New HIWD: Rob Ficalora's Truly Exceptional MGB V8!

[rficalora]

Thanks Carl!  No FI frankly because it intimidated me.  Plan was to run it with a carb for a few years and then switch over.  Fuel system is even  plumbed for it.  Now that I've learned enough that I'd be comfortable switching, I just want to drive it!

I can help you with your problem though.  Just send that tired old '68 over to me so have you time to put the TF back together.  Who knows, you might even have time to swap in an LS for the 215 in your  MG... you know you want to.  See, I'm just trying to be helpful .

[MGB-FV8]

In my case, fuel injection isn't an issue, once you have worked on them and understand the basics it is pretty fun and rewarding to drive.  My biggest problem is, believe it or not, TIG welding since I'd like everything made of aluminum.  For years I have welded with a MIG, stick, and acetylene but, TIG is a craft all of its own, especially, when you need to weld on a show piece for the first time on your car; it has held back my project and although I'd be willing to pay someone to TIG weld in my garage, no one seems interested.  I may have a very nice 250 AMPS water cooled TIG welder for sale.

Second, I like Rob's advice to do it in phases but obviously I've stretched out the time spent on too many unfinished phases or got stalled on an issue, such as, insisting on using too much aluminum depending on TIG welding.  

Third, changing your mind on a design can be a project killer; that's another bad habit I have in watching the latest and greatest which also caries a financial burden and hard to recoup from.  Doing a small block Ford V8 and also fuel injected will cause additional modifications and time consuming but worthy, IMHO.

I think that if I started out doing a first car and accept the learning curve of the do's and don'ts then, it would have been a lot easier applying the lessons learned to a second car, although, I do have some unique/original features on my project car.

As I lived close to Jim Stuart (one of the original meetings participant), we became good friends and, he did give me some good advise concerning universal issues affecting MGB's, such as, overheating, wiring, fuel tank, suspension and etc., which I've tried to find a solution of my own.

Having said all of the above, I do envy Rob's situation as he's enjoying riding around and, as Dan Master says under his car's comment "don't wait to long" because as you're getting older, it gets harder to get in and out of these little cars.

Trying to sell my project "as is" would be financial suicide; I often watch on TV the famous auto auction Macum or Barrett Jackson and it's nothing to see a finished car only bring in half of its built cost.  Stories like Rob's car does motivate me; it has to be a feeling all of its own when you take your first run, it'll either make you cry or smile (or maybe both, LOL).

Cheers!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Don't sell yourself short on the TIG work. There are ways around the "perfect" TIG weld bead, the best of which is to blend and buff to a high shine, a skill that is very much worth developing. (This from a guy who traditionally concentrated on function over form.) There are web videos which I have found VERY helpful in improving TIG skills, and even with my shaky hands I occasionlly manage a weld bead that looks good enough to use without dressing. Usually if you aren't getting passable welds there is a concrete reason for it and the solution is just to figure out what you need to do different. If you can gas weld, you can TIG weld.

Jim

[MGB-FV8]

Jim, thanks for the vote of confidence, but at 60 years old, my eyes have a hard time seeing the welding puddle to dip in the filler rod and that's one of the problem(s).  I subscribe to Jody Collier's welding tips and tricks ( http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/tubing-bender.html ) and I'm convinced that my eye and hand coordination might need some extra help although I use a cheater lens.  Long hours of TIG welding practice on scrap pieces of aluminum is what I have to get back into until I get a feel for it.  I have a serious flaw with my picky quality standards and if something bothers me I go into a stall mode which is not exactly good to start and finish a project within a timely manner.  

I've often heard that it's better to be excellent at only one thing than to be mediocre at a bunch of things; I might just be mediocre at lots of things (LOL) and need to accept a mediocre product delivery?!?!?!  

Cheers!

[BlownMGB-V8]

We are about the same age and apparently share other qualities as well. I have to wear reading glasss inside my helmet, use plenty of light, and steady my hands by resting them on something, and I have come to realize that I will never achieve the mystical "stack of dimes" so called perfect weld bead. But that is OK because I'm pretty good at sticking the metal together and if there's more weld bead than what looks good I can usually grind it off and polish it. Angle grinders, flapper wheels, die grinders and buffing wheels have become my good friends. And after rough dressing if there is a flaw it usually isn't too hard to touch that up. Fortunately aluminum cuts easily and stainless is a little easier to get a good bead on.

Perfection is nice but it is over rated. Perfection is the enemy of "Good Enough". And good enough is just a state of mind.

Jim

BTW, a quality helmet is priceless. I have a cheap helmet but have a Jackson auto dimming lens in it. It is adjustable for tint and speed and I decrease the tint for TIG work so I can see the puddle. A stand with halogen lights is also very helpful.

[MGB-FV8]

Thanks for the tips Jim, I think that I'm going to try the halogen light idea.