Luv2Wrench

Carbs, intake and exhaust manifolds back on. Transmission back on with new pressure plate and pilot bushing. Definitely noticed a difference between the new and old pressure plates. I even had to adjust the clutch linkage to get it reconnected. I'm hopeful that was also part of my noise problem. I'm replacing the handbrake cables in the rear as well as plating of few connectors that need it. That will finish this up and I can get back to paint prep! I've decided that before I roll it out I will hook a few things back up so I can fire the engine and try to test the pressure plate. I'm fairly confident that the problem is fixed but it is certainly easier to work on it now with the tub removed.

Wow.... what an ingenious solution! I've gotten used to your nifty solutions so I guess I shouldn't be a surprised but I am. Precision and simplicity without exotic tools. I've struggled with similar needs for gaskets and had to rely on what I could get from McMaster-Carr and they're never quite right. Can't wait for the next need for a gasket to come up!!

Put the new (oil soaked) pilot bushing in and put the pressure plate on. Unfortunately as I tightened down the bolts on the pressure plate the part the throwout bearing rides on tilted to one side. This was the part that I had carefully leveled on my surface plate using an indicator. Obviously that isn't how you're supposed to do it because once on the flywheel it was no longer level. I couldn't find any information on how it was supposed to be done so I ordered a new one. It should be here tomorrow. I got the carbs put back together and they're ready to go back on. I need to replace the drain spigot first and it is in that group of parts due tomorrow. As such... by mid-week I should have everything buttoned back up. At that point I'll be able to roll it back out of the shop and resume block sanding the tub. Not much in pictures but here are some shots of the carbs before I took them apart to plate the various bits, along with those various bits after plating and then assembled again.

x10. As Mike says, the rusted out areas usually have a perimeter of much thinner metal. This really adds to the challenge and if possible it is better to cut these thin areas out as well.

Core plugs have been changed and I'm happy with how they sit. I'm not sure how it took nearly a month to get that done but it did. There's a lot of other stuff going on and that list continues to grow. I took the brake cylinder out, removed the rust and then painted it with zinc paint. I didn't even know that zinc paint exists but it does and it is pretty cool. When you wonder to yourself if it really contains a significant amount of zinc your concerns vanish when you pick up the tiny little can and it weighs a ton!! It is expensive stuff but very easy to apply and the perfect solution to getting good corrosion protection on something that you can't get in the bucket for plating. The cylinder is now back on the car and the other bits and pieces are plated. As I said previously, I tapped the old pilot bushing and was able to run a bolt in there and pull the both of them out. I'm ready to put the new bushing in (soaked in oil) and get the pressure plate, clutch and transmission back on. I sat the pressure plate on my new (to me) granite surface plate and ran an indicator over it and found that one side was 70 thousandths or so high. I adjusted that so the it was level and honed the surface as well. I think the throw out bearing should make better contact now and reduce any noise. Once the transmission is back in I'll be able to roll the car back out of the shop so I can get room to do routine maintenance on my car and my son's car before he heads off to school. After that things will hopefully calm down a bit and I can get back prepping the tub for paint. There are still a few misc tasks to do to the chassis before I start the paint prep again so it may be September before I'm ready for that... really hard to believe.

That surface grinder looks a lot like the old Cincinnati Tool Cutter Grinder I picked up awhile back. Same type of fixture on the table.

You can definitely paint the car yourself but you'll need to get a few things squared away. You need a good space that minimizes dust/dirt/etc. You need a good air system and a good gun with the gun being a good bit more important. You need way more lighting than you think. It is all about adjusting to how the paint is getting laid down and you can't tell that unless you have lots of light. If you have a good area to spray in, a good gun with stable air and the light to see what you're doing, then lots of practice will get you where you need to be. You'll need to do a lot of post work to get the finish that you want but it'll end up as good as the amount of time you're willing to put into it.

Really frustrated myself that you can't be out there getting something done and that I am powerless to help. If it were not for that pond between us I'd help you get the car done. Do keep up the hope as I've seen a lot recoveries from conditions worse. Our family all but buried my grandfather a good 10 years ago as he was bleeding internally and there was nothing more that could be done. So much for that prognosis... still sailing along. Doctors are good people and they're smart, but they follow protocols and charts and forecast from that. Humans don't always fit to protocols and charts. Here's to hoping you don't fit their prognosis.

More mind numbingly not fun work completed over the last 2 weeks. I may or may not have shared here that while the car was outside it got rained on a couple of times. Not a surprise as I knew the forecast and I made sure sensitive areas were covered. What I didn't expect was rusty nuts and bolts on the engine and transmission. It turns out that most, if not all, of the nuts/bolts on the engine and transmission essentially had no protective plating remaining. I knew the chassis nuts/bolts had no plating because they were rusted when I took them off the donor car which is why I plated them. I would have plated the others if I had known. As such, I've been taking things back apart and plating. The good news is that I've gotten the process nailed down pretty good. I get pretty much prefect results though it is a little slow. The last two task on the chassis/drive train are the mysterious clutch noise and the core plugs on the engine. I had a devil of a time with getting the pilot bushing out. I tried packing grease in and then driving a shaft in to compress the grease and force the bearing out. That didn't work and made a fairly large mess. I tried making a tool to extract the bearing by grabbing it from behind but that didn't work either. I finally had to tap the bearing and run a bolt in. That almost failed as well because I could get the threads all the way through the bearing. Fortunately with the 18mm bolt run all the way in, I was able to knock the bolt out and, with great relief, see the bearing on the end of the bolt as it fell to the floor. I have the engine stripped down to access the core plugs and I'll be taking those out next. This will be the 3rd time and I'm hoping it works this time.

Mike, that's hits me hard... really sad to hear that. It doesn't seem possible. Hopefully the Doc got is wrong and you've plenty of time. I can't fathom the emotions you guys must be running through. I'm sending all my love and hope across the pond to you guys and hope it lifts you up.

I did the same thing with the ratio and got the dust like finish by the last shoot. I will not admit to the actual error but it had something to do with how one does 4:1 ratio and possibly not doing 4 parts of one and 1 part of the other rather thinking that if 4 goes into 16 4 times I could just do 12 ounces and level up to 16. Seemed like a good plan at the time.

The difference between the old style and the new is striking. Or... one is correct and looks appropriate and the other looks terrible.

Fantastic!

The dash looks great, what magic are you using there? What material is the dash and what is the repair material?

Very ingenious solution, thanks for sharing!

Fantastic transformation!! How did you do it?

That looks very similar to some of the tooling on my Cincinnati Tool Cutter Grinder. Same style anyway. It also looks a lot like (same color even) as some bits I got off a Foley Belsaw grinder. It certainly look very handy. It is interesting that you're using it that way because one of the first uses I'm looking forward to when I get the Cincinnati restored is to sharpen lathe bits and ACME threading was first in that line of that.

Looks great! Those days that you can bust through some stuff are really great. I need one of those days. lol

I wouldn't be surprised if the Clogmaster started performing a LOT better after witnessing how it was done... not to mention it has to feel a little threatened. If it lets you down again it knows there's a much better replacement available and it'll be on its way back across the ocean to be melted down and turned into another piece of junk. Constantly threatening your tools is not a good idea but a little poke now and then isn't a bad way to keep productivity up.

I'll put it here for posterity. Note the Amazon links will die one day but I'm putting the part info first. Also note that there are cheaper components available. I don't like to waste money but I have more money than time so I went with "bigger is better" approach and spent a little more to get bigger and higher quality parts. Hayden 1290 transmission cooler. The 1260 will work as well. https://www.amazon.com/Hayden-Automotive-1290-Heavy-Cooler/dp/B000HE6UNK Less expensive alternative is Derale 15300 Tube fin cooler: https://www.amazon.com/Derale-15300-Tube-Cooler-Core/dp/B004XONT3E/ref=psdc_15737301_t2_B000HE6UNK Milton 1020-8 1/2" NPT Metal Filter Bowl: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O304I0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD soft copper tubing. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-I-D-x-10-ft-Type-L-Soft-Copper-Coil-Tubing-5-8-in-O-D-1-2-L-10RE/203654558 The Hayden 1290 has 3/4" FPT and the filter is 1/2" so my connectors were: Union 5/8" flare to 1/2" MIP - for filter Union 5/8" flare to 3/4" MIP - for transmission cooler. Short forged nuts. 5/8" flare

Really looks stunning. You can see the number of hours that went into it.

As I edge closer and closer to spraying color, I've made a few tweaks to my setup. I spent a lot of time designing my air system to be able to handle water. It has done a wonderful job but I have noticed that on the more humid days the desiccant filter at the gun is about half used up after about 15 minutes of spraying. This isn't ideal. I was mentioning this to a buddy of mine and he asked if I had an after cooler. I did not and I hadn't even heard of that before. Basically an after cooler is a big transmission cooler or a/c condenser that sits between the outlet of the pump and the inlet of the tank along with a water separator. The idea is the hot air comes out of the pump, goes through the transmission cooler (heat exchanger) and the temperature of the air drops considerably. As the temp drops the ability for the air to hold water falls as well so out comes the water. The water separator (at the lowest point in the system) takes out the water and lets the cooler and dryer air go on into the tank. The water separator has an auto drain that opens when the psi drops below 5 psi, ie; when the pump shuts off. Apparently everyone has been doing this and I'm last to the party... but I'm here now. So... I bought a big transmission cooler (Hayden 1290 24"x22"), a nice big auto drain water separator and some soft copper tubing and went to work. It went together pretty quick and I'm glad I did it. This should keep the water out of the tank and reduce the water the rest of my system has to deal with. I need to add a support for the filter and get a bucket to put under it. The proof will be when I spray next and I'll see how the desiccant holds up.

The brushed nickel plating really looks good. Can you show us a few more pictures and describe the process a bit more? I looked at the Caswell system a while back and decided against it because it seemed too good to be true... but you've gotten some great results. I'm interested to hear more.

Wow... that top is bigger than my whole MG. Great job!!

This is a reality though... I paid $4,500 for the car and I was being very generous. I've put $18,000 into the car so far. The only two labor tasks in that were about $1,000 for the engine work and the $5,000 for the chrome. I bought parts off eBay and restored them when I could. While I haven't cut any corners I certainly have made every effort to reduce costs. Even given all of that... and not including ANY of my labor, this car will have $25,000 in it before it is done. Again... that's not including anything for my labor. I've enjoyed the process and I'll get some money back when I sell it, but it does make one pause when thinking about the next project. Oh, speaking of that, the 1913 Metz has no chrome... so we're OK there.