Luv2Wrench

LOL, when you need a little runout you don't get it and you're not sure if you should be disappointed or proud. Maybe you could buy a new drill press from your local big box store... you'd be SURE to get some runout... like a lot of runout.

Yep, Moss sells each piece by itself as well. I think they want $55 for the lower door frame. That seems a little high to me right now... we shall see how I feel after I try to duplicate the part.

Yeah, you guys are on the right track. While the top of that piece was rotted out the rest of it was fine, well.. at least fine enough that it will serve as a good pattern. It does have a compound curve but I don't think I'll have much issue cutting it. The joinery is just half laps so no complications there. I'm sure I'll make a couple before I'm really pleased with one but I don't see that taking much time at all. Now to find some Ash...

Took the windshield apart and added the pieces the the pile that "must be plated". Found out that both the wiper motors I have are non-functional so that'll be something else to look at. Started working on the door. It had some rot in the wood along the bottom and I figured that probably needed to be replaced. After peeling things back to take a closer look it was obvious that the whole thing needed replacing. In addition I'll need to remove the entire panel from the wood frame and treat the panel for rust and prime it before putting it back around the frame. The construction of the panel seems to be three parts. First a wood frame, second there is a steel frame of sorts that is nailed/screwed to the wood frame. The third piece is the door skin which is folded over the wood frame at the top and the steel frame along the sides and bottom. Makes for a nice strong structure and not a fun task of taking apart. Hopefully I can get it all done without deforming the panel.

Thanks Chris. I've always liked green on an MG. I believe they call it Woodland Green. I'll be looking for something between the two attached pictures. Something not as "bright green" as the first picture but maybe not quite as dark as the second.

Yes, though the cigar should be lit if he's also spraying clear coat at the same time.

It is indeed though I believe it could be seen as cheating. A real mechanic would eye-ball that with a hand held drill in one hand, the vane in the other while walking through a shop lit by a single light bulb. (I would mention that the bit would be bent and dull but I think that's obvious) I hope that reading about Joe's patience will somehow rub off on me.

This will help with acceleration.. https://www.ebay.com/p/6-2-Hellcat-Crate-Engine-Mopar-RESTOMOD-HOTROD-Dodge-Plymouth-68303089aa/3019845777?iid=333114734006&chn=ps Sorry... I just couldn't help it.

It has been so long since I worked on the MG, I forgot what I was doing and started taking it apart... I've taken all the chrome off and will sort out what needs to be plated. Costs in my area seems pretty high and turn around time seems a little long. I'll probably buy some repro parts and see how they compare. If the quality is good I'll keep them, otherwise I'll send them back and get what I have plated. I now realize I should have done this a couple of months ago. You live and you learn! After I get the chrome in process I will start bodywork. One door needs some attention, the scuttle has some issues and the passenger's lower quarter has some problems. There are a couple of dents I'll pop out next and then take everything apart, 80 grit scratches and epoxy primer. From there it will be final bodywork and then paint.

I'm so surprised when something of mine works the first time I usually take it apart anyway just because I can't believe it. I'm sure your pump will be pumping just fine very soon.

I'm sure I speak for all us of here when I say we're lucky you found those pictures!! Very interesting to see the different method you took in making the bodies. Amazing amount of detailed preserved in the negative mold and then to the parts... impressive. Incredible really.

Nice, is your car now used here? https://indylimorental.com/view-cars/ I'm hoping (and everyone else is as well) that you have some of the build pictures... that would be fantastic!!

Yep, never even thought about it when I didn't have a garage. For the last 10 or so I've had one and once you start parking in one, you get spoiled and I am very spoiled.

Yesterday afternoon I moved the MG back into the shop. My daughter's car has been in there all this time! I ended up fixing the other various dings (blending paint is so much easier than I thought!!) and the car had a fairly long list of mechanical issues that needed sorting so it has taken a lot of time. Those are done for now so I should be back on the MG by this weekend! In addition... the MG was parked in the garage attached to the house where my daily driver is normally parked... thus all this time I've had to brave the elements and go <gasp> outside <gasp> to get in my cold car to drive to work! It was nice to get into a warm car this morning.

What does the shaft/part look like? Do you have a parts drawing? I'd be happy to make the part for you if it fits within my capabilities.

Wow that looks like a lot of work, glad that tool is working out for you! That really doesn't look like much fun.

That's very good advice, though Phil has completely disassembled multiple cars and fully restored them. So while absolutely spot on advice for 99% of those reading the post... Phil is in that 1%. I also wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't already put those things back together and/or is waiting on parts/tools/fluids to do so.

That really looks good. There's just something wonderful about seeing you make those parts to get that "parts car" back on the road. I know the Mitchell must be happy as it HAD to think it was headed to the scrap yard. I can't wait to get back on the Metz and start making some parts myself! I got some good news today... the gentleman that sold me the L-W Chuck Co Universal dividing head did managed to find the other two index plates. With this setup I should be able to make a lot of gears and parts, I'm pretty excited! It is a huge tool but it does fit on my horizontal mill table.

Wow, I love it!! Can't wait to hear more about it as you get it road worthy and take it about! I bet it is glad it ended up in your care, should get fixed up in no time.

After Brexit and they break off from Europe, maybe the ocean currents will carry them closer to the US. That's how it works, right?

The results are amazing!

Wow... that's a great job without a table saw, thickness planar, jointer, shaper and/or router table. Impressive. I would have cut something belonging to me if I had attempted it that way.

Better progress today. When I got the replacement door from the junkyard the window was down and it was taped over with clear plastic. I assumed that the window mechanism was probably broken. As it turns out only the motor was broken and I was able to swap the 20 year old mechanism for the brand new one and it worked great. Very obvious difference in the gauge of the material as well as the depth of the stamp. With the window working I was able to get the rest of the door (and there is fair amount of stuff in there) done and buttoned up. I happy with how it turned out and with a new pinstripe it should look perfect. While it did take me forever to get the door painted, I'm very happy that the finish is flawless. I'm also impressed that the color matches as well as it does. I'll probably buff the whole car this weekend and I'll need to figure out something to do with the right front fender but that'll be another day. This detour, finally, is coming to an end!

Thanks guys, I thought you guys would find humor in the fact that no matter the scale, no matter the age, all these same problems keep cropping up.

I've been putting the door back on the car for 3 days now. I had a devil of a time with the door latch mechanism. It would work correctly out of the door and mostly work in the door, but when everything was buttoned up and the handle attached... it failed to open the door. It took me nearly 4 hours to find that part of the release mechanism the the handle used was adjustable and the bolt had wiggle its way loose so it was moving a little back and forth (in the adjustment range) instead of opening the door. It seemed the slight additional pressure in the door caused it to slide to one limit of its adjustment. At that limit it was too far away to have enough travel to open the door. Each time I was taking the mechanism back out (and that procedure isn't that quick) it was sliding back to the other extreme and the would function fine. Once though that hurdle I thought it would be pretty much all downhill from there. In a way... it was. Downhill to disaster. The window lift mechanism broke. This mechanism broke about 2 months ago and I replaced it so it is brand new and a Mercedes replacement part. Unfortunately one of the arms has bent so it doesn't raise evenly. The arm is stamped out of sketchy thin sheet metal. The old mechanism was a much heavier gauge. I pretty steamed at this point. I've taken the mechanism on and off 4 times and it goes on with 6 rivets so each time it means using a cold chisel to shear them off, remove, tweak, replace and new rivets. I'm headed to the junkyard tomorrow to see if I can find an older mechanism that a POS. The second day was spent painting the door handle because OF COURSE it had a big scratch on it that didn't show up in the pictures so I didn't know I needed it when painting the door (the car lives 30 miles away so it wasn't available for inspection before I started). One final note of misery, Mercedes no longer carries the pinstripe for the car. I might find one to match but I probably will have to take the pinstripes off and then put new ones on. Might as well buff the whole car at that time right?? Oh yeah, there's a rust spot on the right side fender so maybe I should take that off and paint it. There's a lot of paint chips as well so maybe I'll just strip the whole car down and paint it. The check engine light it on as well so I probably should rebuild the engine. I guess since it is a 1998 it is an antique because IT SURE IS BEHAVING LIKE ONE.!!!! Touch one thing and next thing you know it is a frame off restoration.