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MG MGA - Roadster windscreen removal
| I am about to send off my roadster for some much needed paintwork repair and this will involve me removing some of the trim in preparation for this.
The paintwork has survived 16 years of hard driving but although it still looks ok at a distance, up close it shows signs of wear and tear. Three corners of the car have been bumped in car parks over the years, by hit and run drivers when I wasn't around :^( The final corner (Front left valance) was my own fault, a result of my dodging away from an oncoming car who was going a little too fast down the Hardnott and Wrynose pass last September. Also, last summer, I decided to touch in some paint chips on the sills (rockers), but when I got down close and had a good look at them, I discovered that there were many more paint chips that there was paint and it would have needed a 4" brush to cover them! So it is paint-shop time. I am going to remove, the front valance, (it is the Sebring GRP style and fairly easy to remove), the windscreen, plus most of the door and cockpit trim. I am pretty much on my own where I live and I wondered if anyone has removed the windscreen on their own? I can easily rig up lifting tackle to take the weight. I would welcome any suggestions. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Hi Colyn. Being a reasonably big guy, you should have no problem doing it yourself. Remove the 4 litle acorn screws on the support arms, remove the interior kick panels either side forward of the doors, undo the two bolts either side that hold the screen supports..then stand up inside the car (you may have to remove seats back or remove completely), straddle the tunnel, and lift upwards and back, and the whole screen assembly should slide up and out. Replacing of course is the usual "reverse order". |
| Gary Lock |
| Colyn
You can take the screen assembly off first without the side stantions by taking out the four screws through the side of the stantions. The screen assembly is not too heavy on its own. You will need to be careful taking the last screws out in case the screen assembly falls backwards. I seem to recall that my screen was a good fit between the stantions. The side stantions can then be removed individually as Gary suggests. Be careful with the side screws as it is easy to strip the threads if you have a brass tapping plates inside. The downside of taking the screen assembly out on its own is in case you scratch the chrome on the stantions and screen frame although I don't recall that being an issue. John |
| John Francis |
| Hi Colyn, I removed ours in 2004 along with the help of a friend for the actual lifting and move and was glad to have the help as isn’t all that heavy but a bit awkward to maneuver. Same thing replacing it after refinishing it (as well as the body and frame!) And thinking back, i might have been a bit stronger in those days 😉 -Ken |
| KR Doris |
| If you remove the footwell door trim, and then undo the four 9/16 head bolts securing the outer supports, it is easy to lift the whole screen assembly upwards and out of the body. I usually also removed the seat bases (helped by having a connector for the electric heated seats) and stood in the cockpit with a foot each side of the tunnel. The whole assembly is not very heavy and this approach saves fiddling with the smaller and easily stripped threads of the frame assembly. |
| Dominic Clancy |
| Dominic....read my comments...mirrored exactly. Hope you are enjoying Asian life? |
| Gary Lock |
| One of our guys down here in Victoria drives his car to hillclimb competitions, removes his windscreen, competes, reinstalls and then drives home. Does it all by himself. Mike |
| Mike Ellsmore |
| Yep, as others have said, very easy for one person. I occasionally interchange my sports screen with the original. Like Dominic I normally take mine out as one unit. Putting it back in I find it easier to put the stanchions in first (loosely). Also lessens the possibility of hitting the new paint work with the unwieldy complete unit. Steve |
| Steve Gyles |
| Thanks everyone,
I kind of expected there to be an "hitch" in the removal process that would need me to ask for someone to help me, but I am now confident enough to do the job on my own. (I removed and fitted my engine and gearbox on my own a couple of years ago) I intend to use some good masking tape around the holes for the outer support brackets to prevent damage to the paint. Also, I have decided to renew the rubber seal between the lower screen frame and the scuttle, mainly because the present one has some "wavy" sections that do not meet up with the scuttle and allow rain to run through. I will let you know how I get on. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, Trick with installing new rubber is not to try and slide a new rubber along the channel (very difficult even when lubricated) but rather just work along the screen length clipping the rubber into the channel using a thin blade scraper as a guide plus lubricant and strong fingers or a blunt instrument. Cheers Mike |
| Mike Ellsmore |
| Hi Colyn You may not solve your wavy strip problem by changing it as mine has been wavy from new. Cheers Paul |
| Paul Dean |
| Thanks Mike,
thanks for the heads-up on that, it looks like fitting the new windscreen bottom sealing strip is going to be the "challenge" that I expected to have when refitting the screen! Paul, I will have a close look at the new rubber seal to make sure that it isn't "wavy" like the old one. Unfortunately, the distortion on my present seal is in-line with my steering wheel and so any rain blowing through tends to drip on my knees. Apart from not being perfectly straight, the old seal is in excellent condition and if the new seal is similarly wavy, I may well leave it alone. (Unless, of course the new seal has the distortion on the passenger side, in which case I will install it and let the passenger suffer the wet knees for a change! She won't be very happy! :^) But going back to the paint job, I had originally planned to fix the paintwork back in early 2020 in preparation for my daughters wedding using wedding cars tonbridge. But Covid put a stop to that and the wedding was postponed until 2021. But when I first took the car to the paint shop and I asked about repainting the sills, the sprayer looked at how low to the ground the sills were, gave me a quizzical look and said "So, are very many of the guests going to be flat on their backs at this wedding then?". I had to chuckle but, I said "knowing my daughters friends, a lot more than you would think!" Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| I suppose it depends on age and physical condition, but the assembly is not heavy. The biggest risk in dinging the paintwork as it comes out and goes in. Tape around the holes definitely helps. There's a write-up I did many years ago, but missing most of its photos, here: https://mossmotoring.com/installing-an-mga-windscreen/ |
| Steve Simmons |
| Thanks Steve,
I have printed out your article, it is really good, thanks and will really help. The printout did have quite a few pics on it and it is going to be really helpful when I re-fit the screen. I made a start today, grill off and also the four special ventilation pipes that I installed to direct air to the oil cooler. My car has a GRP Sebring style Front Valence and I have cut a vent into it to allow cooling air to flow to the oil cooler, which on my car is mounted underneath the radiator duct. The four plastic duct pipes direct air to the oil cooler. See pic attached. They are a pain to remove though and I am working on a way to make them "quick-release". The valence comes off tomorrow and then the lift-a-dot fasteners for the tonneau, the door cappings, the windscreen, the door mirrors, the light plinths and lamp units etc. Then it is off to the paint shop and probable bankruptcy. I plan to drive the car to the paint shop in its stripped down state and I must be honest, I am really looking forward to seeing how well the car goes without a windscreen fitted. Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, is James doing the repaint? |
| Gary Lock |
| Yes Gary, James is doing the re-paint. He was involved with the original paint job 16 years ago and I know he will do a good job for me. They have moved from the old industrial unit to a new, better insulated unit only a few miles away from me. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| BTW Colyn, what is the colour of your car?..Midnight Blue?...a Jaguar colour? I'm about to get my next MGA painted in that colour. Paint code is JQW/899. |
| Gary Lock |
| Hi Gary, according to Bob West, the colour is Velocette Thruxton Blue, but I think this is a name thought up by Bob Wests trimmer Les. The actual colour is apparently a VW/Audi colour, but I don't have the code for it. I do have the paint spec which I will send to you this week. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Hi Steve, I was wondering whether you have tried "clipping in" method of installing the body seal, mentioned earlier, rather than the "sliding" method described in your article https://mossmotoring.com/installing-an-mga-windscreen/ This method puts a lot less stress on the rubber and makes installation easier. Regards Mike |
| Mike Ellsmore |
| Hi Gary, I have just checked the paint colour of my car, it is definitely a VW / Audi colour, Azurite Blue. I have attached a pic of the paint can label for you. (I just noticed that the picture has been inverted by the software on this site, must be in readiness for it being sent to the Southern Hemisphere :^) Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Hi Mike, I've used that technique on a couple stubborn MGB seals but never found it necessary on an MGA. Granted I haven't done a great many of them but with a bit of lubrication it slides right in for me and doesn't risk puncturing the rubber like the method of pushing it in with a screwdriver or other flat instrument. Either method can work fine. It may also depend on where you get your rubber. If it's too fat then it will never slide in, and if it's too firm then you'll never be able to squish it in. |
| Steve Simmons |
| Well I managed to remove the screen yesterday, for some reason, I made it a bit more difficult for myself by being an idiot and somehow forgetting about your advice to take out the upper screws on the windscreen frame brackets.
I instead removed the lower setscrews, which proved to be really difficult, it took me ages to get them out and I found that a couple of them were bent and had almost no threads left on them. I hope Moss can get me some new ones. The four main 9/16th set screws came out easily and I was surprised at how easy it was to then lift out the entire screen assembly on my own. I did take some pictures on my mobile phone but, for some reason, whenever I upload them onto this forum, they appear inverted. The strange thing is that even after I edit picture upside down and resave it using the Paint program, the picture still appears inverted when I have uploaded it? I recall that we have discussed this problem before, does anyone have any idea how I can solve this one? Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| I've seen this happen with iphones. Try rotating and saving the image, then rotate it back and save it again. Then attach here and it should display correctly. Remember to keep those screws organized!  |
| Steve Simmons |
| Thanks for that Steve,
I tried your suggestion but it didn't work, but then I found a photo editing app on my PC called PhotoDirector5 and gave it a try. I used it to edit the original to invert it and saved it as an upside down pic. However, when I uploaded it onto the MG BBS, it was still inverted. So I edited that picture again to rotate it to the correct orientation, saved a 2nd copy, and this time, when I uploaded it, it was the correct way up. Phew, a lot of work ! I have begun to remove the lift-a-dot tonneau fasteners, there was a mix of metric and UNF threads and some different size nuts as well, but most of them came off ok. But the two at the centre of the dashboard are a nightmare, I managed to remove the left hand one, but the right hand one is completely hidden by the main light switch! I think I may have to remove the light switch to even see it. I need to replace most of the lift a dots, Moss are out of stock of them, can anyone suggest another source? Also, the main windscreen-body seal seems to be another back-order part, I could re-use the present one but it isn't perfect and I would rather fit a new one. It is looking like the demist vents will have to come off too and the cockpit trim, which looks like being another nightmare to get to the nuts! Then there are small rear cockpit trim sections next to the doors, I guess I will have to partially remove the hood frame to get those off! I wondered why the paint shop asked me if I could remove these bits! It didn't seem to difficult a task when they first mentioned it. Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| That's basically what I was suggesting - to save it upside down and then again right side up! Check your local upholstery shop. They may have the studs. Try to find an older shop that does classics. If we weren't on opposite sides of the planet, I have the studs and rubber here! |
| Steve Simmons |
| Good tip regarding the screws Steve,
I used a similar cardboard template when I removed the engine a couple of years ago. I made a mock-up of the gearbox bell-housing in cardboard and pushed all the bell housing bolts through it, I also marked it to indicate which way the bolts had to go in because some of them have to be inserted into the bellhousing from the rear and have to installed before the engine is mated to it. Back to the windscreen, I have just discovered that each windscreen post has a spacer that slides down on one side of the post. Well, in actual fact, my car only had one of these and I have ordered a new one, I now just have to figure out which side of the post the spacer goes! Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, for your "LTD" fittings, try Clarke Marine in Nth.Ireland. I've bought a lot from them...they have a great list, including LTD studs that are have longer threads. BTW, use neoprene washers under the LTD posts (i.e. between post and paintwork). Re the windscreen posts, I've never used them in 15 restorations. I think they were originally an option if the fit was a little loose...all mine have been tight, so never woried! |
| Gary Lock |
| Thanks Gary,
I checked out Clarke Marine and each LTD was around £2.00. I was also recommended to look at Woolies in Peterborough and they are selling them at £5.00 for a pack of 10, including a spring-washer and a locknut. Moss were charging around £1.00 for the LTD alone. They are all chromed brass which is fine, Moss can supply stainless ones, which I was initially interested in, but are Back-Order like their brass ones. I just need to count how many I need and I will order them. (plus some silicone washers if I can find some) Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| For screen frame fittings the only ones I ever used were those from Todd Clarke. All others had incorrect length, threads, holes and threads in the wrong place or incorrect angles on the corner brackets |
| Dominic Clancy |
| Thanks Dominic, I will give Todd Clarke a call, but I wonder if they can get any parts to me by April, when I hope to get the car back on the road?
Well I am still working on the dashboard trim, all but one of the LTD fasteners are now removed, the last one is installed above the light switch and is impossible to get to with a socket, I could remove the light switch and then hopefully reach it with a socket on a long extension. But, next I have to remove the dash pad and that looks to an altogether higher level of difficulty! So I went to have a word with James, my paint man and I asked him, "How the ~~ll do I get any type of spanner onto the back of the dashpad nuts?!!!" He chuckled and said it is actually fairly straightforward, you just have to remove the the three Philips screws that hold up the dashboard and the dash drops down enough to allow access to the back of the dashpad! Phew! that is a relief, I was foreseeing days of struggling! My car has the power steering motor too and so I will have to drop that unit down too. Then I have to remove the entire hood assembly to gain access to the rear quarter cockpit trims. Finally, all the door trim and door mirrors, I must remember to take some pictures of how the piece of wood trim fastens inside the door because I recall struggling for ages to figure out where they fit. MGAs are fun aren't they! (I'm told!) :^) Cheers |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well I have finally managed to drop the dashboard downwards so that I can gain access to the back of the last two remaining lift-the- dot fasteners that are situated above the steering wheel.
I also had to remove the steering column bracket setscrews and this allows the dashboard to drop a few inches. There are three 2BA setscrews that hold the dash up to the scuttle, the Lt side one is easy to get to but, on my car, the centre and Rt screws are almost impossible to see, never mind get a long Philips screw driver onto! I will probably have to remove the speedometer to be able to replace these screws, so even more fun to come! When the dash is dropped down a couple of inches, it finally allows a socket spanner to be fitted to the dash-pad fixing nuts on the dash-pad studs which are on inside of the dash. These would otherwise be virtually impossible to gain access to. I wasn't too surprised to find that only three of those dash-pad fixing studs had nuts on them and I plan to keep it that way when I re-fit it. I have also just realised that the wiper spindles now need to be removed to allow the scuttle to be wetted down ready for painting. I had so much trouble getting the wipers to work properly that I really don't want to touch the wipers and the wheel boxes, but they have to be removed and I just have to get on with it. Will send more pics as I remove more bits. (Thanks again Steve Simmons for the help with uploading images, I now seem to have it sorted) Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well I have done a bit more work on the bodywork prep, all the bits above the dashboard are removed (including the wiper spindles, washer jets, dash top crash-pad and finally all the lift the dot fittings) I just have the mirror to remove but I am leaving it on for when I drive the car the 6 miles to the paint-shop.
I will probably have to wear my ski gear to be able to drive it without the windscreen. I have now stripped down the drivers door and I now have the rear cockpit trim, the complete hood assembly and the passenger door to strip down. I have attached a pic showing the stripped down door etc. But the onset of old age has meant that I will have to stop for the next week or two. A couple of days ago I had a cataract operation on my left eye and it seems to be going well. It was a surprisingly relaxed experience and absolutely painless, all I can compare it to is like having someone put eye drops in for you. So I was fitted with a temporary left sports-windscreen and all seems to be going well, the vision is improving day by day. I have attached a pic of the new streamlined me :^) (The selfie has reversed the pic and so it looks like it is my Rt eye) For the time being, I am limited to organising all the new bits of trim and new screws and washers for the trim, until I can finish the job. Gary, J Clarke Marine of Belfast were an excellent recommendation thanks, they sent me the new LTD fasteners about 2 days after I contacted them. Also Gary, I am looking for some silicone washers like you suggested, to fit under them to protect the new paint, all I have found so far, are fibre washers. Will keep you all posted re the bodywork (and the eye!) Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, I had both eyes done a couple of years ago and it opened up a whole new world of color and light. I hope your results are as good as mine. The surgery was, as you said, a non-event. Jud |
| J K Chapin |
| Looking good there Colyn. Re the "washers", there used to be dealers selling these at MG Live etc....the ones with racks full of packets of screws, bolts, washers etc. I'll try and find out who they were. |
| Gary Lock |
| They are called "nylon washers. There are heaps of places where they are available in UK..e.g Orbital Washers UK. |
| Gary Lock |
| Thanks Jud and Gary,
you will be pleased to hear that the vision in the eye has improved dramatically overnight. As you would probably expect, this retired optician has a sight test chart on his living room wall, no, not a conventional one but an accurate replica which was a gift from my daughter, and on which the letters are re-arranged to say something very insulting about me! :^) Yesterday, I couldn't even read the large letter at the top, but today, I was pleased to find that I can now read most of the way down the chart. So, it is looking good so far. Also, I have noticed quite a significant increase in brightness and colour in the eye. Thanks Gary again for the info, I was looking for silicone washers and was having no luck, I will give them a try. Also, I have been sending texts to James who is going to paint my car and who persuaded me to strip it down to let him get on with the bodywork and save time. As I said earlier in this thread, I have been surprised at just how much work has been involved in this process and just how much has to be dismantled just to get to the parts that need removing. Well, I began to realise that every text I sent him was along the lines of "You didn't tell me that this needed to come off before I could take that off!" I think he got the 1st such text when I had to remove the dashboard to get to the front lift-the-dot fasteners and the crash pad, the 2nd text when I realised that I had to remove the wiper wheel boxes to remove the wiper spindles, when it had taken me months to get the wiper action to work correctly. The 3rd text was when I had to remove the two heater venturis from under the dash to be able to remove the demister vents. Then the 4th final grumbling text was when I realised that the entire hood assembly had to be removed to give me access to the fixing nuts on the rear cockpit trim and and the side-screen bag, which both also have to be removed. Well, I suddenly realised just how many grumbling texts I had sent him and so I sent him this final, tongue-in-cheek one with a picture captioned, " Almost done, is this stripped down enough?" To James credit, he replied, "Well that makes life easier!!" Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well the car finally went off to James at the body-shop this morning, it is stripped down as far as I dare. I left the light units on the car so that I had brake lights and indicators ( Looking at these pictures, I have just realised that I had forgotten to remove the MGA vents and also the chrome hood retainer hooks from the bodywork on the rear tonneau panel)
I asked a friend of mine to take a picture of me about to drive away to the paint-shop, but it was so cold that my mobile phone couldn't detect his fingers on the screen and so no pictures. It was bitterly cold, about 3 degrees C and, even though I had worn my ski jacket, ski goggles, and micro-fleece baseball cap with earflaps, the wind chill was almost agonising! It wasn't helped by me being in a hurry and forgetting to put my snood (face tube) and gloves on! Luckily, it was only about 5-miles away, but it was enough time for my face to feel like it was paralysed! I could hardly speak by the time we got there. The experience reminded me of when I had a motorcycle, at over 60 mph it was a pretty full on experience and I will probably wear my old motorcycle helmet for the return journey. I was also really surprised at how much more lively the car felt with no windscreen fitted. Here are a couple of pictures of the car stripped down. Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Final pic of car ready to drive to the paint shop. The GRP front valance and the front grille can just be seen wrapped up on the passenger seat.  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn is James going to take the wings off to paint them so the piping is not painted? |
| John Francis |
| Hi John
yes, James is going to do the wing-alignment and door-gapping job that I have wanted to do on the car since I got it 16 years ago. So the piping will be replaced. He is also going to re-shape the incorrect curvature of the lower-rear edge of the rear Right wing, which has always niggled at me since I first got the car. When I first noticed it, I thought that the rear axle was displaced as it looked like the right wheel was inset into the car whilst the left wheel protruded more. So hopefully it will look better when James has finished with it. I have attached a couple of pictures which show the difference Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| I always thought one of mine is out but after pointing it out to my body shop. It was suggested that I looked at others which I did at an MGA event and he was right in that they vary dramatically. Hardly 2 the same. Paul |
| Paul Dean |
| Well, the car is in the paint shop, wings etc, are coming off. It will be there for a few days yet. Im hoping that the new paint will be more chip resistant than the present paint. I seemed to have to touch in the chips in the old paint after every outing. Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Some progress on the body today, doors and wings now properly gapped.
There were more repairs to the body work needed than I thought, dents on the front corners and splits to weld up on the rear wings. The repair on the rear wing near to the petrol filler cap was down to the fact that, for some reason, the 1600 rear light plinth was absolutely full of water and had rusted the wing underneath it quite a lot. I had never heard of this happening before. I will take more pics as it progresses. Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well, we have gotten as far as the spray booth, just some new kind of sealer/rust-inhibitor undercoat so far. Will be calling in again to see it next week. Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Looking more like the childrens cartoon car Roary just now. :-) Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Just received these pics of the car with its first undercoat applied. I think this is the coat that is rubbed down and baked on. Next is the anti corrosion sealer undercoat before the colour goes on. I just got some new wing piping from Bob West, buy I am struggling to find new pads for the rear lamp plinths,(1600 style). Anyone have any suggestions? Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn Is it part AHH5918 that you need? I realise Moss shows them as not available but it seems Brown and Gammons has them www.ukmgparts.com/product/mga-midcat-3-submga78-rear-lamps-number-plate-lamp-horns/rubber-pad-rear-lamp-1600-mga-ahh5918 |
| Graham V |
| Colyn I’m pretty sure I have 1600 rear light pads and plinths, 1500’s also. I converted back to 1500 some time ago. Skiing in Austria this week, back Saturday afternoon if you want to call me. Bruce. |
| Bruce Mayo |
| Thanks Graham and Bruce,
Graham, I did a search for the plinth pads (1600 version) and I have in fact ordered a set from Brown and Gammons which should arrive tomorrow. Bob West tells me that the repro plinth pads currently available are much lighter in colour than the original ones were (almost white!), which would look weird. So, if they do turn out to be the wrong colour, I may well take Bruce up on his offer, "Do you accept petrol coupons Bruce?" :^) It's surprising how something as simple as touching up the paint on the sills has grown to full body re-alignment, panel re-gapping and a respray. Then I realised that I can't really re-fit the surprisingly worn, 16 year old cockpit trim without having it all re-covered. I thought that it was covered in a vinyl material, but it is actually leather, so more expense to come. :^( I'm sure I am going to love the end result though. Will keep you updated Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| No problem Colyn. Just let me know what you need. You’ve got contact details. I’m ok for petrol thanks! Bruce |
| Bruce Mayo |
| Well the pads arrived today, but Bob West was correct, the colour is weird. It is more (very) off-white than a grey colour! So it looks like Bruce Mayo's spare pads could be my last hope. Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well, there has been no progress with the rear-lamp plinth pads, everyone who stocks them has the very pale grey ones, so we won't be using them.
I may experiment with some wing piping to see if that will do the job, I can always retro fit a correct type pad if and when they become available again. There has been some progress with the paint since I last posted, I have attached a few pictures which show what appears to be beautiful finish. I haven't had the chance to see the car yet but I will report back when I have had a look at it. It looks scarily good, far too good for someone like me who likes to push his MGA a little bit. I am going to have to pay a road sweeper to pre-sweep all the roads before I drive them, to avoid the stone chips. Or maybe I could persuade some of Steve Gyles former RAF colleagues to do some "Fodding" for me :^) Will post some more pics as and when I get them. Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| I couldn't figure out what the last picture was at first, then I realised they were my doors, except for being about a million times more polished than they were before. Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
Almost twins. My latest one just back from painter...in Midnight Blue. Pic appears upside down...don't know how to swing it around?..why does this happen, as the original is correct?
 |
| Gary Lock |
round she goes
 |
| William Revit |
| Yes Gary,
your Midnight Blue colour picture looks really really similar to the picture of the new paint on my car. The colour of mine is Azurite Blue and it can look either blue or black depending on the camera or the light direction. So I hope it still has a blue element, I haven't had the chance to see the car yet and so I will post some more pictures, hopefully next week. I used to have the same problems posting pictures on this forum, until someone told me to paste them onto a photo editor app, like photoshop, I use Paint 3D because it came with this laptop. You then use the editor to flip your original image horizontally by 180 degrees and save it. You then edit the saved image and flip it back to its original orientation and save it again. This final image is the same orientation as the original image and will post on the BBS the correct way up. I'm not certain but I think the issue is caused by different systems being not fully compatible with each other. The problem never seems to happen if I upload pics from my mobile, but my fingers are just too big to operate a mobile phone and I end up typing gibberish! ( I know, no change there then! :^) Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well the paint is done and they have made a beautiful job of it.
When I first saw the pics of the Azurite Blue in the paint-shop, it looked much more black than it was before, but out in the sunlight, it is definitely the same blue as it was before, but now it shines, as you can see in the pictures. Also, the door gaps are brilliant, they were never this good before. It was a much more pleasant job to drive it back home in the 18 degrees C temperature than it was when I first took the car to be painted in air temperatures of around minus 3 degrees C, which was quite painful. Although, I did have a spell of uncontrollable laughter on the way, when I put my foot down. I happened to look in the rear view mirror and realised that my face was suffering from a severe case of the Jeremy Clarkson effect! See the attached YouTube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfNAzxv7ymI I just now have the painful process of putting all the bits back on the car, hopefully without scratching anything! Here are a few pics, I will take some better ones showing the door gaps, once everything is fitted back onto the car. Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Nice paintwork Colyn. Did they remove all the major panels (doors, bonnet, boot, wings)? Just a bit of drilling for the boot rack!!!! Almost looks too nice to drill even for the MG badge. Steve |
| Steve Gyles |
| Just a couple more pics, they were taken in a bit of a hurry so, as soon as I can, I will take some more showing the door gaps etc. Cheers Colyn   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Hi Steve,
yes they did remove all the wings, doors, front valence, bonnet and the boot lid to paint them. I think they came off many times during the process in order to get the door gaps to look right. I was really surprised to see that when they were in the process off smoothing the bodywork before painting, they completely sealed the door gaps with the same finishing stopper as was used on the doors and wings. Then they sanded down all three panels together with one very long sanding block, treating them as one very large single panel. I suppose this guarantees that everything is in the same plane when it is finished. it certainly looks great. I am still in the "Nay" faction when it comes to fitting a boot rack, mostly because my car has no bumpers and so I think it would ruin the look. I will concede though that if my car had bumpers fitted, then I would probably wouldn't mind so much. I do still have a very good spare boot lid in my garage which already has the holes drilled for a boot-rack, in case I do ever decide to go over to the "dark-side"! (The pro-boot-lid faction :^). Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Looking good Colyn, very impressive job |
| William Revit |
| Thanks William,
I can't take any credit for the paintwork, its all down to James and Gary here at Common Lane Restorations here in South Yorkshire UK. James was the chief restorer at Bob Wests for 20 plus years and Gary used to paint most of the MGAs for him. So the car is in very capable hands, James understands the MGA bodywork panel alignment and preparation probably better than anyone and Garry is just a fantastic spray painter. I'm just waiting for the new boot badges, new MGA vent badges and the correct rubber bottom seal for the windscreen. I did get a new bottom seal from Moss but it is significantly thicker than the original seal, which makes it very difficult to fit. So I am hoping that Bob West can help me to get a seal with the correct thickness. I have had all the leather cockpit trim renewed and I will now see if I can clean up all the vinyl coverings on the door cards etc before I begin to refit all the bits. I will send you some pics as I go along. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn
Ah that accounts for the quality work. James was always meticulous in his work during the time I was back and forth to Bob during my own restoration. I remember looking at their latest project at that time (1997), a BRG finish with magnolia upholstery and green piping. The reg was either 5 MGA or MGA 5. It then won numerous concours awards. I commented at the time about the non standard colour. Bob asked me if I was doing mine for resale or for personal use? I said the latter. He responded: "Paint it in the colour that gives you the most pleasure. BRG is also not necessarily non standard. Many cars were exported in primer for a dealership to finish to a customer's specification, so almost any colour could be argued to be standard". I did an exact copy of that car's colour and trim - Jaguar Hen Green. Yours certainly looks impressive. Dare we ask what you had to pay? I understand if you defer. Steve |
| Steve Gyles |
| I have known James Horner for over 16 years and we get on more like friends, than anything else.
So it must make it very difficult for him when someone like me asks them to respray their car. I told him from the start that I wanted him to set-up the wings/doors to get decent door gaps etc and paint my car because I thought he was the best choice for the job, and not because I wanted "mates-rates". So I didn't ask him for a quote before he started the job, I told him that I just trusted him to do it really well and the price was not the main reason I chose him for it. To be honest, when I heard that he had had to re-shape the back edges of both rear wings to get them to look right, particularly the right rear wing which has always appeared to stand away from the wheel more than the left wing did. Then there was the dented right sill, plus other cracks and damage repairs to the bodywork that didn't know about, so I expected the bill to be up to £6000 pounds to be honest. So when he said it was going to be £5000, I was surprised and certainly delighted with the job they have done. James said that it would have added at least between £500 to £1000 if they had had to finish and paint the inside of the wings as well. I am very happy with the end result and, to be honest, James has probably increased the cars retail value by the same amount and who wouldn't be happy with that. I got the correct bottom seal for the windscreen yesterday (from Bob West), which is much thinner in profile and has a shorter skirt length and I am hoping that it will not be too difficult to fit. The windscreen will probably be the last thing I fit to the car but I will keep updating this thread as I go along. (tell me now if you are fed-up of reading about it! :^) Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, I thought the car looked great when I saw it back in 2019, but I must say the new paint job and panel alignment is incredible! Question: How do you and Chris pack for long trips with no luggage rack? Cheers, - Ken |
| KR Doris |
| Well, I have finally made a start in the process of refitting the cockpit, beginning with the parts on and around the dashboard.
The long delay is due in part to the fact that my wife fell and very badly broke her left leg about 8 weeks ago and was in hospital for 3 weeks. She has been unable to walk until this week and so I have only just now taken the opportunity to get the tools out. The first job was to remove the temporarily installed dashboard so that I could search for the central dash fixing screw that I had dropped into the speedo wiring when I first removed the dash. I just had to find it because, with my luck, it would short something out! Then I began to refit the Lift-the-Dot fasteners, the washer jets and the demister vents. Then I refitted the dash-pad, which can only be refitted with the dash off. I had noticed earlier that only three of the six fixing studs had nuts on them and so I assumed that using the the same three would do the job. Wrong! The dash-pad was annoyingly loose and so the dash came off again to secure it This began a long cycle of fitting and then removing the dash! Then I fitted some new felt seals to the exits of the heater venturis that fit to the underside of the demister vents. I found that I couldn't fit either of the venturis to the underside if the demister vents with the dash fixed in place, so it had to come off again! Next was refitting the wiper wheel-boxes and the tubes, yet again, I discovered that I couldn't refit them without dropping the dash once more. There are three dash fixing setscrews that fit up into the scuttle, the left-hand one is really easy to access but the central and the right hand ones are really difficult to reach with a screwdriver. You can reach them with a very long Philips driver but screwing them back in is a real challenge because you can't get another hand near to hold them is pretty much impossible. I must have dropped these two setscrews at least 3 times in this process and the only way to retrieve them is of course, to remove the dashboard!! The final removal was caused by one of my electric power steering columns mounting brackets falling down and becoming jammed. So I am getting quite quick at this task now because of all the practice! It would have been a bit quicker if I had documented the sequence of removing all the parts, but I was under a lot of time pressure at the time and I never even thought about it. But I paid the price for all of this wrestling around under the dash by coming down with a really severe case of sciatica, which laid me up for a week or so. And now I am working my way around the cockpit starting on the right side door, I have fitted new screws and cup-washers to the door trim panels and I have had the door all the door cappings and cockpit trim re-covered. It will be of no surprise to you all to know that the door trim will have to come off again, because I eventually realised that the door pocket should be fitted first! But at least I now know which size screws I need and how many! Good job I don't do this for a living! :^) I will post more pics as I go, could be a while judging by how things have gone so far! Cheers Colyn PS. If you have noticed the tatty looking dog-mat in the driver side, no I haven't deprived the family pet of its bed! It was an unused left-over from when we used to look after our daughter-in-laws dog, and I thought it would be more comfortable than me sitting on the seat frame!   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Good to see the progress. What impressed me most in the photo is the mirror affect of the paintwork. Best wishes to Chris. By the way we are in sopping wet cold NW Scotland in the MG Paul |
| Paul Dean |
| Here's another pic of the dash top, thanks Paul, I have been kind of neurotic about scratching the paint with a screwdriver and so everything has to be covered in thick masking tape before I do anything.
It has certainly shown up all the chrome work, I have decided to replace the chrome spindles on the wipers, I wish I had replaced the demister vents as they are a little bit pitted, but they are original fittings and the thought of having to remove the dashboard yet again has made decide to be happy with them. I decided to replace the safety gauges chrome bezel whilst it was accessible, but then I had to spend some time polishing up the other bezels to get them to look as good. I would really like to replace the radio blanking plate with an original metal one too, but they don't seem to be available. Hopefully, it should only be another week or so before we are back on the road. Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, regarding your radio blanking plate have you tried Andy Jennings he sells MGB spares the plate is the same on an MGB Regards David |
| D M SPEAK |
| Thanks David, I will give them a call. Is there a painted metal version of the MGB radio blanking plate? or are they plastic like the one I already have? Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn, The original MGB plates were black crackle finish paint .I think I might have a metal one ,it is old english white I will see if i can find it Regards David |
| D M SPEAK |
| I would really appreciate that David, I know how difficult it is to locate one particular spare part in a garage after it has been stored for many years. So I will keep my fingers crossed. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
| Well, finally I have the car back on the road. We took our first ride out together in the MGA since September last year and it was just great to be back in the car again. We were invited to meet up with some other MGA friends in East Yorkshire and had a very civilised garden party/afternoon tea. The car is looking and driving really well too. Pic taken by Doug Wallace Cheers Colyn  |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn - incredible job! Please check your email! - Ken |
| KR Doris |
| Sorry if you were all hoping that I had run out of things to say about my saga of my cars respray.
Well, this post is still related to the paint job, but it is more about how to preserve it. We were tempted to take a run out in the car a couple of weeks ago, to join some relatives with their MGB on a run to a pub lunch about 20 miles away. The weather forecast was pretty good, cold but with an early morning mist that the sun would burn through by mid day. The roads looked just very slightly damp but were showing the beginnings of a "dry line" as we set off. BUT! A hundred yards after we set off, a tractor pulled out of a field gate after having just ploughed it! So we were immediately spattered with chunks of mud and both the car and the occupants got a face full! So after following the tractor for a mile or two, I managed to pass it and then I realised that the light mist had turned into light drizzle! We were about 4 miles in by then and the car was already a mess, so we decided to just carry on through the drizzle and hope that the forecast was going to be accurate. Well, our relatives live 10 miles nearer to the pub than we do, but they still decided not to make the journey in their MGB because the roads were too mucky and come in their modern ca! So, whilst trying supress the slight feeling of sour grapes, we decided to just enjoy the pub meal and hope that the weather improved in the afternoon as predicted. The pub lunch was even better than we expected, but unfortunately, the weather forecast was not! And the drizzle had turned the roads into a sticky mess. So I now have to bite the bullet of cleaning off the mud and grit etc without scratching the new paint! I do have a power washer but we have a hosepipe ban up here in Yorkshire and so I would probably get a fine if I used it. I am considering taking it to my local hand-car wash to ask if they can power wash the mud off, so that I can then polish it at home. Has anyone any other suggestions? Cheers Colyn The first picture looks a bit confusing, but what you can see is the reflection of my garage ceiling in my bonnet, but you can see the mud marks on the surface.   |
| Colyn Firth |
| Colyn I started reading your post with concern, as I wrongly assumed the outcome would be a crash in the MGA, so was relieved and smiled when I realised it was only mud and muck! You have a hosepipe ban! Really! We have had so much rain here its hard to believe. But putting that aside, Nigel told me about waterless cash washing. I havent tried it but if you google waterless car wash you will find loads of information |
| Graham V |
| Whoops that last post reads strangely weird - of courseI meant waterless car washing, not a laundering operation! |
| Graham V |
| Colyn. Perhaps it’s buyer beware! I found this comment under waterless car washing- “ If you try to use a waterless wash on a heavily-soiled surface, you will only end up smearing the dirt and causing serious scratches. Improper materials and technique can also cause damage to your paint.” I have no idea about this subject, only saying! Bruce. |
| Bruce Mayo |
| Cheers guys,
I'm with you Bruce on the subject of waterless car polishing sprays, I think the most likely outcome of using it to clean off the dirt is a load of deep scratches followed by hours with the polisher trying to get them out! The reason I am so worried about the paint (apart from the cost) is that the very first time I washed the car after its respray and decided to wax polish the front shroud, I must have picked up a micro-fibre cloth with a piece of grit embedded into it and this engraved some horribly deep V-scratches into it! I always put the micro-fibre cloths into the washing machine after each use and so I was really upset by the result. The worst thing is that I was trying extra hard to polish out the scratches, only to find that I was actually adding more! I think I will take the car to our local hand carwash centre to get them to jet-wash the mud etc off and then clean the car myself when I get it home. Cheers Colyn |
| Colyn Firth |
This thread was discussed between 20/01/2022 and 04/12/2022
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