Wheels make the Ride

I returned from my vacation in Australia and promptly got insurance back on the B so I could drive it.  It always amazes me the sense of freedom and exhilaration you get from driving an MGB down a windy mountain road.  One thing I noticed when I got back though was that the tires sure liked to squeal on some of those turns.  I guess its time to get some new tires...

If I was going to replace the tires, I needed to repaint the rims.  I took off the wheels and got the tires removed from the rims at the local gas station.  Some planning was required to paint the old rims, and some parts were needed.  An order into Moss for the Rostyle paint shield was made, and a trip to the local body shop supply store was done.  The guy at the supply store used the old rim to match the paint and make up a couple spray bombs.  One for the silver and one for the black.  After I had all my supplies in order, time to sand blast the old rims.

I took off all the weights and sandblasted the old rims with a portable sandblaster using play sand.  Worked fairly well except that the compressor couldn't put out quite enough air to keep the sandblaster nozzle from getting plugged.  Took a full day but managed to get all of the old paint off.  Primed the rims and they were ready for paint.

I painted the rims using the Moss supplied Rostyle mask with ok results.  The mask didnt do a perfect job, but managed to keep the paint in roughly the right spots.  I had to go back with a fine brush to touch up the spots that were missed.  Overall, it was worth the purchase, just dont expect it to do all of the work for you.

Once the rims were painted it was time for new tires.  I went with a lower profile tire than what is recommended for the car (175/70R14) and bought some Toyo 185/60R14s.  I knew the speedometer would be out but I wanted to improve my 0-60 time.  I purchased the new tires from OK Tire in Calgary and had them install and balance the tires on my freshly painted rims.

Once the new rims and tires were installed on the car it not only improved handling but made the car look so much better!  Slow but sure, that car is turning its life around!

Update:  The MG Experience has a really good review of MG tire sizes, http://www.mgexp.com/article/tire-sizes.html

MGB parked - Down Under

I had the MGB top replaced with the Original Style vinyl top from Moss.  The top looked fantastic and had fewer holes in it than the last one.  When I had the car in to get the new top put on I had the mechanic do an inspection of the car and tell me what was wrong with it.  For the most part the car was in pretty good shape and there was very little rust on it.  I had rebuilt the motor, replaced the interior, top and rebuilt the front suspension.  What it really needed was some new paint.  

I got an estimate to complete the paint job, and it was going to cost me about $3500 to get it done right.  I decided that money would be better spent going on a trip, so I parked the MG back in my Grandmas garage and headed out for Australia.  The MG was going to have to wait.

New Top for the MGB

By 1996 I had owned the MG for 3 years.  I had rebuilt the motor with the help of my friend, replaced the rotting interior, and installed new carpets.  I decided it was time to get a new top.  I priced the tops out and decided to go with the Original style economy model from Moss.  Fergus from British Auto Specialists in Calgary was all set to do the installation.

The car had been stored in my Grandmas garage for the winter, so I needed to get insurance on it for the drive up to Fergus'.  I phoned the insurance company and got the insurance put on for one day.  I figured I didnt need a license plate as it was a short trip, so I borrowed the plate off my truck.

As I was travelling along 16th Avenue it occurred to me that it was rush hour.  I hadn't planned for that so needed to make a quick detour up to 22nd ave.  As I was trying to figure out where I could turn, I ran smack into the back of a Mini Van.  I was ok, and so was the lady driving the van, but the MG front bumper had been bent, not to mention the back of the minivan.  The crash was hard enough to trigger the safety fuel switch and the engine quit.  Had I known how easy it was to reset the switch, I wouldnt have called for AMA to tow the car to the shop!  

The police made it to the accident scene and charged me with a few things, but at least I had the insurance!  Driving without insurance in Alberta is a $2500 fine, it could have been a whole lot more expensive.  I phoned the insurance company and was put through to the same person who had just talked to me about 30 minutes earlier.  She was astonished, and told me she had never heard of this happening.  Lucky me!

I rode in the tow truck up to the Mechanic, MG in tow and helped them push the car into the yard.   They all had a good chuckle at my expense and then set to ripping off the old roof.

2 days later I got a call from Fergus to come and pick up the car, the roof was done.  He had also decided to have a look at the brakes and done a complete service on them.  Probably a pretty good idea.

I left work early and took the bus up to the MG shop and saw my car sitting out front.  The new top looked fantastic!  The car was really starting to come together, what really didnt fit into the picture now was those old worn out wheels.