Hello everyone, I'm new here and having spent some time perusing the forum both pre- and post-purchase, I thought I should, at the very least, say hello.
This isn't my first foray into classic transport, or classic cars specifically, but it is my first MG. As a callow youth, I owned various cars which could be described as classics, although at the time, most were simply old bangers - my Mk1. Escort Mexico always was a desirable car, although I cannot imagine getting one for £375 these days. I learnt to weld on that car, and lots more besides. I ran it on the road for slightly less time than it took me to get it through the MOT - I spent 9 weekends laying on my back covered in what-used-to-be-metal and with a pounding ARC welding headache before getting that ticket. 6 weeks later, it was on it's roof on a roundabout in Milton Keynes, with most of a Vauxhall Cavalier in the back seat. Happy days!
The Hillman Imp and Mk3 Cortina were similarly interesting and all three are well out of my price range these days.
Those days went, with them, batchelorhood and the single life. As a married IT engineer, many years of soulless company cars came and went, family was born and raised, and I rekindled my interest in motorbikes and a number of classic Brit bikes (as well as some Japanese classics such as a Z1 and a 350 LC) came to the garage and, as is the way with these things, went.
Recently, I was advised by somebody who really should learn to keep their opinions to themselves (my doctor) that two wheels weren't really a good idea. Unfortunately, she said it in front of Mrs. Browne. And so, the motorbikes went. As did four or five pushbikes, a stationary engine and some vintage lawnmowers, amongst many other things.
All of which left a suspiciously car-shaped hole in the garage. You know what's coming, don't you?
My shortlist, well, wasn't. The only thing short about it was the length of car I could reasonbly fit into the garage. It's a big garage - 2.5 cars wide and longer than the norm. Sadly, a little-known but oft-experienced adjunct of Parkinsons Law sprung into action when we bought the house 20 years ago, and sanding benches, saw-stations, sharpening station and a lathe take up lots of space around the edges, so I was restriced to around 14 and a half feet of space.
Into that space can fit (in no particular order) a Triumph GT6, a Herald, a Spitfire, a Vitesse, a Moggy Traveller, a Series 1 Land Rover, a Midget or a GT.
I looked at a number of cars. The Triumphs were all a bit tight for shoulder space. Ditto the Landy. I never got to sit in a Traveller, but the Midget and GT were both comfortable enough. I really wanted a hard top, and so the short list finally became very short indeed.
Over the past few months I've travelled the length of the country looking at GT's in dealers, on people's drives and anyhwere else they may reside. I love a tinker and I'm more than happy to fettle oily and bolt together bits. I'm quite handy with wiring and electrics don't especially scare me. Bodywork, however, is another story. I can do it, but prefer not to. Those early days of Escort ownership have left their scars and the one big lesson I learnt is that rust is like an iceberg. The stuff on the surface is a very small percentage of what is actually there. Oh, and it's best avoided at all costs.
I've seen good GT's which were too expensive for the amount of corrosion they contained, I've seen terrible cheap ones and I've seen expensive death traps. One in particular was described as in very good condition, just a small patch of rust on one wheelarch by the owner. Mrs. B and I left home early one Sunday morning to travel to the West Midlands to view that car, and when we arrived, I didn't want to even get out of the car. I could see from the roadside that it was a rotbox. Every wheelarch was corroded, the trailing edges of the front wings were one decent deluge away from dissolving. Every seam was bubbly, and when I opened the doors, I couldn't close them. That'll be sills and castle rails then. The owner started it for me and I struggled to have the owner hear my requests to turn it off over the noise of the big ends. Would you like a test drive? He asked. I politely declined.
This Monday I finally found the one. The one being a 1967 GT in mineral blue. Not perfect, but not much in the way of rust spots. Non-standard LE wheels (which I will swap for standard steel ones at some point), a conversion to telescopic dampers at the back with some meddling inside (inertia reel seatbelts, lots of interesting modifications to the centre console). The engine seems good and strong, the gearbox is more noisy than I would like, the steering was interesting on the way back and the brakes (with added servo) are a little more spongy than I'd like, but that may be normal, and something I need to adjust to.
There's a list of jobs, on top of the ones mentioned above - the headlining is a little saggy (and it has a Webasto, so not the easiest tidy-up job), the sunvisors are puffy and need work, and I've ordered a new gear-knob, an ignition lock, new knobs for the map light and fresh air vent, a replacement switch for the electric washer pump and a few other bits and pieces. They should all be here this weekend, so I'm hoping for a relaxing weekend fettling in the garage.
I did (I hope) cure the interesting steering tonight - the drivers side front wheel, when I jacked the car up, was a bit knocky. Removing the wheel was interesting and I'm so pleased that I first attempted it in the garage - how tight is it possible to do up wheel nuts? My impact driver was absolutely inefectual, and it took a three-foot extension on the wrench before I could even persuade the nuts to move. I've been around and remedied all of the wheels.
That task complete, I whipped the bearing out, cleaned it, regreased it and tensioned it properly - no knocking, still spinning freely. I'm happy with that.
I've also inflated the tyres slightly more than recommended - 28PSI ish. Hopefully the steering will feel slightly better when I'm next out. If anybody has good experience of a particular tyre pressure on an LE wheel, I'd be delighted to be advised.
So, here it is, in all it's glory. I suspect I will give it a name one day, but I haven't done that yet.
My name is Richard and I own an MGB
Untitled by d1ck_browne, on Flickr
