INSTALLING THE OIL COOLER

MGB's are factory equipped with oil coolers.  These are actually small radiators that reduce the oil temperature.  The oil cooler is connected to the lubrication system by oil resistant hydraulic hoses fastened to the engine block and oil filter adaptor.  When the engine is running, the oil is circulated throughout the engine and the oil cooler.  It is quite effective.

You wil notice that the oil cooler hoses pass through the radiator support and are held in position by rubber grommets and straps.  The hoses, straps and grommets are new but the cooler itself was cleaned and refinished.

At this point all that remains in the preparation of the start-up sequence is the installation of the engine wiring and an additional fuel filter.  Hopefully, the start-up sequence will begin on Wednesday.

The archive listing of this blog contains detailed step-by-step photos and narratives regarding this restoration since it began late last December.  Please direct any comments and questions to tommystoplesscars@yahoo.com.

Later...

Tom McCurry 

Materials and equipment purchased from:

Moss Motors (mossmotors.com)

Victoria British (victoriabritish.com)

Eastwood (eastwood.com)

The Roadster Factory (the-roadster-factory.com)

English Parts (englishparts.com)

Napa Auto Parts (napaonline.com)

Apple Hydraulics (applehydraulics.com)

Coker Tire (cokertire.com)

PHOTOS OF THE RADIATOR INSTALLATION

The photo to the right shows the radiator prior to restoration.  As you can see it is a bit on the rough side, but it functionally, it is in good condition.

I spent a few hours today installing the radiator and support.  The assembly process was a rather simple one.  First, I mounted the radiator to the support and then the radiator assembly to the bracket on the inner fenders.  I will be fitting a thermostatically controlled electric fan to the front of the radiator.

I have also ordered a new air filter for the side-draft Weber carburetor.  There was a slight clearance problem with the one I had in stock.  You can see the "old" filter base in the photo to the right highlighted with blue tape.

The archive listing of this blog contains detailed step-by-step photos and narratives regarding this restoration since it began late last December.  Please direct any comments and questions to tommystoplesscars@yahoo.com.

Later...

Tom McCurry 

Materials and equipment purchased from:

Moss Motors (mossmotors.com)

Victoria British (victoriabritish.com)

Eastwood (eastwood.com)

The Roadster Factory (the-roadster-factory.com)

English Parts (englishparts.com)

Napa Auto Parts (napaonline.com)

Apple Hydraulics (applehydraulics.com)

Coker Tire (cokertire.com)

RADIATOR AND RADIATOR SUPPORT

Good news; I had several original 1967 radiators in stock.  Bad news; all of them required restoration.  So I chose the best one and began the cleaning and refinishing process.

The first step is to make sure the radiator does not leak.  We do this by pressurizing it.  If it has a leak, it will manifest itself at this point.  Fortunately, mine passed the pressure test.

Next, I removed the finish from the top, bottom and sides of the radiator.  Be very careful with the cooling fins surrounding the core tubes.  Aside from being very easy to distort, they will cut you.  There were only a few bent fins and I straightened them with a small screwdriver.  If the core itself requires refinishing, a special coating is available for that.  The finish on this one only required cleaning.

After the tank was stripped, I applied two coats of black, high temp semi-gloss paint.  

The radiator support I chose from stock was in excellent condition.  Nevertheless, I sandblasted it first.  Next self-etching primer and two coats of the same semi-gloss paint was applied.  Now, we are ready to install the radiator and more good news...it looks better than one you buy, and it is original.

The archive listing of this blog contains detailed step-by-step photos and narratives regarding this restoration since it began late last December.  Please direct any comments and questions to tommystoplesscars@yahoo.com.

Later...

Tom McCurry 

Materials and equipment purchased from:

Moss Motors (mossmotors.com)

Victoria British (victoriabritish.com)

Eastwood (eastwood.com)

The Roadster Factory (the-roadster-factory.com)

English Parts (englishparts.com)

Napa Auto Parts (napaonline.com)

Apple Hydraulics (applehydraulics.com)

Coker Tire (cokertire.com)