1936 MG SA Saloon

[Webb]

Really good stuff. I'll be watching this one closely and taking MANY notes!

[kennb]

One of the big problems is that I have very little to go on for the engine of this. I have a few pictures to go on but little else.

With this in mind i started out with a block and started to make parts and glue them in place trying to replicate the best I can from the pictures.

thank you for looking

Kenn

[customsrus]

your scratchbuilding skills truly are amazing, I have never seen anyone scratchbuild a complete car. This is very inspiring, keep up the GREAT work.

[Del Austin]

Very impressive!

[kennb]

Continuing with the motor and adding a few more details we come to the installation of motor mounts. With a kit this is all figured out for you and is quite

straight forward. In scratch building this is something you have to figure out. If you want to go through all the math it would set things up for you, but I just go by the seat of the pants. Since I have no information on how the motor is installed i have to just go with trial and error. I an using a plate on the back of the motor that spans the frame and a haunch on the front setting on the radiator mount.

This attempt does work but the motor is setting far to high as you can see in relation to the fire wall.

I have 2 things to do at this point. The motor needs to be dropped but I am not sure how far I need to go. I will remake the mounts to drop the motor down and then wait untill I have the wheels made and axels in place to make sure the unmade oil pan does not drag. I also have to take into account that the transmission falls under the floor with no hump since the floors are all flat. The transmission is a 3 speed so it is not a problem going under the floor pan which is above the frame.

Thanks for looking and let me know what you think. it is all appreciated.

Kenn

Edited February 12, 2013 by kennb

[kennb]

The body frame and engine are now all roughed out with the top of the hood being started.

Now I will go back and start the second step of the body and getting it more detailed and finished. I have some second layers to put on the parts and a lot of sanding and filing to get things to the final shape.

I also have the engine lowered to about the right postition with the ability to lower or raise it in small inriments for final location.

Hope you are enjoying watching the build.

Kenn

[kennb]

progress on the.

kenn

[vintagercr]

This is truly amazing!

[charlie8575]

Your stuff is very, very cool, Kenn. I love watching what you come up with.

Charlie Larkin

[Gluhead]

Kenneth, it's great to see you back into a project. Interesting subject, too. I'll be watching along with everyone else.

[LacrosseBoss]

I feel like I'm watching Da Vinci paint The Last Supper. You are a true artist creating a masterpiece. *subscribed*

[kennb]

The one problem i run into on all my builds is the rear pumpkin. They can be very complex to shape but i think i came up with some nice things to get the effect I am looking for. I used a Tide stain stick and my wifes masquara stick to get the shapes and size I was looking for.

I cheated a little when it came to the universal joint. I had an old tree from my Mustang kit that I trimmed a little and with some fileing to make it fit the drive shaft I ended up with w decent representation. Sorry for resorting to a commercial product on this.

I have over 100 pictures on photobucket showing a lot more than I put here. the link is:

http://s126.beta.photobucket.com/user/shutter-bug/library/1936%20MG%20Saloon

Thank you for all the comments and encouragement on this project. It is taking some time but I hope it will be worth it in the long run.

thank you to all those that are looking also.

Kenn

[Eric Macleod]

I think this is the most impressive "on the bench" posting I have ever seen. I am learning a tremendous amount here. I appreciate your comments about eyeballing things but you must have a very skilled pair of eyeballs indeed! I will follow this with considerable interest. As a for whatever it's worth, every year there is a "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" car show near my house. There is an MG similar to your build up from our area that has shown up at least a few times along the way. I will try to dig up a photo of the car and post it if you are interested. It is Brittish Racing Green with dark tan hides, of course!

[kennb]

I appreciate any photos that you can come up with. The more origional in paint and colors is needed. I have a lot if color photos but am not sure how close to the origional colors they would be. That is one thing I have been going over. I have seen some very nice color combinations but not sure they would be authentic to the period, the British racing green colors seem to be a most likely combination. Spending the time I am on this I want it to be close to authentic for the time period. So many are maybe updated, to me closer to a contemporary color selection.

Thank you for the imput.

Kenn

Edited February 13, 2013 by kennb

[RAT-T]

KENN,

CAN I ASK HOW YOU GET SUCH A DEEP DRAW WHEN FORMING WITH HEAT?

THEY LOOK SUPER CLEAN & CRISP

[kennb]

First I am using .40th thick thermal plastic. When I get done, some parts are less then .10th thick. I do end up making several parts to get the right draw on them For the pumpkin I used a deep tube for the female mold. This has a lot to do with the depth of the parts. I am finding with the more I work with the molding process I can get more complex shapes depending on the male mold(Tide stain stick cap). This is really the only thing that limits me, the male mold parts. The one thing to remember is that with the thermal plastic you get it right the first heating since it will not heat a second time. With practice you can make anypart you need this way. I am still looking for how to do the inner fenders ont he front since the shape does not fit anthing I can find. I hope this answered the question adaquately, if not let me know and I can go into more detail with photos as needed.

Thermal plastics are used mostly in vacuum forming of parts like boxes and packaging of parts. I learned about this from my borther,who hold most of the patents on vacuum forming methods and machines. I have helped him out building machines and watched as he designed new ways of forming parts. Granted I dont have anything like the budgets he would have and do everything with simple parts and an exacto knife,a few files, and sandpaper. Everthing is made in a space of less than 2 square feet on my desk.

I hope that the methods I use can be helpful to others in making some parts to augment the kits most people use.

Again thank you for the comments and questions. They help me in coming up with new techneques to make more elaborate parts from nothing.

Kenn

Edited February 13, 2013 by kennb

[RAT-T]

THANKS KENN,

IS THAT PLASTIC AVAILABLE & AFFORDABLE?

ALSO, I THINK YOU COULD DO A THREAD ON JUST THE FORMING ASPECT, I THINK GUYS WOULD LOVE IT

[kennb]

I get the sheets of plastic,About 40" by 72" for under $10. The first part of the thread tells about it.

I will set up a short thread about forming parts in the near future... Thank you for suggesting it.

Kenn

[RAT-T]

THANKS KENN,

IS THIS IT? IT DOESN'T SAY THERMAL PLASTIC, BUT CAME UP IN THE SEARCH

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/search.aspx?search=.040%22%20THERMAL%20PLASTIC%20SHEET&page=1

[kennb]

That is the one,,,,,,yes......

Kenn

[patami]

Some of us are doing what we can and then there is those who do what they like with styrene Kenn your the master

[sjordan2]

Lots of good color combo ideas here. The least authentic would be anything metallic, since metallics were rare, didn't wear well and were usually avoided.

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=1936+mg+sa+saloon&gbv=2&oq=1936+mg+sa+saloon&gs_l=img.12...1639.7559.0.10165.17.7.0.10.10.0.75.356.7.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.lQlsHPUuyDY

Since I'm interested in the Jaguar SS, which shares a lot of similarities with the SA Saloon, I found this article interesting -- good SA material here.

http://www.scottpeter.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new_page_9.htm

More detailed stuff from Autocar mag when the SA was introduced...

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/history/pdf/2ls_magnette_autocar.pdf



You can enlarge - zoom back and forth - substantially on this image when you click on the thumbnail at
http://m.bonhams.com/auctions/10228/lot/49/

Edited February 13, 2013 by sjordan2

[robertw]

The work of a master craftsman. You humble most of us.

[kennb]

Thank you for the links,,,,,,they are very good and the second one has a great deal of information that I can use,,,

Kenn

[kennb]

Mudding the body. I used Bondo spot putty that I picked up at wally world. I put it on with a scrap piece of plastic.

It is a little heavy and noticed that there is only about a 2 minute window of working time before it started to grab. it did take a few hours to harden and the bottom valance on the back should set overnight but it is a little heavier.

I sanded out with 220 340 and finally 400 to get it decent. Most of the putty was removed and there is a few spots to refill. nothing to sweat about though.

Thank you for looking and commenting with questions.

Kenn