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 Post subject: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 10:13 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
I guess I should join the B GT crowd on here and post what I've been up to for the last little bit. It all started last summer, I haven't been driving the Europa much and wanted to get or build something that was more of a grand tourer than race-car for the road. Building a car from scratch was vetoed by dear old dad (I use his garage because Vancouver), so a B GT was decided upon. I managed to pick up a very decent one locally, which I was told was an ex-California car, so mostly rust free:
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I drove it as is (except changing the grille), up until March 1, this year. Then this happened (sorry picture heavy):
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Elan needed the body put back on and shoved to the back, hence this photo:
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Then the real work began:
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Of course it didn't quite fit, so out it came and pieces where cut away:

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Then it was on to stripping undercoat and fixing the minor bits of rust (I know I should have pulled the whole rocker panel off, but I elected not to):

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Following that, the windscreen came out and the dash was changed:
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Next up was painting the engine bay and suspension pieces:
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That pretty much brings things up to date. I did get a driveshaft fabricated, and have had some rear wire wheel hubs machined down to make some Nissan Steelies look similar to MGA TC wheels:
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I'm hoping to have the body off for paint sometime before May, but I'm sure things will take longer than expected.

Rod


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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 11:10 am 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
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Location: West Chicago,IL
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: I was waiting for this post after seeing pics of yours on Tundra 7's build log. The GT has been in the back of my mind for some 20 years. I wish I worked as fast as you.

:thmbsup: on the faux MGA TC wheels.

And a nice little touch on the glove box door. :mrgreen:

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Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 12:08 pm 
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Joined: November 6, 2020, 6:29 pm
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Location: Spring, TX
Nice stable, Elan, Europa & the B GT.

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 12:21 pm 
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Joined: October 10, 2010, 10:26 am
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Location: Guadalupe, CA
That's a lot of work in just 3 short weeks!! Love the picture-heavy post.. I've never worked on one of these, so it's cool to see the wideshots and how you made things work.. The new motor seems to fit in there pretty nicely.. this one will be fun with its new powerplant :cheers:

--ccrunner

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 12:39 pm 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
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Location: Vancouver, BC
Chuck,
You're the first person to comment on the glovebox badge. The dash I picked up was lacking a glovebox door, so a very used one was found but it had a radio blanking badge on it. I had picked the TC badge years ago in hopes of using it on something. The glovebox door with holes to fill was a perfect place to fit it.

As for the wheels, I'm still trying to figure out how to do the fronts with the knock off, but the rears were quite and easy fit. I am undecided on whether or not I drill 1/4" holes between the large holes to give the wheels the Jag D-type look or just leave them as is like the A Twin Cam. I do have some Dunlop decals to put on, just to p-o the purists.

JAMADOR,
The Europa and GT are mine, the Elan is a joint project with my dad, and there's also a 65 B in the fleet. Too many cars and not enough space.

ccrunner,
I took two weeks off work to get the bulk of the work done. With the current situation going on, travel plans for this year (and last year) were postponed. So I figured why not get some garage time in. And I agree, the Zetec and RX8 gearbox fit very nicely. I was somewhat shocked as how easy it's been to fit. The engine placement is nearly the same as the B-series that came out, and the shift lever is within 1" total (x and y direction) of the stock lever.

Rod


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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: March 24, 2021, 1:09 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
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Location: West Chicago,IL
cs3tcr wrote:
Chuck,
You're the first person to comment on the glovebox badge. The dash I picked up was lacking a glovebox door, so a very used one was found but it had a radio blanking badge on it. I had picked the TC badge years ago in hopes of using it on something. The glovebox door with holes to fill was a perfect place to fit it.

........

Rod


Being as I spent 20 years restoring my 1500 MGA, owning a 1600 coupe and being in a local MGA club, I sometimes see things others may not. :mrgreen: I don't know too much about the Twin-Cam though. Mostly what I read.

And as for purists, I'm not sure there are any when it comes to MGB's, or any MG for that matter. They were always the working man's British sports cars. If the factory didn't modify things along the way, their owners most certainly did. Look what that fellow, Ken Costello did that impressed the factory designers so much that they created the MGB GT-V8.

Safety Fast! :cheers:

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“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: April 12, 2021, 10:30 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
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Location: Vancouver, BC
Time for an update... Over the last two weekends I've tried to re-fit the motor but it didn't fit.  It turns out the plate that I had welded into the crossmember was out by 1/8" which caused the motor to not drop into place.  So Saturday of this past weekend was spent doing the hokey pokey with the motor.  I took it out, did some griding and persuading, put the motor back in, took it back out, welded, then put it back in:

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I also offered up the rad panel, rad, and cold air ducting:

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The rad needs a spacer made up to allow it to be bolted to the rad panel and space it forward a bit.  The rad is one of the cheap ones from Ebay, and I know why they're so cheap, they don't fit right out of the box.  Oh well, not a big deal, with spacing it forward I can sneak a cooling fan on the backside.

Other than that, I removed the rear window and filled the holes on the hatch:

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And spent the bulk of Sunday afternoon sanding and filling.  I've spoken to the paint shop, and the car will be dropped off with them at the end of the month.  So that means the next two weekends will see a lot more body prep.

Quote:
I don't know too much about the Twin-Cam though. Mostly what I read.


When I was much younger, there was a Twin Cam in the garage, unfortunately dear old dad never finished it and sold it to Peter Welch. He completed the resto, but it now just sits amongst his collection. Which is nice, but also a shame, as the collection never really gets driven.


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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 6, 2021, 8:02 am 
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Joined: August 8, 2014, 6:08 pm
Posts: 1238
Location: Green Bay, WI
This is looking great. I love your comment about the purists, silly boy. I am on a Facebook MG page. These guys cannot wrap their head around why you would want anything but a stock 4cyl in these cars. It’s really funny because there are a couple of us rebels on there and they hammer on us all the time. It’s really funny. Keep it up nice work!

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 10:05 am 
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Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Tundra,
That's why I rarely post on the MG forums, though I do have a build log on the MG Experience under the engine swap sub forum. It's strange how some people react to certain modifications. On the Lotus Europa forum, everyone was supportive of my Zetec swap, it seems Lotus owners are ok with modifications.

In other news, the car went to the paint shop at the start of May, but it's still not even close to being painted. I'm starting to get a bit worried. I have, however, found time to refinish the dash board, re-upholster the seats, clear coat the wheels (and apply the dunlop stickers). Though, I'm slowly running out of things to do while the car is away.

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The seats have a few wrinkles in them, but to be honest, I'm not too concerned. It's not a concourse car, and I dont think I'll notice the wrinkles when I'm driving it.

Also, due to masochistic tendencies, I've had two steering wheel blanks cut. I could just buy a Moto-Lita (or Tourist Trophy) steering wheel, but neither manufacturer has the style I wanted. So, blanks have been water jet cut, but I'm having a hard time finding 3/8" baltic birch plywood at the moment. It's not a bit deal as the car still has a Momo wheel on it, but eventually one if not two wood wheels will be made.

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 10:05 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
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Location: Vancouver, BC
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Last edited by cs3tcr on June 7, 2021, 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 10:15 am 
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Joined: November 6, 2020, 6:29 pm
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Location: Spring, TX
Nice work on the seats, those look great
Didn't pull the drivetrain for paint?

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 10:33 am 
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Location: Vancouver, BC
JAMADOR,
The drivetrain stayed in for paint. I had previously painted the engine bay, inner wheel arches, and inner fenders. The paint shop would have had to mask the painted areas anyway, so the motor and gearbox being in place isn't that big of a deal. Plus, garage space is limited, with the Elan in the back, dear old dads MGB on one side and half of an MGB GT on the other, there really isn't much more room to store things.


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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 11:08 am 
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Joined: November 6, 2020, 6:29 pm
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Location: Spring, TX
Ah, so just exterior paint being done. That makes sense, then.
I fully understand working with minimal space. My wife can still park in the garage, the Rotus takes up 1 space, too. The 3rd is full of parts & kids stuff. Going to take some clever rearranging to make some work space as the project progresses.

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 3:28 pm 
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Some cool stuff here. Love the blanks,1/8” aluminum? How did you come about the wheels?

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 Post subject: Re: MGB GT Zetec
PostPosted: June 7, 2021, 3:46 pm 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Tundra,
The blanks are 3/16" 6061, and are drilled (waterjet cut) to suit a Moto-Lita hub. As for the wheels, they're Nissan Altima steelies. The offset is way off, but with longer studs and 3/4" spacers they fit perfectly. A few guys on the MG sites have cut the centers out and rewelded with the correct offset but I've opted to stick with the stock Nissan set up. I ended up with 7 of them and at one point and I hoping to find one more so that I could have one stock set and modify the second set but I've sort of given up on the search for now.

Rod


Last edited by cs3tcr on June 7, 2021, 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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