What Happened? (February 2002)
By Ron Parks

That’s the question my wife Linda is trying to answer. What happened? “He went out to the garage to replace the interior of the MG and the next thing I know, there are parts scattered all over the garage.” Actually there are parts scattered over three counties at the moment. The car itself, my 1974 MGB, is at Loy’s body shop in Lewisburg, the engine is at MG Automotive in Dayton and the remainder of the periphery parts are in my garage.

Well, here’s what happened. I started out with the goal of replacing the interior. (I bought a biscuit colored vinyl interior kit from Victoria British when it was on sale last December.) Also I was to replace the windscreen. Well, in replacing the windscreen, you need to paint beneath and you should remove the dash. The dash was cracked in several places anyway, so why not replace it too. The top overlay still looks good and I’ll save it for when the new dash cracks on top. If you’re going to paint that, then the fenders should be painted too and I’ve got some bubbling on the dog leg and front fender on the driver’s side. So, I decided to strip the whole car and have it painted. The last paint job was done over the old paint and was showing crackle on the horizontal surfaces. Since I was having the car painted, I decided it was time to detail under the hood (bonnet). And, since the engine is coming out, it’s silly not to have it checked over and rebuilt if necessary. To make a long story short, (OOPS, too late for that) I just didn’t know where to stop.

The really nice thing about being in the MG Car Club is the willing and enthusiastic help and advice you have at your beckoned call. While acknowledging that it’s not too hateful to hover over an MG on a Saturday morning, drinking coffee and eating donuts with your friends, I wish to thank Tom Davis, Bill Hammond, Skip Peterson and John Zeno for helping with the task of pulling my engine. Thank you! It’s a long drive out to my house for some of you and I really appreciate it. Hope I can return the favor sometime. I also must thank Dan Inlow for loaning me his trailer on which to haul the car to the body shop and Steve Powell for helping with that task. On that Saturday morning: I had everything removed from the engine with the exception of a few transmission bolts. After assembling the club’s engine hoist that I had picked up from John Zeno on the previous Thursday, we had the engine out in a matter of minutes. We pulled the engine only. Actually I removed the transmission too, after taking the car to the body shop. See, that’s one of those things where you don’t know where to stop. It’s just going to be easier to do a better job of degreasing, cleaning up and painting the engine bay with the transmission out. Oh yes, I removed the exhaust too.

I’ve been to the body shop three times so far, to work on degreasing and cleaning up the engine bay. I plan to strip the car myself too. If you can find a body shop that allows you to do some of this prep work yourself, it can save you a lot of money. I, of course can’t do the actual body work or painting, but cleaning and scraping I can do. Our plan is to paint the engine bay, the interior and inside the trunk (boot) first. Then, most likely bring the car back home to re-install the engine and other parts in the engine bay, get it running and drive it back to the body shop for exterior stripping, body work and painting. I’ve been assured that the engine bay could be sealed off and kept clean while the exterior body work is being completed.

Having the engine inspected by Steve Miller at MG Automotive was the right choice. Steve’s comment was, “The engine was tired.” The rings were well worn and there was some leakage between cylinders 2 & 3. I was considering just painting the engine the correct color replacing the General Motors blue with black and putting it back in the car. That would have been a big mistake. I would have been pulling the engine again for a rebuild within a year. Thank you to those of you who encouraged me to have the engine gone through now.

I’m not sure this has answered Linda’s question to her satisfaction, but-- “That’s what happened.” Stay tuned--more to follow as work progresses.

click on any of the photos
for a larger image!

1. Underestimating the cost: This is undoubtedly the most common mistake in the restoration hobby. Unless he has done several restorations, the average person cannot envision the vast array of parts and services he will need and inevitably underestimates the total cost regardless of how carefully he tries to figure it out. In addition to the things that are simply overlooked, there are many expenses that can’t be foreseen and only become apparent after the project is begun. My advice to avoid underestimating is to go through an assembly manual or comprehensive part catalog for your car, page by page, to avoid overlooking things you’ll need. Then add 50% to your total for partial restorations, or up to 100% for comprehensive projects.
   
   
2. Under estimating the Time: Underestimating the time needed to complete a restoration project is right up there with underestimating its cost. There are so many variables involved with each project that I can’t possibly tell you to do your best and then add 50 percent. Instead, set realistic incremental goals that are easier to estimate and achieve. For example, break the restoration down into sections such as exterior refinish, interior, chassis, engine compartment, etc. Then break each of these down into discrete elements. You can divide exterior refinishing into dissembling all chrome trim, weather-strips, glass; then stripping the old paint, then doing body work, etc. It is easier to envision how long it will take to accomplish each of these subdivided “Little projects.” By setting and then meeting realistic, short term goals you will be encouraged and motivated to move the restoration forward.
   
   
3. Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A lot of people don’t think about performing a full restoration and do a lot of work in a haphazard way only to repeat much of the work later on when they commit to a total restoration. When I was in the restoration business we called this “ass-back-wardsing” your way into a restoration. To illustrate, it is wasteful to rebuild the suspension if six months down the road you’re going to take the body off the chassis and take everything apart again to refinish all the chassis components. Rather than wasting time and money by duplicating tasks, it is worthwhile to carefully think out your goals and formulate a comprehensive plan from the beginning.
   
   You also should prioritize tasks, particularly if your car is a driver and the restoration will be an ongoing project that will take months, or even years, to complete. I would line up the various tasks as follows: Start with safety-related areas such a brakes, steering, suspension and tires; then improve reliability/drivability as needed with jobs such as an engine rebuild, drive train rebuild and electrical system restoration, and finish up with cosmetic improvements.
   
   
4. Over-restoring: A lot of people spend so much time and money on restoring a car that they can’t enjoy it. This typically happens for a couple of reasons. Either they mistakenly believe they will enjoy trailering the car from show to show and not driving it, or they wind up spending three times too much on the car because of an “ass-backward” restoration that wasn’t planned intelligently. Very few people truly enjoy trailering a show-only car around and very few have the nerve to regularly drive and enjoy a car that underwent a mega-dollar, thorough restoration. Think long and hard ahead of time whether you really want a car with an $8,000 paint job and every nut and bolt correct, or whether you would be happier in the long run with a nice, clean driver.
   
   For example, a ‘57’ Chevy top-quality, state-of-the-art professional restoration can easily cost $65,000 to $75,000. The owner could’ve turned that same car into a good driver by rebuilding the engine, front end and brakes, putting on new tires, painting the exterior, chrome and other cosmetic work. Even if that were all done by a professional, the cost would be around $10,000 to $12,000. Or consider another popular car, the ‘65’ Mustang. A top restoration on one of these ponies would run about $30,000 to $40,000, while a driver restoration would cost $5,000 to 10,000.
   
   
5. Buying Parts Inefficiently: This falls under the general heading of not thoroughly planning. If you make a list of everything you think you’ll need and then buy as much as possible from one supplier, you can frequently negotiate a decent discount that will add up to hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars saved. Also, think carefully about the quality of parts you buy. People frequently try to save money by purchasing cheaper parts or services, but ultimately spend more when they buy the better quality items to replace the inferior things they’re not happy with. If you want decent looking chrome for a driver, then don’t spend for show-quality chrome. But if you’re not going to be satisfied with driver-level chrome, don’t waste your money on that first and then spend the big bucks for better quality. Think ahead! As for finding companies with the parts and services you require, make up a list of potential resources through word-of-mouth recommendations at places such as car club meetings, cruise nights and drag races. After people have given you some recommendations, check out the work or products on their cars to see if that’s really what you’re after.
   
   
6. Not taking pictures: How many of us get so wrapped up in what we’re doing that we don’t want to take the time – or just don’t think of – stopping periodically and photographing what we’re doing? After the car is put back together, it’s too late to photograph and/or videotape the restoration. In addition to just being a nice memento of the work you did, a photographic record of the restoration is fun to display with the car at shows and can enhance the car’s value if you sell it. Beyond that there’s a very practical aspect to taking photos of your car in its original condition and during its restoration, as well as photographing other restored cars like yours. During reassembly, it can be very helpful to have a record of how things look on a car that isn’t in a thousand pieces.
   
   
7. Disorganization: Organization is one of the fundamental elements of a happy and successful restoration, but too many people are overwhelmed by the number of parts and different tasks involved in a large restoration project. The two best te4chniques for staying organized are “Bagging and tagging,” and keeping a notebook. Bagging and tagging means putting each small piece you remove into a bag and tagging each bag and each part – big or small – as disassembly progresses. Zip-lock plastic bags work great because you can write on them with a marker and can see what’s in them without dumping out the contents. I always write down what the part is where it came from and note whether it’s damaged or missing anything. If you notice something missing and make a note of it, you won’t be scratching your head six months later wondering if the missing piece was gone to begin with, or if it got lost after it was removed and it is hiding somewhere in your workshop. Use a notebook for everything related to the restoration. A multi-subject spiral bound one works great because you can use the divided sections for different things. One section can contain notes and diagrams that you make as you disassemble, another can be for your running parts list, another can be used for names, numbers and addresses of suppliers and subcontractors, another can be a running record of money spent, etc.
   
   
8. Starting with the wrong car: To preserve your sanity and your bank account, it’s important to start with the right car when you begin a restoration. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, like when you’re restoring the car your grandfather bought new or the car you drove in high school. But, other times you have a clean plate and can start with anything you want. One common mistake is starting with a car that is too rough. Unless the car is extremely rare, you are almost always better off starting with a decent, complete example. To me, that means a car that doesn’t need any body panels replaced, including the trunk and floors, and is in driving condition. Starting with a nice vehicle can also be a mistake. If you buy a car that is in good condition, you are probably going to pay extra fro that condition. If you plan to restore everything anyway, then why pay extra for its pretty good condition in the first place? The ideal restoration candidate is a desirable model that is deteriorated, but complete and structurally sound. That is, it has faded paint and scratched chrome, the engine burns a little oil, the front end is loose and the tires are bad. That way, the vehicle’s in poor enough condition to reduce the selling price, yet you’re not going to incur the costs of trying to repair a rotted-out-body. These perfect restoration candidates are becoming a rare commodity as time goes by, but with patience and perseverance you can find just the right one.
   
   
9. Not Striking an Intelligent Balance between Authenticity and Common Sense: A reality of the4 collector car hobby and marketplace is that cars restored to original configuration are usually worth more than modified cars, while cars with certain mystifications are frequently more drivable, more durable and more fun. Some people become slavishly devoted to originality and authenticity. They spend tons of extra money and the result is something they can’t enjoy. At the other end of the spectrum, some people deviate so far from the car’s original configuration that what they end up with bears no resemblance to what they started with. Think carefully whether you want to use lacquer paint to duplicate what the factory used or urethane paint for greater durability. Do you want your muscle car’s engine to be exactly as original with 11.0-to-1 compression or detuned for greater drivability? Is it better to spend $600 for reproduction tires or $600 for modern radials? Where you decide to go with these and other questions is a matter o personal choice, but try to be aware of the competing values on both sides of each issue and then strike an intelligent balance.
   
   
10. Removing Insurance Coverage: This is a big mistake! People think that since the car is going to be off the road for a long period of time they can save some money by discontinuing the insurance coverage. But even though the car isn’t going to be driven, it still can be stolen or destroyed by fire, flood, vandalism or many other tragedies. You should have collector car insurance, which is relatively inexpensive to begin with, and you should always keep the coverage in effect. Also, be certain you understand your coverage. Collector policies often have limits on the number of miles you can drive and require that the car be stored in a locked garage and “attended to” when it’s taken out for a drive or show. Furthermore, be certain you understand the value the policy carries. Some policies will appraise your collector vehicle as if it were a low-buck used car.