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1969 MGB MkII Roadster Restoration
The ground-up restoration of our '69 MGB MkII Roadster took from November 1999 until February 2000, though of course all of you who know about old cars know that a restoration never really ends! I'm always finding something to do... replacing a rusty screw, changing something that's just too old to do its job well, updating something that isn't working quite right, etc. It's a never-ending process to keep a 30+ year old car on the road. From 1998 until we started the restoration, the car was in its original state - pretty beat up, but it ran okay and most of the parts were there... our goal is to have a basically original 1969 car with logical upgrades like a spin-on oil filter, a trunk (boot!) light, a single 12V battery, some nice additions like a halon fire extinguisher, carpet lined trunk, etc. Other than things like that, the car is in its original form. Same performance, same handling and all of that. An MG was never a hot rod to begin with and we're sticking to what the car was designed for... Fun! 50 mph with the top down FEELS like you're going 100!
A pet peeve of mine is the number of people who say they have a "restored" car, when in actuality they may have an old car with a rebuilt engine and cleaned up upholstery. In my mind, to "restore" something is to return it to its original state. So to me, a restoration isn't a restoration unless it is total. To that end, we scrutinized every last part in this car, from gears in the transmission to the color of the wires in the wiring harness, to the shade of paint used on the wire wheels.
A note about authenticity: We kept this car "basically stock". I know that MG suspensions weren't originally powder coated. We had that done anyway. I know that we did things to this car that were not originally done by the factory. The things we have done were all aimed at easier maintenance, ultimate durability, ease of cleaning, reliability, etc. We kept to stock performance. The car looks like a '69 to all but the total MG aficionado. All that really matters to me is that this car is fun, good looking, reliable and it succeeds in taking me back to a different time every time I get in it. Driving it is a wonderful opportunity to return to a more carefree time... at least for me! So, by my own definition of "restored", this car really isn't! It's very close, but we've made logical updates to make it more comfortable for our use today. For instance: we painted this car "Jaguar Sapphire Blue" for a couple of reasons. 1) we like the color. 2) I wanted to paint it a non-standard color so I wouldn't be lured into the routine of maintaining the car only for shows! This way, it is not a factory specification car!
Here is a list of what has been done to the car and a selection of pictures that will show you what the restoration looked like in progress.
To begin with, every single nut, bolt and washer has been removed, inspected, cleaned, painted, powder coated or replaced. If you don't see it on this list, it should probably be there and I just didn't write it down in these web pages!
Complete, brand new British Motor Heritage body shell, delivered by rail in a very large box. This needed to be cleaned up, dents repaired, sealed, primed and painted. We decided on Jaguar Sapphire Blue. More details are below in the "Body" section. The original body had rust, dings and pounds and pounds of amateur-applied plastic filler covering some fairly substantial collision damage in the left rear quarter. Repair of that prior damage, rust repair and labor time alone would have approached the cost of the new body shell. We figured there was no better way than to start with a brand new shell. If we had repaired it, we would have ended up with a repaired car... with the Heritage shell, we have an essentially new, 30+ year old car.
Body: Brand new Heritage shell. It arrived in kind of dicey condition with various dents and dings to correct. Lead was used where required to make it look like an original '69, but the under-nose vents for the later style oil cooler were retained. Don't ask me why. They look good I think, so I opted to leave them. Upon arrival, this body was BARE! Not one extra screw, nut or washer was anywhere to be found. It consisted of 2 doors on hinges, trunk lid and hood. There were no door seals, gaskets, latches or ANYTHING on this body. I got a real empty feeling in my stomach when I looked at this bare bunch of sheet metal and thought, "My gosh, what have I gotten myself into?"
Engine Bay: There were extra holes and mounting points in the new body shell that had to be welded up and all the corners and joints had to be sealed before the body was primed and painted. All the brackets and small parts in the engine bay were black powder coated, including the sheet metal surrounding the radiator. Under-hood insulation is standard black.
Suspension work: New leaf springs, king pin rebuild, new MG V8 bushings, all new front end parts and pieces. Most parts of the suspension were powder-coated black. Shocks are original and shock valving is stock. Wheels are painted wires, brand new from Dayton, with new knock-offs ("eared" type because they look best!) and modern 175 SR 14 radials. The suspension is stock, as it came from Abingdon in 1969.
Differential/Drive Train: Differential totally rebuilt with all new bearings. Repainted a gorgeous shade of black. :) New U-joints. New clutch, pressure plate and roller-type clutch release bearing. The rebuild was quite costly, but worth it. The old differential howled quite badly on deceleration. The ring and pinion checked out okay and that's good because I believe new ones are hard to come by and expensive if you find them. I decided to go with the roller-type clutch release bearing because I have had great experiences with them in other types of cars. So far, it is working very well in the MG despite advice from others that the standard carbon disk is the way to go.
Transmission: Completely rebuilt. Standard non-overdrive 4 speed. It shifts beautifully now. Nice and tight with no weird noises!
Brakes: Totally stock. New calipers on the front, new cylinders on the back, new brake lines including the hard line that runs the length of the body. New master cylinder. New rotors, new pads and new shoes. Backing plates and incidental parts have been powder coated black. The new calipers were painted gold from the manufacturer - not sure if this is standard or not. There is a definite difference between this non-power-assisted braking system and a modern system. Once you're used to having to apply more pedal pressure, it's perfectly adequate. In fact, during a recent early morning drive I came around a bend and there was a deer in the road ahead of me. It was quite easy to lock up all 4 corners and stop rather quickly - not like a new car with ABS, but I sure stopped!
Engine: Totally rebuilt and completely stock specifications. Cylinders were bored .020", new pistons, camshaft, all bearings. The crank was ground .010". Converted to the "newer" type lifters (shorter) and pushrods (longer). New cam chain, tensioners. New valves. You name it and it's new. Updated to spin-on oil filter. The air pump and all associated equipment was removed and the holes in the head were plugged with allen screws. The engine was painted "MG Maroon" just as it was done at the factory. After assembly, it was sprayed before installation in the car. The metal fan is standard yellow. All decals in the engine bay were replaced. There are more detailed engine pictures linked to finished picture page here.
Heating/Cooling System: Standard. New re-cored radiator, new heater box and core. All new radiator hoses. All painted that same gorgeous shade of black! New water elbow without the bracket to hold the air pump, which was removed and of course stored in case it is ever needed. New water temperature sending unit, which corrected a faulty reading on the temp gauge.
(Note: In Washington state, a vehicle that is 25 years old can be licensed as a "Collector Vehicle" as this one is. It is no longer required to pass any emission control tests, though it would pass if needed. Only one license plate (on the rear) is required.
Fuel System: Standard HS4 S.U. carburetors that have been cleaned, re-shafted and rebuilt. Standard air cleaners were bead blasted then black powder coated, which looks spectacular. Fuel pump is a new S.U. though it is not the newer electronic version. Fuel lines are new. The beautifully finished original Cooper air cleaner enclosures are in the garage and can be put on the car in minutes, but I prefer to run with a K&N air filter setup for everyday use.
Electricals and ignition system: Standard Mr. Joe Lucas. Standard Lucas alternator. New Lucas distributor (45D). I built the custom ignition wires from Lucas "Bumble-Bee" solid core wire with original 1969 plug connectors. They really do look nice. Wiring harness was re-wrapped with factory blue wrapping and terminals cleaned. Headlights are Sylvania Halogens, but sealed beam so they retain original appearance. No radio because I don't want to have to mount an antenna and I like the appearance of the dash and console with the MG octagon and blanking plate. There are no non-standard items connected to the electrical system, so the standard output alternator is perfectly suited. Converted to one single 12V battery. Added a Lucas battery switch to the footboard behind the driver's seat. The empty battery cavity has a plastic liner for storage of spare items. Added an unobtrusive plug-in for a computer controlled "OptiMate" battery maintainer for the winter months when the car is seldom driven.
Exterior Trim: Standard trim. The only modifications are the deletion of the side marker lights that were mandated by the U.S. in 1968 and the deletion of a mirror, mentioned below. I thought the side markers looked kind of cheesy, so now they're gone. Also gone is the passenger side exterior mirror which was mounted way out on the front fender. To me, that looked really bizarre and it destroyed the clean lines of the front of the car. It was an option when the car was built, so I did NOT put it back on! New windscreen. New Talbot Jr. (authentic) "bullet" type rear-view mirror, mounted on the driver's door. New top (hood). I removed the folding one and replaced it with a "pack-away" type. Quite honestly, the folding one was difficult to use and it took up all the space in the rear of the cockpit. The pack-away is far nicer in my opinion. Had to buy all new frame pieces however. New tonneau cover. New bumpers and overriders. New taillight lenses and one backup light lens.
Interior: All new panels. Rebuilt seats with all new pads and parts, covered in black leather from Prestige Auto Trim in England. It took a long time to get the leather (3 months or so!), but it was worth it. The pattern is original. All new standard carpets. The original rubber snap-down mats were in great shape so we retained them. I use a set of heavy rubber mats to protect the originals during regular use. Dashboard is standard and has no cracks or problems. (too bad it's the North American version required in 1968 and not one of the nice metal ones available in England that year!) New under-dash liners. All gauges are standard Smiths. I use the earlier style inside mirror because it is smaller than the 1969 mirror. I recently replaced the stock steering wheel with a smaller Moto Lita, made of beautifully laminated wood. It adds to the character of the interior I think. The original wheel and horn button are on display in my house, should I want to show the car or return it to the stock appearance. Mounted on the footboard behind the passenger seat is a small halon fire extinguisher. The trunk (boot) is covered in a molded-to-fit, custom carpet kit. It looks great and is very nicely done. The standard wire spare wheel is carpet covered as well. I carry a standard tool kit, though I use only a soft lead mallet for the knock-offs so they're not damaged when I bang on them. Standard "King Dick" jack. I also carry a selection of spares: dist cap, rotor, points, condenser, a couple of ignition wires, cable ties, some wire, various bulbs and a careful choice of tools (stored in the empty battery compartment). (If you carry this stuff, I'm told you'll never need it!) Added a trunk light since the Heritage shell had the bracket for the switch already mounted. We also added the correct purple wire to the wiring harness before re-wrapping it in factory blue wrapping.
