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Restoration Questions

To: british-cars@hoosier
Subject: Restoration Questions
From: neilson@mprgate.mpr.ca (Robert Neilson)
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 07:19:29 PDT
It's been a while since I posted anything to the list, so I will include a
short summary of what I have done to my MG. But first I'll ask my questions:

 - I have been told (many times) that a phosphoric or muriatic acid bath 
   should not be used to de-rust springs due to the hydrogen embritlement
   thing. So ... how does one de-rust coil springs? I have a bench grinder
   with wire brushes, an angle grinder with the same - but these are very
   awkward to get "inside" the coils with. I do not have access to a sand
   or media blaster.

 - A related question: what would be a reasonable paint to put on coils? I
   don't care about originality at all - just durability and reasonable
   appearance (ie: undercoating would not be my 1st choice!).

 - Metal Prep. I keep hearing about this stuff again and again but I cannot
   find it! I can find metal conditioners which do the etching, but you must
   wash the part after with soap/H2O. The stuff I hear about you can just leave
   on the parts. Any brand names I should look at? (I want something to wipe
   on my parts after they are depainted and/or derusted, but before I prime.
   The reason is that I am working in limited space, and it takes me a while 
   to st up to paint. Consequently I like to paint in "batches").

What am I doing? Some of you may remember that in the spring I rebuilt a 5 main
MGB engine for my MGA. Well, this was fun and the engine sure looks good, but I
just couldn't stop myself. I started cleaning up the engine compartment, and 
now I have am MGA in boxes from the rear door posts forward.

The frame has been cleaned, new floor board rails welded in, and painted. The
front steering and suspension have been completely restored (except for the
springs), and this weekend I will be test fitting the engine (to see how to
best fit a header - and to play around a bit!!).

Next stop is brake lines and wiring.

I was trying to figure out a way to build in some foot vents to bring fresh
air from the  outside to the cockpit. Does anyone have any suggestions on
where the best place to locate the "fresh air intake" would be?

That's all for now ...

Rob

PS: whoever posted the note on making a dolly out of a shopping cart bottom
    had a great idea! I now have one. Even put the top part of the cart back
    in the queue and got my quarter!

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Robert J. Neilson                Voice:    (604) 293-5414 
MPR Teltech Ltd.                 FAX:      (604) 293-5787  
8999 Nelson Way,                 Internet: neilson@mprgate.mpr.ca  
Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 4B5               uunet!ubc-cs!mprgate!neilson      
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