Assembly Continues

Now that the seats are done, it's time to get busy putting more stuff together.  I got a long way this weekend.

Here's the glamour shot first...

And now, down to business.

First, I cleaned up the wiper arms.  They were originally black, but I like the look of the chrome that was underneath them...

And new blades, of course.

Then I did a little more covering of things, namely the cockpit surround.  It's nice.

Then, my wife and daughter helped me take the boot lid off so I could install the seal and latch, and reinstall it to the car.  It fit well until I put the boot lid prop in - then it got tweaked somehow and I have not yet solved the problem.  I am frustrated enough to let this sit for a while.  It fits nicely in the picture here, though.  And it latches!

Moving on... I removed the bonnet with the help of my neighbors, installed the sound deadening material, and reinstalled it.  I installed gas strut props too, later.

From there, I moved to the big job - the windshield.  I had reassembled the windshield with new seals, and "all I had to do" was get it onto the car.  This was not at all fun, nor was it easy.  The new seal is not very flexible.  All the videos I watched made it look simple - just roll the seal outward as you press the frame down.

No.

What I ended up doing was rolling outward a little bit by pushing on it from the back with a body filler applicator (being plastic and soft).  Then I pushed the frame down just enough to install the center bolts and use them to cinch the frame down a little bit at a time, stopping and pulling the seal outward by getting my fingers under it and curling it back.  After about 10 rounds of this, I was very close - and was able to get one of the frame bolts installed on one side.  I used a C-clamp to compress the gasket just a little bit more and it was enough to allow the bolt to start threading in.  I cinched the frame down in the center as far as I could and was able to then lever the frame into place on one side and get the other bolt in place.  I then repeated the C-clamp trick on the driver's side, but couldn't get the second (last) bolt in place.  I stopped for the evening out of sheer exhaustion.  But in the morning, I found that the seal had compressed enough that I could rather easily install the last bolt!  With that, the windscreen was installed and the angles are correct.

I do not want to do this ever again.

But enough whining... I moved to the doors.  My neighbor Jack again came to the rescue, holding the door in place while I installed new screws.  That worked out pretty well and the doors line up as expected.

Alice almost looks like a car again!

Next, I installed the quarter (vent) windows.  This went pretty well, having cleaned them up and installed new rubber.  The windows fit like they should with no fiddling required.  I added the door handles and locks, which move (and should work!).

Then I installed those gas struts for the bonnet, and spent an hour realigning the bonnet to fit the way I wanted.  It looks pretty good.  The struts allow the bonnet to open very wide!

And finally, I installed the chrome trim.  My friend George gave me a new set.  They're really nice, just like him.  I did have to reuse one piece of my old trim, but it was the one piece that was in good shape.  But ooh... ahh...  she looks like a real car and everything!

Now I just need to assemble the windows and figure out that pesky boot lid, and install the mirrors - and the outside of the car is complete!

Next step is the dashboard.  Once fixed up and installed, I can charge the battery and try to start her up.  Hopefully after that it's just a matter of installing the interior and seats, changing fluids, and installing new steering rack tie rod ends and boots (the rebuild will have to wait a bit).  I am trying to get Alice ready for the Arizona MG Club's British Wheels on the Green show at the end of the month.  I might make it.  I probably won't.  I will do my best, though!

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Seats!

I've been a busy beaver over the last couple of weeks...

Starting with seats!

I had stripped the seats a while ago, and the bare frames were staring at me.

I finally steeled myself and got to work.  I have read that seat foam and cover installations are a bear.  They were right.  I used a guide I found online from the Toronto MG Club (here) and it helped a lot.

First, I needed to clean up the seat frames.  A little sandpaper, a scuff pad and some paint did the trick.  Then I installed new diaphragms, which are a set of rubber straps on a frame with clips.  Let me tell you, this was not fun.  The first 50% is easy, the next 40% is hard, and the last 10% is horrible.  I ended up using a channel-lock piers to pull the frame toward the seat frame and get the little clips installed.  It did the trick.  They make a little noise when you sit on them as the clip scrapes the inside of the frame, but oh well. I am not taking them apart.

Then it was on to the foam.  The seat bottoms were easy - glue one burlap to the bottom (to protect the foam from the rubber) and line up the foam on the frame.  The seat backs were not easy to sort.  The back boards were not hard to fit, but it took a lot of fitting to get the foam flat enough to allow the cover to slide on properly.  I ended up cutting channels in the foam to allow the foam to sit better onto the frame.  It worked out well.  Tape held the foam in place while the contact cement set.

From then on, it was not horrible, just fiddly.  The seat bottom covers fit well.  They get glued in the center to the center of the foam, and I used 3M 90 for that.  The clips hold the cover in place.  Nothing exciting and pretty easy.  I did have to fiddle with the cover a bit to allow room for the bracket that joins the back and bottom of the seat.  I wasn't going to cut slits.  It turned out fine.

For the seat backs, the trick is to use cling wrap over the seat foam to allow the cover to slide on all the way.  The cling wrap needs to cover the entire top part of the foam except where the center of the foam is (so you can glue the cover to the foam).  The backs also have cardboard inserts that are used to hold the cover to the bottom of the frame, and I made new ones from the old seat back cardboard.  Then it's just a matter of a couple of hours of lining things up and then gluing the seat back into place (again, in the center - this is tricky to get glue into there but it can be done, since I did it).

Once covered, the seats are reassembled.

The result is pretty good.

The backs and bases don't line up quite right, but this is just how the covers are made.  I am very pleased with this.  I also do have the headrest covers ready to go, but will not install them until the seats are in the car.  The quality of the material is excellent.  The seats recline (a little noisily, but they do) and can be folded forward.

On to the next challenge!

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Cinderella!

Alice got her glass slippers this weekend...

I like them.  Juliette does too.

The only problem is that one has a slow leak.  Oddly, it's in the same locale where the old tire had a slow leak (the driver's rear).  I'm sure it's an easy fix.

I also finished up a couple of other things:

• Ran a new fuel pump lead and wired up the pump, and installed the cover
• Ran the wiring in the boot and aside from one fix, is connected
• Ran the wiring for the front marker and headlights and hooked it all up
• Installed the battery box and leads with hold-down (but I have to fix one that didn't hook in to its hole properly)
• Installed the accelerator cable (by modifying a Midget cable, and it worked great)

I also got a start on the seats, but this isn't going well.  Watch for my next post...

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The Antenna Returns

I was happy to remove the old one, and happier to install a new one.

There's nothing special about it - I bought it for Gidget the Midget, but it didn't fit as it's a retractable antenna.   Now it's Alice's.

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Avengers... Assemble!

Now that Alice is wearing her new coat, it's time to make her look like a car again.  This weekend, I got a great start on that.

First, I went through all of these boxes and sorted things out.

I also painted the boot semi-gloss black, as I couldn't get it done in body color.  It would have been a huge pain in the... boot.

I did all of the 'easy stuff' first.

• Installed the horns and front grille
• Assembled the front bumper and mounted to the car
• Mounted the rear bumper to the car
• Installed the rear and side marker lamps
• Installed the exhaust system
• Installed the gas tank and fuel pump
• Installed the headlight buckets and lamps

I also had to make a trip up to Prescott Valley to source some new headlight buckets.  The ones on the car had rusted through and were not repairable.  Fortunately, these buckets are ubiquitous and were easy to source.  I got a couple of good ones and cleaned them up.  The original wiring was okay and has been cleaned and reused.

The result looks like a car!

I love the look of the body painted bumpers.

That was enough for Saturday.

Sunday was much less productive.  I managed only a few things:

• Install the logo on the boot lid
• Install the heater and fresh air vent
• Install the battery box and new leads
• Install the fuel lines
• Clean up the license plate frame

That heater was a bear.  There is a rubber block that acts as a seal between the heater box and the interior.  That block does not compress like the original closed-cell foam seal.  I ended up trimming the top 3/4" of the block back by 1/4" and using some closed cell strip foam to make up the gap.  The heater fit with only a minimum of shoving after that.

But it's in.

Now I have to find some hose that will work to replace the rotted emissions canister hoses.  These are N/A from everywhere, it seems.  I am sure I can find something.

I'll keep working on stuff over the week and have a plan for next weekend:

• Remove the bonnet and boot lids, install seals and pads, and remount
• Rebuild the quarter lights with new seals
• Mount the doors and install hardware and windows
• Wire the car (plug stuff in and run a new power lead for the fuel pump)

I'll leave you with this.  It's so pretty!

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Paint II

It's been a long weekend... but Alice has her new coat!

First off, let me again extend my thanks to my friends Mike and Jack, and to Mike's shop Auto Renew.  This was a big thing for me and I will always be grateful.

Saturday

Saturday morning, we headed over to the shop around 10:30.  By 11, we were going over the car and fixing things that were not 'good enough'.  We broke for lunch and then Alice was in the booth getting her first coat.  The difference was amazing - and yet it was only the start!

Mike put on 4 coats.  We ended up going through just short of a gallon.  I have an extra quart as a just-in-case but will use that for the hardtop next spring.

Here's some more pics of the final result while in the booth.  The color is deeper and covered really well.  Pictures don't do it justice.

We were done by 4.  Mike had a gig with his band Bloodsaw that evening in Mesa.  I don't know how he did it, but he made it!

Sunday

Sunday morning, I cleaned my garage.  A rare sighting of a clean workbench was recorded.

Mike, Jack and I headed back to the shop to bring Alice home.  After removing the masking paper and plastic, we fit the bonnet and boot lids for transport.  A couple of new tiedowns later, she was on the trailer and heading home.

Look at the difference in the color between being inside and out in the sun!

The trip home was uneventful and quieter, being Sunday morning.  Seeing her in the driveway was a huge relief.

Mike advised me to leave her outside all afternoon to let the sun do its thing and help bake the paint.  Later that evening, I pushed her back into the garage and got the doors and bumpers inside too.  Good thing - we had a thunderstorm overnight that would have spelled disaster had I left her outside!

At last, I could rest.  But I couldn't sit still for long.  I had to do a couple of things to let my mind wind down.  So I fitted the front spoiler and the badge to the front bumper.  Then I went to bed.

I also took a pic of the color with a sample of the interior.  It's going to be beautiful!  Again, the picture is a shadow of how nice she looks in person.

Now the real fun begins.  I have to haul everything out of the attic, sort it all and start assembly.  Juliette will be helping me a lot with this!  She says she is up for the challenge, so this is now officially the father-daughter phase of the project.  Hopefully my next post will show significant progress.  I want to have Alice together and running for Juliette's 18th birthday, which is exactly 4 weeks away from the time I wrote this... it's a big challenge!

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Paint I

The day is here!  Alice gets her new look starting today.

My friends Jack and Mike are helping me out a TON with this.  Jack is the delivery man (he of the large trailer) and Mike is going to paint her.  His shop, Auto Renew is letting me use their facilities and paint booth.  Alice will get a professional paint job!  I can't thank both of these gentlemen enough for their help, but I'll certainly try.

First - we had to get Alice to the shop.  On to the trailer she went!  All the loose parts went into truck beds and cars, and we headed out.  The trip was mostly uneventful aside from one unexpected shift when we started out.  We cinched her down better and made it the rest of the way without incident.

No, we didn't transport her without straps.  This is the 'after arrival' shot.

Upon arrival, the challenge was to get her off the trailer.  The trailer is tall and the ramp steep.  With the help of a jack, we made it work.  On the way home, we'll need to cook up something a little friendlier.

We also beat a heavy but brief rain storm by about an hour.  My luck continues to hold!

Mike was not satisfied with the sanding job I did, so he went over everything again and he certainly did do a better job than I did in about 1/10 the time it took me to get my work done.  Everything went on to hangars and stands, and we (he) got ready to paint.

He then sprayed the doors, underside of the bonnet and boot, and the bumpers and spoiler with adhesion promoter, than the paint.  This is a single stage paint which is both stinky and sticky, and goes on like clear.  He also added a little 'flex' to the paint to give it a little extra give, which will come in handy for the bumpers and spoiler.

He did an excellent job with three coats and a little extra on the bumpers.  It's so pretty!

I tell you, I couldn't have done this to this level of quality.  Mike, you're awesome.

The finish isn't perfect.  There are a couple of issues (one low spot, one small crease, a couple of blemishes during painting) but I am more than thrilled with the result.  This is s nice driver quality renovation and will look great for years to come.

The next step is to go over the body shell and fix any remaining issues with spot putty, flip the bonnet and boot over and then paint them and the shell in one go.  Stay tuned for the final result!

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