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This is a personal project of Ed's here at the shop. He intends to repair the rust and return it to presentable "driver" condition. Stay tuned as the project progresses in the coming months...
Condition of the car as it was stored since 1991 Sills and floors are rusty but repairable
being retrieved from Buffalo, NY back in New Jersey safe and sound
All the woodwork is actually salvagable, just in need of refinishing original seats
Trafficators (semaphores), as well as the original air pump and jack
The new sills that need to be welded in 1600 MGA suspension that will sacrifice it's disc brake setup and 4:3 differential. Original bill of sale from 1958!
Two MG sedans in the shop, the Magnette ready to be torn down for rust repair. All front sheetmetal removed
Outer rockers completely removed. The inner work can now be completed.
Engine and gearbox removal Stripped down firewall
At this point, almost all of the rust has been removed and new panel fabrication can begin
Taking a bit of a break from metalwork, here is the restored distributor from Advanced Distributors. It is tricked out with an NOS Lucas cap, Bumblebee wires, and a 25D shaft assembly for more consistent advance. Although most of the woodwork was in decent condition, it still needed a full restoration to look its best. Ed's father took on the task of repairing, veneering, and refinishing the woodwork as necessary.
Removing the damaged dashtop veneer All new veneer applied and initial sanding completed This corner was especially damaged, and needed plywood repairs before application of new veneer
Varnish begins to go on The glovebox and rear door caps are original walnut, and the surrounding dash is new curly mahagony The interior paint was painstakingly matched to the original
Front door caps with new walnut veneer bleached and dyed to match other original components The front and rear window surrounds are solid mahagony, and were the easiest components to refinish.
Looks even better sitting in the car! The sills have 2 supports welded in per side, as well as front and rear endcaps. Here all 8 pieces have been fabricated and will be welded in as the sill structure comes together. Various suspension and engine bay components sandblasted and ready for gloss black powdercoating
I also sent out the hardware to be re-plated in cadmium, as original. The inner sill needs to be repaired before the floorpan can go in
Same on the RH side as well, but extending even higher
Repairing all of the bad flanges on the LH side
Floorpan installed on the drivers side The front RH frame horn was also very rusty. The panel was hand-fabricated and welded in.
Floors painted with POR15 Sill cavities pully treated with POR15
Fit of the fabricated inner sill box section repair panel
POR15 applied to the repaired inner sills POR applied to the outer rockers before installation Fitment of the cosmetic outer rocker panels - check the gaps!
Rolled outside - it's starting to come together!
Pans from underneath - all treated with POR15 Lower tie bar bracket attachment plates welded on
The firewall was completely stripped to bare metal in preparation for paint Epoxy primer
Original Steel Blue paint applied to the firewall. This was color-matched from a perfectly preserved splash shield. Hubs and kingpins cleaned and ready for paint. These are MGA hubs, which will convert the Magnette to disc brakes. We are also modifying the assembly to accept modern taper bearings.
All parts ready to assembly to the vehicle Firewall assembly coming back together
Here is where the suspension started... ...and where it stands today. Final welding to close up the fenderwells.
Rolling chassis again, with the front-end, steering rack and column all reinstalled.
2 Magnettes in the shop recently - both 1958 ZBs, both Steel Blue, and both receiving disc brake conversions!
 
Owned and Operated by: Peter Cosmides, Maple Shade, NJ
Phone: 856-667-6657 | Email: motorcargarage@verizon.net