Ed & Kris Curtis wrote:
>
> Hello People:
>
> I have been a lurker on the MG area for some months and have learned many
> things about oil, brake fluid, and cats. But now, it should really start to
> become fun around here. Tonight the tub and frame of my TF were delivered
> back to my home from the painter. I have already started to put it back
> together, but there is an amazing amount of work still ahead of me.
>
> I purchased this TF a year ago out of a barn where it had set since 1960.
> The PO had broke the crankshaft, removed the engine and took it apart, but
> never got it back together. Over the years the POS (previous owner's son)
> played racecar driver in it and greatly damaged it. It had 21,240 miles and
> the original tires still on it (all very flat). I have spent the last year
> taking it apart and working on the parts. John Twist did a masterful
> rebuilt of the engine in his technical course last February.
>
> While I was very careful to take notes and pictures as I took it apart,
> there were so many pieces missing, such as the gas pedal, I will be asking
> for help for details as it goes back together.
>
> One of the things that I already see is that I will be afraid that I will
> drop a screwdriver, or some other tool, onto the new paintjob. Has anyone
> else out there had this fear? Other than resigning myself to chips and
> dings while I try to be careful, what can I do to minimize the damage?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Ed Curtis
> Ed in Western Michigan
> 1955 MGTF 1500 in many pieces
> curtis@hayburn.com
Yes, that is a reasonable fear. As a professional restorer specialising
in T-Series MGs., I live with that problem daily. In my case, however,
I cannot just resign myself to the odd ding, dent and scratch. My
customer wants and is paying for perfection. The only way in which I can
reduce the possibility to it's minimum is by using the sort of padded
covers furniture removers use for packing their vans and lorries with
their customer's goodies. They are something like quilts such as are
made by the Amish in this area of Pa., or sleeping bags used by campers.
I attach them to the tub and other parts by duct tape stuck to the pad,
not the freshly painted work piece. I use lots of tape! When rehanging
the doors, it is sometimes helpful to gently wrap them in cling film.
When it all comes down to it, though, it is merely a matter of common
sense. Gravity will work inexorably, and when the spanner slips from
overworked and numb fingers, Murphy's (Sod's, to the Brits) law will
always apply, and the result is damaged paint, and possibly damaged
metal.
Geoff Love. The English Connection.
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