Front Cabin

06 Dec 2011
Fitted upper engine cowl after making and adding a missing carb. shield to the engine.

 03 Dec 2011
Fitted new wooden floor to front cabin. Fitted battery isolator switch inside seat box. Sorted foot well plates and bolted in place. Secured seat box in place and added seat. Added steering wheel...just to get the general effect and for the photos! Added handbrake gaiter and gear lever gaiter (gear lever gaiter from MGB) Fitted lower engine cowl in place to see how it fitted. Will fit the upper engine cowl soon and finish painting the floor and seat frame.  That might be all I can squeeze in before Christmas...need to get some gifts sorted soon for her who needs to be obeyed!.

Instrument Panel

1 Dec 2011

Have now added indicator switch to instrument panel. Know its not an original addition but needed a neater solution than just a bracket attached somewhere. Block is fastened to instrument panel and wires run inside block and exit inside instrument panel. Flasher unit is sited above the fuse block. Will tidy wiring when I have checked it all out sometime in 2012..when I get a battery!

Nov 2011

Have sorted and replaced all of the wiring and finished the instrument panel. Have added a headlamp warning light and reset the mileage to zero as I suspect the previous showing of some 19000 miles was a tad out! . See three pics below.

Just need to decide where to hang an indicator switch as I am going to keep the front and rear turn lights already added.

Sept 2011
Have spent a long time trying to sort out some good instruments from those fitted and the spare set that came with the van. Have resorted to stripping down the ignition switch and repairing the broken lever and replacing the faded  words ' HEAD  SIDE OFF' with a printed disc made on the computer. Only time will tell if it all lasts....If I come across a good cheap replacement switch I will fit one. Had one hell of a job removing the steering wheel from the spare column. Eventually had the son-in-law make me a special plate to use with the puller. Cleaned up the wheel and gave it a few coats of black vinyl paint. Looks like new now! Anyone any idea what fits in the centre of the steering wheel?
Cleaned and painted the instrument panel in situ. Once I have sorted the mess of wiring I will refit the instruments.

Steering Wheel

Plate tool 

18mm thick x 125mm diameter steel plate tool with 33mm slot and 90 degree cone opened to 65mm diameter.

(CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT TO BORROW THE PLATE)

Panel

Missing Parts

Oct 2011
Here are some of the major parts I am missing and don't know as yet where to find them. If you can help please get in touch. Email to MGB-101@sky.com

1. Inner door panel covers- both sides 
2. Spare tyre carrier

Drivers Seat

Nov 2011
Just got the seat back from the trim shop...looks like new..well it should as it has all new upholstery in black vinyl on the original frame.

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Sept 2011
Have cleaned and repainted seat box and frame. Whole thing is currently away to be upholstered.
Managed to find seat box door in back of van and restore hinge. So the seat is now complete...or will be in about 4 weeks time when it returns.

Body - Interior

May 2011

Some shots of the inside as bought.

Body-Exterior

June 2011
He are some shots of the exterior. 
I have decided to remove the front bumper as I think the van looks better without.
It was just fastened on to the body work anyway so needed to come off.
Have now removed the rear doors just for ease of access. Working in a 16ft x 8ft garage is a bit of a tight squeeze!

Engine

July 2011
Decided to clean engine of oil, dirt and grease. Also removed most engine components and cleaned and painted them. 
Radiator was already off when van received and in a damaged state, so had a go at hammering and bashing out the dents and re soldered splits around the neck. However the main core was damaged so had a new core fitted by local radiator restorer.

Don't yet know if engine runs! However it should be easier to tackle now it is clean. Watch this section for further news around the end of 2011.

Have also cleaned off the old paint from the engine covers, bashed out the dents, filled any 'spare' holes and primed. They look much smarter now.

 

Along the way

Radiator

Before & After

Engine Covers