The reasons why I decided to recondition an MGB are simple, after working like everybody does, I found that one day I had to stop for health reasons. This left me very suddenly with a lot of time on my hands that I had not been prepared for. What had been a dream of mine during my youth in my native Yorkshire, was to own such a car, but the finances just were not there. Now with the family grown and gone I might just fulfil my dream. As I have been living in France for many years the task of finding an MGB with a reasonably sound body shell but with mechanical problems seemed very slim. I contacted a garage in Brittany “Auto Sport Atelier” who, I had noticed had MGs on his courtyard at different occasions.

The garage owner Mr Drean, told me that finding a car in the condition I wanted was possible, but it might take some time. In August 1998 he called me to say that he had found an MGB, but when I saw the car… orange coloured with the seats and dash burnt by the Californian sun, the engine seized, the state of the gearbox unknown, I admit that I had hesitations. It was a car from the U.S.A, imported into France in 1989, left hand drive, with minor parts missing from different places, the front wing had been slightly damaged but it was an MG that had received no attention in the last years of its life. The previous owner who purchased the car in France seemed to have abandoned any hope of making this car a going concern and one of the big stumbling blocks was that the car hadn’t been registered and therefore couldn’t get an insurance certificate, let alone pass the MoT. The next hurdle was to convince my wife that this car had possibilities, when the garage owner saw her face, he thought it was a lost cause. The MG was put onto the ramp; the car was very solid but covered in oil from the gearbox rear seal.

Nevertheless I bought the car. The strip down started, I wanted to check everything that was fitted to the car, and all the parts removed were placed into plastic deep freeze bags and marked with their respective location. The next thing to do, was to join the MGOC in Swavesey, their help proved to be tremendous, the parts I ordered arrived promptly.

The engine and gearbox were then removed as a unit; the engine would not turn until a long spanner was used on the pulley nut. The condition of the gearbox was unknown, but judging by the grooves in the flywheel and the state of the clutch plate; this car had been subject to poor treatment during its life. The prop shaft had a large dint as if a heavy hammer had hit it, so the shaft could not be reconditioned and needed replacement.

The front axle was removed as a complete unit from the body; the lower wishbone arm bolt was seized in its bush. The car was leaning to one side as if a very heavy driver was sitting in the seat. The MGB was then picked up by the garage, less the front axle, and bodily placed on a trailer. The mechanics, were going to sand blast and paint the engine bay and inside the boot area. The holes in the wings, for the American position lights, would also be removed at this stage.

 

 This gave me time to rebuild the front axle with new bushes and springs, also giving it a coat of Hammerite paint. At the same occasion the wheel bearing were renewed, the final result was incomparable with the rusted mess that had been removed from the car.

When refitting the front axle I found that the four studs holding the assembly to the chassis would fall into the axle centre section if they were not maintained in position. To avoid this, I suggest holding the studs in place using two long rods that pass through the holes provided in the axle centre section during the reassembly.

With the car back from the paint shop, it was time to start refitting the engine and gearbox. I decided to install a fully reconditioned 1950 cc. engine from MGOC Spares, fitted with the unleaded cylinder head. This allowed me to remove the emission control systems fitted for the Californian market.

The carburettors were reconditioned using the SU kits and European standard needles, as the overrun valves, in the throttle butterflies had been soldered; the butterflies were replaced with the plain type without the valves.

As for the gearbox this was one of the main problems to be overcome, both on the cost side and the technical aspect. The original gearbox was a straight four speed. To obtain overdrive meant increasing the cost, and to purchase a complete gearbox with overdrive, here, was too expensive, and I didn’t have a gearbox that could be used as a donor for exchange purposes.

The only solution was to find one in the UK, but I wanted to fit a gear lever overdrive switch, it’s much easier to change gears. Avoiding the mistake of turning on the wind screen wipers, instead of the overdrive, for the purist this must be unheard of on a chrome bumper model.

One of the biggest and most difficult tasks was to replace the rubber seals in and around the windscreen, removing the four bolts to the bodywork is the easiest job. When you start unscrewing the frame and want to refit it all together using new seals, the job is a nightmare. The solution is to use sticky tape to hold the frame with the seal to the glass, then fit the eight screws into the top frame. Once assembled as a unit with all the new seals in place, care must be taken during the fitting onto the bodywork to flatten the lower seal, so that the four bolts can be entered into their respective positions on the windscreen supports.

The front wiring harness was changed for the simple reason that I didn’t want to have to tackle any electrical faults, due to dirty connections. To change the wiring at this stage was relatively simple, and in addition a 35-amp fuse was fitted into the overdrive switch wire following the experience of a reader in the “Enjoying MG magazine”. The rear wiring harness was in good condition and after being checked, was refitted to the car. The rear lights connections had to be cleaned because of the years of none, use they were in a poor condition. The battery terminals were in place, but the battery had since, long gone. There had been two six-volt batteries originally but it looked as if a single 12volt battery had replaced them, during the car life. All the electrical components were reconditioned one by one, as the restoration progressed. The only exception was the fuel pump and the alternator, which had to be changed for new units, even the wiper and the heater fan motor responded to a general overhaul.

All the braking system had to be renewed, the pipes, master cylinders and also the wheel cylinders and the front disc brake callipers. The reason was that somebody had used water as a brake fluid at some time, the result was a very expensive addition to the rebuild.

I would like to boast and say that after building up the car to this point, the engine could be turned over and started, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. It spit, coughed, and refused to run for any period over 5 minutes. This was eventually found to be due to the fuel tank, fitted with the emission fuel return pipe. There was sediment in the tank that couldn’t be removed; even two inline fuel filters didn’t solve anything. So the fuel tank was changed to the European type, this cured the problem. The carburettors had been cleaned originally, but required removing once more and thoroughly cleaned out. This was due to the very fine sediment that had accumulated over the years in the tank and had not been removed by the in line fuel filters.

The car was now ready for the road. The first thing to do was pass the French equivalent of the MoT this wasn’t to be the case. The car failed due to a too high emission from the exhaust, so the second visit was undertaken by Mr. Drean, the capable garage man.

The next challenge was to have the car homologated, this enables you to obtain a certificate, allowing the licence office to give you the registration number.

With all the administration behind me, all I had to do now, was to enjoy a car that has become part of me, because you have put your heart and soul tears and anger into the project.

Well was it all worth it? Yes without a doubt, the joys of riding in the car with the little hair that is left on my head, blowing in the wind, and the great satisfaction that I had brought back to life a very pleasing motor car that was doomed to be left to rust away slowly. The driving licence authorities will not give me permission to drive the car on the road without an automatic transmission and hand controls, I admit that I’m tempted to start another project, of the same type because of the enjoyment I’ve had over the last three years.

I would like to thank the people in contact with me that had to put up with me, during this project, my wife who saw the original wreck transformed, and especially my two sons Tom and Oliver whose patience and tenacity in the face of their “old man” has made them very capable and knowledgeably enthusiasts of the MGB. The garage “Atelier Sport Auto” Mr Drean who is now a registered supplier for the club, and the MGOC spares and technical assistance for their continued help.