'67.5 SPL311 1600 Roadster Restoration: Let the fun begin!

[Florida Roadster]

Wow! Pickin' away, great job and actual progress.
And that Lindsay reference was so funny, I was compelled to do an image search... which was a mistake. Can't unsee it...

Need some eye bleach?

[Florida Roadster]

I've heard that you can just flip the synchros as they only wear on the one side, I don't think there's any pressing need to replace.

Thanks, I didn't think they were critical at the moment.

[Florida Roadster]

Making a little progress each day. Took apart the head, removed all the exhaust/intake studs, thermostat housing studs, valves and springs. Removed the carbon off the valves in the drill press, polished the valves, lapped the valves/seats, polished the combustion chambers. Still need to take it to the machine shop to get hot tanked and milled. Soaked the pistons, removed the rings, cleaned the grooves, soaked again, etc. My plan is to use the existing pistons. I honed the cylinders and measured the bores and they were all within clearance. I'll have the block hot tanked and decked. While I am there I will have them just look at the crank and measure it, maybe polish the journals if needed. Then start the rebuild!

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[Florida Roadster]

Disassembled, blasted, cleaned, inspected, and partially rebuilt the steering box and idler arm assembly. I need to order a few small parts. I'll paint or powder-coat everything later. If you all remember playing Operation as a kid, that's what it was like trying to replace all those damn needle bearings in the steering "ball" shaft! Surprisingly, I didn't lose any of them! I have not attached the idler arms, I'll need to do some research, it appears there are notches in the splines that probably need to be aligned a certain way with the shaft in a particular position. More on that later.

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[Florida Roadster]

I have all the brake components apart and did the preliminary cleaning. Honed the rear wheel cylinders, look good, and luckily I will not have to re-sleeve the fronts. Going to order re-build kits for both. Lower ball joints are still good, tight, and move freely with no binding, I'll get new boots and paint. One of the upper ball joints was well-worn and loose, so I'll replace both. I'm trying to use as many of the original parts as possible and plan on keeping this a full original restoration. No restomods this time around!

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[Gregs672000]

Crankin right along!

[Florida Roadster]

Can I get my weekend back? Lots of blasting, frame, inner and outer front fenders, firewall, brake rotors and drums which were new before surface rust set in, exhaust manifold, miscellaneous parts, oil pan, spare (tire) Roadster rim, and MGA rims. My Roadster steel wheels are currently keeping the MGA off the ground. Same bolt pattern. Need to order some tires for both then swap.

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[Florida Roadster]

Did I ever mention that I hate sand(glass)blasting?

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[notoptoy]

But the results sure are satisfying!

[Florida Roadster]

But the results sure are satisfying!

Yup!

[C.Costine]

Did I ever mention that I hate sand(glass)blasting?

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Then you simply need a bigger tip and bigger compressor, . Enjoy life!

[Florida Roadster]

Then you simply need a bigger tip and bigger compressor, . Enjoy life!

You are 100% correct on that one. I actually rented a bigger gas-powered compressor from home depot last weekend when I did the frame and body. Sadly though It was only marginally better than my compressor. It had a higher CFM but was still lacking in capacity. Halfway through the day I had an idea, piggybacking both compressors at the same time. I made a "T" fitting and hooked both together and it was much better. All of the smaller parts I have been doing in the benchtop blast cabinet so capacity is not as much of an issue. Enjoying life!

[Florida Roadster]

Question. On what appears to be the self-canceling turn signal mechanism on the turn signal stalk, there is a small spring. It's connected on both ends and is currently BEHIND the tab in the picture. Is this the correct position or should it be in FRONT of the tab? The spring is a little stretched and I may just try to replace it anyway. Thanks!

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[Florida Roadster]

Polished my knob. (Insert Beavis and Butthead comments) It was in bad shape to begin with. I mounted it in the drill press and used varying grits of sandpaper and polish. I wanted to keep and use the original knob rather than replace it. Not perfect, but nice and smooth.

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[Florida Roadster]

I'm working on restoring my gauges. I removed the bezels from the speedo and tach and will paint them later and re-install them last. I've re-painted the needles on the speedo and tach as the original paint had dried up and flaked off. I had to clean and touch up a few other areas. Cleaned all the internal mechanisms with an electronic cleaner and inspected everything. Re-greased the speedo gears, and new rubber O-ring around the reset button shaft. Tested with a low-speed drill and movement is good. Disassembled the remaining three gauges, cleaned up the glass, cleaned the mechanisms, inspected, re-painted the white needles, painted the bezels, and re-assembled with new sealant. So far they look pretty good with just a little "patina" to them. Set the clock at 5:00 for now since "it's 5:00 O'clock somewhere!" My question for the day is this. Does anyone know the material used for the insulators on the back screws of the gauges? See pic. They are dried and flaky and I would like to replace them on all the gauges. Thanks!

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