MGB Cargo Bay Car

[BlownMGB-V8]

Looks like with the website change-over and whatnot I'm now about a week behind on postings. Lots of good changes though, I see there are some new things in the photo section, I particularly enjoyed Brian Laine's J2 Midget with the V8-60 Flathead Ford engine. Having driven Don Bonar's PA I can see where that car would be quite exciting. These are truly honest to God museum pieces and it's great to see them being driven. Even just the privilege of reading the well done article is a blessing.

Where we left off I was struggling with understanding just what was going on with the four link geometry and I have gained some clarity through various sources. First off, it seems that the 100% business came about because that is the line upon which all of the squat forces are cancelled out and for convenience's sake it became the 100% line. For 100% cancelled I suppose. Mathematically that is horribly incorrect but it became the convention, resulting in forces in the 200 and even 300% range as well as zero and also negative values but for our purposes 100 means the rear neither rises or squats on takeoff and you can take it from there. I followed conventional wisdom and located my lower arms parallel to the ground at the height of the front spring hangers and the upper arm location was determined by the available body clearance with the suspension fully compressed against the body, bump stops fully removed, and the sheet metal above the diff bumped up for more compression. What remained then was locating the UCA body mounts. Here's a shot after the massage work:



Also turning the sleeves for the LCA axle bushings. These have a stepped bore, are full width with about a 1/4" wall and about .0005 interference fit. After welding them up I used some 1/2" allthread to pull the bushes into the bores and with the welding distortion it was a tight fit so those are going nowhere.



The axle attachment is pretty stout and is in double shear with both sides welded, spaced forward just enough to get the bolts in (and the bushings pressed in).



Here is a progress shot of the air bag mounts and UCA position. I had to move the bottom of the frame rail for clearance but then added in a flat strap for a seat which also reinforced that area. It gets tied into the UCA mount for increased stiffness.


 

It was at about this point that Edith had been recommending that I try out the Grok AI so I thought what the heck, let's see what he makes of the 4 link setup. He was quite good at it, cleared up some things I was struggling to understand, and even offered to calculate the anti-squat based on my pivot points. It turns out, not too surprisingly in retrospect that parallel arms never converge to an instant center and have 100% anti-squat by definition. Then depending on the CG height some small amount of additional anti-squat comes into play. I ended up with the forward ends about a quarter inch above parallel due to airbag proximity which adds a smidge more I think, or may cancel just a little bit but overall I think that's probably just about where I want to be with this. I made up a pattern to let me visualize what the suspension was doing, and the rest has been construction details.

The airbags are now mounted, half of the forward mounts for the UCAs are done, leaving the other half for today along with shock arm attachment points, limiter strap pins, e-brake cables, driveshaft and air lines before it gets set on its wheels. Moving along rather well. It's a rugged construction and should be trouble free.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Here is my suspension mockup. On the left are three reference marks for 4" of upward and 2" of downward travel.







The last photo shows some details of the UCA body mount as well as a locator ring around the base of the airbag. I ended up spending about 5 hours on those as it turns out, starting with a U shaped bracket and a welded on all steel locknut (blind or nearly so) welded into the side of the frame rail and the airbag pad. I made the rings from 1 x 1/4" hot rolled strap and it was a trip to get them round and at the right size. Then I had to notch them at the frame rail and mount before welding them in but they do a great job of supplementing the airbag stud and guiding the bag into the correct position.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Only one photo this morning, I've completed the UCA mounts and am moving on to the limit strap pins, shock links, and it looks like I have a good usable e-brake cable though it will have to be matched to the axle for length.



I believe this mount will be quite stout as it is braced into the frame rail and triangulated into the body with the load spread to horizontal members. Shouldn't flex. and the 7/8" threaded adjusters are quite beefy.

I found a couple of good usable limit strap pins and positioning on the LCA mount will be quite good and easy to do. I will install new straps after paint but the old ones will do fine for mock-up.

Haven't sorted out the shock link mounts yet but see no issues there so while I am waiting on the air hose and fittings (and compressor) I might as well put the brake lines on the axle and get some hoses ordered for the front. Think I'll put off the driveshaft until I've had a chance to do a junkyard run and I need to decide on a pedal/mc assembly. Al mentioned an electric booster he's using, anyone know what that is?

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Good news is that I now have the shocks attached.



Here is a closer shot of the lower bracket:



From there I went on to more mundane tasks like the brakes which almost begs the question of if it's worth the trouble of posting about that. But as we need more site traffic I'm willing to do my part. That lower tab wasn't as simple as it seems but eventually I got it and then I was having interference issues with the e-brake cable

I had put the Salisbury brakes on the axle, but of course the cable bracket had no place to go and the MGA housing had a tall bracket welded on. The MGA levers are built into the single piston slave cylinders and I'm not going to use that. Those are pricey bits if you can find them. The B banjo has a short bracket for the cable pivot and I may end up using that. For now I'm seeing how it all lines up.

The arms on the backing plates are longer on the Salisbury axle than on the banjo so I switched to the banjo arms which of course meant pulling the rear brakes apart again. Then I started worrying about the length of the e-brake arm and if it would have enough leverage. Best put that off for later I guess, maybe someone will read this and have the answer.



Next I decided it might be a good idea to install the front brake calipers and that went smoothly enough until I got to the driver's side and found I had two right side spindles on the car. Well that clearly won't work but with a little rummaging I found my last serviceable driver's side spindle and began disassembly. If it's worth doing it's worth doing twice... right? May not get that done today what with prepping for tomorrow, still have to dislodge the trunion but that shouldn't be difficult.

Straps and hoses should be here Monday. Until then there are bolts to shorten, anti-seize to apply and other detail work, plus I really should get started on the steering offset drive. That should be fun.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

My plumbing kit for the air bags came in:



Should have about all I need to do the job. I already installed the 90's on the rear bags and ran cross lines and t's front and rear. The urethane hose feels tough and is easy to cut with the included trimmer, almost too easy in fact. I still have to sort out the routing, probably inside the cockpit is best to keep the hoses away from the exhaust so I ordered a couple of grommet assortments. I'm sure I will need them.

The valves will need to be located up front as those are purge valves to drop the airbags for loading in the bay and I won't know where to put the compressor until it comes in. It may need an auxiliary tank and a pair of regulators. At the moment I'm looking at the dead space inside the rear fender behind the door. One of those filter/driers will need to go after the compressor, I'm thinking the other one might be useful on the air horns on my roadster. Maybe on the compressor outlet though so it doesn't try to dry the world.

Got the front end back together yesterday and that all looks good but won't get the wheels back on until the brake hoses come in.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

My compressor came in yesterday, it's out of a Rover, similar to the one in the trunk of my roadster and should put out a decent volume of air up to around 100psi if it works. It had the intake fitting broken off apparently and was sold for parts so there's no telling until I put power to it. 24 degrees this morning but I plan to try that later today. About 4" of very wet snow yesterday and it was freezing in the chute of the snow blower which made for an interesting day. I feel sorry for those who weren't able to get their snow cleared, they will be dealing with a solid 3" of ice today. Not going to be a fun time for them.

I also got a used Lexus driveshaft ordered so when that comes in I will have enough parts to weld up something that will work. Limit straps are in place and I just need to braze new ends on the e-brake cable and probably relocate the bracket on the housing. I've also decided to make cutouts for the exhaust so I can tuck that up close to the floor. That will mean a heat shield or two.

Which brings up another idea. On the Twin Cam the front cylinder fires (the passenger's side in this car), then there is 315 degrees of rotation before the rear cylinder fires, followed by another 405* of rotation. So If I run the exhaust from the passenger's side over behind the engine and down the driver's side that pipe will be a little longer and the exhaust pulses should get to the muffler more evenly spaced I think. It'll still sound like a Harley but maybe a little less so which seems fitting for a runabout.

I intend to get this stuff squared away, get the air lines hooked up at least temporarily, flip it over, set it on the ground and disassemble and stow the rotisserie, then see how much trouble it's going to be to put the car in the cargo bay. At that point I plan to close the bay doors and leave it until I've got the new engine in my roadster so this thread may go dormant until spring. We'll see.

Been having some hacker issues and my email is down, etc. IM/PM still works. Might be time to buy a foldable tablet or something.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

The compressor looks to have been a really good deal as it turns out. I think it was an open box return, it appears undamaged and functional. For about $55 including tax and shipping I think that's very reasonable. It was described as having a damaged inlet fitting but it isn't as far as I can tell. The pump has a small accumulator and a purge solenoid but no pressure switch and it does bleed down with power removed, but it also can develop 180psi and puts out a decent volume for the application. It weighs 8lbs making it a pretty good candidate for on-board air without a lot of fuss. It continues to run at max pressure so a curly hose and air chuck is all you'd really need to do that.



I think it'll air up the suspension just fine.

Didn't feel much like heating the lab today so I'm not getting much done except setting up a new email account and prepping for tomorrow when Matthew will help me sort out my hacker issues. But by Monday I should have the driveshaft and maybe I can get everything else done between now and then that needs to happen before setting the car on it's wheels. We shall see.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Not much new today aside from cogitating on where and how to put stuff. The pump can go in the forward stub of the rear fender, passenger's side. I have a 1lb stubby propane bottle that should make a good accumulator, I should probably order a pair of compact regulators and a check valve and then a pressure switch. See what I can do about a relay. Come to think of it, this thing is going to need a wiring harness of some sort but I probably have enough wire on hand to make one up. At the worst some variant of Cosmic's infamous "one wire" harness. Yeah, I never quite got that either. Possible? Probably not. But then again knowing Cosmic... Hey, he's worse than I am.

Today is supposed to be another day of computer stuff with Matthew helping and lending moral support. Probably a couple of OS reinstalls first and then we're headed to Best Buy to look at tablets. Provided my bank manages to reverse 4 charges at the Microsoft store my hacker gets away with nothing for all his trouble and even at the worse made under eighty bucks which is probably not even minimum wage in Russia. What a way to make a living. I'd say their odds are not too good. The upside will be getting some clutter cleaned out. The downside? A new email address and potentially lost contacts and files. Oh well, not like that hasn't happened before. Seems to be the season for new beginnings. I'm up for it.

Got a new tool holder for my lathe last night and get to see if it fits today. If it does they are cheap enough that I can get several more which will be a great boon. That gives me a good reason to make it out to the lab. It's still below freezing today for about the 4th day in a row which is a bit of a disincentive. Once I get out there though maybe I can do a little work on the cutout for the exhaust pipes to go under the outboard strut to the rocker. Hmmm there's a thought, maybe I can source some good heat shield material as well, do a little inside work. Anything to move the project along. Good. I have work to do today. Best be getting to it.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Today I got pictures. I finished the cutouts for the exhaust pipes, went ahead and did both sides for symmetry since I'm pretty sure it needs to run down the driver's side but nothing is set in stone yet and I could be wrong about that. It'd be sorta embarrassing if I was and the other side wasn't done. So I did both and it wasn't much more work than doing just one side. IDK why that shot looks like the piece isn't welded in, shadows playing strange games I guess. You can clearly see the weld on the front side.



I used a piece of 3/16" strap to add some strength back in. I suspect this brace was there mostly to support the jacking point anyway which I have removed. Next I found a stray piece of this stainless, not sure what gauge maybe about .020" or less in thickness. I didn't measure it but it felt like good stock for a heat shield so I cut it in half and bent lips on the edges then cut a piece the same size out of a welding blanket I have that's supposed to be good for 1800 degrees. I figured that sealed inside a stainless envelope it might stay dry and effective. So I slapped that together, crimped down the edges, tig tacked a bunch of little welds along the seams,  and then used some 3" channel and a short length of hollobar in the press to give it form and function and here is the result.



As you can see the spaced double wall gave it a nice inner shape that conforms pretty closely to the twin 1-3/4" exhaust pipes and I bent the outer lips over so they would be more flush. Then another chunk of the strap I've been using as a tab to bolt into the old crossmember mounting holes and it was done. It should be easy to tuck the pipes in neatly, and if I had a conversion car with the usual headers and exhaust I'd be considering this mod. I may add other heat shields or I may not, right now I'm just tidying up details while waiting on my driveshaft parts which should get here in 2 more days. So next the e-brake cable. I added a tab for the sheath locating clamp and I'm really getting much better at my mig welds. That one looks just about perfect. Clearance around the pipes at full droop is going to be a bit tight but full droop will mostly only happen on the lift so if the axle touches the pipes I doubt it'll be a problem. Less of one than if the pipe touches the floor of the bay when loading anyway. I can let it go for now and if I need to I can dent the pipe there. I doubt I'll have to.



I also felt I needed guards to protect the angle fittings on the front air bags so a couple of angle cuts on the end of some 3" diameter tube and I had these. Thick enough to resist being bent, clearance enough to make and break the air hose connections, and if the fittings need replaced that can be done by removing the air bag or possibly by sliding in an open end wrench. I think that will be good enough. It'll be up out of the way when loading.



I put the wheels on all around and the passenger's side one has some interference with the steering knuckle. Curses! Tried a different wheel, same result. Why do I always get the weird problems? Seems to me it can only be one of two things. The steering arm could be bent which seems most likely, or the spindle could be bent. Luckily I'm pretty sure I have spares for both of those parts so I can't complain too much. In fact if it's the spindle I can use the one I just swapped out from the driver's side. But first, measurements to see if the arm has been bent. That is not unlikely at all. But could be the spindle, my camber on that side looks slightly off.

So that's today's work lined out. That and putting anti-seize on the threads of the UCA links and setting the pinion angle, bolting down the limit straps and airing up the tires. By the weekend I should be able to set it on it's wheels and see how the airbags are going to work. Then I think everything else except paint can be done on the lift. I should probably shorten that e-brake pivot bracket to get a straighter pull on the cables. The one on the MGB housing was shorter.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Detail work yesterday. First though, I took a better shot of the channel for the exhaust and that's here.



I guess the paint left on the insert looked like shadows in just the right places to appear like the insert wasn't actually there. This won't be quite as stiff as original in the vertical axis but that boxed rocker section is not going anywhere. I couldn't bend one with a 9 ton lift so I'm not worried about it.

So details then. I started by cutting away the pivot bracket from my junk MGB housings and the one from this housing and with vise, torch, and other implements of destruction eventually ended up with one good short bracket and a couple of the threaded studs. For reference, the stud IS threaded into the bracket before the lock nut goes on. That's important if you find a need to remove it. Another advisory note, that rear bell on the housing is a lot thinner than you would think. Noticeably thinner than the tin cover on a Salisbury from what I could tell, so not a great place to weld on a pivot bracket for a Watts linkage unless it is very heavily gusseted.

Anyway I welded on the MGB bracket (the earlier shot should show the difference) and liberally used anti-seize both there and on all the threads in that area including the sleeves and such for the hanger straps and even pumped grease through the brake cable sheath. sort of a messy day, but I got the UCAs coated, adjusted and locked down. That leaves me with that questionable spindle, two shock link nuts to tighten, and the rear axle brake lines and hose. I did at least lay a straight edge on the steering arms but didn't see anything obvious so that needs a closer look this afternoon. This morning I need to order a small 12v winch. Or maybe 24v if I see one. I'll need that this weekend to pull the car into the bay. Plus some sort of ramps I guess. I can try it without the ramps but that's pretty questionable. My driveshaft parts should get here tomorrow.

I do have a question for you suspension gurus. On a triangulated 4 link what sets the roll center? Is it the top links?

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Sometimes I'm posting just for the sake of posting but I feel it's necessary until the usage of the forum grows back to some semblance of it's past and that will only happen if there is something of interest here. I'm one of the original promoters of this site. Back when it was brand spanking new I was among the first to come aboard and immediately made it the home of BADASS and the MGB-Roadmaster project. I couldn't say how much benefit that was in growing the site, but if nothing else it gave lurkers an excuse for stopping by, so I'm at it again. I believed there was a need then for a site that catered to all LBC performance enthusiasts regardless of Make or Mark and was welcoming to others as well and I still see the need, I just hope enough others share that vision to keep it going long enough to become self sufficient. We've pretty well managed to do that financially, now we need to do it again  in terms of usage. But I'm singing to the choir here, if you're reading this you are already on board. Why not post a little something to help the cause along?

I didn't do much on the car yesterday, but my opinion if it means anything, is that you should strive to every day do at least one small thing on your project even if it's nothing more than sitting in the comfort of your den and ordering up a widget that you'll need later on. This is very helpful as it keeps your focus on the job and gives a feeling of accomplishment. Once enough of these small tasks are finished, you will find the job is complete. 

A second attitude that helps immensely is to recognize that almost any job worth doing is worth doing twice. With this approach, especially to a major project, each and every defect, flaw, and screw-up instead of being a major disappointment leading to frustration, depression, and  an urge to throw in the towel, is now just "Business as Usual" and a normal step in the process. It was expected. Exceptions are welcomed with much glee in fact. Patting on the back, and a self awarded "Attas-Boy". You did good. You're getting better.

So yesterday was for a bit of detailing. I welded a tab on the axle for the brake hose junction to bolt to, I determined that I could get the clearance I need on that front wheel by a small bit of grinding on the tie rod end and I think I can let it go at that. Precise measurements may show some bend but that will take disassembly and I think that can wait for the next major service. My exhaust heat shield is on the passenger's side and I think I'll leave it there. This is going down the rabbit hole a bit so you can skip it if you like. The front cylinder of the H-D Twin Cam is pointed to the driver's side. Firing order is front cylinder, 300+ degrees and then rear then 400+ and back to front. So if the exhaust pulse from the front takes linger to get to the muffler it should help even out the exhaust pulses. Running the exhausts down the passenger's side should do that. Somehow I managed to analyze it so it pointed to running it down the driver's side so there is a flaw in my logic somewhere, hopefully in my first analysis. At sum it probably makes little or no difference. But small details do add up. It's easy to confuse right and left when working on the car upside down.

Also my pressure switch came in as well as the check valves. I think I will need a longer rear brake hose however. Today the driveshaft parts should arrive and HF has the best deal on an ATV winch so in a couple days I should be ready to test fit the car in the cargo bay. THAT will be exciting.

Jim

[waterbucket]

I couldn't agree more Jim, I used to come on the forum a couple of times a week but the new threads stopped coming, the photo gallery wasn't updated and then it became what's the point in looking if there is nothing new to look at. All the traffic went to the MG Ex and I followed as well, like you say it needs lots of interesting threads and hopefully a few new cars in the photo gallery.

[BlownMGB-V8]

I thought today was going to be one of those days that I absolutely got nothing done. Easy enough excuses and all, but I did have the airbag regulators and the ATV winch to run out to the shop so I did that. Saw the brass brake line junction for the axle and decided it would be easy enough to remove the hose from it. Then the lines. So I found a stainless bolt and attached it to the bracket. It looked like the short line was usable with a little straightening and bending so I piddled around with that for awhile. Then I pulled down the box of tubing coils and since the short line was steel selected a scrap of steel for the other side that was mostly straight. One thing led to another and soon I had the second line in place and was taking pictures.







I didn't start out to do the brake lines today, but it was one of those things that would be best to do before setting the car on its wheels so I'm glad to have it out of the way. I'll order a hose and then run the line up front after I've got the pedals sorted. What I really intended to do was decide on a tank for the air system, a pretty minor thing. Still waiting on driveshaft parts, you know how ebay is.

Jim

[MGBV8]

Still waiting on driveshaft parts, you know how eBay is.

If they are shipping via USPS, this time of year mail is slower.

I was supposed to receive a package on 12-6.  It arrived on 12-10.  The convoluted shipping route was part of it.

[BlownMGB-V8]

UPS seems to be worse, I've seen packages come in to Walton (local) and then go back out to Chicago before getting delivered with UPS. Can't really say I understand that one but it's happened more than once. Supposedly it's now out for delivery though, by 2100 hrs. I'll believe it when I see it.

I grabbed a fattie 1 lb propane bottle for an air tank, and will most likely remove the screw-on fitting and braze in  one for 1/4" NPT. Plenty of room in the fender stub for that, the compressor and the regulators though instead of mounting them solidly I will probably soft mount them with closed cell foam. Should be able to get by with just one line running from there to the front I think. I have to consider the purge valves. The rear valve has to be reachable with just the front tires out the door of the bay so behind the car door may be too far back, I'm not sure. Space is going to be tight. I'll try to clean up the Lab a bit today in preparation for putting it on it's wheels.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Yesterday was the day. It started off with a big package on the porch, the driveshaft had finally arrived. After inspection it looks like there might be some slight possibility of using the short end with a conversion u-joint and getting the length close enough. I won't know until I can get the slip yoke to move as they jammed it down tight. I'll need another big crescent wrench for that, or maybe I can rig something to pull it apart. Anyway here's a shot of it.



The car is now sitting on it's own wheels. Well actually at the moment it's sitting on the lift arms but I hooked shop air up to the bags and had it aired all the way up. Then I put in the regulators and it looks like around 30 psi will be close for the rear and 50 for the front. The front airbags are an inch smaller in diameter.







I think it looks pretty good. The rear is sitting high but once it's off the lift it will come down. Too cold and too much snow to put it in the bay, that will come later.

It still looks like an MGB, just a shortened version. Sorting out the bodywork should be interesting.

Jim

[MGBV8]

Where do you put the groceries?

[BlownMGB-V8]

They will have to go in the cubby behind the seats it seems. It's not likely there will be much of a trunk, if any. Room certainly for a gas tank but not much more. And with the top down there won't be that much space behind the seats either so the question is certainly valid and it could easily become a case of having to put the top up to carry the groceries home. Sort of like a T series maybe.

I could put the doors on but I have the tunnel work to finish before I take the braces out so that will have to wait. It's much easier to get around in the lift bay though so that's a plus. Good chance I'll just end up ordering a driveshaft from Dayton Clutch and U-Joint but at least now since I have the parts I can get exact specs for that. Or maybe they have a longer male spline and a conversion u-joint that will make these parts work, one can hope. I have cleaning and measuring work to do. Still 11 degrees this morning with snow on the ground so if I do work in the Lab it'll be clean-up duty. But that's part of the job. I'm a bit grudging about that part but do recognize the necessity. I really should go through the entire clean-up cycle. I'll find things no doubt, which is a good incentive. I've been missing my 3/8 drive 9/16" socket. That may be gone never to return but who knows what jewels may surface? I can hardly wait to get started! I have a bit of firewood laid in, there's propane in the tank yet, a bit of fire to take the edge off so my fingers don't hurt and I'm good to go. Might even get one or two portable tables put away. What I really should do is dedicate a shelf in the pallet racking to the bay car. It'd help keep things from getting lost.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

Good News Everyone!
My driveshaft is done.



I was able to turn the yoke off the spline and match it to the tube of the old MG driveshaft and with that section being so short and dialed in don't think there will be any vibration. Turns out the pinion just moves 3/8" so I have plenty of travel in the slip yoke.

My height measurement at the rear is 28-1/2" so I have an inch to spare. The front is still on the lift arms but should be close to that. Once I have the rear brake hose and the driveshaft in I will be able to check it. All looks good so far, just waiting on the snow to go away.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

The driveshaft and rear brake hose are installed, and today I am stowing the car in the baggage bay. Pretty smooth operation so far, I've been using the Samurai for motive power, first pulling it out of the lab and then running the Sammy's winch cable through the bay and just backing to pull the bay car in. Took it in forwards and had to air up the rear bags fully to avoid high centering, using a pair of 2x planks about 7 ft long. It's now well centered in the bay and ready for me to close the doors. I plan to bolt a couple of guide rails to the floor to make sure it stays centered on the road. I have about an inch and a half on each side going through the doors and maybe a couple at the top. Clearances look good.



Wide view for perspective, amazing how much smaller than the bus this car is.



Close shot of the business end. I'm thinking a pull-through garage is the best here.



You can take my word that the other door is closed. I didn't try to see which one would be the easiest to close last. It could make a difference but I'd rather make a little more space. I was pushing the limits using those long control arms anyway.



Closing the doors was tight. The good is that it can't shift side to side, the bad is that it makes that second door hard to close and limits my tire choices. Later I may decide to shorten the control arms a bit (and the driveshaft). The lower ones would be pretty easy to just slice out about an inch and a half and the uppers have plenty of adjustment to match that  and since that would let me run standard tires I'll probably do it. Or if I didn't want to do that I could just swap in a pair of arms from a G body. I'll see if the vendor I bought the kit from has the shorter arms. as that would be the simplest, but I don't really mind the cutting, welding and painting that's required.

I'm very pleased. I can make this work. But the time has come at last to give it a rest and get on with the work on my Roadster. That baggage bay can remain closed up until summertime when I'll get back to the bodywork. In the meantime I have a Jag diff to build so I'll start a new thread on that, bearing in mind the shop is badly in need of a clean up and that really should come first.

Jim

[mgb260]

Jim, Fox Mustang has shorter lower arms.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/171308526248?_skw=fox+mustang+rear+lower+control+arms&itmmeta=01KCPYHG4M1CXG72E8TN2Y3VC0&hash=item27e2c8aaa8:g:mHQAAOxy4YdTVp89&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1d69szOTgkgLOOrDUvlpGVM2f2SD9%2BWo6K05JFbRotdNCcr4xjgY%2FXNAVJn71MEKBFGHw9BL1tgOnJh5PcMv%2FHKwh180hnWSu4Z3ulSqyIIcEf5dyVPEs3L6xGBLHu8Ot4%2BQAtnHxQ3gunVtSZIEmzcusrQGKZXSxKF3O8%2FcXHUxhd3A9htaAXQMfKfrWoO%2BmZK7OB88WZl7DRkoowPe3S9Sxzy8wtcRcXWT8w21Fo9NJmhOazgq2cnuYnL7gYyqSdWHAldQZuITpu7C8yRpwPl7wHCsaSrDAPMjL%2B98AKcdDCaDeJNgDJhBps46smEKE0%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMwoLG3uVm

[BlownMGB-V8]

I'll probably just cut and weld. The Mustang arms have no place to mount the air bags, best price so far on the G body arms are Speedway at $60+shipping each bare and I'm just not paying that. They are 1-7/8" shorter which would work, however even then I'd have to drill new holes for the airbags so there is rework in either case. Might as well use the ones that I already know fit, the speedway arms might even use a different bushing, which I don't want to deal with. I can just cut them in the big band saw to get straight and parallel cuts and the mig is now working very well indeed. Seems like the best way to go. I could even do an angle cut if I want to get fancy.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

I checked online and according to the numbers the posi has the right case. For the D44 the case break is between 3.73 and 3.92 and this is on the lower numeric side of the break. It's marked 3.54, apparently OI knew what I was doing when I bought it. It has a cast in number on the big end, C30755 that can be used to identify it.

I'm a big fan of the PowerLok. It's very positive and durable unlike my experience with the Trac-lock type which get less effective the more miles you put on them.

Looking forward to warmer weather tomorrow, still plenty to sort out before assembly can begin.

Jim

[BlownMGB-V8]

But, I find myself accidentally posting on this thread when I meant to post here:

https://www.britishv8.org/smf20/index.php/topic,75779.0.html#new

Jim

[Dan B]

Are you still thinking about adding a removable section to use as a trunk?
Also, you could modify the bay doors a little to allow for the tires