Hey Jim----its not a frame up although it looks like it, so just bite the bullet and drive it.  Well, not in the rain.  You did a fine job!

Quote from: Bill Houghton on March 28, 2020, 03:09:35 PM

Quote from: Jim C. on March 28, 2020, 11:08:53 AM
Thanks Lou!  It was a fun winter project. Now I'm just waiting for some good weather. 

Jim C.

Gee, why?  You'd got a roof.  I bet you've got side curtains.  Between the two, in rainy weather, you shouldn't get more than a gallon or two of water inside; and in cold weather, you should be able to keep the cabin temperature a good degree or two over ambient.



But, yeah; what was fun when we were young can sometimes be less fun nowadays.

Hey Bill,

The MG was close to complete when I got it, to include the side screens, and most of the factory supplied tools.  I'm missing a couple and can say that they're tough to come by and expensive!  As for driving the car in the rain, well, at this point it would only happen by accident.

Jim C.

That little guy look real nice, you've done a fine job.

Quote from: coolford on March 28, 2020, 04:07:30 PM
Hey Jim----its not a frame up although it looks like it, so just bite the bullet and drive it.  Well, not in the rain.  You did a fine job!

Hi coolford,

Thanks for the kudos. A body off frame restoration was never really in the plan.  My goal was to preserve as much of the originality and authenticity as possible and stop the massive oil leaks.  Some parts had to be restored in an effort to save them.  By that I mean, stripped down to bare metal and refinished.  Most were simply cleaned and put back on the car.  The paint, chrome, interior (dashboard, carpet, seats, vinyl, etc.) are 100% factory original.  Patina and imperfections that did not hinder the car's operation were left as is.

Jim C.

Quote from: gibsontool on March 28, 2020, 06:35:33 PM
That little guy look real nice, you've done a fine job.

Thanks Gibson!

Jim C.

Jim, Any chance you would attend the Eurocar show in Cazenovia on Father's Day?

I had a friend in Miami Florida years ago who had a few British cars.  He got hold of an Austin Healey and would drive it with only the tonneau cover - rain or shine.  If you keep moving the rain blows over the car and you will barely get wet at all.  Problem was, in Miami there's a stoplight very 10 city blocks.  You can't get from point A to point b without sitting at a few stoplights, at which point he would get soaked.  He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia!  He sold the Healey and bought a hardtop Camaro!

Quote from: amecks on March 29, 2020, 07:29:03 AM
Jim, Any chance you would attend the Eurocar show in Cazenovia on Father's Day?

I had a friend in Miami Florida years ago who had a few British cars.  He got hold of an Austin Healey and would drive it with only the tonneau cover - rain or shine.  If you keep moving the rain blows over the car and you will barely get wet at all.  Problem was, in Miami there's a stoplight very 10 city blocks.  You can't get from point A to point b without sitting at a few stoplights, at which point he would get soaked.  He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia!  He sold the Healey and bought a hardtop Camaro!

Hey Al,

What year was your friend's Camaro.  Back in my younger days, before marriage and kids and responsibilities, etc. etc., I had a 1967 and a 1978.....at the same time!  I'm a Camaro fan for sure!   

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, but I had to google Cazenovia to see where it was.  It sounds like a nice little town!  It's unlikely that I'll be there for the car show on Father's Day.  With this virus thing going on, I'm wondering if the show might be canceled.  In terms of driving the MG, those instances will be reserved for sunny days and dry weather.  Now I will admit that a crazy thought did cross my mind to ship the car to England and drive it in a road rally there with my oldest son.  He's an adventurer and a car enthusiast to some extent.  It would probably be the trip of a lifetime.  Maybe someday.......  For now, I'm waiting for some good weather close to home!

Jim C.

Jim, I think the Camaro was a 1984.  I drove it once, it was a stick shift.  Felt like driving a truck.  My mom had a '70 Firebird with a 400 V8, 2 barrel and automatic.  That car handled nice, smooth, fast.

Quote from: amecks on March 29, 2020, 06:19:04 PM
Jim, I think the Camaro was a 1984.  I drove it once, it was a stick shift.  Felt like driving a truck.  My mom had a '70 Firebird with a 400 V8, 2 barrel and automatic.  That car handled nice, smooth, fast.

Wow!  That's a pretty cool "mom car."  I remember riding around in the backseat of my mom's 1966 Ford Fairlane.  No where near as cool as a Firebird.

Jim C.

Somehow the Whitworth tool thread turned into the MG thread.  Well, it was fun, and I really do appreciate all the kind words.  Okay, so now I'm going to bring this back to tools.  As many of you know, back in the day, a lot of car manufacturers included a tool kit with their cars.  MG was one of many.  The kits mostly consisted of tools that would be potentially handy in a situation where the car broke down on the road.  For the most part, the tools were not necessarily of the highest quality, but they got the job done. 

When I bought the MG from my uncle last summer, he included several tools with the deal.  Once I sorted through everything, I managed to identify those tools that I thought were original MG factory supplied tools.  The first photo below is a detailed list taken from the owner's manual specifically laying out the tools included with the car.  Well, if you take a look at the second picture, you'll see the factory supplied tools that my uncle still had after sixty years.  While many of the tools were missing, I still had a good core group to build on.  The jack and handle assembly were complete, and the air pump was present.  Notice the medium sized DOE wrench is cut in half.  According to my uncle there are some tight spots under the hood and he couldn't service the car with a full sized wrench.  Consequently, he cut the wrench years ago in order to turn a couple bolt heads behind the carburetor.  He went on to say that he didn't want to cut a good wrench, so he cut the cheaply made stamped steel factory wrench.  I'm sure he wasn't thinking how expensive and hard to find those original wrenches would be decades later. 

Anyway, from the moment I bought the car and figured out what I had and didn't have, I started my quest to complete the set with ORIGINAL factory supplied tools.  When the tools left the factory, the smaller items were packed in a canvas roll that seemed to be coated in a black tar-like substance.  I've seen some original rolls and they were in rough shape.  I opted for a nice reproduction.  So much for my all original tool kit.  I can say that everything else I tracked down is the real deal.  After searching eBay regularly and going to swap meets, I was able to acquire several more tools that I was missing.  I found a few that were in England.  Shipping costs were steep.  I'm still missing a couple "tube spanners" which are represented by the two wooden dowels.  I was also able to find a replacement wrench for the one my uncle cut in half.  The fourth photo depicts the additional tools I've found so far.  The fifth picture illustrates all the factory tools (except the two tube spanners) that were supplied with the MG in the order they were listed in the owner's manual (left to right). Only two more tools to find.  The quest continues! 

Jim C.

Have the maker(s) of the Craftsman Whitworth tools been identified?

Quote from: humber2 on May 20, 2020, 03:48:46 AM
Have the maker(s) of the Craftsman Whitworth tools been identified?

Hey humber2,

I'm pretty sure the manufacturer was Moore Drop Forge.

Jim C.