mgb v8 roadster restoration project report 96 · the bolt is nearly in, just needed some...

MGB V8 Roadster restoration project – Report 96

V8 Register – MG Car Club 161127-V8-restoration-Mike-Macartney-Rebuild-Report-96 1

26th November 2016. With the bodyshell off the ‘spit’ and on axle stands, all

there was left was to remove the mounting brackets from the bodyshell to the spit at both the front and the rear of the bodyshell.

Yours truly, looks as if I am doing an impression of a ‘Tea Pot’. “Here’s my handle, here’s my spout, tip me up and pour me out.”

I don’t know who took this photo, because it is Dugald on the left and me grovelling about on the ground, unbolting the front mounting bracket. There were only two of us in the garage. It must be those pesky fairies again!

We found that we needed two trolley jacks to get the rear axle bolted to the bodyshell. We used the hydraulic trolley jack to lift under the diff casing and the quick lift jack under the nose of the diff. I find it physically hard to use the quick lift jack (on the left in the photo). You have to put a lot of pressure on the jack handle to get the jack to go up.

I am using a pin punch and a lever to line up the bolt for a rear suspension link.



The bolt is nearly in, just needed some encouragement of the socket and ratchet.

Dugald lines up the coil over spring and damper unit to push the bolt through the chassis rail and the lug at the top of the damper unit.

Fitting the nut onto the bolt at the top of the damper mounting was not as easy as it looks.

Especially on this side. I was pleased I had mounted the filter on sprung clips. All I had to do was to unclip the filter and move it out of the way so that I could get my hand in there.



Masking up, before rust proofing the cavities, in the boot lid. This stops the material spraying over the areas that will eventually have sound proofing glued on..

Filling up the rust proofing injection spray gun with Waxoyl.

We covered up the bodyshell and the Singer Le Mans before I started injecting the Waxoyl. The mist, is the ‘Waxoyl spray mist’, I should have worn a mask!

On the driver’s door there was no sound deadening pad, therefore I stuck a new sound deadening pad onto the back of the door skin. I peeled back the wax paper backing as I pushed the pad into place. The sound deadening comes with a sticky back to it.



The sound deadening pad was then pressed down with the roller. Dugald and I rust proofed, not only the boot lid, we rust proofed the bonnet and both doors. Quite a feat, considering we had been on a Saga Louts’ real ale pub crawl in Norwich, the afternoon and evening before. There is no point in boring you with photos of rust proofing the other panels as it was the same system as I carried out on the boot lid. Although, on the doors I did use a long handled brush to get the Waxoyl into areas that were difficult to reach with the spray gun.

I found the switch for the boot interior lamp. It had been in the clear plastic bag marked ‘Boot Lid Parts’. Now why didn’t I look in there before? I cleaned it up before installing it.

USING A MULTIMETER TO MEASURE AMPS (Current)

Some people find using a multimeter daunting, especially when checking current (Amps). Many multimeter’s will only check up to 10 Amps, this multimeter, in the photo, will check currents up to 20 Amps. The red lead needs to be moved from the volts and resistance socket the Amps plug socket. The dial then needs to be set to the 20A range on this multimeter. The reason for using this bit of kit was that I was not sure of the current draw for the horns and I wanted to know the total amps of main beam, horns and radiator fans so that I could size the cables for the wires to and from the relays that I am going to fit at the front of the car, somewhere near the radiator. I will explain more about relays in a later report.



To check current you put the meter in series from the battery positive. The red lead was connected to the battery. As horns are earthed at the horn push end they have no earth and normally have two terminals. One is the live to the horn and the other is the live away from the horn. Anyway, back to testing this horn. An earth wire was connected to one side of the horn. In my left hand is the horn wire and in my right hand is the black wire from the multimeter. The two wires are not touching so the reading on the meter is 0.00 Amps.

With the wires touching the horn sounds and the amperage shown on the dial, 18.98 Amps, which I don’t believe. Possibly, the vibration of the diaphragm by the coil is causing a problem with a digital meter. I will borrow an analogue meter from a friend of mine and check it again with his meter. I would have guessed that the horn would take between 5 to 8 Amps of current. I will let you know in one of my later reports. An analogue meter has a scale and a needle like most classic car instruments and should show a correct reading.

The next job, while Dugald was staying with us, was to get the engine over a stainless steel tray, so that I could attack the RV8 engine and gearbox with degreaser. Another reason for digging the engine out of its hidey hole was that I had contacted Clive Wheatley at MGV8 Parts to order a gear knob for the RV8 gearbox as the knob was missing. Clive was very helpful and told me that two gearboxes were used on the RV8 and asked which gearbox did I have, the LT77 or the R388. He needed to know because the LT77 had the reverse gear up and to the left and the R388 on the right. I hadn’t got a clue, and said I would let him know when the engine and gearbox were unearthed from there hibernation.

Looking at the numbers on the castings of the gearbox gave Dugald and I no indication of anything like LT77 or R388.



We then decided to dismantle some of the gearbox around the gearstick to determine if the reverse gear was to the left or to the right.

On stripping this area of the gearbox we found other parts that were needed. Like this rubber bellows that was rotten and torn.

At the rear of the gearbox are three rubber mounts. The large one on the left of the photo fits in the middle and each side at an angle of around 45 degrees are two small rubber mountings, (one is shown on the right of the photo). The one on the right needs replacing because the metal is starting to come away from the rubber. The one on the left had sheared off, presumably when the RV8 had its accident and was written off. The larger centre mounting (on the left in the photo) was a bit of a beast to remove from the gearbox. I used a hammer and small chisel to tap the metal part of the mounting in an anti clockwise direction to remove it from the alloy gearbox casing.

Lying at the bottom of the gearbox remote was this plastic bush with a metal insert. There was also a circlip in the removable tray under the gearstick where the gearstick should locate into the gearbox gear change rod. (I can’t think of another name to call it at the moment).

Here is a photo of the knackered plastic bush with its steel insert, which I assume is all held together on the gearstick with the circlip that we also found lying about in that area.



This is the under tray at the rear of the gearbox remote. In the tray you can see the circlip. This tray is held in place with 4-set screws. By looking at the position of the springs in the gearbox remote, which stop the driver accidentally putting the RV8 into reverse gear when changing gear, we assumed that the gearbox was the LT77, with the reverse to the left and up, as the springs where mounted below the ball part of the gearstick and on the right of the gearbox remote. I sent an email and photos to Clive Wheatley to see if he could supply the parts I needed and to confirm that the gearbox was an LT77. Clive Weatley can be contacted at http://mgv8.homestead.com/ and 01746 710810.

MGBGTV8 FUSE BOX PROBLEMS Dugald was telling me about a fuse blowing problem that he is having with his MGBGTV8. For some unknown reason a fuse in the fuse box will blow and the wipers, electric fans, dashboard lights, rear heated screen, wipers and brake lights will fail. He said that he is getting quite good at getting out of the car and changing the fuse in about the same time as it takes a Formula 1 team to change a set of wheels and tyres. Dugald said that 4 green wires are on one side of the fuse and a white wire on the other side of the fuse. I suggested that I make up a temporary wiring loom for him with four blade fuses that glow when they have blown so that he can tell when the fuse has blown and that he could have the fuses in the drivers compartment where he could see them. This would then show which bit of the MG’s electrical equipment was causing the fuse to blow. Dugald agreed and I ordered the parts I needed from Vehicle Wiring Products for delivery the next day. I made the wiring loom up with one lead with a male spade on one end to fit into the female spade terminal of the white wire that goes to the original fuse box. The other end of this wire I looped to one side of a bank of four blade fuse holders.

From the other side of each fuse holder I added a wire with a male spade terminal (4 wires from the 4 fuses) to connect to the four green wires that originally connected to the MGBGTV8 fuse that keeps blowing. I gave Dugald a few solder on terminals so that he could spit the female spade terminals that had two green wire attached so that the new temporary loom would hopefully diagnose which circuit was the cause of the fuse blowing. We will wait with baited breath to see if my theory and loom does the job and helps trace the fault.

CLEANING OUT THE RUST & MUCK FROM THE FUEL TANK After researching, on the internet, methods of cleaning out the rust from the petrol tank, I thought I would give vinegar a try. I had read, and watched ‘You Tube’ videos on using this method of cleaning out rusty petrol tanks, so I thought it was worth a try, for the cost of 20 litres of vinegar. The vinegar was certainly a lot cheaper than 20 litres of petrol. The video I watched showed the tank was first cleaned out with the pressure washer, and then dried internally using a leaf blower. I thought this would at least give the leaf blower I bought, about three years ago, and never used, a purpose for its purchase. It was suggested that the vinegar is left in the petrol tank for about a week, turning the tank each day so that each surface is covered with the vinegar for some period. After the vinegar is removed from the tank the inside of the tank should be dried and the inside neutralized using bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).. I have already looked in Jane’s cookery cupboard and found an unused tin of bicarbonate of soda I can steal to put in the petrol tank.

http://mgv8.homestead.com/



Cleaning the inside of the petrol tank with the pressure washer.

Drying the inside of the tank with the leaf blower.

Blocking up the holes in the petrol tank.

Putting the 5 of the total 20 litres of white vinegar into the petrol tank. It will be interesting to see in one week’s time what the inside of the petrol tank looks like. Keeping looking at the restoration reports to find out the results of this experiment. If you have any suggestions, comment, or tips I can pass on through these reports you can email me at: [email protected] 27

th November 2016.

mailto:[email protected]

mgb v8 roadster restoration project report 96 · the bolt is nearly in, just needed some...

Documents