Over the summer of 2021, on a whim I decided that I wanted to learn more about how cars work. As somebody who learns best by diving into a hands-on project, I did some research and stumbled upon British classic cars such as the MG Midget, MGB, Triumph Spitfire, as well as some other classics like a Pontiac GTO. After negotiations on a nice late 70s Midget fell through, I found myself a cheap but fairly well preserved MGB. After retrieving it from the northern part of the state, my friend and I tore into it for the summer, and the project is still ongoing but I am proud to report it is running and driving.
With the restoration well underway, there have been a lot of exciting moments thus far in the process of making the 1974 MGB roadworthy again. Since I am far from a web developer I have gone back and forth on the best way to present this information, but I think I will continue to append this page with sections for each part of the project! Since doing the full writeups is something which will take a while to complete, here are some highlights of the project thus far:
- Rebuilding an engine, I learned many things. Starting with a very primitive understanding of the engine cycle, I now have a comprehensive understanding of how engines work, and why air and fuel are the two variables that truly dictate the engine’s behavior.
- Restoring the dampers on the vehicle showed me just how reliable a simple design can be. The dampers rely on the viscosity of the internal fluid flowing through small holes to create resistance, and thus act as dampening for the vehicle. This means you can “tune” the suspension by literally just changing some fluids!
- Getting the engine out of the basement, it weighed about 350 pounds, so we elected to use an engine hoist and chain hoist together. Unfortunately, it did not clear the railing! So we had to strap the engine to the ledge (with a mere 2 inches of the oil pan resting on the edge) and remove the chain hoist from the linkage in order to lift the engine above the railing.
- The crane/hoist had also sunk deep into the ground, so we used IKEA bed slats to wedge under the wheels, and rolled the engine hoist far enough back to then lower the engine onto a movers dolly and roll it to the car in the front yard.
- In classic car fashion, the electrical system has many quirks. I spent about a week diagnosing why there was insufficient gas pressure when the tank, pump, and lines were al brand new – it turned out to be the ground for the pump wasn’t good! So a self tapping screw later, we had proper pressure and a ground.
Stories From The Restoration
Retrieving the MGB was a series of good and bad luck, and it began before we (my friend and I) set out to retrieve it. Let me set the scene: I have reached out to numerous sellers of various project cars, ranging from $500 to $1000, not a lot of money for a project car, but about 2.5 weeks of work for me at the time. After being ghosted by the first seller, of a beautiful MG Midget, and receiving no reply from the seller of a Spitfire that was in great shape but requiring lots of paperwork due to a lost title, I had essentially lost hope. But then, on a whim, I sent a message to somebody selling a 1974 MGB in northern Maryland. It was in a garage, but buried beneath a ton of spare parts – the interior could not be seen in the photos, and the photos were not the greatest, but enough to show that it was in saveable condition, and worth the drive.
So, of course I had to make that trip out. After working out the details to borrow my Aunt and Uncle’s F250 (lovingly called Bertha) I reserved a car transport trailer from U Haul. But this was in the midst of the gas shortage/panic – and trucks are gas guzzling machines, so it was a concern about 1) how much would fuel cost and 2) would we even be able to find it? Fortunately, this proved to be the least of our issues.
The morning of, my friend and I set out early to ensure we got there on time. About a quarter mile from the house, the truck seemed to lock up at a stop light – it did not want to get going again, but pumping the brakes and fiddling with the gear shift seemed to resolve the problem. Since we needed gas anyway, we searched for the nearest gas station to the U Haul dealer, and pulled into the pump – but being new to this truck, I pulled forward too far, and put it in reverse to back up. Then it locked up again. The truck, being a rear wheel drive, clearly had something wrong behind the transmission. Applying a little bit more gas, the rear driver side tire started spinning, effectively doing a burnout, with the passenger side remaining stationary. Hopping out of the truck, we then saw a puddle of brake fluid… Meaning the brake caliper had failed, causing the passenger side tire to remain locked. That would be bad luck if I had ever seen it, but in a twist of fate, an auto parts store happened to be open right down the block from the gas station.
After discovering the truck’s roadside kit was missing many parts (in all fairness, it’s an older, sparsely used truck that rarely had issues), I went to the store to get some basic supplies and parts. Picked up a new brake caliper, some brake pads, a 6 ton bottle jack, a small wrench for the bleeder valves, and a breaker bar and sockets to break off the lug nuts. Okay, okay, this was actually a series of 4 or 5 trips back and forth. And after all that, we still didn’t have what we really needed – a deep socket. That’s right, I made the rookie mistake of buying a standard depth socket for the lug nuts. Oops. Well, in another twist of fate, the pumps at the gas station were being serviced, so there was a nice guy from the repair company who we were able to borrow a socket from, and also converse with – exchanging stories of breakdowns, car projects, and some casual banter. With his help, and the experience of my friend (I had never really done much car stuff), we eventually got the caliper swapped out, and the truck back on the road, but this setback costed us hours!
U Haul had cancelled our rental, and when we tried finding another car hauler in the area it seemed we were out of luck. But to exhaust all possibilities, we drove over to the larger uhaul center, and asked the saleswoman if by chance they had one available. She logged into their computer, informing us they likely did not, but luckily for us they had a reservation for one that had fallen through – due to a truck to tow it not being available, it was postponed, and while the trailer didn’t show as available in the customer website, it was rentable to us! After hooking up the trailer, testing the lights, and filling out the paperwork we quickly set out to see the MGB. Of course, through all this we were in communication with the seller, to ensure they were still able to meet.
Coming Soon! I promise!