Doug's Journal

1966 New Interior 5

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 21:18:32 -0500

Doug's Journal --

Today I took a morning drive with a couple buddies. We went to Bass Lake for breakfast. Weather was great and the company was better! When I got back out in the garage, I started the carpet installation. I was a bit nervous gluing in the sills with only 2-hands but it all turned out great. I don't know how anyone else does it but I used the 3M 90 High Strength spray adhesive. First I dry fit the pieces and masked around the spray area. Then I would spray both the metal panel as well as the rubberized side of the carpet. While I waited for that to tack up, I would remove the masking tape so it wouldn't get stuck underneath the carpet. Then carefully fit the carpet. The dry fit was a great step as there were many times I was trimming the pieces to get a better fit. As I look at tomorrow's work, a few of the pieces have me scratching my head. I can't figure out how to fit the carpet over the "Starter Cover" in the passenger's footwell - unless there is WAAY too much carpet and I just have to trim it down. Also, this car had the stiff heel board on the passenger side, but not on the drivers side. I guess I'll just have to screw it directly to the footwell. Lastly, I cleaned up the handbrake as well as the vinyl backer that was all dirty and curled up. After cleaning, I glued it down and then hit it with some vinyl paint.

<Masked around the piece and sprayed adhesive.>	<Sprayed the adhesive on the back side of the carpet.>	<Removed the masking tape.>
<Voila! Nice fit with no overspray.>	<I was worried the most about the sills, but they turned out well.>	<They are glued down to the bottom as well.>
<Original handbrake vinyl cleaned and glued in place.>

Posted 2019-09-20 21:18:32 by Douglas Gaither

1966 New Interior 4

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 22:55:40 -0500

Doug's Journal --

Today I thought I would install the carpets. But a naked floorboard just annoyed me. My plan is to sell this car, so it would be understandable if I did the absolute minimum. But part of the fun (for me) is doing things the right way. I enjoy the work and I DO NOT want to be a future DPO. So I visited my local Lowes and picked up a roll of Peel & Seal (roofing sealer). But for all intents and purposes - it was exactly what I wanted to reduce some of the road noise through the floorboards. All of the original mastic "buffer" was gone. So I spent the day measuring and cutting and ultimately taping all the seams. The roll of Peel & Seal was about $17 for a 6" x 25' roll. It only took about half of the roll and was relatively cheap (compared to some other products). I am really happy with the results. I also removed the transmission access panel, cleaned it up, painted and replaced with new fasteners. I am very happy with today's progress.

<Passenger Back>	<Passenger Front>	<Driver Back>
<Driver Front>	<At Lowe's. This was a great find.>	<Ready for the rubber boot.>

Posted 2019-09-19 22:55:40 by Douglas Gaither

1966 New Interior 3

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:10:12 -0500

Doug's Journal --

So today I took the wire wheel to the bottom side of the floorpan to clean of the surface rust, Afterwards I coated it with some primer. After that dried I put the seam sealer on. After that dried - I sprayed a topcoat on it. In the morning sun, the trunk had a lot more color than I could see at dusk. I am pretty certain a single can of Damask Red single-stage spray paint is NOT going to fully cover. As you can see the difference between the previously black trunk and the seam sealer. I'm planning on putting some carpet in the bottom, so I'll focus on the non-carpeted areas. I top coated the floorboards and tunnel, Removed the transmission access cover and painted it. I have some bubble heat shield for the tunnel, but I may skip it since the molded carpet tunnel piece has pretty heavy insulation. In my previous 1966 (Nigel), I used too much insulation - as a result it was very quiet but the seats wouldn't adjust fully because the width of the tunnel had increased with the extra insulation. I moved to the window regulators, both windows were pretty stiff, but after some light lithium grease, they freed right up. So I installed the vapor barriers on the doors. The passenger side window scraper was deteriorated badly. I had an extra so installing that was much easier than I anticipated thanks to a tip on the board about removing the bottom stop to allow the window to drop another inch allowing removal and installation of the window scraper without removing the window. Tomorrow I'll start the installation of the carpet.

<Huge gaps without sealer>	<More gaps>	<Sealer applied>
<The sealer filled very well.>	<Nice topcoat to cover and protect.>	<Seeing a lot more color in the daylight, but not there yet.>
<I used heavy duty 3mil garbage bags>	<The window scraper was brittle and ineffectual>	<drilled out the rivets and installed the new scraper>
<All done, looks good.>

Posted 2019-09-18 17:10:12 by Douglas Gaither

1966 New Interior 2

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 17:32:32 -0500

Doug's Journal --

What a stinking mess this is to clean up!! It was incredible how much adhesive some DPO had poured into this floorboard. Most of it had become hard, but some of the thicker spots had softened the adhesive so it became gummy. The die grinder with wire wheel worked great on the lighter areas, but really bogged down when it got thick. So I eventually broke out my grinder with a twisted wire wheel and that was the big gun I should have started with. The passenger side had some surface rust that was covered with very thick adhesive. I think the DPO thought the adhesive would "cure" the rust. Anyways, I got the rust cleaned out (below is a picture of the passengers side that isn't quite finished yet - I was just updating my dad with a photo of the progress). Then sprayed it with a light coat of Rustoleum primer/paint. The drivers floorboard was replaced by a local British Specialty Shop, but they did not deliver the complete job my son had paid for. They had left unpainted bare metal after floorboard installation and had never put any kind of seam sealer. So after cleaning both sides and priming with Rustoleum, I applied seam sealer. After this dries I will paint the floorboards again and then we're on to carpet. I had also cleaned out the trunk with the wire wheel. Some of the factory seam sealer had been removed as a result so I put the seam sealer back here as well. I have a can of single stage Damask Red that I will use to paint the trunk. The DPO had cut speaker holes in the bulkhead. I hate that it looks butchered but will leave it for now. After removing the tail lights and masking off the trunk I gave it a light first coat. It doesn't appear to be throwing a LOT of color. Of course, it is over a black, so there's that.

<Almost done, a little rust to remove still>	<Drivers Side>	<Sealed all the seams just to be safe.>
<I hate those speaker holes! Gas tank is out for replacement>	<After first light coat, you can just make out the Damask Red>

Posted 2019-09-17 17:32:32 by Douglas Gaither

1966 New Interior 1

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:57:02 -0500

Doug's Journal --

This car belonged to my son and it really is a sweet car. He lost the desire to work on it and so now it is in my stable. I tried selling it last year, because it has such great bones, it just needs finishing. Which I thought would be a PLUS for anyone out there as they could finish it according to their own tastes - but I was unsuccessful. This is really okay with me because I've had a hankering to get my hands back some restoration work. Last spring during Moss's annual upholstery sale I purchased a new interior and I'm looking forward to installing it. I have new carpet, new door cards, new door caps, new seat covers, new steering wheel as well as door handles & cranks. First step is removal of what is there, then repair what's needed and prepare for installation. Lastly is installation. The seats were really ugly Naugahyde and you can see the original color on the back bulkhead. We had used vinyl paint to paint them tan. Anyways, the seats were removed for refurbishing while the interior is prepped. As you can see in the photos, it is incredible how much petrified glue is stuck on these panels. I tried using some Acetone to remove it, but it was caked [b]waay[/b] too thick. I had to resort to using a die grinder with a wire brush. That works pretty well but is very messy with glue dust flying everywhere. I also have an issue with a drivers side floorboard. I had paid a local British Specialty shop to replace the rusted floor panel with a brand new Heritage panel. They welded it in, but didn't finish well. So I will be removing the surface rust where they ground off for clean welds, priming them, applying seam sealer, and lastly painting with a top coat. This will happen prior to installation of the new carpet. Unfortunately, I have to do these same repairs on the underside of the car. I plan on detailing this process in my journal.

<At the beginning. Check out the brown naugahyde.>	<Can you believe the amount of adhesive?>	<Incredible!! What a challenge.>
<Some of it cleaned off, lots to go!>	<You can see this was a BRG car. Clean sill and floorpan.>	<Drivers side down, you can see the carnage awaiting me.>

Posted 2019-09-12 16:57:02 by Douglas Gaither

'73B - Conversion To WW Axle

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 15:46:51 -0500

Doug's Journal --

NOTE: This work was done in July, August & September of 2018 I bought this car from my dad, a Wire Wheel conversion kit had been installed but the tires always rubbed. When I sold my previous '66 (Nigel) to my buddy Scott - I moved the 14" Chrome Wires off of this car and included them in the sale. I purchased brand new 15" Chrome Wires and tried to use them, but there was not enough clearance. So I happened to have a spare WW tube axle from an older car I cut up. So I got about cleaning it up and refurbishing it. Although the pics don't show, I did replace the copper and fiber washers in the spider gears. This process took longer than I thought. I purchased new drums, shoes, springs, adjusters, wheel cylinders and a new emergency brake cable. One think I didn't account for was the hard brake lines. So I had to just bend them so they'd fit. I will be replacing them in the near future when I convert this system from DOT-3 to DOT-5. This will happen when I pull the engine to paint the engine bay Tartan Red to match the body. Shout out to my son Joseph and my Dad and buds Scott and Keith for helping. One last thing, the previous 14" wheels experienced grease creep from the hub through to the top of the spokes. To prevent this I coated the inside of the spokes with silicone to hopefully prevent this. The new 15" wheels fit perfectly, .75" clearance on both sides. Definitely a worth-while conversion.

<It was pretty crusty>	<My son going at it with a wire brush wheel>	<New fiber and copper thrust washers>
<cleaned and topped off shocks>	<Looking good with new parts>	<New hub extensions and studs>
<Beautiful>	<All ready for the new wheels>	<I had to bend the lines to fit the narrower WW axle>
<Applied silicone to nipple ends to prevent grease creep>

Posted 2018-10-06 15:46:51 by Douglas Gaither

'66B - Getting It Roadworthy

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 14:01:21 -0500

Doug's Journal --

NOTE: These repairs were made in June of 2018. I purchased this car from my son (pgaither) earlier this spring with the intent of using it to base my V6 build on. The body is straight and rust-free, the paint is good (not GREAT, but good). There is no interior other than seats. So by this time, I had arrived home with my new V6, so my plans for this car changed and I decided to offer it for sale to another enthusiast who would give it some TLC. I really love the Mark-I's with the metal dashboard and this car has already been outfitted with a D-Type overdrive. . When my son first bought the car it was wearing HIF-4's. A local British repair shop decried them as garbage and sold my son a Weber DGV. It never really ran well. So I decided to take it to the same shop so they could make it run good. Upon seeing it, they decried the DGV as garbage! I reminded them that they are the ones that sold it to us so they decided to fix it. After 90min of labor, it still didn't run right. They said I should consider getting some HS-4's to put on. I drove away from that shop for the last time. I called the local British Wizard (OleanderJoe) who had retired and he agreed to help me with this car. It didn't take him very long to find a laundry list of things incorrectly done by the previous shop. So he rebuilt the carb, attached the vacuum advance, wired the coil correctly, repaired a broken pulley on the generator, rebuilt the generator, adjusted the valves, adjusted the timing, rebuilt the distributor and adjusted everything. It ran better than ever. Joe is truly a wizard! In the mean time, I had an MG-Exp member who was interested in this car. Before we could complete the sale - one of his other cars broke down. The tires are all ancient and need replacing. Since I bought a completed V6 rather than building one – I still have the hankering to build another MGB. I have to decide if I really want to sell this car now OR refresh the whole car, put the interior and then sell it next spring. I can’t keep 3 MGB’s and give them the attention they need as I don’t really have the space. I thought other folks would want to purchase this little gem and then finish it to their own specification. But I’m getting the feeling folks would rather have something finished. That’s okay… I can do that.

<Just washed her up and took a photo>	<Engine bay prior to work>	<Engine bay prior to work>
<Engine bay prior to work>	<Took it to a lift to take photos of underside>	<Bad distro wire and broken pulley>
<repaired pulley with JB-Weld>	<Rebuilt distributor>	<Getting the carb worked out>
<Manifold>

Posted 2018-10-06 14:01:21 by Douglas Gaither

V6 - Replacing High Pressure Fuel Pump

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 12:40:44 -0500

Doug's Journal --

NOTE: This repair happened June 4-5 After returning home from our epic Pacific Coast drive, I was anxious to get the V6 back on the road. So I ordered a new Walbro fuel pump, it came in WITHOUT the filtering sock, so I had to place a second order. When all the parts came in, I removed the pump from the swirlpot. By the way, this is an awesome swirlpot. It is custom made to fit in the battery holder behind the driver. It is all aluminum construction and I was duly impressed with it's construction. After removing the pump and comparing the sock to the new one, it was plain to see that this filter had been doing a tremendous job and was probably a bit tired. The original fuel tank had been retained through this conversion and I think that tank was a bit rusty. Paul Mansell had supplied a brand new tank for installation, but hadn't installed it yet. The gasket was made of thin cork and was coated pretty heavily with silicone sealer. It was compromised during removal. So I made a new gasket and put everything back together. After putting everything back together, the swirlpot was pressurizing and was leaking at the place where the wires enter the mounting bracket. Unfortunately, the makers of the bracket sell a replacement for about $115! So after monkeying around with this for several hours I decided that I would be installing a new Todd Budde tank as this was always my intention in the planning of my own conversion. This would replace the current 2 fuel pumps to a single OEM-style submersed pump in a new custom tank. So I ordered a new tank from Todd Budde. Now I'm going to fast forward to Sept 15th. The new tank should have arrived by mid-July. Then mid-August. I have a planned week-long drive. It's the week before my trip and no tank yet!! Frustrating! So I decide to revisit the leaking swirlpot. I remove the pump again and carefully coat the pressure-side of the fitting with silicone. I coat the outside too for good measure. After 24-hours to cure, I buttoned it back up and UGH!!! Still leaking!! This meant I couldn't take the V6 on our trip. I was still able to take my other '73B "Fritz". It's early October and I still don't have my tank. Todd has experienced some hurdles with his shop and was unable to complete the work on time. I'm just patiently waiting. I've seen photos of his tanks, they are beautiful. But for the moment, the V6 has been sitting in my garage since I brought her home in May.

<Here's the pump as I removed it>	<Can you tell which one is the new one?>	<Little blobs of silicone that had dropped into the pot>
<New gasket>	<All ready to install>	<Here's where the leak was>

Posted 2018-10-06 12:40:44 by Douglas Gaither

New Car - The V6

Sat, 06 Oct 2018 12:07:46 -0500

Doug's Journal --

NOTE: This trip happened May 21st-26th. For several year I have planned on building another car, this time a V6. I secured a donor 3.4L V6 engine & T5 tranny as well as a later model car to put it in. But I found a completed V6 Project for sale right here on the MG Experience. So I made arrangements to purchase it. The car was originally a California car that had been exported to B.C. Canada - I just had to go and get it. So my buddy Scott (200elcamino) & I flew up to Seattle and then into Canada where we met the seller Paul Mansell (mansep2) and did the deal. Paul Mansell did a brilliant job on the conversion and we were having a fantastic time driving it down the Pacific Coast. We stayed the first night with another pal of mine on Camano Island, then started our trek home. Second night: Astoria, we pulled in and took off for the Astoria Column. We stayed at the Atomic Motel (it was super cool). The next day we visited the Lewis & Clark exhibits at Fort Clatsop as well as stops at Cannon Beach and Rockaway Beach. I did not expect to see great beaches like these, I always thought Oregon beaches were rocky and mostly inaccessible. The third night: Bandon. This was supposed to be a Coos Bay location, but because trying to make accommodations from a convertible at speed can bring some complications - we ended up at the Shooting Star Motel (dive). The car was experiencing some fuel starvation issues once a day. After a 10-min rest it would be okay. This car has TWO fuel pumps using a swirlpot setup. Because I could not source a HP fuel pump on the road, my only other choice was to replace the LP fuel pump in case it was intermittently failing to fill the swirlpot. So I picked up a low pressure electronic fuel pump from Napa and replaced it in the Motel parking stall. The remainder of the day brought no more fuel delivery problems - Yay! The next day we intended on stopping by the Jedediah Smith Redwoods, but we totally missed the turnoff. Didn't realize it until we passed Crescent City! Or course we made the obligatory stop at the Trees Of Mystery. The fourth night was in Eureka. The rain came, the top went up. We stopped at the Loleta Cheese Factory for grilled cheese sandwiches, then spent time driving the Avenue of the Giants. The Avenue is a must-see for anyone headed up to northern California. Coming around Clearlake we experienced another fuel starvation prob (rats!). At this point, we were less than a days ride away. Because these problems went away after letting the pump rest for a few minutes, we thought we could make it home. But alas, we experienced 3 more failures before reaching Stockton. We spent the fifth night in Stockton hoping that an evening of rest would allow us to drive the remaining 2.25 hrs home. But this wasn't to be - the pump failed again only 40min into new day at Turlock. This was now Memorial Day weekend and we decided to call a tow truck. We were home about noon and the car was safely tucked inside the garage. What an epic drive with a new car.

<Pass Lake on Fidalgo Island>	<Waiting for the Port Townsend Ferry>	<Driving along the Hood Canal at Hoodsport>
<The Astoria Column - in all her glory - 188 steps to top>	<Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach - what a great place>	<Replacing LP fuel pump at the Shooting Star Motel>
<Any time you see a dinosaur - YOU STOP!!!!>	<Avenue of the Giants - incredible!>	<Turlock - the final breakdown on this trip.>

Posted 2018-10-06 12:07:46 by Douglas Gaither

Fritz-Tire Separation & Taft

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 12:34:25 -0500

Doug's Journal --

This actually happened on a drive to the Reagan Presidential Library on April 22nd. We took off from Coalinga Calif heading west on Hwy-198. Turning onto the Coalinga-Parkfield Grade we headed south across some very beautiful secluded countryside. At the transition from Fresno County to Monterey County, the road turned into a nicely graded - but extremely dusty gravel road. We continued on to Parkfield and had a fantastic lunch at the Parkfield Cafe - incredible beef! After lunch we continued south to Hwy-46 taking that to Hwy-33. We headed south from there and making very good time when I gained a new experience. Tire separation! Headed south on Gasoline Alley (Hwy-33) I heard a loud pop and then a repeated slamming sound in the rear left. After slowing down and pulling off the road, I could see that my tire tread had separated and before detachment, had really beat up the bottom of the rear fender and the paint above the tire. The paint job was only 2-years old, what a bummer! Quick tire change and I was back on the road again. I was leading our caravan and didn't realize until I arrived in Taft that the rest of our caravan had some difficulty with their car (KHartman I'm talking to you). So I gassed up and went to a self-service car wash to get some of the dust off and assess the damage to the car. After some roadside diagnostics, we were able to get Keith's car moving along to Taft, but it was still not working right. So we parked at the Taft Autozone for additional diagnostics - it was something in the ignition circuit. We were trying to eliminate possibilities and we were wondering about the coil. Keith was going to buy a universal coil at Autozone and try it [b][i]"Nah!!! Let's just take the coil out of my fully functional car and put it in yours to test it"[/i][/b] - so we did. That wasn't the problem - the problem was a bad condenser (wow!). So when reconnecting the coil in my car, the wires were not connected correctly and it fried my electronic ignition module. This was the end-of-trip for me. At this point, it was 9:30pm so I called a tow truck, and the guys ended up scrubbing the trip as well. I learned two very valuable lessons on this trip: 1 - Old rubber is dangerous - no matter how much tread is left!!!! 2 - Carry some spare ignition components (cheap AND small)

<Parkfield-Coalinga Rd - beautiful ride but OH the dust!!!>	<The tire kept air for a bit>	<Paint job knocked down to primer>
<Diagnosing KHartman's ignition issue>	<Trying to figure out why MY car wouldn't start...>

Posted 2018-10-02 12:34:25 by Douglas Gaither

The Dreaded "Clonk"

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:08:29 -0500

Doug's Journal --

I had to have the rear spline hubs replaced. Had the job done while I was on vacation. Excellent job done by Rick Rogers at British Steel in Fresno.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy, the left rear axle seal was leaking and fouled the brake shoes. So new seal & shoes we included in the deal. Along with several body adjustments that I just didn't have time to do myself (working too much).

Posted 2010-08-25 13:08:29 by Douglas Gaither

Re-spoked

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:11:58 -0500

Doug's Journal --

I found one of my tires flat last month, upon closer inspection I realized I had broken a couple of spokes and consequently several others were now loose. So I ordered the spokes from my local guy. After getting them, I tried tightening up the other loose ones and broke 3 more! So now I had to wait again. I found a tube at the local Coker Tire Warehouse. So I finally got everything back together and it looks good. I think it will be fine for a spare.

Posted 2010-06-09 22:11:58 by Douglas Gaither

Melted Wires

Thu, 27 May 2010 08:48:24 -0500

Doug's Journal --

2 months ago I was driving my car home from work when the lights started dimming sporadically along with that PVC bouquet. At the time I had never associated that smell with the cause - as I have never had that happen. I discovered a short in the red running lights wire in the license light feed that melted the insulation off all the red wires in the trunk.

So I stripped out the rear harness and replaced all the red wire along with replacing the original tail lights with the LED light kit from Classic Auto LEDs http://www.classicautoleds.com/MGB_Info.html

I have been VERY happy with the results. Much brighter and therefore more visible/safer.

Posted 2010-05-27 08:48:24 by Douglas Gaither