Paul Belluomini's Journal

In the last post the MGB had been torn down into it's separate components. I do not do body work or paint so the rolling shell was shipped off to a friend who is retired body man who also likes and appreciates British and American. He modified the front fenders and radiator area to allow for the installation of a chrome bumper conversion kit. The most difficult part of the conversion is the modification of the front fenders to allow installation of the original style turn signals. The kit is pricey from Moss Motors so I purchased a kit from England that includes all the parts except the bumpers and the grille. The kit was purchase from Ebay UK for around $120.00. I then purchased the bumpers and grille from various sources when they went on sale to keep the cost down. The conversion parts were trial fitted and then installed. I also bought a Frontline front valence/airdam from Moss when it was on sale, this was fitted to the car and sprayed to match. While the car was being prepped for paint I took the time to clean and then polish all the trim to renew it's appearance. For the chrome trim 0000 steel wool and brillo pads with lots of soapy water brought back the shine to the chrome parts. I then used chrome polish and buffed the parts to make them look like new again. The body was resprayed using MG Mineral Blue -used on 1965 to 1969 - MGBs. The paint turned out beautiful and the doors, boot lid, and bonnet were added and fitted. I then began adding back all of the trim parts , hydraulic lines, fuel lines, window regulators and gaskets and seals.
Please be aware that I took hundreds of pictures during the disassembly to aid me in reconstructing the car. It is impossible to remember exactly where all the various parts go and the routing of brake lines etc. The pictures made the job much easier. I also purchased all new rubber trim parts. I actually purchased duplicate rubber parts from Moss and the Roadster Factory. I had discovered earlier when rebuilding a TR250 that the various vendors supply slightly different parts from different suppliers and they do not fit the same or have the same appearance. I ended up using some of the rubber and body gasket parts from Moss and some from the Roadster Factory. If I could locate and buy NOS rubber parts I did but there is not much available nowadays. The new reproductions are not quite as well made and do not fit perfectly and require some mods or adjustments. The hardest part was the windshield. The Cadmium finish on the frame was in poor condition and the gaskets had expired. I disassembled the windshield completely, the glass was original and nearly perfect so that was retained for later reuse. Since getting the frame replated seemed impossible ( I could not locate anyone interested in doing it! ) I sent the windshield frame out to be polished by a company called Mirror Finish Polishing located in Missouri. The did a great job and returned it to me well packed. It looks like chrome now but not quite as shiny and goes well with the chrome window frames and the rest of the chrome on the body. I put the windshield back together using new gaskets, screws and rivets. The gasket between the glass and frame was easy. The gasket that is between the frame and body was a real pain to install. I had two gaskets - MOSS and Roadster Factory - they were quite a bit different. I ended up using the one from Roadster Factory, it was wider and I thought it fit better. Before installing the windshield I replaced the vinyl cloth trim that sits below the windshield on top of the cowl. This had expired due to the sun and I had saved the original to use as a template. I bought new black material from Moss and cut and glued the new one into place.
After completing the trim cloth I installed the assembled windshield into place. The big problem was that the windshield does not want to lie flat on the cowl area and the gasket is curled under the frame. It seems that after looking online it usually requires many people to accomplish this install. I enlisted my ever patient wife to assist me. Using only one bolt on each side allowed me to get things started. the windshield had to pushed downward and the top of the frame needed to be pushed towards the front of the car which would pivot it and flatten the gasket. The problem was we could not do both at the same time so I decided to use ratchet straps to assist. I hooked one end of each strap to the top corners of the windshield and the other end to brackets on the wall of my garage. I slowly tightened the straps while pulling the gasket out from under the frame and we both pushed down on the frame. This way I slowly positioned the frame into place and installed the second bolt. Once I was satisfied with the placement and fit I tightened the bolts, be careful not to overtighten as the frame is aluminum and the bolts are steel and they will strip the frame holes. My only other piece of advice is for the side window to door top seals. These are Moss 282 -380 & 390. The ones from Moss were installed and proved to be too wide and make winding down the side windows nearly impossible. I actually stripped the gears in in one widow regulator while trying to break in the gasket. I have since removed these and installed the ones I bought from Roadster Factory- part # AHH6349 & 6348. They are slightly thinner in width and do not cause the same issues. In the next journal I will address the dashboard, switches , gauges and the dreaded wiring harness. Cheers!