Heating and Ventilation

"I smell mice, don't you?"

Noticed this right away when examining the car and later, found a mouse low-rise residence in the Smiths heater box. This was not the worst of the ventilation system, but it did create some fear of difficult to repair corrosion in this area. Turns out the mouse pee corroded the smiths heater box but not so much the car body, though the adjacent battery platform is thin and pinholed. Not a difficult fix.

In my initial examination of the car I missed the destroyed heater fan though I did note the missing ductwork.

The heater box itself was a beeyatch to remove as the four machine screws securing it to the body were firmly corrorded. Had to drill them out.

Rad and heater core will go to Barrie Radiator in Oshawa - a rare old-school rad shop, 10 minutes away.

Comments

Engine bay dissasembly - reference photos

Firewall area

Front End Fact Find

June 15 - confirmed that the chassis is not bent! Plumb bob and chalk lines. See section R page 18 of the Bentley manual for dimensions and method. Update June 12 - more photos of frame Update - Obvious accident damage and clearly the frame horns are not as they should be. Measurement and verification required. The photo below is rather telling. The horns should be 12” apart (11” between the flanges), parallel to the car’s centreline and level and straight with respect to its the frame rail. I am not certain precisely how far each horn should extend from the crossmember. I will assume but should verify that the rad uprights are at 90deg to the horn, and should verify the height of the rad support above the horn. the threaded bosses for the grill shroud (2 in each horn, 3 in each rad upright) are the most critical location points with respect to hood alignment, as these locate the front end assembly. Straight edge clamped to frame rai...

Engine teardown and reassembly

Miguela's seized engine could not be freed in situ. After weeks of soaking, rolling etc I could not get it to budge and resigned myself to the teardown I had suspected was inevitable. The odometer reads 49000 miles. The "12CD" series engine is original to the car, and it does not appear to have been opened in the past, though it does have a copper-faced head gasket which may not be original. Some of the photos also show the light green paint colour that is particular to this series of engines. They are rare and particularly fast as a result. Ease of access is facilitated by the absence of any front end sheet metal. After more hardened mud and grease were removed, the starter, generator, induction and cylinder head were removed. The engine and gearbox were then unbolted and removed. While lifting the engine alone was possible with a helper, an engine hoist will be required for reassembly as the gearbox and engine will be ...

1968 MG Midget

Search This Blog