Since my little ol' $1700 MG Magnette Mk. III is known to the MG&Riley Farina
Register (read:Neil Cairns) to be old the oldest left in the United States, I
figure it deserves a bit better existance that I've given it.
When I bought the Farina it's sole purpose was to be used when the MGB-GT
wouldn't start... That meant ALOT of use! Whether it was snowing, raining, or
whatever, I took the Magnette. Those that know, these cars RUST! All that
use has taken my $1700 bargain and made it actually look like a $1700 car.
Fortunately the car has done its prescribed duty, to be reliable, flawlessly.
ONCE, the car stopped dead in its tracks. I took the "starter handle" and
gave the fuel pump a nice thump... which got the car started pretty darn fast!
Other than a set of generator brushes I haven't spent a dime on the car but
gas and oil changes.
What lies in the future? There is some structural rust, mainly confined to
the re-enforcement brackets that are under the front passenger floor boards.
Looks to me like the hole can be welded up and the old bracket chiseled/ground
off and a new one put on with little trouble. The drivers side bracket needs
only to be welded up I think. Anyone ever done this to a Magnette or a Flying
A or a Morris/whatever? Another thing I might want to do is remove the front
fenders, sand blast behind them, then paint the inside, and put them back
on... Anyone ever done this? Do the doors have to come off?
There is alot of undercoating on the underside, which is why this car
lasted so long I think. But I think it is cracked, water is getting
underneath, and it is rusting minorly under the underseal. So I'll sandblast
the underside and give it some tough paint... But I have to know, it the car
wasn't undersealed, would the underside be black or the body color? Por-15
comes in clear so I can paint it light blue and then paint over that with
Por-15... if that would be more original than this thick underseal.
Once all that stuff is done I'll work on the underside mechanicals that need
work. The rear axle is fine, will get sandblasted and painted with some
seriously tough paint (Por-15 or something). Then some new shocks... can you
effectivly paint leaf springs? At the front, the steering rack is really
vague and there has to be some way to sharpen it. I'm sure the kingpins are
shot, and all that stuff (A-arms, etc) MIGHT get powdercoated depending on how
cheap it is. Any ideas on cost? New brake rubbers and stuff aren't too
expensive and nothing here is really worn out but no point in taking it all
apart to paint it without replacing these little parts.
What comes next is pretty serious. I have to remove the interior (not
very hard, it's all in some pretty major and easy to remove peices), then take
out the windshields, all exterior chrome, and under-bonnet ancillaries. From
there I think the paint job will be pretty affordable for something
professional... looking to spend about $2000 including rust repair. Gonna be
two tone blue... Original Iris blue on the bottom and front end, but will add
a flash of Mineral Blue on the roof, trunk lid, and above the chrome on the
rear fenders. (How far down does the two tone go on the window pillars?...
The exposed paint on the interior would be the upper or lower color?)... The
under bonnet and trunk will be painted at this time too. I am not going to
remove the engine, but will remove pretty much everything else under the hood.
I think I can paint the engine myself. Mechanically, the engine needs no work
because it's only got 45,000 miles. All the ancillaries just need paint and
polish because everything works... except the missing washer bottle.
While the car is out getting painted, I clean and maybe repair the little
components. That would mean rebuilding the brake master and clutch, painting
it, and putting on a new Girling sticker if I can get it. The radiator gets
painted (except that little "Morris Raditors" badge which should definately be
polished), as well as the heater box. Already have the horns cleaned and
painted. Then clean the wiper motor, get a new sprayer system. The battery I
guess should be a real Lucas tar top, and I'll get some nice helmet clamps.
Chroming: The front and rear bumpers aren't that bad but will look much
worse against new paint, so that gets done while the car is painted. The
headlamp rims are substantial things, but also need a rechrome. The
taillights, reflectors, reverse light, and indicators all are getting
replaced.
Then its the hard part... putting it all back together. There is gonna be
alot of unexpected expense here I think. Just the chrome side moulding (is it
MAzak or can I rechrome it?) alone is gonna cost a fortune to put back on
because its held on by lots of little expensive (about 75cents each but ther
are a ton of them) clips and mine have all gone rusty to the point where in
the last month several pieces of molding had almost fallen off before I
removed them. I'm not sure if this trim is availible NOS or if I have to
have it chromed. It is not listed in EarlPart or NTG catalogs that I've seen.
I have managed to secure some "rare" parts. Obviously everything is rare
here. Reverse light? EarlPart wants 88 pounds. Thats about $140+shipping!
Turn signals (my lenses are cracked and the bases are pitted) are 82 pounds.
Tail lights are 76 pounds! All my lenses are servicable, except they are
cracked or faded. The chrome is all pitted. Since these are availible, they
aren't rare, but they are EXPENSIVE. I was able to get all these parts at
pretty much half price, NOS, from a gentleman in Norway... I've sent him
money, no parts yet but I guess he is trustworthy. He is around alot and
knows an AWFUL lot about what I need to be a simple con.
As you can see, although the car is running and looking pretty good as is,
it is time to restore the car. Any further neglect will make a rather
straightfoward restoration (nothing is really missing or broken and it's a low
mileage car). I think it will be a great first "real" restoration... I've
done lots of work on cars, like new MGB interiors and engines and stufff, but
never really took a car apart and put it back together again like is going to
happen here. It will be a great project for me (I'm only 20 and work at a
grocery store so I hope it doesn't cost too much either!) If anyone is in the
Manchester, NH area and wants to give me a hand, or just take a look at an MG
you won't see every day, please come drop by!
Some of you, especially in England, might be wondering why on earth I would
lavish this sort of money on a badge engineered Austin? Well here in the US
there are about 5 billion restored MGBs and at the car shows, they all split
the vote so something bizzare like a not-that-perfect Lotus Europa will win.
This car, restored, because it ISN'T another MGB (I own one!) has a good shot
of winning.
Comments, questions, answers, please...
John
1972 MGB Tourer
1959 MG Magnette
1986 Jaguar XJ-S V-12 SuperCoupe (which replaced the 73 MGB-GT from hell)
|