Neil Clark

Phone call today from the body shop - after real problems with the front chassis rail the bonnet is on and opens / shuts correctly, gaps correct. BUT after looking at the paint on the rear deck it seems that previous restorer had left the old cellulose paint on and put 2 pack over the top so its creased. After all this effort and time I want it right so it's getting a full repaint. But it's so close, after 2 years hiatus! They tell me w/c 21st I'll be able to pick it up! But I won't be free I wonder if I can get my mother in law to delay her 90th birthday on 22nd which is going to take up a lot of our time that week?

I've got a cheap one in my 1966 MGB GT (cos it looks good) and after two years I've noticed a tiny amount of coolant colour appearing at the bottom of the matrix. But bizarrely no major level loss not any sign ever of wetness. Perhaps I spilled some coolant and it ran down. However the ones at £250 or so don't generally get good press among the MGers. The VERY expensive UK made ones do get good reviews. Some cars do get extra blanking in winter - the owners say their cars never really get warm. But I've never had that issue and I run a warm climate thermostat due to the joys of London traffic jams and a mechanical fan.

It worked and bolted back easily.

In the end it all fitted without drilling!

Thanks to all the input everything came together today. The body shifted easily to be better aligned, and the way the new hinges will fit with the measurements Straker sent, the valance etc etc all looks good. Gaz of TJR Bodyworx where the car is, is going to leave the Mk3 chassis hinge extensions in place and what he calls "unpick" the weld of the Mk1 hinge so that it fits over and will be welded to the stronger Mk3 extension, rather than cutting away the strength. As you can see I had printed out all the photographs and once we laid out the parts on the floor the jigsaw made sense.

Yes, that is brilliant. Thank you for going to so much trouble. Neil

Straker - Do you have the dimensions marked in yellow? I've no specific references to go from. Will be much appreciated before we weld!

Thanks Pete

Thanks - do you know the supplier of the hex ones Pete?

One or two of the threaded 5/16UNF threaded holes in the chassis for attaching the body is just out of position in the refurbished chassis that I received. Hopefully I can widen the hole in the floor panels enough to fit but if I have to drill out the threads does anyone know a good source of strong steel UNF rivnuts these days?

Thanks. That makes sense. I can check it tomorrow (it's at the car).

My next question relates to the front valance support bracket. I'm trying to figure out where the valance support bracket bolts to the chassis. Is it the hinge assembly it bolts to? (It's the red bit lying on my bonnet in the photo at the top) Thanks

These are terrific! Thank you both. I'm spending Monday at the car with the bodyshop - the timing is impeccable.

Finally making some progress at the bodyshop. Does anyone have a good close up of a Spitfire Mk1 or 2 chassis with the hinges fitted? The Restoration Manual and the Workshop Manual photos are helpful but I would like something clearer. My original Mk 1 hinges were crushed in the smash and although I now have two good Mk1 hinges and the metal where it attaches to the chassis I could do with a clear picture. We're going to have to cut off the Mk3 chassis hinge extensions from the replacement chassis and weld on the Mk1 hinges. And of course the Mk1 bonnet tube assembly where it attaches to the hinge cannot be made compatible with the Mk3 hinge and vice versa. The lower half of the green hinge assembly shown is the part that will need to replace the extension piece on the Mk3 chassis.

We've got the same conversation going on the MGB forum just now. A new member with 1963 car with no overdrive is wondering whether to change. I had no overdrive on my B for the first three years. 4th was fine in 99% of traffic and I liked the engine noise at 70mph but agree it was "busy". Then the box needed rebuilding. I looked for a decent overdrive box but no decent ones showed up and there was so much to change anyway (box / box mounts / propshaft / speedo drive etc etc) that I chose the "Vitesse 5 speed" (the Mazda conversion kit, not the Triumph Vitesse version!) It's a brand new MX5 NA box internals in a new case. We've had a series of MX5's for road, racing and kit cars and these have been bullet proof. The kit came with all the parts, bolt in, and it's been brilliant. My tuned B now gives nearly 40 mpg on long runs in the new 5th vs 27mpg on the old 4th. But the kit is now closer to £3,000.

Thank you Nick. I remember those now! Of course I've put the fuel tank back but it's only got a little fuel in it and I can syphon that out easily to take it out again. Hoping the paint shop delivers on their promise to do it this month so that I can make progress!

Thank you all. I'll let you know. I've just got the car at the bodyshop for paint so will measure everything on return but all the shafts and positions relatively to the body were good when it sat on the old chassis.

I bought my accident damaged Mk1 Spitfire (it had just been expensively restored before the crash) and it came with a restored chassis from another car. The tub is completely undamaged and so, (with reinforcement bars fitted in the door gaps) the tub was lifted off the damaged chassis and it dropped perfectly onto the replacement chassis. All the locating bolts slotted in really easily to their holes, front and back. The diff was put into the "new" chassis and secured prior to replacing the body. It is the later diff type. Then everything else connected with suspension and body bolted up very easily. The issue I seem to have is that the rear wheels look to be offset about 1/2" towards the nearside of the car now that the body is in place. The car drives without any tendency I can note to "crab". Is there any lateral adjustment possible within the chassis of the rear suspension / diff assembly? - I can't see anything in the manuals that suggest there might be. So I suspect that the issue is a slight misalignment of the old body tub relative to the new chassis. Or am I faced with simply loosening off the body securing bolts and tweaking the tub position on the chassis?

Very much hoping to find this?

It'll come Colin. Good to avoid the red liquid and holes. When I was building the Fury it was in a yard 30 miles away. 3 weekends running I cut my hands or head badly on tools or the underside of the lift there and had no first aid kit. Then I had to drive home so put a fresh rubber glove on my hand every now and again and a handkerchief under my cap. My son just looked at me pityingly and took me straight to A&E each time I got home for stitches etc. It became a bit embarrassing at the hospital and the family are convinced I'm a liability. The good thing is that they don't expect me to do any DIY any more which I hate.

The body shop I was using is struggling in every way due to the pandemic and I feel for them. They can't finish it and it's still too much for me. Finally found that a guy in the midlands who I've known of for some years can fit the bonnet in, he says in a month or so. I'll trailer the car and bonnet up there once he's ready. It's a year since we swapped the body onto the new chassis and since getting it started again the car has just sat under its cover on the drive - acting as a trampoline at night for the local fox cubs judging by the paw prints.

I've just been given a new tub of Halfords de-rusting gel, which is based on citric acid. Have you tried any of their stuff?

Thanks, I gave them a call after seeing this and they seem very helpful. De-greasing before using the gel seems to be the way to start.

Has anyone any experience of using this? I'm thinking of it as an option for treating the bonnet of my Mk1 Spitfire, the entire bonnet has light surface rust having been prepped ages ago by the PO down to the bare metal but not finished.

The panel beater who has been working on the bonnet of my Mk1 Spitfire is in difficulty financially and may close. We've agreed that I take the bonnet back, pay him for what he has done and remain friends (we've known each other for years). Has anyone any thoughts on a possible someone that could do it? Ideally London / Birmingham region - I can get the car there. The bonnet needs finishing, the Mk1 hinges need welding onto the re-built chassis and the scuttle needs straightening where the wiper axle holes are - they were distorted in the accident when the original bonnet was pushed back and forced them against the windscreen base. This is beyond my skills.