I was thinking the other day that even though my 1967 MGB GT restoration has taken longer than I had hoped (in fact it wasn’t even supposed to happen!) it’s going well and will be a very good looking vehicle when it’s finally finished.
It’s fun to look through the images that I’ve shot the past few years and see the progress. Let’s start with the engine. I’m building up a 1972 18V block and this is what it started out like and what it looks like now. What a difference! Even the internal engine parts look a lot better. This all makes you feel good. You must admit, it’s a really great looking engine, bling and all.
Then there’s the front suspension. I’m still waiting on a few small pieces so that I can reassemble the unit but all the parts are painted, new bushings are ready and hopefully during the holiday break I’ll be putting the whole shebang back together. The MGB GT will once again have four wheels!
The underside of the MGB is almost ready for new paint and undercoating but I think this will have to wait until spring. Still, it’s amazing how much better looking the whole affair is after stripping off decades of old oil, tar, and who knows what else. Cleaning this area has been one of the uglier jobs as I’ve had to lie on a creeper and work from underneath. At least it’s almost finished, a few more hours should do it.
The engine compartment is looking really good. At this point a little more cleaning is needed near the tunnel and then it’s ready for paint. The original finish was pretty bad but these areas weren’t painted well at the factory and the engine compartment did have 50 years worth of grime and lots of surface rust. I’ve sanded down all the paint runs (the factory was very messy!) and with paint and a clear coat this area will shine. Yeah, way better than original but that’s OK.
The interior? This is one area that I haven’t touched at all other than putting in 3 point harnesses and Mazda Miata seats… gasp! The interior does need refreshing but I’ll be finishing the rest of the MGB first before I tackle that. It has character anyway, I like the patina.
I’m hoping to have the MGB back on the road before summer comes around as it’s time to enjoy what I’ve been working for. There’s still lots of work left to finish but I’m on the home stretch. What’s funny about this exercise is that my sandy beige MGB GT will look exactly the same as it used to from a distance. It really didn’t look that bad before I took it apart.
In many ways I underestimated how much work it would require to refurbish the MGB but I’m certainly learning a huge amount. Of course it will run better, last longer and on close inspection will look almost like new if not better in some areas.
