What can I say other than the title. Since last applying filler to the B post/sill join and filler to the wing/scuttle join its been........................well I'll say .................... wet!
The last two weekends, nay weeks, has seen torrents of rain fall, all day,all night and in between. During last Mondays deluge a quick glance at the MG and its forlorn flapping blue poly cover saw lots of rain get inside. Mid-day off to B&Q to get a new Poly cover( in the pouring rain) .
My present cover has a hole where the roof section has an ariel base protuding.
Despite having the clever idea of wedging an old tennis ball on it, the constant removing and tie-ing down has made it as firm as a vicars handshake. Not to mention the elastic bungee cords frayed to within an inch of their life. In fact on Sunday the poor old MG spent the evening till Mon Morn with the cover hiding between the fence and the driveway gate.
Fortunately I got the last blue Poly sheet at B&Q and cheap it was too (£ 3.99) .
The trouble was thought.................................Its Huge !!!!
3 metres x 4 metres. Seemed OK when I bought it. But try covering a car with it in the pouring rain, using frayed and limp bungee cords and a howling wind.
I ended up using about 70 metres of string, over, under, around, between, up and round the MG. It looked like a drunkard had tried to wrap up a Holly bush there was so much Blue poly cover. However, it made it water proof ready for the onslaught or rain we had, er........still having actually.
Prior to thison Saturday, I did remove the front wing several times to try and get a good fit between the curvy scuttle base and wing top edge............ Impossible............!!!!
In desperation I fixed the front wing with the 5/16th UNF bolt nearest the said position.
Then added filler to the join and bead ( I previously welded the bead to the wing)
So my thinking was if the join was rubbish( uneven with gaps) bolt them together, add filler, let dry, remove wing , sand to perfection and re-fit wing nicely.
WRONG
On removing wing all the filler broke off, some filler stuck to inside of wing beading and some filler was well just ..........crap.
ABANDONED...................................time for a re-think.
It needs all its bolts and holes in wing ready and clean so it can be clamped tightly, then re assess.
So, on a trip to the far SE corner of our wind and rain swept counrty I diverted via Cambridgeshire to the MGOC.
I actually bought some new ( YES NEW ) stuff, a wing fitting kit containing all the correct screws , washers and bolts. Nice and shiney.............Lovely, and only £ 6.25 !
Also got the 5/15th UNF Nut which I had to gring off the wing when refurbing it and another nut 1/4 UNF which has a sheared bolt in it on the wing.
Whilst there I also bought the headlight re-enforcing panel. This part took the best part of a whole day to remove from the wing as it was rusty and deep inside the wing.
So...............................My plan is simple.
Fit both new nuts by mig welding them in place.
How to remove the existing nuts with broken bolts in is another story.
Then fit the wing with all the bolts and nuts. To assist matters I even bought a 5/16 UNF tap.
Please dont faint, its not new. It was £1.99 + 99p p&P on..........yes you've guessed good old E-bay.
So when the rain and wind stops I'll get busy. Oh and do the sanding of the B post too.
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