fit the wring tomorrow.

More soon.

[Peter C]

[Peter C]

I finally found some time to wire up the new switch console.

Work in progress. I really enjoy doing stuff like this.

The main +12V supply comes straight from the battery, via a splash-proof in-line fuse.

I fitted the +12V socket inside the glovebox. Originally, the MGB wouldn't have had one and I didn't want it on show.

The voltmeter lights up when activated. Nice. I would have preferred a matching Smiths one but I found this one, brand new, on Amazon, for £12. No brainer.

The dashboard light shines brightly.

Finally I found the right place to fit the Shitbox Edition badge.

And job done, I really like the mods, makes the interior more cosy.

Next, I wanted to replace the rather worn looking anti-roll bar bushes.

Unfortunately, the ones I got from MGOC are the wrong size. Evidently, my MGB doesn't have a 3/4 inch anti-roll bar. 

I had nightmares about the bracket bolts being bastard tight and snapping. I shouldn't have worried, I loosened all four without any problems.

More soon.

 

 

[Peter C]

I'm struggling to obtain the correct front anti-roll bar bushes.

Turns out, the ones I ordered last week are for a 3/4" anti-roll bar, which is not the one fitted to chrome bumper GTs. My bad.

I exchanged emails with MGOC Spares and I was advised to purchase 5/8" anti-roll bars, part number 1B4526, which is what I did.

The replacement bushes arrived today.

Old and new together.

Old.

I make that just over 15mm.

New.

I make that just over 17mm.

Once fitted, the new bush has way too much space to move around the anti-roll bar. Amazing what a difference 2mm makes.

I have emailed MGOC Spares for more advice.

More soon.

 

[Peter C]

15mm is 5/8", which means that MGOC Spares have fucked up this time.

[Peter C]

Response from MGOC Spares:

Apologies.

We had new stock of 5/8 and 11/16 and they have been put away in the wrong bins. I will have another pair sent out once this has been corrected.

Third time lucky!

[Peter C]

I watched the latest Shed and Buried Classic Cars show yesterday, the one with the ropey Triumph TR3.

The guy selling the Triumph had various other cars in stock, including a red MGB Roadster, reg UUO750J.

That Roadster was registered 128 cars after my GT - UUO 622J.

How exciting!

 

[HMC]

And both have had the shinier grille retro fitted, good spot!

[Peter C]

What a fucking joke.

Yesterday MGOC Spares advised that:

The stock has been sorted, and replacements are on the way.

Great.

The replacement bushes arrived today. I took them straight to the garage, measured them and.... they've sent me another set of 17mm bushes. I now have two sets of the fucking things. And a set of 3/4" as well, for good measure. All no good to me.

I emailed MGOC Spares and advised them of the above.

Response:

Apologies again.

I had been told that the stock had been corrected, which clearly had not.

I have now picked them myself, and they will leave in the post today.

Fingers crossed, again.

[High Jetter]

11 minutes ago, Peter C said:

All no good to me.

Worth coin to someone else, maybe?

[Peter C]

12 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Worth coin to someone else, maybe?

Happy to offer them FOC to almost every member of this fine establishment. 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

What a fucking joke.

Yesterday MGOC Spares advised that:

The stock has been sorted, and replacements are on the way.

Great.

The replacement bushes arrived today. I took them straight to the garage, measured them and.... they've sent me another set of 17mm bushes. I now have two sets of the fucking things. And a set of 3/4" as well, for good measure. All no good to me.

I emailed MGOC Spares and advised them of the above.

Response:

Apologies again.

I had been told that the stock had been corrected, which clearly had not.

I have now picked them myself, and they will leave in the post today.

Fingers crossed, again.

Shit! A comedy of errors. 
If that was me knowing that’d happened I’d have measured the set I was sending out before hand but never mind!

[SiC]

On 20/09/2025 at 15:46, Peter C said:

Originally, the MGB wouldn't have had one

Yeah they did! How would a chain smoking 60s/70s individual light his cigarettes without one!?

In the middle of the switches at the bottom by the gearstick.