3rd January 2013
So here we are, Benham's MGF (stop laughing at the back....)
I picked the car up at the start of December for "pocket money" in car terms, costing me £200 after the tax that was left in the window.
It sat out in the cold for a few weeks and covered about 30 miles, then I thought I better bring it in, whipped the tax out the window (it'll be laid up for a few months) and put it away snugly in the garage.
The MOT ran out over Christmas, and a quick flick through last years advisory items, along with a play with my pry-bar told me this thing was going to need quite a bit of work for the next MOT. I'm not really interested in driving it until the sun comes out again, so it's been SORN'd and here starts the major spanner work!
I've been told THE BEST modification to an MGF is to fit some polybushes, as if by sheer fluke it turned out the the gentleman braking an MGF I'd been messaging from an MGF forum with a complete front-and-rear set of bushes lived well within walking distance of my house! Small world or what!??
Picked this lot up yesterday, this is not my normal "bodge and bin" project, so the lovely
polybushed bits I'd acquired are in various stages of being stripped, sanded down and zinc-pruimed, they'll be hammerited WHITE in the next few weeks before they're fitted
The replacement hub is due to the NSR wheel bearing being absolutely shot, so much I thought the wheel nuts were loose when I drove the car back here from London! These are a huge press-in jobbie, I've taken a chance on a decent used hub, at least for the time being, it was cheaper than a bearing set without all the aggravation!
I've also purchased a complete set of rod-ends and ball-joints for the car as they are all in various stages of wear, but none of them really acceptable for the MOT; along with new rear callipers as this car has no handbrake of note!
Anyway, todays work!
Firstly, I thought the engine better have some sunlight, this is a complete pig of a job, it involves some magic positioning of the hood, removing some carpet and sound deadening and then removing TEN bolts, the cover than wiggles free:
Ta da! Yes, this is a K-Series, common fault on these, but I can't remember what it is.....
As I've mentioned I'm planning this to be a "soft restoration" so off comes the knackered and holed rear backbox, I've never come across such corroded bolts in my life, so out came these wonderful little bits of kit:
However, these even were beaten by one bolt made out of cheese, so there was nothing for it, the exhaust had to come out the "less pleasant" way:
The heat shield also crumbed and came away in pieces, so thankfully I'd bought one from the gent who'd sold me the polybushed bits, along with a backbox.
Then I got to work, I cleaned the underside of the exhaust/boot area, then set about applying a mist-coat, then a thicker coat of zinc-primer, I'll waxoyl this at a later date, along with injecting all the box work.
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And now for some general photographs!
Lots of work to come here, comments and criticism welcome!
Regards,
Andy