20th June 2008	Replaced rear axle with a reconditioned unit. Marked out brackets for radiator and cooling fan.
28th May 2008	Fitted oil cooler bypass hose.
27th May 2008	Cut holes in dash for switches gauges etc.
24th May 2008	Cut dash to fit body and drileed mounting holes.
11th May 2008	Rebuilt second carb, fitted oil bypass adapter, fitted oil switch adapter, fitted manifold studs..
10th May 2008	Cleaned second carb.
7th May 2008	Made and fitted new pedal bushes, reduced carb spacers, cut heatshield, cut basic dasboard shape. Also removed stubborn engine and carb fittings.
5th May 2008	Completed overhauling first carb, started second. modified left index finger - 4 stitches.
3rd May 2008	Started overhauling carbs.
27th April 2008	Fitted distributor and alternator mounts. Painted earth strap fixings.
26th April 2008	Fitted clutch slave cylinder, fitted starter, fitted oil filter adapter, repaired distributor, located other parts.
23rd April 2008	Fitted engine and gearbox, fitted cowl, measured for radiator brackets and positioned body tub.
22nd April 2008	Sorted parts, tested starter, fitted overdrive flange, prepared for engine fitting.
13th April 2008	Finished cleaning gearbox and re-assembled gearbox/overdrive.
12th April 2008	Finished cleaning overdrive unit. Changed overdrive filter and overdrive rear seal. Started cleaning gearbox.
10th April 2008	Cleaned overdive unit.
6th April 2008	Refurbished distributer.
2nd April 2008	Continued restoring gearbox. Separated overdrive from gearbox, for inspection and easier access for cleaning.
30th March 2008	Started restoring gearbox. Removed selector casing. Partly cleaned housings.
24th March 2008	Hooray!!, at last I managed to get some time to do something on the car. Easter weekend and we have sleet, rain and its freezing. Never mind, I was able to clean and fix up the handbrake and also repair the petrol pump.
14th October 2007	Fitted Flywheel and clutch.
13th October 2007	Fitted water pump and gasket, thermostat, thermostat housing and gasket.Painted rest of engine block.
16th September 2007	Fitted engine side plates and gaskets, adjusted rockers and fitted distributor drive.
9th September 2007	Fitted head gasket and head. Disassembled, cleaned, reassembled and fitted rocker shaft.
2nd September 2007	Rather a long break in the diary here. Unfortunately time has been scarce over the last few weeks. Managed to spend just a little time on the engine this weekend. Lapped and refitted the valves to the cylinder head. Gave the sump another coat of lacquer (a new tin actually contained RED paint this time).
15th July 2007	Fitted sump and new oil pressure relief valve.
8th July 2007	Refitted main bearing caps with studs inserted correct way up, fitted new oil pump and pickup.
7th July 2007	Fitted front and rear engine plates, camshaft, timing chain and sprockets.
5th July 2007	Freed handbrake mechanism.
1st July 2007	A bit of tidying and getting organised then I made a start on rebuilding the engine. Cleaned some more of the engine components. Built up basic engine block, crank, connecting rods and pistons.
30th June 2007	Retrieved engine block from engineering shop. Block has been rebored, and crank polished as it was easily within tolerance and didn't need grinding. Also supplied with the engine are new main and big end bearings, thrust washers, new pistons and various gaskets and seals.
23rd June 2007	Not much action, but plenty of thinking this weekend. Made a small start on the braking system by cleaning, painting and fitting the rear backplates.Painted tank straps. Made a shopping list of parts for the engine and braking systems.
17th June 2007	A bit of a mixed day today. I had left the chassis with a large (very heavy) pile of bricks on it, in attempt to exercise the springs. I removed the bricks and discovered the chassis had settled by only 10mm. Although this is insufficient to make the rebound straps reach, it has allowed me to connect the dampers to the top and bottom mountings. I have packed the fixings to ensure the dampers are upright. I was also able to fit the panhard rod. I had to enlarge the hole in the chassis to accept the panhard fixing bolt. In addition to the dampers, I cleaned the backplates for the front and rear wheels, these will need painting and fitting, I also loosely fitted the tank straps (the chassis holes needed enlargement) and gearbox crossmembers to see how they fit and offered up the radiator fixings, again to see how it all fits together.
3rd June 2007	Stage 2 Complete! Finished front nearside suspension unit including spring and fitted steering rack and track rod ends (loosely ). Fitted road wheels all round. The Rolling chassis is now complete with one or two exceptions: The front dampers need spacers to align them correctly. The rear dampers need spacers to align them correctly. The rear springs need to stretch a little, at the moment the chassis sits too high on the springs for the dampers to reach between their mounting points. The rear rebound straps don't reach for the above reason. All bolts to be torqued up. Back axle to be filled with gear oil. Front stub axle bearings to be greased.
2nd June 2007	Finished front offside suspension unit including spring and strted fitting front nearside suspension unit.
28th May 2007	Fitted right hand rear spring and rear axle. Experienced problems with spax damper kits. Springs seem to cause ride height to be too high to fit dampers, so left these for the moment while I seek advice. Moved to front and fitted crossmember, and started assembling right hand suspension unit.
27th May 2007	Not much time today, started chassis build up with rear axle and suspension. Fitted top damper mounts both sides, and left hand rear spring.
26th May 2007	Finished painting chassis. Now ready to start the suspension build up.
24th May 2007	Rubbed down chassis, started painting.
23rd May 2007	Started preparing chassis for painting. The chassis has already been painted and treated internaly with wax oil by the original owner. I'll be rubbing down and giving it a couple more coats.
22nd May 2007	Received radiator. Completed painting of front suspension parts. All parts front and rear now painted.
21st May 2007	Took Engine block, head and crank for re-conditioning. Continued painting front suspension parts. Ordered Radiator.
20th May 2007	Cleaned, degreased and started painting front suspension components. Finished painting rear suspension components.
19th May 2007	Cleaned engine block, crankshaft and cylinder head. Engine is now ready for engineering shop.
17th May 2007	Cleaned remaining valve gear and pistons.
13th May 2007	Completed painting rear axle and suspension components. Removed remaining 7 valves from cylinder head. Started cleaning and bagging engine components ready for engineering shop.
12th May 2007	Degreased back axle and rear suspension components and painted with hammerite.
8th May 2007	Removed last (most stubborn) stud from engine, I can now start to clean it ready for the engineering shop.
7th May 2007	Well it's been about 5 or 6 weeks since I had anything to report. Due to a large DIY project I've had no time to work on the kit. But the drive is done now so at least I'll have somewhere nice to put the car when its done. Most of the weekend was spent getting organised, cleaned up and tidy in the garage. A small amount of time this afternoon was spent fitting the new pinion seal to the differential and putting the housing back together. A small problem with the torque wrench, and I over tightened the nut, resulting in the differential not turning. I fixed the wrench, released and retightened the nut to the correct torque, so it should be ok now.
29th March 2007	Removed distributor drive gear and camshaft. One very stubborn oil pump stud remains.
28th March 2007	Removed main bearing studs and two oil pump studs.
25th March 2007	Disassembled engine except distributor drive gear and camshaft. Markings indicate that it may have been rebored in the past, also noticed there was water in the oil system. The oil pump pickup filter was particularly emulsified.
24th March 2007	Removed pinion nut, flange and seal. Removed and disassembled cylinder head except valves. Removed water pump, fan pulley, and thermostat. Removed inspection panels from engine block.
18th March 2007	Unable to remove pinion nut as I have no means of holding the pinion against the spanner, so can't change the pinion seal at the moment. Will need to build a pinion wrench that will bolt onto the pinion flange. Initial cleaning of diff rear cover and grinding ready for panhard rod adapter. Started cleaning the back plates.
17th March 2007	Started work on back axle. Removed drums and brakes both sides. Removed hubs and bearing retainer then replaced hub seals.
11th March 2007	Continued work on front suspension unit.
10th March 2007	Continued work on front suspension unit.
4th March 2007	Started cleaning second front suspension unit.
3rd March 2007	Cleaned and inspected one front suspension unit and removed valve from old damper.
25th February 2007	Finished breaking down the front suspension units. Now ready for cleaning and painting.
24th February 2007	Continued breaking down the front suspension units. Some nuts and bolts needed cutting off as they were seized.
23rd February 2007	Started breaking down the front suspension units. I'd borrowed coil spring compressors, but these proved not to fit as the spring is difficult to access because of the wishbones. I've managed to remove the spring from one side though so I'm making some progress.
20th February 2007	Made a little room in the garage by moving the body tub to a friends garage. It looked quite comical perched on the roof rack of my Jeep.
16th February 2007	Had tyres removed from secondhand wire wheels, I can now start the long and slow process of tidying them up. Also received the recon steering rack.
15th February 2007	Ordered the following components: New spax shock absorbers for front and rear plus front suspension nut covers required for SVA compliance from from NG cars. New front suspension rubber bush and bolt set from Watford classics. Recon steering rack and track rod ends from MGB hive.
11th February 2007	Sorted components and removed body tub from chassis.
10th February 2007	Spent a couple of hours examining the latest purchase. Unused items are Chassis, body panels, fascia, all fittings, fuel tank. New components include downrated front and rear springs, discs and pads for front brakes. Donor parts include engine, gearbox and overdrive, back axle, front crossmember and suspension parts, instruments, handbrake, lights etc. Some of the donor parts are parts I haven't yet managed to acquire so some useful stuff there.
9th February 2007	Collected chassis and body shell from seller in Bolton. Weather was rubbish whole return trip took 13 hours in a hired Luton van. However the van proved to be perfect as all the parts fitted comfortably in the back.
4th February 2007	Back from my holidays and chomping at the bit. Today I made a bit of space in the garage ready to receive the chassis and bodyshell, also separated the engine and gearbox ready to start the overhaul process.
23rd January 2007	Stage 1 Complete! The body shell was removed today, leaving me with a garage and garden full of donor parts. A short break now and then on with the restoration of the donor parts.
21st January 2007	With more help from my friend, the last parts of the donor car were removed today, the rear springs and axle. The whole body was dropped onto a wooden frame to act as runners so I will be able to haul it out of the garage for disposal.
20th January 2007	Back to work on the car today. With some assistance from a friend Richard and the hire of an engine hoist, the engine and front crossmember were removed.
14th January 2007	Collected used wire wheels, hubs and spinners from Ebay seller.
10th January 2007	Received SVA compliance manual. This manual is the one used by the SVA testing station to ascertain whether the completed car complies with the various regulations. [More Info]
9th January 2007	Ordered SVA compliance manual.
6th January 2007	Removed prop shaft, had to use grinder on rear bolts. Removed speedo cable and disconnected gearbox switch wires. Located and bought an abandoned NG TF project comprising the following: Chassis - previously bought new. Body Kit - previously bought new. Fuel Tank - previously bought new. Hood - previously bought second hand (unknown condition). Windscreen - previously bought second hand (most likely non SVA compliant). Dash - previously bought new. Donor parts - will be able to recycle some of those not yet located, keep some for spares and maybe sell some.
4th January 2007	Received registration document for Donor in my name. Confirms Historic Vehicle status.
1st January 2007	Removed exhaust system. One of the stud bolts is stripped, so I had to cut the exhaust and remove the downpipe sections with the manifold. I noticed oil seeping from one of the exhaust manifold studs, so I hope this doesn't mean the head is cracked. Will find out more when the engine is out and I inspect the head. Also today I tried to remove the prop shaft but so far have only managed to remove one of the securing bolts from the rear. One down seven to go..
30th December 2006	The stubborn offside track rod ball joint was easily removed by applying heat to it. 60 seconds with a blow torch and it fell apart. Removed steering rack and various pipes from engine bay,slackened front crossmember bolts ready for removal of front suspension unit. Today I learned a valuable lesson about rushing ahead without checking things first. I climbed under the car and discovered that the donor car has an LH type overdrive fitted. I was told by the seller that it had no overdrive and subsequently bought a gearbox and overdrive unit. Seems I should have checked as I now have a spare..
28th December 2006	Removed radiator. Removed front road wheels, and attempted to disconnect track control arms, one separated the other is stuck. Removed clutch slave cylinder, choke cable and control, and heater controls. Disconnected starter motor. Removed only horn.
26th December 2006	Removed heater unit, more switches and ignition switch. Removed handbrake lever and accelerator pedal.
24th December 2006	Removed steering column and lamp holders from inside car, released heater unit, but experiencing problems disconnecting control cable.
23rd December 2006	Removed Pedal box and clutch/brake pedals. released steering column but won't come out yet. Removed demister vents.
22nd December 2006	Removed Wiper moter, some switches, gearstick, heater vent hoses and glovebox lock.
18th December 2006	Collected Overdrive and gearbox. Received Carbs, ignition barrel and heater control valve.
14th December 2006	Located and purchased gearbox with overdrive. The donor car was a non overdrive model.
12th December 2006	Located and purchased full wire wheel conversion including front and rear hubs, wheels and spinners. Also have a spare axle now!
10th December 2006	Made initial inspection and found the main body shell is completely rotten, lucky I don't need it! Started removing one or two components namely alternator, fuel pump and sender unit. Started removing pedal box but ran into problems with some bolts. Have located the engine number which indicates it is an 1800 GG model engine. This means it is a 5 bearing crankshaft, has a pre-engaged starter motor and uses HS4 carbs. I have also located the chassis number.
9th December 2006	Donor car collected. It was a long drive to Stoke, about 330 miles round trip. All went without any hitches, the car was loaded onto the trailer and is now sitting in my garage. Thanks Les Henden for your assistance today. Initial signs are that the main pieces I want are ok, but it will be shortly after christmas that I will be able to work on it in earnest. I'll be able to start stripping any small items from it hopefully before then.
8th December 2006	Initial Web site published.
6th December 2006	Located and purchased two front hub adapters for wire wheels.
4th December 2006	Started construction of Web site. The site will provide an overview of the kit car, and the expected build process. Visitors will be able to see progress updates on a regular basis. Additionally detail of each stage will be provided with photographs and text. Future builders may find this helpful, others it is hoped will simply find it interesting.
3rd December 2006	Located and purchased Carburetters with inlet manifold and heat shield, ignition barrel and key, and heater valve from eBay seller.
2nd-3rd December 2006	Made space in the garage for the arrival of the donor car.
1st December 2006	As I will be needing to transport bulky items such as chassis, body shells and complete cars about, I had a towbar fitted to the Jeep. I was tempted to try and get a transporter trailer as these can be obtained for a reasonable price second hand, but I don't have room to keep it.
27th November 2006	Located and purchased suitable donor car for project. The donor is not ideal, but at �41 it gives me many of the parts I need. Even if they prove to be unservicable I have parts that can be exchanged and also a basic car for registration purposes. The car is a 1969 MGB, which has engine, gearbox (no overdrive fitted), prop shaft and rear axle. Suspension and cross member are complete. Missing parts are heater control valve, steering wheel, carburetters, part of distributer and lights. It also has standard steel wheels.