Josh, my opinion is that you don't tear the car down unless you are VERY
committed to a restoration. Once you start taking everything apart it will
be a long time (years usually) until you feel like you are making any real
progress. Unless you have another MG, and I don't get the impression that
you do, you will have a hard time getting it all back together again. No
matter how well you document things, you will forget how stuff goes
together.
At first, you need to let your prior experience with cars guide you. If you
don't feel like you are comfortable fixing something, such as the brakes,
then pay someone who knows how to do them or start with something simple to
increase your level of comfort and knowledge.
My opinion is that you treat it as a rolling restoration. Make sure the
body is salvageable. Either have it checked out by a reputable source or do
it yourself. After that the brakes and drive train have to be first. After
that you can start driving it to check out the rest of the car. Once the
car stops and goes, work from most important to least important. Major
electrical (starter, ignition, charging etc), steering, suspension, minor
electrical (heat, radio, etc), cosmetics, etc. Once you can drive the car
you will start getting a feel for what is the most pressing thing to do
next, and you will start seeing your shake down drives going longer and
longer.
Doing a car this way provides you the best chance of finishing it, and
allows you the most visible return for your time. You can rebuild most
systems in a weekend. Steering and front end, rear suspension, etc. This
way you can see progress at the end of each weekend project. The lack of
visible progress is what kills many projects, because the job looks so big
that people don't know how to proceed, or they get busy and end up with a
car in boxes that they just never have the time to finish. It is much
easier to work on or to finish a car that looks like a car rather than one
that is a pile of parts.
My V8 was a conversion and simultaneous restoration that took 2-1/2 years at
20-30 hours a week. That is a big undertaking for a first car, and I would
not recommend even the restoration unless you know that you are committed to
the end. I've bought some great half finished projects, but it is always
sad to see it happen. The days where you just can't stand the sight of your
car are when the list is often most valuable, because everyone here can
attest to the fact that eventually you have a solid reliable car that was
worth the work.
I don't remember what the current title of Lindsay Porter's book is, but it
is probably the best guide for accessing the condition of the body structure
and should be required reading before you dig in. I wish I had taken this
advice because I once got 4 months into a car before admitting that it was
just too rotted out to ever bring back to life.
Leaving the minor electrical and cosmetics till last has another benefit.
When you find yourself with an hour after work and you don't want to do
anything serious, a non working fuel gauge or crummy looking steering wheel
is a great way to get something done without committing to any real work.
This is also a great psychological boost when you are feeling discouraged.
This may all sound discouraging, but you will also have a lot of days where
you feel like the king of the world when you fix something and it works for
the first time in umpteen years. There is just no feeling quite like it.
Lastly, fire away with the questions.
James Nazarian
71 MGBGT V8
71 MGB Tourer
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net] On Behalf
Of Max Heim
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 5:57 PM
To: MG List
Subject: Re: New at this game...
Welcome, Josh.
What makes you think there's a problem with the transmission? And you didn't
mention what shape the engine is in, other than not starting, which could be
purely electrical.
The main thing to consider is, what is your ultimate plan for the car? If
you want (and can afford) a complete restoration, you might as well start
taking things apart (in a systematic, well-documented manner) so you can fix
the body. But you might want to get it running first so you have some sort
of idea of its operating condition, and whether you even like it well enough
to commit to a restoration.
on 3/18/04 2:00 PM, Joshua Blair at joshua@joshblair.com wrote:
> Hi guys.
>
>
>
> I'm Josh, the new guy who's the new proud owner of a 76 MGB that used to
> work and is sitting in my garage with a lovely coat of primer grey with a
> bit of rust. The interior looks like someone took a lawn mower to it and
> the engine doesn't start. However, my lights do turn on, so I have a
> starting point. So here's my question: if this was your car, what would
be
> the first step you would take to begin restoration? Should I do the small
> things and then the transmission or the other way around? Thanks y'all.
>
>
>
> -Josh
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