1977 MGB

[Peter Lombardo]

It has been a very long time since I last posted anything on this forum. I have been very busy trying to hold my business together in this very difficult business climate and I have been working on a very big model car kit. I thought the Tamiya 1/12 scale kits or the Poscher 1/8 scale kits were big but this one beats them all.

Four years ago I tore my 1977 MGB apart to begin a restoration and upgrade. For any not familiar with a “77 B, it is one of the ugly (my words) rubber bumper MGB’s. I could write a book about the car, the history, and the effect of US Government regulations on the MGB, but for our forum I will limit the verbiage to the minimum.

This MGB was always a solid car, but it was not very pretty….well, I wanted a solid great running car that was also very pretty. I purchased it in July 1991 with the intention of an upgrade which I finally got around to in the fall of 2005.

So, I removed the interior and with a little help, pulled the engine and transmission out. The car body was taken to the body shop of Ayers Chevrolet in Dover NJ who is a client of mine and the engine went to a great engine builder and good friend Bob of B & B Auto in Randolph, NJ. Ayers Body Shop technician Jim, who is a crusty old veteran of many classic car restorations did a great job on the minor body work needed to bring the car up to my spec’s. The rubber bumpers were removed and the body panels adjusted for the chrome bumper installation. The rust in the four quarter panels and under door sills was all removed and new metal panels (patch) were welded on. All panels were straightened and primed and then a beautiful layer of Merlot Pearl was sprayed on. Then it was clear coated and wet sanded out. Jim did such a great job on this body and paint. In the sun it is on fire with a deep metallic and pearl glow that actually hurts your eyes. The body, sans drive line was delivered to my garage and a few days later the engine arrived completely rebuilt with a hot street cam, new lifters and H/D springs. The crank was balanced and the cylinders were over bored with new pistons added. New oil and water pumps and an electronic ignition system was bolted on. I added two newly rebuilt SU HIF carbs and a new exhaust header heat coated with silver ceramic paint. I attached a newly rebuilt transmission, rebuilt overdrive and new clutch to the engine block and we dropped this whole sub assembly along with all new engine and trans. mounts into the body. Once in, the plumbing was done and the oil radiator was hooked up under the front valance.

My son and I installed a brand new Leather interior and all new carpeting with a new layer of heat and sound deadening material under everything. A new leather steering wheel and new top to the dash and a new mps/cd/fm sound system with four speakers was added to round out the interior. We cut down the gear shift knob by 2 ¼ inches to make the shifting a little shorter. All of the suspension has had new bushings installed and the rear shocks have been converted to tube shocks while the entire car was lowered about an inch and a half back to the ride height of a pre rubber bumper car. All of the lights and body trim were added along with a set of driving lights and she was looking pretty good. I installed a new tan vinyl top and things were just about done.

The only thing left to do is have the wire wheels media blasted and the wheels will be powder coated in a very shiny silver color which will resemble brushed aluminum when done.

Now the reason I went through all of this for you is because I began building a model of this car and I thought I’d better give you the background so you will understand the build better. One of the interesting facts is that I have gone to substantial lengths to make this 1977 MGB look like a circa 1969 to1973 model year car and the Aoshima kit I am building is 1967 right hand drive car so I am updating it to resemble the actual car. The actual car is made to look older and the kit will be made to look newer. This kit appears to have a very accurate body casting and I know I have seen a number of build ups of various versions of this kit on the forum. My build up will be a little different in that I am looking to replicate an actual specific car and I will be adding, left hand drive, complete engine and under hood detail along with opening doors and trunk. The fire wall is all scratch built as is most of the engine block so far. I just completed carpeting the actual cars trunk so the build up will reflect that. I made sure that I saved enough of the actual paint from the real car so I can airbrush the build up with the same paint. I am reworking the wheel arch openings so that the wire wheels will be at the same height as the real car which as I said before, sits down lower than most. I will keep you up dated as I get deeper into the build. I have also begun making some headway on the Dodge Charger Testers kit that I am rebuilding into a great looking version of a design I saw on the internet. Lower top and front and rear treatments that resemble the 1968 Charger…..this is very cool. I also completed, somehow finding the time, a few months ago a Porsche Slant nose and a neat street custom 1969 Plymouth GTX two tone with a very cool custom hood scoop. I will post a few shoots when I get a chance.

I have to tell you, rebuilding the MGB was great fun and it was wonderful working with my son on it too. Next up, my son has a rust bucket 1946 Jeep CJ which we will be rebuilding and than after that my 1960 MGA (very nice running car right now) gets the full street race look and rebuild. That will be a very cool looking car when we get to it……wider wheels, beefed up engine, trans and suspension and cut down race windshield…..this will be different and great looking.

[Peter Lombardo]

And here is the kit just beginning the construction phase....

[buffalobill]

And here is the kit just beginning the construction phase....

fyi - Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland makes a resin left hand drive dashboard conversion piece for the Aoshima kit that you're building. It's their part # RM-95, and it's priced @ $4.95. R&M doesn't have a website, but you can reach Norm @ (410) 768-3648. Be patient for a call back, but Norm will call you, for sure.

btw - beautiful color & paint work on the 1:1 model!

[Foxer]

Awesome, Peter! The real one looks just fantastic! I had a 67 TR4A and I'm curious about one thing. That had dual SU's and, while they were pieces of art as far as carburetors go, they were the biggest pain-in-the-butt to keep synchronized. I would do it about once a month, but it really wanted it half that time. Are you expecting the same thing? I realize this won't be a daily driver like mine was, but just curious.

I'm dying to see your touches on the kit...!!!

[Peter Lombardo]

Hey Bill, thanks for the heads on the left hand drive dashboard. I believe it is just a left hand version of the dash from the kit which is a 1967 model year car. The dash is completely different on a 67 versus a 77 car. My plan is to replicate the 77 dash as that is what is in the 1/1 car. Thanks for the kind words on the 1/1 MGB. It has been a real labor of love and frustration. If you ever think your life is getting too easy, just try and figure out British Sports Car Logic. It will have you talking to yourself in no time. The Brits just love that “Stiff upper lip†thing. I love the cars but….

Mike, thanks for the kind words too, as for the carbs, I really can’t say that I have experienced much difficulty in synchronizing the carbs. I had a nasty old pair on the car from 1991 until 2005 and they worked ok. The biggest problem that we have experienced was with these newly rebuilt carbs. I sent out the old pair and the builder send back a different pair that look like new (same model carbs) ready to go. We bolted them on and she ran great for 30 minutes. After that, we had gasoline over running into the vapor recovery system and spilling out in the engine compartment.

It turned out that the two floats in the newly rebuilt carbs were both cracked so they were filled with gasoline and obviously would not “float†any more. Once we installed new floats, that problem was corrected. There is a series of great “You Tube†videos by John Twist who used to own University Motors (he recently closed down due to lack of business….we MG heads are a dwindling group), he explains just about everything on MG’s so you just type in a search question and there is most likely a video on how to fix it, or how it works, or why they built that the way they did. I watched his video on how to tune the SU HIF’s and that was it, they were never a problem from then on….they really are quite easy once you understand how they work.

[MrObsessive]

I wish YouTube had been around in the mid '80's when I had my '71. That was THE MOST troublesome car I've ever owned before or since!

It ran good when it ran...........but there was the constant adjusting this or replacing that! After six months of owning the car, and winter closing in fast, I decided to let it go. It was a daily driver for me as I was going to school then------I was warned when I bought it to have another one to go with it!

I'd love one today, not as a daily driver, but for the occasional nice ride as it was a blast to drive----------when it ran right!

Peter, I absolutely LOVE the resto on your 1:1! Why MG had to slap that ugly duckling bumper on the '75's and later I'll never know. U.S. regs notwithstanding, they could have come up with something better than that!

The model you're building..............does the engine come with the kit, or is it a curbside? If it's curbside, which engine are you using?

Looks to be a fun project!

[E St. Kruiser50]

It's been a long time since I posted anything on the forum....

(Quote)

Yeah - NO KIDDING.

GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE BACK MY FRIEND .

I like both your 1 to 1 project and the little guy.

This'll be fun to watch - dave .

[Peter Lombardo]

Hey Dave, great to hear from you…even though I did not have a lot of time, or energy, to comment, I still followed your 55 Chevy build and the have kept up on the “Boat Tail†too…both are really beautiful…great job….but you knew that! I have to confess, during the past few months I spent most of my “internet time†on the MG forum where I was frantically posting questions looking for help on many aspects of the rebuild. On the model car forum, I consider myself as knowledgeable and accomplished, but on the “mg experience†forum, I am a true “green pea†looking for all the help I can get. It is interesting to me how your perspective can change on simple matters. I would occasionally look at some of the posts on this forum by “new guys†and think to myself, “Gee, come on, that is so basic, why don’t you know that!†And now on the MG forum, I know there were plenty guys thinking the same way about some of my stupid dumb a$$ questions. It sure makes you stop and think….not everyone has your experience or experiences…and this is how you learn. I learned a lot about the ins and outs of the MGB, MGA and myself.

Bill, you are right, the internet and “you tube†have really helped so many hobby industries. John Twist is the master of all things MG. He knows the cars as well as the guys that designed them…his knowledge and his desire to share it, have helped me on a number of occasions. I know what you mean about the unreliable nature of MG’s as a daily driver. Back in 1975 when my wife and I married, she had an 1973 MGB GT. It was a beautiful little car and a blast to drive…..the problem was that it would not start on cold or rainy mornings….now to be honest, some wet days it would start, but on the day that you needed to get somewhere on time, it just refused to wake up. My wife is a nurse who back then would generally leave the apartment about one hour before me. When I came out and my car was gone, I knew that she could not get the MGB started and she took my car. I always found a way to get it going, but during a very cold spell in February 1976, it got to be too much and the MGB was traded in on a VW Rabbit. Not nearly as much fun or as attractive, it was reliable to a fault…it always started.

As for the kit, it is a curbside kit. It has great under chassis detail and a very nice overall proportion. It has some of the best one piece molded wire wheels I have ever seen….it is a shame to remove the chrome, but the real car does not have chrome wires….so they must be changed. I opened the doors and trunk and the hood. I will add as much detail as I can muster since I have the actual car to look at. I don’t really know where the engine block came from. I picked it up at one of those model car “swap meets†from one of those guys who has hundreds of boxes and bags of parts all separated by type…you know, engines, hoods, tires….you get it. I have had this kit for years with the plan to build it like the finished MGB project…so when I saw the box of engines, I started to root around until I found a small 4 banger that looked close to the MGB lump. Since the oil pan was molded into the chassis, and it looks really good, rather than reinvent the wheel, I cut the engine block just above the oil pan and will mount the top onto the molded in pan…..if I didn’t mention this, you would never know. The oil filter was moved from the other side of the block and I made the mounting frame for it. The front oil cooler hose connects to the oil filter bracket too.

Since I now know exactly how the actual car will look, it is time to build the model. I am really enjoying this as I want to replicate the “big†scale model we just finished. I have to say, it cost a ton more than I originally budgeted, it looks better than I expected and I had a great time, along with my son, doing it. I have always been “mechanical†but I never had any technical knowledge. I could always “wing itâ€â€¦but putting this car together is a whole other thing. You actually begin to feel like you can do this…it is not as hard as I once thought. We enjoyed it so much that we have begun work on my sons 1946 CJ2A which qualifies as a true rust bucket. As I am writing this, he is out in the garage tearing into this thing. This will be interesting.