On the perils of listing on eBay for 0.99p with no reserve early on a Sunday morning...

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228) 04/10/2016 at 06:21 • Filed to: Jammy Git, 99p MGB, Baja B

11

28

Look what I’ve just accidentally bought because no-one else bid on it!

I’ll give the chap a bit more for the parts that come along with it, but I’ve only really got £50 to spend so it’s an MGB GT for £50 max!

Good weekend :)

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 06:37

0

That actually looks like it’s in OK nick, even the a-pillars don’t rotten. Good shout mate. Gonna pop a 3.9 in there?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 04/10/2016 at 06:54

2

I know! The rear arches don’t look rotten, and even the roof has still got paint on all the surfaces. No doubt there’ll be some serious stuff lurking somewhere, but for 0.99p that’s hard to complain about.

I’ve got an ex-SD1 3.5l in bits that came with my 2nd Spitfire that’ll get thrown together and put in there.

Actually, the plan with this one, if I can, is to make an MGBaja. RV8 up front with a Landy 5-speed and transfer case. Jag IRS from my crushed XJ40 in the back, Subaru R160 I’ve got lying around up front, Freelander uprights up front (splined for a driveshaft and same stud pattern as the Jag at the back), flared wheelarches and big knobbly offroad tyres to get the desired lift :)

Actually, how much ground clearance would you say would be necessary for mild-to-moderate offroading? I’ve worked out at the stock suspension height I can gain 1.65" just by changing to Freelander wheels, and 2.6" if I put knobbly offroad tyres on those (roughly 6" and 6" of ground clearance respectively).

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 07:10

0

I remember the conversation! Also I promised to come and help :)

Ground clearance is best set by the midpoint of your wheelbase because, unless you’re rock crawling or attacking sheer faces, that’s probably the most likely part to bottom out. If you’ve got a short wheelbase with low overhang front/back then you can get away with a lower ride height. Also bare in mind that you can fit sliders to the body so even if you ground it you don’t worry too much, and if you used 285/75R16 tyres you’d have a 17" wheel radius, on 235/85R16 16" radius etc. so you can use your tyres to increase ride height if tackling the IRS geometry becomes too much of a pain. Overall I’d aim for 10-12" if you’re gonna rag it about.

That's gonna leave a mark! > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 07:15

0

The wings may be toast but sell only 1 part and you are in the black. Early bird gets the worm. Good score!

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 07:22

1

Wow, you know how to keep yourself busy. Goodluck with baja-ifying it.

shop-teacher > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 07:57

1

I like this plan!

GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 08:08

2

SOLD FOR A BUCK!

Wish had bought my Roadster for a buck, it had about the same amount of rust in the same spots, good luck!

Steve in Manhattan > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 08:14

0

How hard can it be?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Steve in Manhattan 04/10/2016 at 08:16

0

Exactly!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer 04/10/2016 at 08:20

1

Thanks :) it’s far down on the list of priorities, but I’ll get there :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > That's gonna leave a mark! 04/10/2016 at 08:21

0

That’s my thinking :) anything I don’t need for my Baja idea (save the suspension to keep it rolling) will get sold to bankroll the rest of it :)

Tekamul > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 10:00

0

That’ll buff right out.

Birddog > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 11:23

0

I’m green with envy! It looks relatively solid too. Deal of the week!

My bird IS the word > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2016 at 11:31

1

If any purists complain about what you do to it just tell them how much you paid for it. Damn, you literally cannot do better than that.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 04/10/2016 at 14:29

1

Hmm gotcha, so I’ve got to find 3" from the suspension. Doesn’t sound insurmountable, but I’d like to keep decent geometry :)

Some underbody protection would probably be a great idea, and probably some sort of sump guard too as I’ve no idea what shape I’ll need to get it into to clear the diff up front.

I can’t wait to get started :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Tekamul 04/10/2016 at 14:30

1

If by ‘buff’ you mean ‘angle grind’ then hell yeah it will!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Birddog 04/10/2016 at 14:31

0

I know :) I’m really surprised at it actually. There’s ones in a lot worse condition that go for a lot more. Must really just have been no-one else up that early on a Sunday :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > My bird IS the word 04/10/2016 at 14:34

0

Absolutely :) I’ll show them the pictures too. It’s hard to argue against something if you’ve built it up from a rotten shell.

Actually, if they do complain about my Baja idea I’ll point out that all the parts on it save for the Subaru diff up front were made by British Leyland, Land Rover or the Rover Group :)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/11/2016 at 08:28

0

Oh no, or possibly “hooray!”. Not quite sure which yet.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/11/2016 at 08:36

0

Probably both :) for the money it’s unbelievable, but I doubt it’s actually in anywhere near good shape.

Saying that, the rear wings and sills actually look quite good!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/11/2016 at 08:39

0

I remember the MGBaja conversation. Sort of hilarious it’s going to bear fruit. :)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/11/2016 at 08:40

0

One caveat: rear suspension made by Spicer in the US in part. Contracted for BL, of course.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/11/2016 at 08:49

0

Interesting. The B rear axle or the Jag IRS that will be going in the back?

I know the guts of the Jag diff are Dana 44 licenced parts so both probably!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/11/2016 at 08:50

1

I know! I’ve just been watching all the parts just fall into place :) the only thing I need now is a Defender/Discovery V8 5-speed and some Freelander struts and I’ve got all the major constituent parts...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/11/2016 at 08:57

0

It’s a similar sort of thing to my Ranchero project: the parts that need cutting up for the mad project are the parts that are rubbish anyway, so purists can go hang. It’s being saved from a tragic total end for tragic vivisection instead.

I need to plan a trip out there again in another year or so and check in. Better organized trip on my end, obviously - now that I have a better idea of how one arranges a UK trip.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/11/2016 at 09:17

0

Absolutely :) not many big things changed since last time (apart from the acquisitions) but hopefully in the next few months things will start falling into place :) I've got all the bits I need for my suspension for instance so theoretically I could build everything up sans propshaft and have a rolling project :)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/11/2016 at 09:51

0

I haven’t been making any progress on the giant Lincoln because the Ranchero has been squatting in the bay like a toad, and I haven’t been making much progress on the Ranchero because the exact solution to tying the roll hoop into the body has been eluding me. I’ve got the roof reinforcing tubing bits all bent up and ready except for that, so once I do resolve things I expect it’ll go pretty quickly. The folding down of the back of the cab bit depends on that, as does the making of the lift-out roof sections and the repair of the A-pillars. In the meantime, I have started cutting down my doors, which as you may recall need 7" taken off the bottom to fit the raised door thresholds. I’ve also cut the rotten front beam out of the bonnet so it can be replaced and I can re-arc the bonnet to better match the grille - which is from a different year. Just modified car things, really.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/11/2016 at 10:26

0

Nice :) apart from the waiting around while things are worked out. Sometimes feels like you’re making no progress because you’re bogged down in the little things (despite the fact that there’s a lot of satisfaction in getting the little things right).

What I'm thinking at the moment is whether it's worth punching holes and swaging the plates that I'll use to box in the roof to itself. The holes will be in the inside so water ingress won't be an issue, and it'll look nice, but how much will it weaken the structure (which is part of my rollover protection)...