Well, after a year of nights, weekends, and tech sessions I've completed the
restoration of a Red 1969 MG B. As a second restoration completed on a 69 B
in the last five years this has been more a labor of love than anything
else. Many local MG Club members pitched in to "rescue" this car when
another member was stationed in Japan at the last minute and had to sell his
project. The car has been restored to as close to original condition as
realistically possible, has received extensive rust prevention on all the
new sheet metal welded in below the side body moulding, and is the product
of many MG lovers' expertise. All in all, it's a very sharp car with a
strong engine that needs nothing to be immediately enjoyed. Below is an
extensive list of the work completed. If you are SERIOUSLY interested
please e-mail me at kennedys@ix.netcom.com and I can answer any questions,
and forward pictures of the completed car as well as pictures of various
stages of the restoration. The car is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia
and is being garaged until a buyer steps forward. It's priced at a very
reasonable $6450 considering the excellent condition and work listed below.
As a side note, when I took on this project my wife made me promise to have
it finished before our first child was born (I think she was starting to
guess that my MG's had become my children). My last restoration dragged on
like so many do, and I'm sure she didn't want a husband changing diapers
with a knock-off wrench stuck under his arm. Well, I had scheduled last
weekend for the final cosmetic odds and ends like installing new wiper
blades and giving the carpets a good vacuuming. Sure enough, three days
later, after my helpers and I finished off a few project ending cold ones,
my wife went into labor and delivered our next "long-term" project! I don't
know what the deeper meaning is to all this fortunate timing, but I suspect
an impending birth was a pretty good motivator in the back of my mind to
keep me on schedule!
Safety Fast
Doug Kennedy
69B Primrose - My Baby (auto)
69B Red - Could be someone else's baby (auto)
96 Male - My Baby (Human)
In no particular order:
New Chrome front and rear bumpers with over riders
Wire wheels bead blasted and repainted silver
New Michelin tires mounted and balanced
New chrome grille
New body side strips
New clutch with roller throw out bearing
Rebuilt brake and clutch master cylinders
Rebuilt clutch slave cylinder
Oil cooler installed
Heater box bead blasted and rebuilt
Radiator cleaned, painted and brass top polished (originally the brass is
painted black, but the polished brass looks so nice!)
New under bonnet pad installed
Engine compression checked, valves adjusted, then pressure cleaned and painted
Engine compartment fully detailed including stainless steel coating on brake
and fuel lines, correct paint on fan and washer bottle bracket, etc..
Original aluminum hood (two small dings that are hardly noticeable and were
not smoothed with filler since it's apt to pop off aluminum)
New Chrome air intake grille with screen installed to prevent leaves and
junk from entering
Front end aligned
New steering rack boots installed
New later year MG boot badge installed
New sheet metal welded in: front fenders below chrome strip, castle rails,
inner rockers, outer rockers, rear fenders below chrome strip, floor pans;
rust preventive steps taken on new metal
New windshield installed
New black convertible top with zip-out rear window installed
Original folding top frame bead blasted and painted correct grey
Original correct black vinyl seats cleaned and new foam seat bottoms and
webbing installed
Correct headrests recovered (the 1969 headrests were unique to that year)
New black carpets installed including rear deck and inner sills
New black with white piping interior panels installed
Retractable seat belts installed
Black carpet installed in trunk
New gas tank installed with new sending unit seal
New acrylic enamel paint (body was sanded down to bare metal, etched, primed
and painted, then wet-sanded smooth before being compounded and having
polish, machine glaze, and wax applied) Nason Brand Ful-Cryl II acrylic
enamel, color #FBA-7495 E, best described as red with a hint of blaze, small
amount of touch-up painted included
New Walker exhaust system from exhaust manifold back installed with new hangers
New passenger side door mirror installed, and passenger side fender mirror
installed
Matching door and boot locks installed
All rubber seals replaced with new (windshield glass to frame, windshield
frame to body, vent window frame to door, top header rail to windshield
frame, door to glass, bonnet to body, radiator shroud to bonnet, doors to
body, boot lid to body)
Door top caps reupholstered and new felt scrapers installed
New windshield wiper chrome bezels and nuts installed
Carbs cleaned and balanced, grose jets installed in float bowls, and new jet
tubes installed
New Spark Plugs and rotor and all timing completed
And many other odds and ends! Call Doug Kennedy (804) 460-5037 or e-mail
kennedys@ix.netcom.com with any questions.
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