Luv2Wrench

That hood panel is about the same size as the rocker panel on your car. Also... I've been meaning to ask you, do you skim the whole panel and then block down or do you try to select spots? I guess it depends on the condition of the panel but more and more when I see a restoration video they're skimming the entire panel and blocking down. I think if I did that I'd end up with waves.

Built another stander for the rear fenders. Finished filler/blocking for all 4 fenders, shot a sealer coat of epoxy primer followed by 3 coats of 2K primer. Blocked them back down and 3 of 4 are ready for paint. One rear fender needed a bit more work. Got started on one of the 4 hood panels. First I gently block it to get it smooth, then apply guide coat (black powder), then block that down to reveal low spots. Clean that off, apply filler and block that back down. Tomorrow I'll try to get the other 3 panels to the same state, shoot them (if needed) with epoxy primer to seal and then 3 coats of 2K primer.

Looking great!! I'll say that block sanding is my least favorite of the activities associated with restoring the car. I can only imagine the added frustration of working in the trunk with those tight spaces, nooks and crannies.

I was planning on reversing the stand to work on the other fender but decided it would be better to have them both going at once. As such I made another stand today. This way I can put filler on one and while it is drying I can block the other. I can also shoot primer on both and then block again. The fenders were already pretty straight when I got them and I did do some metal bumping before I shot them in primer so they were pretty close. I've filled a few low spots that might possibly have been there from factory. They were probably too big and subtle to be dents but since I'm using a guide coat they show up. I know from color sanding the tub that the color sanding goes much quicker if the panel is perfect... so I'm taking time on these to try and get close.

I managed to get out to the shop and get things cleaned up. I built a stand to hold the front fenders for block sanding. It is easily reversed to hold the other fender. I really needed to get these up higher so I wasn't bending over. If it looks somewhat familiar it is the remains of the table I've been using in the shop. I took it all apart and reused the wood. In theory.. I shouldn't need that table again. I'm sure this rig will also be taken apart one day and rebuilt into something different. I hope to get started block sanding tomorrow.

Just a note... I've been updating the videos on YouTube a bit more and while the first few were barely watchable, I think the quality has improved a bit. Here is the latest.

It appears, at least for now, that I've convinced the MG to not mark its territory!! I added coolant this morning and a couple of hours later it still remained inside the engine and radiator. I started the car and got it up to temp and spent 20 minutes not making any progress adjusting the carbs. I did some more research online and found a fantastic resource (David Braun's definitive guide) and realized all the multiple things that were probably wrong. Once I understood the issues I realized it would be a couple hour job and decided to do it later. I took the MG for a run through the neighborhood and it was a blast! The horrid grinding noise when the clutch is fully depressed is finally gone, so it appears the pilot bushing was indeed at fault. Second gear still engages with a bit of a clunk/grind so the synchros for that might need to be looked at. The brakes are still an issue though I'm starting to suspect that my idea of what they should operate like might also be part of the issue. I think that the car should stop well before the "holy %^$#* I'm going to die" thought runs through your mind. In respect to the brakes, they do indeed stop the car before that point. The only other issue I noted was that the ammeter isn't moving off zero. I haven't checked to see if that's the fault of the ammeter, generator or the wiring. Given that the battery was nearly dead before I started the car this morning and that it was much stronger after the 20 minutes of no progress tuning the carbs, I think it probably isn't the generator. The car now resides in the garage (main house) and it will be interesting to see if it choses to mark its new home. I'll be cleaning the shop out and organizing again as things really got out of control over the past few months. Once that is done I'll be able to start on the final bodywork and paint.

It runs again!! Things went back together smoothly and it is running again. I let it run for a bit and then torqued the head again. In the morning I'll add the coolant and hope it doesn't leak out. I'll give it a quick tune and then drive it up to the garage, clean the shop out and get ready to finish up the bodywork and paint.

Lead time was zero. Tom Lange, an MGT enthusiast, had these custom made and has a quantity in stock. He got them to me in 2 days. I'm indebted to him for offering the community both the knowledge and these parts. I'll install them tonight or tomorrow.

I'm not sure, but the NOS gasket worked fine before so the other one I have will work as well. The trick, as I've now learned, is to replace the head studs some some that are custom ordered from ARP (Automotive Racing Parts). These are torqued to 60 ft/lbs which will keep the head gasket from leaking now and in the future. There is a very real possibility that while the first time I had the head on it didn't leak it could have blown the head gasket later as the original studs were no longer capable of doing their job. Lesson one is to alway replace the head studs. Lesson two is to talk to enthusiasts to find out what they recommend. I'm sure I'll continue to learn lessons as I go.

The original gasket was copper but is was multi-layer. The replacement is as well and looks very similar but a set of calipers tells a different story. On the plus side I've gotten very good at removing/replacing the head in situ.

There's a joke about British cars that goes something like "if there isn't a puddle under it, then it isn't a British Car". That's funny but not really, because it is true. Truth be told I've come to hate this car. I went out this morning to change the oil and get the engine running again when I was greeted with a puddle on the floor. At first I thought it was the damn core plugs that I've replaced 3 times. I was wondering how it could possibly fail after my last repair but this time I found it was leaking all along the head gasket. Yep. A properly torqued head was leaking around the head gasket and I had not even run the damn thing yet. Some further research determined that the copper head gaskets sold today don't work that well because they're not as thick and don't crush easily. The only way to make them work is to torque way past the 50 ft/lbs specified. To do that, of course, you need special studs because both the original and reproduction studs would break. The other options are to have a custom head gasket made or find a NOS one. So how did this work when I rebuilt the engine last year?? I had a gasket kit made in the late 70s so I guess those were still good. Fortunately I do have another one that I didn't use because I wanted to get a brand new one thinking it would be better. Hah! I'm also going to take this opportunity to replace the head studs. There is a gentleman named Tom Lange who is a bit of an icon in the MG T series world and he sells several custom manufactured parts for the T Series. He has ARP build a set of head studs out of 8740 nickel-chromium-molybdenum steel with a black oxide finish. These are far superior to the both the original and reproduction studs and are torqued to 60 ft/lbs. I shouldn't have any more leakage issues with the new studs and the NOS head gasket. Of course one of the joys of replacing the head studs is removing the old ones without having them twist off flush with the head. Fortunately I removed the studs when I rebuilt the engine and properly chased the threads and used a quality thread sealant when I re-installed them. As such, a little heat and some patience and they were all removed without further issue.

Made some good progress this afternoon. Torqued the head down and installed the rockers. Changed the cork gaskets on the carbs and mounted them on the intake manifold and hooked up the linkages. Mounted intake and exhaust manifold to engine and connected various cables and wires. I think I'm going to make two more changes to the carbs and then set a static tune on them. Refilled the radiator and bought new oil. I'll change the oil tomorrow so I can check and see if any water made its way in there. I don't think this is the case as the rust stuff I found was likely just caused by excessive humidity when some water was able to make its way into the body of the carbs. It won't hurt to check it though and I was going to change the oil anyway but probably not this soon. If things go well tomorrow I might be able to try starting it and seeing how it runs. Weather doesn't look so good so I might not get it moved into the main garage. At this point hearing it run again will be a big relief. Based on everything I've seen so far there wasn't any real damage done and it should all be fine.

WOW, great looking projects!! I'm very envious and will be happily following along. Thanks for taking the time to document the journey for us!!!

I looked up the definition of weld to see if it had a requirement for looking good and my memory was proven correct... it does not. "Weld: join together (metal pieces or parts) by heating the surfaces to the point of melting using a blowtorch, electric arc, or other means, and uniting them by pressing, hammering, etc."

Lapped the valves which was pretty easy since the engine had less than 10 hours on it. Getting the valves back in went smoothly as well. Sat the head on the engine and will button things up next week. Time is still limited but I did make some progress at least.

Finally got some time in the shop! I got the carbs taken apart, cleaned and re-assembled. I ended up using a complete rebuild kit so all the gaskets, washers, jets, needles, etc are new. I might have gotten away with just cleaning everything but the rebuild kit was about $120 and I didn't think it was worth risking. For the cylinder head I decided to take out the intake valves. I'm glad I did because it wasn't good. I don't have a picture to show it, but there was some strange stuff in there. It was more like mold than corrosion but it certainly wasn't mold. I'm really not sure what it was... it was very flakey and pretty much wiped out with a cloth. There's a possibility running the engine would have removed it but I do think it would have kept the intake valves from seating well. Now that I have the valves out and everything cleaned I will lap the valves and re-install. I also bought a head gasket kit so I have all new gaskets for the head, intake/exhaust manifold, valve cover, tappet cover and other various places. This was my first time removing valves (the engine shop rebuilt the head for me) and I was a bit intimidated but it went smoothly. I bought a nice valve spring compressor that made the job much easier. It is the style that looks like a huge C clamp and reaches around the head to hold the valve on one end while compressing the springs from the other. It is very easy to use and quite sturdy. I'm glad I paid a bit more for it and waited a few days for it to be delivered.

Looking forward to see the restoration, thanks for taking the time to share!!

Neither had I. That was a really clever solution.

Doing it right at home takes years unless you're retired and can dedicate the hours needed. I think you've made fantastic progress on the car. A lot of skills have to be learned and mastered and that just takes time, there's no shortcut.

The engine looks great!

Assuming you do start a build page there, please come back and leave a link here in this post so we can follow along at JalopyJournal. Looks like a fun project, good luck!

So it was with GREAT joy that the moment to drive the MG out of the shop had finally arrived!! I fitted a temporary gas tank, connected the battery and verified all the electrics were correct. I removed the spark plugs and turned the engine over to verify oil pressure and all was well. I put the spark plugs back in, turn the ignition "on" and saw the proper lights appear on the center dash and heard the fuel pump kick in. I also heard the fuel pump not stop. I looked around at the carbs and saw fuel spilling out and onto the shop floor. A simple stuck float I thought. I opened up the top and realized the inside of the first bowl was corroded and couldn't figure out how that happened... it was sealed?? The I tried moving the plunger and it was stuck as well. I looked in the second bowl and it was empty? The valve was corroded shut. I then noticed that the top of each of the plungers is vented which means the whole time it was outside in the near daily rain it was going down into the carb and... into the head through the intake manifold, an absolute disaster. I took the carbs/intake manifold off and sure enough the intake ports into the head were corroded and literally had some strange crystal like things growing in them. I pulled the head off and the domes for cylinders 1 and 3 were both corroded and had some orange growths in them. The cylinders/piston themselves cleaned up easily. I'll probably take the head back to the machine shop and have them dunk it and check the valves and seats. There doesn't seem to be any real damage but it is a big time setback and, of course, I'll need new head gasket, head bolts, carb rebuild kits and all kinds of other gaskets along with new fluids. All because I didn't see the tiny vent holes. I did a thorough check over the engine and covered what I thought was every possible entry point but missed those. 2020 has just not been a very good year!

11" of snow, lol, the panic that would cause down here in Georgia. We'd be shutdown for 3 weeks.

You guys are all awesome! What a wonderful thing to see coming together. Just awesome!!