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MG MGA - Getting Ready to Disassemble – What Prep Recommend

Shortly, I will begin to dissemble my newly acquired ’58 MGA with the expectation of hopefully doing a pretty thorough body off restoration. Generally, the plan is to do a lot of disassembly, followed by repairing the inner sills and other parts integral to the strength of the body, weld in some supports, and then remove the body from the frame.

Does it make sense to spend a few weeks spraying WD40 or the like on all of the nuts and bolts before trying to take it apart? Any other advice in this regard? Many thanks.

Tom

TM Going

Tom, You have a big task ahead.
Take photos of all assemblies before you start disassembly.
Have lots of containers, plastic bags, jars, etc and label parts as they come out.
Gallons of WD40!
Take time to progress systematically, and enjoy the experience.
Barry
Barry Gannon

You will be pleasantly surprised to find that most fasteners come apart fairly easily. But there will be some real b.....s!

WD40 is by no means the best. Get some acetone and mix 50/50 with ATF. Proved to be about the best release agent there is. You will also need a blow torch for heating up the more stubborn joints. I found a useful technique is to weld an oversize nut on very stubborn fasteners. the heat from the welding breaks the joint and the nut makes removal easy.

I also just started to do a complete restoration, see here:
http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?2,1990813
N McGurk

Very cool - advice from the UK and Australia. I will certainly try the acetone and ATF. Thanks everyone.

TM Going

I notice you are in Pennsylvania. If you are near Pittsburgh you can stop by my place and see one in progress. It is a big job so be ready for a lot of work and time.
GK George

Hey TM, after 3 years I am almost ready to put the repaired body back on the refurbished frame of my 1960 1600. It is/was a huge task.

Read Barney Gaylord's restoration articles, take pictures and get to know Todd Clarke. His sheet metal is quite good.

After market wings are a very poor fit, try to save the originals. Many new mechanical parts are of poor quality so be ready to send stuff back and forth. Moss is good for this except the shipping is a killer.

Good luck on this task. I am near Hyde Park NY if you want to see a frame ready for the body.

Regards, Tom
Thomas McNamara

"Big task" and the like comments gave me a bit of a jolt and make me a little nervous. Thats a good thing I guess because it helps prepre me for what is surely going to be a long, expensive and frustrating (but hopefully very rewarding in most respects)road ahead. In any event, thanks for the offers to see works in progress. Unfortunately, I live in Villanova PA (outside Philadelphia) so it would be too far a trek. Thanks again all for the great tips.
Tom Going

As the original question refered to the use of WD 40 to remove stubborn bolts I would echo Neil McGurk, it is imperitive that you master the art of welding nuts etc onto stuck bolts especially those into the chassis for example that hold the floor boards in place. It is staggering how easily these will come out when all else fails.

Naturally the other information is spot on. Keeping bits in marked bags is a great idea. Even those of us who can recognise parts without the need for labels would benefit because we spend most of our time wondering where we stored stuff!
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Tom , you have to treat it as a hobby. Allow yourself so much $ a month for parts and just kiss it goodbye. Call it entertainment or education. I've been at it 17 years now! Hope to get the bod back on this year. Do as much as you can yourself unless you have big pockets or short on time. Also, do a bit every day, no matter how small.
Art Pearse

Tom, I found that keeping track of the hardware (nuts, bolts, washers) is a tedious task. My recommendation is to NOT throw every nut and bolt into a bucket for later replacement/reuse. I kept all hardware with the assembly it came from, much easier later to figure out how stuff goes back together.

George
G Goeppner

One more thought about bolts -- sometimes I found it easier to just snap the bolt off (i.e. break it) or cut it off since it wasn't going to be re-usable anyway....
G Goeppner

Keep every part you take off, ie, do not throw it away until you have fitted the new/replacement part to the car.
Put all the bolts, nuts, washers, clips, screws, pins, plates, brackets, etc into a bucket after degreasing them somewhat, and cleaning them up with taps and dies as necessary. (You will need a set of taps for cleaning up all the nuts that are captive on the body and the chassis). Then take them for cadmium plating to a place near you - the local NAMGAR Chapter Club members can advise you who does it for the best price. Here in Vancouver BC it costs $100 to do every fastener on an MGA.
Reinstalling cad plated fasteners etc is then a dream.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

I absolutely agree with George. As far as possible keep all the nuts and bolts with the parts/assembly they come from. It is still a bit of a nightmare to work out what bolt came from exactly which fixing point. Don't throw anything away. New parts are poor quality or don't fit well so keep it just in case you need to use it.

I took loads of photos when I took mine apart but there were times when I was searching and zooming in to find the detail from an area which I had not considered important when taking the photos.

I also kept a detailed notebook with sketches as I was taking things apart. Sometimes it was useful to know how I had actually taking something apart, eg the sleeve on the handbrake lever, freezing was better than heat. The notes were invaluable when putting a lot back together. It gives a different perspective than photos and they are a useful complement. It also helps speed up the process of getting it right on reassembly.

You can work on sub assemblies or components one at a time in between all the big work. Its surprising how long it can take to do the refurbishment on the electrical parts but its very satisfying to finish a part and store it ready for reassembly.

I wish I had known about the acetone and ATF trick!

John
John Francis

Well if you get them cad plated they all get thrown into a pile anyway! I took mine measured every one and wrote what was down on the head too,and where they went.Even the gauge bodies and control cables housings.The ones that were bad were sourced from Todd Clarke when he could still get oem and from John Twist. Here was the pile when done.

gary starr

Tom,

You didn't say if the car was running or not. If it is in running condition or close to it, have you considered beginning the project as a rolling restoration?

There is a lot that can be done while you get to know her and enjoy the summer. When you get to the full tear down a lot of the anncillary work is aready done.

Above all, saftey fast....

John
jbackman

WD40 is not a rust penetrant it is lanolin. Take lots of digital pictures. Never throw anything away. Keep sub assemblies together. Each sub assembly is a small easy bite. I did my first frame off in 6 months so don't be scared by stories of long restorations. A mig welder will be the biggest tool purchase. With it and a grinder you can fix most body rust. Look to others experience. Learn your way around: http://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/
Ask questions you will get answers nothing you do has not been done before by someone willing to tell you how or show you how.
Pictures posted here solve lots of issues.
R J Brown

TM,
Purchase and learn how to use an Oxy/Acetelene welder. It's not as much about welding as it is about heat. Heat is your friend when disassembling an old rusty car. If the bolts don't turn, heat them until they are glowing. They will remove very easily. If you snap off the heads life will be a lot more difficult. Clean, lubricate and chase (re-tap) the theads in the holes. Sooner or later you will need a MIG welder. Take a course at your local tech school or find a friend/club member who knows. As mentioned, tag, bag and catalog EVERYTHING. Photos, photos and more photos. Enjoy.
Gerry
G T Foster

GT, thanks for the advice re Oxy/Acetelene welder. I have a Lincoln Mig Welder and just picked up a Miller spot welder, so hopefully I am in good shape on welders.

Is there a recomendation for something other than a welder to heat up bolts and stuck parts that may not be as expensive? I am new to using heat so I would appreciate advice on what exactly to buy (that will not break the bank), and where to get it.

Many thanks to you and everyone else for a lot of great advice and tips!
Tom Going

Tom, I have used propane cylinders and MAPP gas cylinders. The MAPP gas is hotter, both will work, and are very inexpensive. Use the hand held size bottles, like used for copper pipe soldering. Don't use either near the gas tank!

George
G Goeppner

First consider where all the bits are going to be stored when the car is apart. Disassembled an "A" can take up four times the space as a complete car. Never trust to memory. Take photos of assemblies, details of assemblies and details of the details. Take plenty of notes also. If the images are digital a small computer tablet can be a great help when it is time to put things together. In addition to zip lock type freezer bags, the regular ones are too light, Sharpie markers, and clear plastic totes for storage are needed. You can see what is inside the clear ones. Also cardboard boxes don't keep out water and other bad stuff. Even if it is not running. Consider taking one piece off at a time and completely restoring it before taking off the next piece. By the time you get down to the bare body and frame you will have all the bits ready for reassembly. I know it seems to be more satisfying to break it all down but in the long run it makes it harder to keep track of everything. If it is running consider a rolling restoration. You can begin to upgrade parts and enjoy the car while you do it. You can better assess the condition of the car before it is apart. Don't buy parts too far in advance. You have to know what you are replacing many parts are swapped and as many have said here a lot of the replacements are junk. Good luck when you are done you will know your car inside and out and ready to take it anywhere.
Keith Lowman

This thread was discussed between 13/03/2012 and 17/03/2012

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