1973 MGB GT- A little rust 30/08

[Nathan]

I run a 12V (I'll get the number) in mine no issues.
I then boxed off the open sides of the other battery tray an use it as a storage box for tools etc.

[adam73bgt]

I think if id actually bothered I could have found a 12v replacement fairly easily, I'm sure its been done plenty of times on the web.. but I guess I'm stuck with two sixes for the time being though I do like the idea of having a little storage box under there

to be honest I might have to pay the area some attention in the future as the battery trays did look a bit corroded..

[phil1380]

I replaced the two six volts with one 12 volt from a Grande Punto 1.2 or Toyota Yaris. The battery is basically the same size in plan but not as tall, so fits in the battery carrier fine and uses the original clamp.

I think it's an 002 or 202 code. From memory the mAh capacity came out just a bit less than the two six's (46mAh vs 56mAh again from memory) but the CCA was actually better (305 vs 295 I think) !!

As with all these things the better quality battery will last you longer.

Phil.

[adam73bgt]

hmm i could nick the battery from my parents punto in that case..... ;D the clamps appear to have gone missing from my batteries at some point in the past so i should probably sort that out

I'm hoping these 6 volts will last for some time to come, but if one goes in the future id probably bite the bullet and get a 12v, if not just to improve the CCA

[adam73bgt]

Time for a little bit of an update, haha since my.. optimistic.. last comment just above, I have in fact ditched the two 6 volt batteries in favour of a nice beefy Exide 202 12 volt battery it now starts anywhere, anytime, any weather ;D

There are some running issues, but ive got a decent thread going in the technical bit about those....

In other developments.. since the car hasn't had a wash since I went to uni in september, I thought id treat the old girl



I didnt actually use the t-cut in the end, its a waste of time on paint as bad as mine

little end result photo

should have got a before photo really, but its a big improvement, use of rainx and some halfords anti mist stuff has really helped as well (it was getting misted up to the point where it really wasnt safe )


As well as cleaning, i've been working on housing the gauges that I bought a couple of months back

Take one standard MGB centre console


Got hacking with a hacksaw


Realised this was stupid and bought a dremel-a-like


A couple of cut off wheels (and nearly a couple of spare eyeballs) later and ive got two vaguely DIN shaped holes


Then trial fit DIN gauge panel


Fit gauges, Interior light and radio et voila!


Just got to stick it back in the car and wire/plumb everything up

Also this month, the slow transformation of the interior colour from beige/cream to black continued as the door seals were replaced, also cured a very annoying whistle caused by travelling at anything over 50 odd mph



The brake lights also decided to stick on all the time, problem was tracked down to a dodgy hydraulic brake switch, got a new one for £8, swapped them and problem solved!

Overall I think ive got the B to be a pretty decent little runabout and I'm pretty happy with it at the moment which is good since I had almost got to the point of considering selling it for something a bit more modern, but I'm glad I havent

Next up is wiring of gauges and ive bought a shedload of LED replacement bulbs for sidelights and whatnot

Stay tuned

[adam73bgt]

Aaand centre console is fitted!



took quite a while due to a bit of messing around with wires and suchlike but for the moment i have a fully functioning interior light and voltmeter, the radio also works, but for some reason the 'constant live' wire in the car doesnt seem to be able to power the radio with the ignition off but thats a job to be sorted when i wire in the clock and the lights for all the gauges

[clougher95]

Just looked through all of this - nice car! I wanted a BGT for my first car too, but couldn't find a decent one in my budget, but one day I'll have one 8)

Nice work you've done to it anyway, door cards really improved the interior, and I'm loving the extra gauges

[adam73bgt]

ha thanks! yeah the interior will be greatly improved once i finally get round to buying and fitting a black carpet set

nice looking toledo too by the way i had wanted a dolomite sprint for my first car but i couldnt find one cheap enough with little rust :/ the BGT is a great little car though, if a tiny bit impractical due to being a 2 seater and rather small :

[adam73bgt]

Another update, been busy buying things for the B which i probably don't need to be

First off, managed to bag this Leyland Special Tuning style front spoiler of a certain internet auction site for a mere £1.70! its not perfect and has been cut about/ glassed up here and there, but it looks good enough for me, and has been well painted in primer





should look good and very 70's when i fit it to the car, bit undecided on colour choice at the moment though, not sure whether to go black or body colour green i think either could work

In addition to that, a mate of mine has been breaking a mk1 mx5 for a kit car project hes building, as a result he no longer had a need for the seats so ive had 'em ;D



excuse the rubbish iphone photo quality but they're in really good condition, in the right colour, only a couple of little holes in the backing of the seats, the front faces look as new, even the side bolsters look good

and as an added (unexpected) bonus, at some point the rather tinny (so i hear) oem speakers have been replaced with some decent looking JVC coaxials



i had been looking out for mx5 seats with the headrest speakers because i have longish term plans to improve the sound system in the B but id like to keep it as stealthy an install as possible, the headrest speakers will really help this, might even change the door speakers for components.. we shall see

for the moment, its time to order some aluminium plate and make some adapter plates to get these seats fitted as i don't fancy drilling into the car much lol

[djefk]

It always makes a massive difference to driving enjoyment when you replace things like door seals and realise how much quieter a car is! That central console looks fantastic, well done! With those seats and a new carpet you're going to end up with something very special.

[adam73bgt]

Jan 7, 2013 22:45:38 GMT djefk said:

It always makes a massive difference to driving enjoyment when you replace things like door seals and realise how much quieter a car is! That central console looks fantastic, well done! With those seats and a new carpet you're going to end up with something very special.

It definitely does! the whistling noise from the doors used to be very annoying on dual carriageways :/ theres still a fair bit of wind noise due to the fact there's a half inch gap at the trailing edge of the window :/

and thanks for the comment about the centre console, just need to get on with wiring it all in properly so i can see the dials at night

Just a teeny tiny update here, just been fitting my new front end lighting stuff, I'd bought clear indicator lenses, LED sidelights and indicators.

The job wasn't without its issues as it became apparent that the LED's wouldnt work as indicators due to needing a resistor?.. Also the drivers side sidelight bulb was rusted in place along with the back panel so I'm going to have to get a new one of those

but anyway, heres a before and after shot

before


after


To me it looks good, and once the 'fried egg' effect is gone it should make the front look cleaner

And now I'm thinking of making the rear indicators red... I'm sure my mate with his euro style seat ibiza is having some influence on me

[adam73bgt]

Been a little while since ive updated, just been using the car in all weathers the snow was fun though I did manage to knock my mirror off while slamming the door..



Got a clip on replacement for the time being until I finally fit my bullet mirror as a replacement

Finished up work on the front sidelight/indicator units, first fitted silver bulbs to make the front totally monochrome

before


after


One of the light units was very rusty, to the point where the old sidelight bulb wouldnt come out! considering it earths through the plate I'm impressed the light unit still worked...




the old gasket looked like something from time team haha



The main job ive done is to fit one of the MX5 seats in the B, I found a handy guide online to do this without having to drill into the floor

Got some cardboard and made a template of where the B seat mounting bolts go



MX5 seats then needed some mods, first the ends of the runners where the holes for the bolts go needed to be bent flat with molegrips and the MX5 locating pegs needed to be hacked off




Then it was a case of putting the MX5 seat in the car, on the cardboard and marking where the holes should go. Then two strips of aluminium are used to make 'adapter plates' to bolt to the seats and the floor

bolted in the car


bolted to the seat


bolt the two together and bam!




Should be able to stick the B into corners now without being thrown about ;D

Just gotta get on and do the drivers side....
As well as getting round to wiring up the headrest speakers ;D

thats all for now

adam

[flyingphil]

Nice looking BGT ( I had a "slightly" modified one and I still miss it!)

[heraldchris]

Looks good mate. The seat looks to have fitted nice and easy. Out of interest with the flat adaptor, how would you go about removing the seat? (assume it bolts directly through the floor?) I know the jag seats in mine don't make it easy for removal, even with an inch gap.
Its coming on nice though mate.

[flyingphil]

Feb 3, 2013 12:21:45 GMT flyingphil said:

Nice looking BGT ( I had a "slightly" modified one and I still miss it!)

"Super B" Pro Rover BGT V8.

[ChasR]

I cannot say that I am a fan of the crystal clear lights on classics, but the front of that car works very well with the lack of orange really cleaning up the front look of the car.

[adam73bgt]

Feb 3, 2013 19:37:44 GMT heraldchris said:

Looks good mate. The seat looks to have fitted nice and easy. Out of interest with the flat adaptor, how would you go about removing the seat? (assume it bolts directly through the floor?) I know the jag seats in mine don't make it easy for removal, even with an inch gap.
Its coming on nice though mate.

Thanks the bolts for the seats go upwards through the plates and are glued in position, so removing the seat just requires undoing the nuts on top of the bolts. slide the seat forward to get the two at the back and slide back to get the ones at the front

[adam73bgt]

Feb 3, 2013 19:52:59 GMT flyingphil said:

Feb 3, 2013 12:21:45 GMT flyingphil said:

Nice looking BGT ( I had a "slightly" modified one and I still miss it!)

"Super B" Pro Rover BGT V8.

Just slightly modified then! how much power was that putting out??

[adam73bgt]

Feb 3, 2013 21:17:16 GMT ChasR said:

I cannot say that I am a fan of the crystal clear lights on classics, but the front of that car works very well with the lack of orange really cleaning up the front look of the car.

Thanks, yeah i wasn't sure myself at first, but its grown on me, i think having the badge green/black has helped too

Just gotta decide what colour to paint the front spoiler ive got for it now, black or green?... hmmm

[flyingphil]

Feb 3, 2013 22:15:24 GMT adam73bgt said:

Feb 3, 2013 19:52:59 GMT flyingphil said:

"Super B" Pro Rover BGT V8.

Just slightly modified then! how much power was that putting out??

It was about 280 at the flywheel - did the 1/4 in 12.2 at 117mph. However it was a BGT bodyshell on a tube frame chassis.