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Owner: Chris Knowles
Type: 2 Door Saloon
Year: 1970
Colour: Trafalgar Blue
This car is very much a project, it is a 1970 two door saloon which I have
never seen it with the engine fitted, let alone heard it running.
I bought the car in July 2005, but did not start any renovation work until
January 2006. I was looking for a car with a lot less work on it and was ready
to walk away when the previous owner appealed to my gulible side and accepted an
offer of £100 if I promised to put it back on the road. I knew that the car
that needed “new sills for its MOT” was also going to need floors, inner
wings, box sections, suspension crossmember and numerous other patches before I
started looking at the mechanicals.
I brought the rolling shell home on a trailer then went back for the engine and gearbox etc.
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I have taken loads of photographs and intend to put a report together, but
am concentrating on the car rather than writing about it at the moment.
As the car is going to be used as an every day runner, I will be upgrading a few items to make it a bit quicker, quieter and handle better. These will include:
MG Midget disc brakes (thanks Dave!)
Telescopic shock absorbers
Lowered by 30mm
Big valve unleaded cylinder head
MG Metro inlet manifold & carb (if I can get one at a sensible price)
LCB stainless exhaust
Wing liners
3 gallons of waxoil
My target is to get it on the road for June.
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It is now early July and I have missed my June target, so have revised it to
August when I have a few weeks holiday.
Completed so far:
Structural work, including:
New sills
LH front chassis box section
Front crossmember – lower
LH tie plate
Passenger floor
Front inner wings
Suspension crossmember ends
Both rear spring front brackets and floor
One rear inner wing spring hanger location ( other had already been done)
Drivers door bottom
Various plates to prevent water ingress.
Here are some more pics showing the work –
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On completion of the structural work, there has been some cosmetic work done
to the body and wings and a full re-spray in the original colour.
The engine has now been re-built and will be going in at the weekend. Also,
I have bought a 1098 gearbox to replace the 948 gearbox that came with the car.
I haven’t managed to find a Metro carb and manifold yet, so a pair of SU’s
(bought for £20) will go on in the short term. They may stay on if the do not
prove too thirsty.
Apart from re fitting the engine, I still need to:
Replace the front drums with discs
Fit the rear telescopic shockers
Fit sound proofing and carpets
Replace the seats and trim
Trouble shoot the electrics
Waxoil all the box sections etc.
This is the story so far!
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The work has continued and I have managed to hit my revised target and got
her MOT’d on 15th August 2006.
I have made one compromise and stuck with the drum brakes as I encountered a problem trying to mount the Midget calipers to the upright.
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This won’t be the end of the work on UAJ 570J, but at last I can enjoy
driving around in her.
Apart from the general maintenance, things I intend to do are:
Fit disc brakes
Modify “A” posts to improve panel fit and door closing effort
Manufacture and fit inner wing liners
Manufacture and fit a tow bar.
So now on to the next project!!!