Boot lid and Bonnet

Or if you prefer the North American pronunciation, Trunk and Hood.  We stripped these parts at the Bragg Creek shop using a stripping wheel on an angle grinder. The wheel took the paint of really well but we were careful not to stay in one place too long as it can heat and warp the metal.

Close up view of the heat treated and repaired fold in the trunk lid.  As part of the rebuild I have purchased the gas strut kits for both the hood and trunk.  These along with the removal of the luggage rack should prevent this sort of thing from happening.

Here is the sanding wheel we used, purchased from the local auto body store.  You can tell its peeling that Brooklands Green paint off quite well.

The hood was stripped, the insulation will be replaced and all the bits will be cleaned, sandblasted and repainted. Overall the hood and trunk were in good shape and had very little rust on them.  As part of the prepping process the metal will be washed in acid and any remaining rust will be treated before primer sealer.

MGB Strip

So my folks are selling the acreage and moving to town.  Along with that goes my Dad's workshop and downdraft paint booth.  If I want to get this MG painted I need to get it stripped and ready in the next 8 months.  That should be plenty of time right?  8 months to strip, weld, prep and paint.  I guess I better get started on this.  Due to the short timeline, and the fact the engine is in good shape, I decided to leave the drivetrain in.  Everything else was going to be removed.

I started by removing the hood and trunk, they were sent out for prep and paint.

The rubber bumpers came off as well.  I thought I might be able to sell these to someone but the global market for these things is zero. I am not sure how much they weight but I am guessing they are about 150 lbs a piece. I asked the local MG guy if he wanted them and he just laughed at me.

I parted the luggage rack from the trunk lid and managed to sell this on kijiji right away. I tried to throw in the bumpers but the purchaser didnt want to have to pay the shipping.

Moving out

March of 2012, I moved the MGB out of the house garage and into the Lakeview Townhouse.  The Townhouse has a double tandem garage, so lots of room to take the MGB apart.  My dad and I had worked on the boot lid a bit getting the bend out of it and removing the luggage rack.  You can see from the picture the spots where we had to do a little welding.

Once the car was safely stowed in the new Townhouse garage we could get to work taking it apart.

Lots more room! I think I could fit a few MGBs in here.  My dad tells me you need twice as much room as the car if you are going to be doing a restoration.  If I run out of room here (doubtful) he has lots of room at his shop in Bragg Creek to store a few parts.

While I was moving the car I even took it out on the freeway and checked the motor.  It definitely still runs very well, it gets up to speed quickly and top speed is about 160 kph.  It certainly could use a fifth gear, which would increase that top speed.