2-28-2011 It's the brake cylinders stupid---and...re-compressing

So I checked the brake master cylinder on the GT just before a shitstorm of rain and wind hit today. The master was about half full of brake fluid though I just filled it two weeks ago and have only driven the car a few dozen miles since.

So the river of oil on the garage floor is actually a river of brake fluid.
No biggie. The rear brake cylinders are being replaced and I'll be replacing the rear axle oils seals at the same time anyway. I'll pull the complete brake assemblies off the roadster rear axle tonight or tomorrow and they should bolt right up to the GT.

I picked up a compressor yesterday. it's a 20-gallon Campbell Hausfield and nowhere as big as I needed but I need money more than a big compressor. I can just pick up a Harbor Freight cheapo as a back up and just switch back and forth between the two if I'm doing any high-volume air tool work.

2-26-2011

Well it rained here the other night and, while Wifey was out of town, I took the opportunity to park the GT in the garage. I figured it would be one less chance for rain to leak in there while I was repairing the rusted metal plus I could look at the garage floor to see if there were any oil or other fluid leaks.

I found a small river of oil. There was one small spot under the engine area which does not surprise or concern me. What did concern me was the oil all over both rear tires and the 3-foot long trail of oil coming from the rear right wheel. I had suspected that the axle oil seals were bad because of the radial streaking on the inside of the rear tires-I just didn’t know it was this bad. The left side isn’t as bad, almost, but still not as bad.

I was going to order the new seals plus the brake shoes which were certainly oil-soaked and in need of replacement which meant I’d also need to order the rear brake cylinders etc., etc., etc.

But then it struck me, I had just done the exact same job to my 74 roadster sitting right next to the GT. I’m just going to pull the entire brake assembly with the rear shield and cylinder and then swap them with the GT’s. I’ll also pull the complete oil seals with their holders off and bolt those right up. The only difference between the roadster and the GT is hub which is for the wire wheels on the GT.

By doing this I don’t have to wait for parts or, better still, pay for parts and I can rebuild the Roadster’s rear axle at my convenience.

While doing all that, I’ll be installing the new Moss Heritage leaf springs plus installing the Teflon-impregnated suspension bushings and pads in the rear suspension. While I’m in there, I’ll clean up the entire area and paint the underside. I’ll also finish cleaning up the axle and repainting that as well as lubing and adjusting the parking brake.

This will save me a lot of time for a few reasons:

1. I’ll be installing pre-assembled units.

2. I won’t have to clean and repaint the assemblies and wait for the paint to dry.

3. I just did the exact job on the roadster a few months ago so I know what mistakes to avoid.

I suspect I’ll be able to do the suspension, seals and springs in less than 4 hours…maybe three if I use air tools. But if I decide to pull the PITA pressed-in bushing from the leaf springs and replace those with the urethane bushings that should add another 30 minutes to the job…melting them out with the torch is fairly fast but still a pain.

Which brings me to my next topic: The piston on my air compressor decided that it didn’t like the cylinder head so it pushed it right off, shattering the entire cylinder head in the process. It was covered under warranty at Northern Tools but when I took it back, I was told they no longer had that air compressor and asked if I would like to buy the one that cost twice as much? I answered that I did not. So I tried buying one from Sears but, sadly, that was a great illustration for me of why people don’t shop at Sears anymore. I’ll probably wind up getting a Craftsman anyway; it’s just a huge pain in the ass to deal with Sears anymore.

I keep bouncing back and for the between working on the GT and the Spitfire. I guess I’m just a multi-tasking fool. Wait, I’m restoring three British cars and a Corvette at the same time…that makes me a plain fool.

Work to be done

In addition to the rust repair, here's what else is to be done

FRONT SUSPENSION REBUILD, NEW BUSHINGS, REBOUND BUMPERS, BEARINGS, ETC/
REPLACE REAR SPRINGS AND ALL SUSPENSION BUSHINGS
REPLACE REAR AXLE OIL SEALS
REPLACE CAP, WIRES, HOSES, FUEL FILTER, ETC.
NEW BRASS HEATER VALVE
ATTACH AIR DAM, WIRE IN RELAY AND DLR’s
FIND HEADLINER MATERIAL AND REPLACE
BUILD & INSTALL NEW CENTER CONSOLE
CONVERT TO NEGATIVE GROUND
CONVERT FROM GENERATOR TO ALTERNATOR SET UP
NEW SOUND SYSTEM
NEW DASH SWITCHES
RESTORE METAL DASH
RELOCATE COIL TO INNER FENDER WELL
CONVERT TO SPIN-ON OIL ADAPTER
INSTALL BATTERY CUT OFF SWITCH
INSTALL ELECTRONIC FLASHER
INSTALL LED BACKUP LIGHTS AND SWITCH
INSTALL LED SIDE, TAIL & REVERSE LIGHTS
REPLACE WIPER AND HEATER MOTOR SWITCHES
INSTALL DRIVING LIGHTS AND RELAYS
GET LIMEY KIT AND INSTALL HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS
GET TRANS STAY ROD
REPAIR/REPLACE TACHOMETER
RECOVER INTERIOR PANELS
INSTALL NEW SOUND SYSTEM
INSTALL ACOUSTIC AND THERMAL INSULATION
REPLACE SEAT COVERS,CARPET AND OTHER INTERIOR SUNDRIES
RESTORE WIRE WHEELS AND GET TRUED
CARPET TRUNK/STORAGE AREA.

I have about half the stuff on this list so far. I have all the urethane suspension bushings, carpet, and new rear leaf springs.
I've got about half of the interior panels restored and I bought red vinyl and stitched up some red seat covers...just too much to buy to drop a lot of cash on new seat covers.
I've already installed the center console just to make the car a bit more livable while I drive it around.
I'm going to try to knock out the rear leaf springs and bushings install this weekend. I need to get the rear oil seals since the car is leaving a little river of axle fluid wherever it is parked.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...
So many LBC's to work on...so little time

Problems! BIG PROBLEMS!

RUST!

I knew there was some rust in the floorboards. ButI've torn inot the car and found extensive rust throughout.
The forward/right side of the passenger side floorboard is pretty much gone and the forward most part of the inner shelf is gone and also rusted along half its length towards the back.
at least half of the inner sill is gone and I haven't even gotten into the driver side yet
The firewall has serious rust, some holes and the upper engine bay shelf also had holes in it.
I'm hoping the triangular re enforcement panel above the suspension inside the fender well is not rotted out.

I an only assume the driver side is as bad if not worse.

Totop it all off, the previous owner/repair shop did not cut out the rusted metal and weld in new, they did what the previous owner of my Spitfire did; rivet galvanized sheet metal over the old rusted metal and packed home fiberglass insulation in the repairs, making the metal around the repair rust out even faster.

I've started cutting out rusted meal and cleaning out as much rust as I can. I've treated the remaining surface rust with rust converter and I got some heavy sheet metal from my MG friend Kevin. I also bought a metal break to shape the metal. I'll weld in the new metal instead of getting replacement factory sheet metal. when I'm done with the welding I'll rustproof, seal, prime and paint everything as best as possible. I'll also lay a layer or two of fiberglass on the floorboards to add a bit of strength just like I did in the Roadster and the Spitfire.
My goal will be to stabilize the car and stop the rust and to be certain that is it safe to drive. If I can do this I can drive the car for a few years and work on the other cars. when those are done, I can tear the GT apart and do all the repairs with actual heritage replacement metal panels.
I want to drive this one,not buy it then put it up on jack stands for a year or two,

SOME PICTURES

ENTRY #2

After talking to the sell, I found out that the tires were at least 15 years old, possibly more. I wasn’t about to drive a 43-year old car home on major highways with old, dry-rotted tires. So I got on line and found 5 wire wheels with almost new Kumho tires for sale on the MG forum I frequent. Even better, they were in the Raleigh area.
So my LBC partner in crime drove out to south Raleigh and picked up the wheels and tires and then drove to north Raleigh to pick up the car.
Got the title transferred, put the new wheels and tires on the car and then set out on the 120 mile trip back home.
We kept to mostly non-highway routs just in care the car decided it wanted to explode or otherwise fail.
I got it home and started examining the GT more closely.


After driving a few hundred miles in the first week of 1967GT ownership I realized that even the slightly-better amenities in my 74 made a huge difference in the comfort level when using these cars as daily driver.
I want to make this car a bit more livable but without making any major changes to the car.
Since the floorboards need some-semi major attention, after repairing them I’m going to apply acoustic and thermal insulation to the floors, sills and rear deck before replacing the carpet,.
Driving the car when it was below 20-degrees outside also pointed out the need for attention to be paid to the heating system. Not many changes can be made there except for the home-made brass heater valve and maybe an uprated heater core. Adding in the replacement of door and window seals should make the interior fairly toasty in cold weather.
One other creature comfort I missed was a center console with an armrest like the one I had in my 74 B. I picked up one for free earlier this year. It was bleached out and chalky from sun exposure but it was free. I scrubbed and brushed it until he chalkiness was all gone but the faded look remained. So I simply painted it with gloss black paint and it turned out looking really nice. I then pulled the armrest off my good console since it was a home made armrest and put it on the newly-painted console after spraying it with red vinyl paint.
The install was straightforward though not made for the MK-I transmission tunnels.
I had to drill a few new holes for the shifter beauty ring but other than that it fits very well.
The radio console is in fairly good shape. Unfortunately the PO drilled into the side of it to install an ammeter so it is not perfect. The speaker grill and trim ring, however, are perfect so I’m gong to be very careful with those.
I could install two 4” speakers in place of the single speaker in there now but I think instead I’m just going to make a custom console so that I also have room for any additional switches, power outlets and anything else I can think of..
Seat heaters are going in but they will be the kind that sit on top of the seats, not the kind installed inside the seats like the carbon heaters going into the 74.
I’ll be doing this after I convert the car to negative ground and upgrade to a high output alternator instead of the generator currently installed.