1957 Standard 8 - Winter upgrades

[Nathan]

Whoops not updated this in a while, the cars not far from being done now.

During the Xmas break the GF finally decided on the seats she wanted, so these were obviously purchased.
Test fit.
Now she is rather short so at this position she'd never see over the dash.



Fast forward, some seat plinths were knocked up and the area painted etc.


Exhaust done.



Carb leaked out the primary and as it's possibly not been services in 10,000 years a new one was ordered. The rubber had gone hard hence the leak.


Whipped the alternator off my spare 1500 Midget engine and converted to Neg ground.
The car had no fuse box it seems, so this was fixed whilst I was there, note the new brake and fuel lines (unsure if I mentioned this previously).




The car never came with seatbelts either, so some aircraft style lap belts were ordered.



On to the dash, so originally it was one big pocket which over the years had sagged and was just nasty. The other half wanted a race inspired/period look so it's obviously needed to be made from wood.

Testing shapes and how it will fit


A few years ago an Ex employee of Speedograph in Nottingham gave me quite a few NOS gauges that they used to produce. They were cheaper versions than the Smiths period gauges most were used to, and seeing as this car has none it would be rude not to put them to good use.



Tested the oil pressure...Perfect!

Old car clocks are usually odd shapes, so going back to that Period Racer theme we got these.

Simple stainless mount knocked up on the CNC and another test fit we have...

With the other half in agreement I've started to stain the wood a little darker

The Bodywork is complete, I just need to check the front wings once fitted and they can be flashed in to match the overall patina look.

Underlay, Carpet and door seals are all sitting here awaiting final fitment, then it's just a case of tyres and an MOT.

[Nathan]

Who's for an update?

The list is getting ever shorter now, with all the welding done and the interior getting another layer of sound deadening it was time to install the interior. The GF and my Father were tasked on getting some form of carpet to fit, IMO they did a pretty good hob it just needs the retainers to go under the door seals. Some rubber mats are needed as I'm sick of hoovering that carpet already :-p


As you can see a simple Mexican rug was used to cover the rear seat, it will only be used to carry the GF's dogs anyway so no point covering just yet. Also with the impending engine swap I don't know how much will be cut out and if we can even have a back seat.

Before carrying on with the doors etc, the GF needed to sit in to make sure it's all OK otherwise the welder may be cracked out again. Thankfully she was happy with the seating arrangements


Wired up the Aux gauge lamps before fitting.


The Coil ate 3 condensers in about 10 minutes, after the 3rd my memory kicked in and realised it did this on the BGT many years ago burning up 2 Optronic ignitions. IN THE BIN SIR!


Since moving the B to MX5 power my "Carb tools" drawer doesn't see much action....until now!
Found since moving to an electric pump the little Solex was being fed too much fuel so a simple regulator was installed and we got chance to crack out the ColorTune.

It's been a while old friend!

Resupply on NOS condensers, so NOS the elastic bands have started to decompose!

I said the welding was done didn't I?
Maybe not, I know this will break down at some point....It's not been on the road since 1996 and as much as I can replace everything there could be something unforeseen. As the car has no towing eye, this needs to be addressed....2quid and a bit of mig wire later!

Done and the frontend was bolted up...AGHHHHH

Well it seems in my infinite wisdom I didnt bolt the wings and front panel the correct way around when mocking up, which now causes the radiator to foul the fan :-(.

Strip it all back.


Out!
The mounts I made could be adapted with another "drop hole" further forward, it would make the bonnet latch very close but I was toying with the idea of going with straps anyway

Test fit with wings back on



Bonnet closes and we are golden again!



Next up will be the lights, I am ditching all the bullet connectors as they are rubbish even on this new loom. Superseal type have been used on the BGT so I have started the process of swapping them out.

[eternaloptimist]

Looking good. That towing eye - the crossmember it looks to be attached to is a bit flimsy - unless you've beefed it up. I can imagine pulling on that and seeing the crossmember bending and it pulling the front of the legs in towards each other.

[Nathan]

Mar 3, 2023 9:59:11 GMT eternaloptimist said:

Looking good. That towing eye - the crossmember it looks to be attached to is a bit flimsy - unless you've beefed it up. I can imagine pulling on that and seeing the crossmember bending and it pulling the front of the legs in towards each other.

Very good spot ;-)
I took it off to install the towing eye and after noticing how paper thin the metal is (not rotten) I came to the same conclusion.
What I've done is box it in from the bad and added a lip to bolt through the chassis leg, I am wondering how did they tow them previously though, to which I presume it was just a rope around the bumper?

[kevins]

Nothing used to have towing eyes, people usually tied a rope around the suspension somewhere.

[v8ian]

Bumper Irons make great towing points, however, jerk the tow and you will bend them

[Nathan]

Few small jobs nipped up last night between work.

Was never a fan of how protruding the bumpers were, so a little adjustment has them sitting a little closer.

Lights obviously in and working, thanks to that new loom. Looks like this one could do with a new rubber.


Front bumper is also now back on, I still need to put the final bolts in the wings and finish the front wiring for the lights.

[misterm]

When I winch them on my truck, I use the brace below the steering box.

[nickwheeler]

Mar 6, 2023 18:42:18 GMT kevins said:

Nothing used to have towing eyes, people usually tied a rope around the suspension somewhere.

After 15 years as a recovery driver, I favour a soft strap around the lower suspension arm. Screw in towing eyes are best avoided, as they're very easy to bend, even if the threads are usable.

Don't use the bottom of the radiator as an attachment point.....

[kevins]

Yep my niece has a modern fiat 500 which after one of it's breakdowns now has the towing eye stuck in, the nut in the body has broken free and it just spins, had a quick look but the nut is behind the bumper and the bumper won't come off because of the stuck eye........

[nickwheeler]

Mar 9, 2023 10:07:18 GMT kevins said:

Yep my niece has a modern fiat 500 which after one of it's breakdowns now has the towing eye stuck in, the nut in the body has broken free and it just spins, had a quick look but the nut is behind the bumper and the bumper won't come off because of the stuck eye........

Cut the eye off flush and refit the plastic cover.

My worst one was a tidy looking mk3 Fiesta: screwed the eye into place, and about halfway up the bed there was a loud crack and all the spotwelds on behind it tore leaving the front panel and everything attached to it about a half a metre further forward than the other side. The customer was watching....

When we did BMW warranty jobs, part of their procedure was that if using the factory screw in eye an additional safety strap between the winch hook and a lower suspension arm was required. No strap, no insurance claim. You might as well just use the strap, which reduces the chances of damaging the cover s you remove it. If you've ever winched an an E46, you'll know how much the bumper clearance increases as you move the car.

[PhilA]

Also consider the position of the anchor in relation to the towing vehicle.


Chrysler provided eyes but they're well above the level of the bumper, and even with battleship hull thick metal it still deformed.

Phil

[Nathan]

I'll be shocked if the eye moves at all, the rear frame is boxes in and tied to the crossmember. The eye itself is welded in so no need to bother with the captive nut breaking off, lets be honest this current incarnation is temporary as like the BGT it's having a MX5 swap come winter.

Nipped up the last few jobs on the dash and started tucking the wiring out of the way, an air hose for the screen needs replacing as it was pretty much a fossil and dissolved against my wrist. I need to knock up a cubby box for the right hand side, think I'll add a 12v supply for her phone tucked away in there, then she can start on refitting the door cards.

A few of the bulbs have blown at the front, mainly the passenger headlamp so that was removed to sort.


Thought I'd fire it up as it's been standing a while again and I think all the recent use has caused the starter to give up. Not a problem 20+ years ago I removed the 1500 from my Midget to start restoring, I'll grab that.

10mins up at the folks garage and it was found.
Gear isn't great, but it will at least allow me to prove the one on the car has bit the ****** Can easily get all the bits for these still.

[logicaluk]

Mar 13, 2023 16:26:47 GMT Nathan said:

Wow that is f well worn.

[Nathan]

Mar 14, 2023 18:48:26 GMT logicaluk said:

Mar 13, 2023 16:26:47 GMT Nathan said:

Wow that is f well worn.

Yeah she's certainly had some use.
Like I mentioned, I thinking the windings are going on the Standards original so this will prove it.

[Nathan]

Tires landed....Been a busy week with client cars, new ECU firmware causing 4 MX5's to pass through the doors so there wasn't much time to get this on the car.

The weekend rolled around and nobody over, even the GF was away for the weekend....RESULT!



Another brake bleeding session and some stone chip applied.

Postman arrived with a surprise for the GF, she'll need this for when it breaks down :-p


Finally sorted the right hand cubby hole, it was originally in soft-board and was past it's best. Pretty simple box so around 20min of the finger brake and we have a steel one install. She's since covered it (I preferred the metal look), sorry hard to see in this image.


Refitted the rocker cover, keyway for the alternator. I need to sort the top hose neck out but I was awaiting gas for the TIG so I can knock up by own from a CNC template so it's on the to do list.


At the end of play Saturday she was on the floor and looking awesome IMO.

[misterm]

Have you managed to get an ACR alternator on without cutting into the battery tray? I used a small Japanese (Hitachi?) unit from a Mk3 Fiesta on mine to avoid that. May go with a Dynamator on the new one.

[Nathan]

Nipped in to grab some tools and it seems the GF has made a start on fitting the door cards.
Insurance is all sorted now, so apart from rigging a Hazard warnings lights system up (didn't have them from factory), brake light earth and wipers she's ready for a little test drive before the MOT

[Nathan]

Mar 21, 2023 14:10:54 GMT misterm said:

Have you managed to get an ACR alternator on without cutting into the battery tray? I used a small Japanese (Hitachi?) unit from a Mk3 Fiesta on mine to avoid that. May go with a Dynamator on the new one.

I don't recall cutting anything, I fitted it a while ago so may have forgotten.
It is using an MG Midget mount and adjustment but I am sure they are all the same, but I did use a small belt.

[Alpina99]

Loving this thread and car,
Love your MG,
Have to say though, I'd donate vital parts of my anatomy for a garage / workshop like yours, 😁😁
As usual, looking forward to seeing future updates, it gets closer to being back on the road with each update,
Nigel