MGA Restoration, Page 2
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Winter 2002: Cheap resto tip: My car currently has a wooden steering wheel on it. However, I prefer the appearance of the stock wheel. I do have the original wheel, but it was cracked where the metal spokes attached to the rim of the wheel. I fixed the cracks by filling them with JB Weld then sanding it smooth. A coat of gloss black paint covers all, and the wheel almost looks new. As to the durability of this fix, I can't say, but since it was so cheap, its not a problem.
Refurbished wheel
Winter 2002: I've started to try to dissasemble the car. Its been tough, with the lack of space. So far I've taken out half the floows, removed the doors, and removed the rear fenders. The doors appear to be in good condition, with no rust on the frames or major dents...at least until I dropped a tire inflator on one and dented it. The rear fenders are probably too far gone to repair with my ability. The dog legs have been patched badly once already, and there are some holes in the rear edge below where the tail light plinths are. The inner fender also has some significant holes, so I'm glad I have a spare rear clip.

To proceed with the dissasembly, I decided to remove the front bumper. This proved to be very difficult. It appears as though the bumper was hit slightly. This bent the bumper down to a point that made reaching the bolts very difficult. I also discovered that the bolts had completely rusted themselves onto the front extension. So, after much twisting, pulling and swearing, I finally gave up and cut the bumper off with a sawz-all. This ruined the front extension, but I have a spare. The bumper was also trashed, but since it was ratty and had some rust holes, I had planned on replacing it anyway.
Rear fenders and doors stashed in the crawlspace.
More to come. Tune in again.
Since the car has sat for over 30 years, I was just a little worried as to whether the engine was frozen solid. So, I put the car in the fourth gear and tried to push it forward. No go, it was stuck solid. On a lark, sprayed "GM Heat Valve Lubricant" into each cylinder through the spark plug hole. Next day, I pushed again and the car moved. Just to make sure that something hadn't broken in the drivetrain, I removed the rocker cover, and the valves did move when I pushed it. Now, I really can't say for sure if the GM stuff did the trick, but I've used in on rusty bolts and it works really well. I even like it better the "PB Blaster" (and it doesn't have the funky smell of PB Blaster".
An extremely grimey engine bay.