Gosh . . . where to begin?  I imagine like most of us with this incurable MG disease, it started with a TD, then we restored a 66 B roadster.  As work slowly progressed on the B roadster, I began to think how cool the GT was, and how it would be “really neat” to get one someday.  Our preference is for the ’65 to ‘67s.

Of course, that’s one of the “problems” with being in a Club . . . no sooner do you mention such a hair-brain idea, then your fellow addicts start popping up with “leads”.  I was determined this time not to buy another total rust repair project like the roadster turned out to be. 

Almost immediately, I was offered a very early ’66 GT with just a few problems—no engine, no interior to speak of, and the dash had been a practice project for someone learning to use a Sawzall.  The body “appeared” sound, and the price was right.

We were already deep into the restoration of the roadster, but the compulsion to just “tear it apart” a little bit more was overwhelming.  I remember saying something like “I can have this done in no time!”  I think that was 15 years ago.  I was also attempting to restore a ’57 VW convertible “in parallel” to the roadster.

One fine day, a dim light turned on, and I realized my insanity.  I “parked” the VW and the GT in the rear, and concentrated on the roadster.  Over the next many years, I would often find myself just standing looking at the GT, and thinking things like “  . . . it won’t be that tough.  Maybe I should just take such-and-such off right now.”  Mostly, I stole parts to finish the roadster, and bought, traded and acquired parts for the GT.  Truthfully, I think most of those times, I just stood there and stared at it with no apparent coherent thoughts at all!   I also ended up acquiring three other GT parts cars—one netted an overdrive and that GT is now someone’s rallye car.  Another parts car provided an intact dash.  That was key.  I kept telling myself I had “all” the parts I needed—if I ever got started, I justified to myself, it should go really fast because I have “almost everything”. Immediately (like this is really something you need “right away”!!!!) I bought an NOS rear view mirror (BMC box and wrapping paper . . . the whole bit!) which I carefully stored for probably 15 years, and “lost” in my garage several times!  I bought a set of brand new “made-in-the-UK” wire wheels and stored them for nearly 12 years.  I bought carpet, upholstery and interior kits on sale and stored them for 10 years.   I constantly bought little “bits” on sale or at swap meets and stored them away . . . . several times ending up with ridiculous quantities  . . .  like 4 water pumps, 3 clutch discs and  . . . .

After finally finishing the roadster, and restoring our “ol’ family pickemup truck” (which was a beast, and took WAY too much time!), I finally started in earnest on the GT about January of 2007.  Initially, I did not think the GT was “bad enough” to warrant going down to the bare shell, as I had done with the roadster, but fairly early on, I realized it would actually be easier to just “go all the way.”  So, bare shell restoration it was . . . . every nut, bolt, fitting, piping, line, wiring, etc.  We did that do our roadster, and it’s nice to know, when you’re finally done, that everything is either “new”, rebuilt . . . and you essentially have a new car.  I tried to catalog all the fasteners, and made little drawings with their “marks”.  All the BSF fasteners were cleaned, and zinc plated (looks like “cad”).

 

My goal with the car was to do as much of it myself as possible.  As a professional woodworker, and retired furniture and cabinetmaking instructor, I’m pretty familiar with finishing, and I’ve tried my hand at painting cars before.  Each time, they came out a bit better, and then a fellow Club member shared with me the art of color sanding and polishing, and that kind of “got me over the hump” and gave me the confidence to go for it.  I’ve previously done most of my own bodywork, other than “frame straightening” type stuff.  This car was seemingly pretty straight . . . or so I thought!   I actually enjoy the bodywork, prep work, surfacing, and painting.  I find it much more “forgiving” than working on furniture  . . . . where the finish is clear and all errors are quite visible!

I also acquired “half” of a MIG welder with another Club member, and that was a tremendous assist in doing the many, many rust repairs and patch panels.  I actually saved all the rusted pieces . . . I figured whoever acquires the car next might want to see them!  I found the “fab” work of making patch panels to be rewarding.

I also am a firm believer In the “Clint Eastwood School of Restoration”—which is “ . . .  a man has to know his limitations.”  Although I broke the engine down, and did all the minor “bits”, I did not attempt to do the “hard core” part of the engine rebuild—the crank, rods, pistons, valve train, bearings, and assembly of the block/head.  Once the rebuilder got it to that stage, then I did the rest of the “fun” stuff—painting, and hanging on/assembling the ancillary stuff and making it look pretty.  I did an engine once, and every time it made an odd sound, I had to assume I did something wrong.  Now when the engine makes an odd sound, I assume it must be OK . . . a pro did it!

I made my fair share of mistakes . . . like doing way too much body work and surfacing and blocking and then took it to a media blaster to do certain sections I found hard to get to by “conventional means”.  In spite of carefully marking it with spray paint, and explaining it to both the owner and the foreman, when I picked it up, they had not only blasted what I wanted, but also blasted away months of hard work and no small amount of expense in terms of already completely finished areas.  I lost about 3 months and several hundred dollars worth of materials on that one.  They had the nerve to say “Oh, well, we didn’t charge you extra for doing the whole thing.”  Thanks.

Seemed like it took forever to do the rust repairs and patch panels, and I fitted the doors, hatch and hood along the way.   Looking back, it was really only from about Jan to October, but it seemed longer.  

Perhaps the most exciting days were when I finally started painting it.  I was pretty conservative and careful with the painting.  A pro would have done it much faster, but I masked off large areas and concentrated on small “sub” areas first (underneath the car was one area; the fender wells another, the interior another; etc.)  All loose parts, of course, were painted off the car, but I was careful to try and paint them in the same orientation they would be on the car.  Finally, the big day came when I painted the exterior of the car . . . there wasn’t really much left by that point.

Color sanding and polishing went quickly and fairly easily.  I find that very rewarding, and would encourage anyone to try and do their own paint work and color sanding/polishing.

By the beginning of 2009, I was pretty well into “assembly”, and I had no real “plan”.   I’ve been fiddling around with MG B’s for about 40 years, so this part was fun.  Perhaps the biggest challenge was selecting “which” of the many parts I had acquired to actually use, clean it up, refurbish, restore, plate, paint, etc.  Many of those parts had been done for years (starter motor, generator, radiator) but others waited till the “day of”. Honestly . . . the bigger challenge here was often finding the parts I had so carefully stored for way-too-many years!

I started with simple, simple “FUN”  things . . . gas tank, lights, trim,  bumpers . . . . they went on fast and were “rewarding” to look at – as our son and I say, a “Ta Dah” moment!  On the other hand, there were things like the new wiring harness, brake lines, gas lines, etc. that were NOT very rewarding at all!

One of my favorite parts, and this is stupid!, is finally getting to throw away certain boxes . . . . like the ones those wheels had been stored in for 12 years!  Yeah!

The Esteemed Editor said to limit this to 1500 to 2000 words, so I must stop.  I dare not even begin to discuss “technical” things, the patch panels, the welding, the rust preventative measures, the block sanding, etc., etc.

If you are having trouble sleeping one night, e-mail me at steve@sandiegobritishcarday.org and I will “invite” you onto our Picasa web album, which has over 250 pictures of the total restoration.  That should put you to sleep!  Some folks have said they found it helpful to see the “re-assembly”, and found the step-by-step parts interesting.  I’m glad to share that with anyone who might be interested.

I could also do a paragraph on help and advice I received from Club members—but you know who you are!

Steve and Diane Kirby

San Diego MG Club

On Monday, May 3, I happened to be at the home of fellow “Real MGs Have 4 Doors” aficionados Wayne and Dee Johnson.  Wayne and Dee were all excited about a phone call they had received from an old racing crony of Wayne’s.  Wayne and Dee, of course, are very excitable whenever the word Magnette (or MGs with 4 doors) is mentioned.  Mrs. Thompson told them she had decided it was time to sell her Magnette, which she had owned since new.  I remember saying something like “Wow, that sounds cool.  Let me know what happens”.  I said to myself, “I need another Magnette like I need ????”  I already had 3 1/3 Magnettes, including a 1955 ZA that the Johnsons had previously fixed me up with, because it was 5000 times better than the ZB I had previously planned to restore.

Tuesday, May 4 was our San Diego MG Club meeting, and we happened to sit next to the Johnsons, and Wayne had pictures.  The car was crammed into a garage, hard to see details, and the car was dusty.   During “Show and Tell”, Wayne proceeded to tell everyone about the car, and that it was “rust free.”  I said to myself, “No Magnette is rust free.”  My wife Diane’s eyes glazed over.

Nonetheless, I told Wayne and Dee I’d like to look at . . . what the hey!  A date was arranged, and Wayne was nice enough to go with me.  They had removed the custom car cover and cleared all the stuff from around it.  I had brought a pick, strong flashlight and magnet (a magnet to check a Magnette).   My first impression was how absolutely complete and unmolested the car was.  Little “Magnette” details like the clock were still there, the very special rear view mirror, the beautiful MG-octagoned intake manifold, all the wood trim was intact.  But, I was there to look for rust.  I looked, and I looked.  Just like the A’s most of us are familiar with, there are just places where you absolutely know there is rust on a Magnette—stills, bottom of doors, bottom of spare tire “well”, boot floor, wheel wells, “dog leg” areas by all fenders, lower sections of fenders, etc.  I checked ‘em all.  Totally rust free.  I couldn’t believe it!  The bottom of the car is clean—not really even surface rust. 

Little things you rarely see . . . a California “black plate” car (meaning the car has had the same license plates since the 50’s), service stickers on the door jambs, the registration mounting on the steering column in a plastic holder.  Back “in the day”, it was required that your car’s registration be readily visible from the outside of the car.

Things like the chrome trim around the windows was perfect.  I began to realize that as nice as the other ZA was that I had planned to restore, this one was far better.  We then entered “negotiations”.   Let’s just say 88 years-young Mrs. Millicent Rose Thompson knew what she had!  But, in the end, we agreed.  I promised to take good care of it, and that I would make it my goal to give her a ride in it before she left us.  She said she was definitely planning on being here for her 90^th birthday, but wouldn’t make any guarantees after that.  So, the pressure is on!   She was both sad to see it go, but I believe genuinely pleased to see an enthusiast have it.  She feared someone buying it to “hot rod” it.  In fact, she said she would not knowingly sell it to a hot-rodder!

I went back a few days later to pay her, and she had found the original Bill of Sale, the original Owner’s Manual, the original factory warranty from Nuffield, and lots of other history

I believe she and I have struck up a neat friendship, which I hope to cherish and nourish.  I had talked to my wife that it would be neat to at least temporarily call the car “Millicent” in her honor.  After all, it is thanks to her vision and passion that she chose to always store this car inside, and keep it covered.  She never allowed it to be molested.  The car has been up on jacks for many years.  I told her I would like to call the car “Millicent” in her honor.  I got a big smile.  Then, I made a mistake.  I said something like “Maybe Millie for short?”  “NO!  I have loved my name for 88 years.  It’s a beautiful name,  If you’re going to call the car “Millie”, I’d rather have you NOT call it anything at all. NO!”  Ooops.  Then I said, “I noticed on the DMV registration tags, that your middle name is Rose.  That is really a beautiful name.  Millicent Rose.”  An even bigger smile than the first one.  That’s it:  Millicent Rose!  It not only sounds better, it rolls off the tongue so much nicer, and just has a natural rhythm to it!  And, it’s no longer a “temporary name”.

As we planned the second trip back to get the engine (which was NOT in the car) and some other bits, Millicent was concerned as to what time we would be back.  She wanted to know because her boyfriend was coming over later, and she wanted to get her nap first!  The next night she was going to a party, and then she was seeing her boyfriend again the next night!  This lady is a hoot!

Along with a lot of other people, my wife and I were one of the folks who tried to do their part to make the Magnette the featured model at GT 35, and to ensure that the display and event were a success.  However, we had never planned to bring a Magnette to GT 35.  We were in the middle of restoring another car, and the “other” 1955 ZA Magnette we plan to restore just wasn’t even started.  Our plan was to pull our small 5^th wheel to GT 35, and then continue on to New Foundland . . .  a trip we have wanted to make for years.  Then, what seems like just a few weeks before GT 35, we acquired “Millicent Rose.”  It just wasn’t possible to change all of our plans and trailer “Millicent Rose” to GT 35.

I’ve since shared much of this tale with our “nationwide” (including Canada) ZMG Magnette “e-mail chat group”.  However, after our fellow “Magnutts” heard about this, they insisted that I make a poster representing Millicent Rose, and we’ve had Mrs. Millicent Rose Thompson sign the poster.  That signed poster was on display, with all the incredible Magnettes which were ACTUALLY there.

We invited Mrs. Millicent Rose Thompson to GT 35 for this once-in-a-lifetime Magnette gathering.  She was honored and flattered and said she truly would have loved to attend.  I related to her that she and Lou Shorten must have bought their ZA’s at about the same time, and I know Lou Shorten and Mrs. Millicent Rose Thompson would have really hit it off in grand style . . . they are two peas out of the same pod!   To coin a great English expression,  Mrs. Thompson said she was just getting a little too “wobbly on her pins” to make the trip—but she was most definitely with us in spirit!!!

I took lots of photos to share with Mrs. Millicent Rose Thompson!

Steve and Diane Kirby, San Diego MG Club

This is an area where SDBCCC hooligans will share tales of roadside ingenuity, pants-pocket resourcefulness, and crufty swagger the likes of which you have surely never seen.