New to mg

Hi Dave, Welcome to the fraternity. At that price, I would be looking very carefully at the sills, open both doors and squint across the seats, you will see that if the worm has attacked the sills( and the floor pan), there will not be much else securing front to rear, if that is a problem then your next MOT might be an expensive one!. Might I suggest that before you worry about cosmetic details, you systematically disconnect the fuses and bullet connectors you can see, sand them clean & reinstall. Next, check that the earth wires on the lights at each of the 4 corners are actually earthing. Having done that, I would expect many of your electrical questions may have been answered. Never leave the house without a tool box in the boot, when your SU fuel pump stops ticking, just a sharp tap with a screwdriver should bring it back to life, useful then to have something to tap it with.

I would hesitate to lift the head until you have sorted out the HT/points/Ignition timing and charged round the block a few times. If she is blowing coolant, smoke , stuttering or showing other symptoms then it might just be the head gasket, perhaps more likely to be a cracked head. You will find that a Haynes will become your bible. Enough negatives. You have a beautiful example of 1950s technology, with a little TLC you will be enjoying opposite lock, open top motoring with the rest of us come the Spring. Best of Luck P '67B '97F VVC

Thanks for that, all good advice. The sills and floor pan are great, all look to have been replaced in the recent past The boot floor looks new as well, as it is still painted in undercoat. I believe it cost 1250 about a year ago and the guy who bought it drove it from London to Aberdeen and used about 1 litre of oil, and this and the rough tick over as well as the slight oil and water contamination made me think head gasket. Generally, from what I can see rust is not a major problem at the moment. The guy I bought it from wanted £1000 for it, but it ran so badly when I went to look at it I said no way and he called me up to offer a deal to get rid of it. I refused to drive it so he delivered it 20 miles and accepted the £450. I think he was under serious wife pressure to get rid of it.

I will start on the wires tonight. Any pointers other than fuses and earths on this one?

Dave

Obviously check both bulbs. Reverse light switch is mounted on the side of the gearbox. There are two switches mounted one above the other, the top one is the overdrive inhibitor switch and the lower one the reversing light switch. Pull the wires and short together with the ignition 'on', if the lights come on you've found the problem.

Most likely the switch on the steering column. Get hold of a wiring diagram, MGB electrics are straightforward and easy to understand. Headlight problems are often caused by poor connections - particularly the 'bullet' style connectors just before the headlights, make sure these are clean - unlikely to be causing your problem though, as the 'flash' is working.

If it's the same on LH or RH then probably a tired flasher unit. Change it. If the flash rate is different from one side to the other, check bulbs and again the bullet connectors behind the lights for cleanliness. Also check voltage across the batteries with the engine running. It should be 13.8V + or - 0.6v.

I'd be inclined to flush and change coolant and oil and give it a good long run. If you do need to do a HG swap, it's easy to do and will only take a morning. I've had the head off mine twice in its 31 year life, both times for HG failure. You may have a cracked head though, so it could be worth having it checked while it's off. Have the valve seats been replaced for running of unleaded? - If not, now's the time.

If the body's good, I think you've done well.

Dave,

I am in the USA and have a 74 midget with the 1500 CC engine. That I am in process of restoring. As I had power (electricity) to the reversing light contacts, My problem was corrosion between the brass contacts, steel rivet and zinc based body. To remedy the problem I removed the lights from the car and soaked (remove light bulb and plastic lens first) them in CLR (Calcium, Lime and Rust remover)for ten to fifteen minutes. The work fine now. If you do not have power to the lights then asumming no blown fuses I would check for power at the reversing light switch. On the midget it is located on the left side of transmission just at bottom of shifter. Easyest way to get to it is to remove shifter cover. The high beam issue may be a matter of replacing the whole switch assembly. On the midget that does require pulling the steering wheel(easy with a gear puller), then remove covers on steering column I belive the B is the same. I replaced my turn signal switch last night. No answer on slow turn signals. Mine do the same, maybe due to low voltage.

If I did the conversion right you paid about $750.00 US dollars. Thats around what I paid for my midget. I think you did OK and did not pay to much. Before I got heavy into the motor I would run it some to see how bad the oil to water leak is. It may be somthing that will be acceptable. Otherwise it you are like me you will start with a head gasket and end up with overhauling the engine.

Best of luck

Neil

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Cheers

Thanks to all.. The electrics all now work, basically a combination of solenoids and damaged switches, all that took to get it sorted was time and care.

The engine will need the top end checked out, as I am sure the head / head gasket has a problem, this is my tomorrow job. From first impressions, body looks fine, no rust noted, paintwork took some serious buffing but now looks acceptable, probably needs another day though.

overall, currently happy