(Author’s note: My pictures of cars at the ABFM are posted at the bottom of this blog, if that’s what you’re here for.)
On July 29th I registered for the All
British Field Meet (ABFM), a gathering of British vehicles and their owners. Exactly why is now unclear, my British sports car’s frame was coming along
nicely, but all other parts were still in an unrestored pile. I vaguely remember
thinking, “This should motivate me to get the car going”.
The 2022 ABFM was scheduled for September 10th. I was trying to get a 1957 MGA together in
time to attend and I was far from ready.
A month (plus) would be plenty of time if my name was David
Freiburger (host of Roadkill, a tv show that gets old cars on the road) and MotorTrend was
paying me to build cars as a profession, but between July 29th and
September 10th I had thirteen days off from work and free to devote to working on
the MGA.
My wife, Kellie, had some far-flung expectations that I still needed
to be a parent and husband.
The battle with time began.
I prepared a calendar detailing each day’s necessary tasks
if I was going to drive the MGA to the ABFM.
Kellie was not particularly happy as there was no time set aside for the
previously mentioned fatherly duties.
My first volley was preparing the body tub so that it could
be placed back on the frame (if they’d ever been together, which is a matter of
some question).
When I’d purchased my MGA, from a British car junkyard,
the dents had looked minimal, disguised under a layer of rust and seven (thick)
layers of oil-based paint. The junkyard owner mentioned a small tree had fallen across the car
during a storm.
Fixing the body, the realities of “a small tree fell across
it” became grossly apparent.
Using a hammer and dolly I spent several days trying to
bring the caved-in front end back up and pulling the rear end, which was folded
under the car (obviously not tree damage), back out into a somewhat appropriate
shape.
I worked long and hard into the evenings and my neighbors
probably hated the ongoing sound of the hammer “tink, tink, tink” on the metal
shell for hours on end. I worked so hard
that I gave myself “tennis elbow”; my inflamed left elbow began to scream whenever
I grasped any tool. This did not bode
well for the schedule (as I write this I struggle to lift my coffee with
my left arm).
Eventually the body tub began to resemble a MGA again, and I
moved on to cleaning paint off the fender and door panels. Here my next challenge arose. The body panels wore many, many layers of
paint, some of them oil based. The
oil-based paint would move around, rather than easily peel off, complicating
the process.
And the panels had many, many dents. A layer of paint hinted at the origins of the
dents; blue crab-claw flames, over white house-paint, applied by brush,
indicated that a young man had enjoyed my MGA as a play thing.
I can imagine the MGA, wearing its blue
flames, being bounced off other cars (and rocks) as it participated in 1960s
era SCCA racing or engaged in dirt road late-night shenanigans.
When my day arrived to place the MGA body on the frame, I
used an engine hoist to raise and lower the body.
The fit wasn’t phenomenal, further adding
doubt regarding the body/frame matchup.
There were curse words said as the body moved places I didn’t want it to
go while I tried to jam bolts in it.
Finally, with the liberal application of the rubber mallet and several ratchet
straps providing adjustment, I managed to get all the bolts into the body that
tie it to the frame.
Then I moved on to plumbing and wiring the car. Wiring always take longer that you think it
will. The time flies by when you’re
wiring. But you want to do it right
because electrical can become a major headache down the road (yet I still
failed, as revealed later).
Even on my work days, I’d put a little time into the car; no
small feat because I work 12-hour days with a commute. I was getting tired.
It didn’t help that I was “upgrading” the electrical system,
meaning I couldn’t use the normal instructions with my later model tachometer, switch of ground from positive to negative and a high-output alternator.
I began to fall behind in my schedule. My oldest child, the responsible one (who will
probably someday be a doctor or similar), was sure to check on me. Daily she’d ask, “Are you on schedule Dad?”.
It was odd making excuses to an eight-year-old.
The truth was, I was falling behind. I reviewed my schedule and decided painting
could be put off.
In August I’d only had seven days where I could work on the
MGA; it was suddenly September and the All British Field Meet was at the end of
the week. Thankfully, I had the six days
leading up to the ABFM off from work. The car was still missing many body
panels and was far from running.
September 3rd
No body panel repair had been done yet. I decided body panel repair, like paint,
could also be put off until after the ABFM.
September 5th I wrapped up the dash installation
and plumbing the hydraulics.
September 6th the doors and fenders went on and
the seats went in. I had a friend, Eric, helping this day and it was much appreciated.
September 7th I found there was no spark at the
spark plugs and an emergency ignition system (distributor, coil, wires, etc.)
were ordered. I then drove to the warehouse to pick the parts up same day. The night of the 7th the A started, and drove, for the first time.
Thankfully, the motor I’d bought did run; the previous owner
had said it would but I’d not seen it in person. He was converting his MG to an electric engine.
On September 8th I timed the motor and wired the
lights into the fenders, mounting my custom British beehive taillights. I also mounted my Brookland’s windscreens.
I’m over-simplifying each day. In truth, there were so many little tasks and much time-consuming work that was required.
But it’d be boring to tell you about it all so I’m refraining, for both
our sake. They were long days and I was in the garage from early morning
to late evening every day, always being very dirty at the end of the day.
I didn’t even think to take a picture on the eighth.
September 9th I drove to the state licensing site and registered the
car. Registration was surprisingly expensive
but that was partly my fault. I chose
dark blue vanity plates because I don’t like Oregon’s purple and green standard
plate; I prefer my license plate not match this state’s hair colors of choice.
That afternoon I put my plates on, the plate light, as well as the grille,
front valence, etc. Again, I had another friend, Christian, come over to help and that made the evening go smoother.
The morning of September 10th I drove to the ABFM
in my 1957 MGA. More importantly, I made it to the ABFM!
The battle had been won. The war of restoration was far from over, but I’d prepared the MGA in time for the ABFM. Some concessions had been made, the MGA body still
wearing many dents and devoid of paint… but regardless, I was there. I added all my receipts, and (including the price of the car and registration) I’d spent $13,500 on the MGA, which doesn’t seem like a lot in today’s classic car world.
I can only imagine what the other MGA owners thought when
they saw my naked monstrosity pulling up. The other five MGA 1500s were very well-kept,
and mine was certainly the oddball in the bunch.
The ABFM was fun.
There were some beautiful and interesting cars (more pictures of ABFM cars posted at the end of this blog).
Also, I found the driveway to the event humorous; the
British cars were re-applying a little oil to the asphalt.
Equally humorous was the photo I’d sent to be in the published event catalog; I think I’m the only one whose car photo was a pile of parts.
The photo I used for the program
But the real highlight was when my family arrived and they saw
that my hard work had paid off. My kids
had lots of smiles when they saw the A parked on the field. Despite a tight schedule, and unexpected “tennis
elbow”, I’d made it. I’m hoping it made
some impression, regarding hard work, on my children.
Also, and thankfully, my friend Eric, who helped me with
the car was able to bring his family out. I was glad that he also got to
partake in the accomplishment.
The kiddos had a blast when we went on the Land Rover
excursion; for a charitable donation the Land Rovers were taking people around
the motocross track. It was a great time
and we did it twice, the first time in a newer model and the second time in an
older model.
The ABFM does have some characters. The people interactions at the ABFM are very enjoyable and kind, but every
year I have some funny conversations.
Last year I had several people tell me why my Locost (a type
of homebuilt car) wasn’t like a real production Lotus 7, without even first saying “Hi”.
Last Year’s Entry
This year I had one man simply glare at me when I tried to
talk with him; strangest interaction I’ve had in a long time. After saying
hello to each other, I complimented his nice car and mentioned that it seemed
like almost all of the colors were on display in the MGA area. His response was
to glare at me; it was a novel
way to end a conversation and I was unsure if it was somehow related to my car since I’d only just pulled up. Later I saw
him manning a “hospitality” tent.
Another MG owner shared with me that someone belligerently
berated his choice to use a non-factory front-suspension, even though he’d
bought the car that way and had already told the gentleman that the choice hadn’t
been his.
Those interactions are few though, and most people are very
friendly and enjoying themselves. My kids were given sweets almost everywhere
they turned, and I had some nice conversations.
Surprisingly, the kids did almost break my car.
Because I used a non-factory rear axle in the
MGA, I had to invent an emergency brake route.
I’ve noticed that the brakes don’t release when I lower the e-brake
handle, so I have to get under the car and shake the cable and then the brakes
release. I’m sure a spring or etc. will
fix it, but I just haven’t had time to mess with it.
On my way home from the ABFM I smelled hot brakes. Thankfully, I put two and two together and
realized I’d let the kids play in the MGA at the ABFM thinking they couldn’t
hurt it. Well, they’d pulled and
released the ebrake handle, and now my brakes were partially stuck for the drive
home. I pulled over and jangled the
cable and the brakes released. I had no
further issues.
And when I say, “no further issues”, I should elaborate that
the car drives exceptionally well for not having been tuned, aligned, etc. I used a later MGB motor (same motor design,
but bored out to larger capacity), a MGB rear end (taller gearing, so it goes
faster) and front disc brakes from a later model of the MGA; between the three
upgrades the MGA cruises along and stops much better than the MGA coupe I had
ten years ago. It’s a blast to drive and
on the way to and from the ABFM I flew past several other British cars trundling
along the Interstate.
We’ve driven the MGA a lot since Saturday, the kids going for many rides, they really enjoy the car. Kellie and I were even allowed an hour drive when friends watched the kiddos.
Things aren’t perfect.
I pulled the spark plugs yesterday and they’re darker than they should
be. It’s running rich and I do need to
tune it. It stumbled several times today, so I probably have a plugged fuel filter or the plugs are fouling.
Also, my later-model tachometer only works when I have the
light switch on, so (despite best efforts) I didn’t wire it right… and the tach
needs adjustment unless I’m constantly revving the car to 7500 RPMs. Unfortunately,
the speedo doesn’t even try to work; it just flutters a little at zero.
And, due to lack-of-space I’m having the hardest time
figuring out how to get my alternator belt tight enough to run the high-output
alternator and halogen headlights without squealing. I may need a friend to
tighten the bolt on top while I wedge the alternator over from the bottom.
And when I look at the many, many dents in the body I question
whether I should even try to straighten it. Those darn teenagers. We’ll see how far down
the path of body repair I go.
But I won the battle.
The ABFM was attended. I’m happy! God blessed me with the time, finances, friends, opportunities, etc. that I needed to get the car to the ABFM. And the car drives very well;
it is peppy, comfortable and I’m looking forward to making it even better.
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