MGB restoration PART 6 - Cleaning the engine bay!

I take on that not so enviable task of cleaning the incredibly grubby engine bay of the MG.

[@Donno308]

Greetings from Australia! Having just bought an MGB roadster I was searching for MG restoration videos and found your channel. Nice to find one that’s not American and also pitched at about the same level I work at - that is, no fancy workshop or specialised tools. I have a fair bit do experience with old cars in general and Jaguars in particular but none at all with an MG. Anyway thanks for the videos. I’ll be watching this series from the start and have subscribed to your channel. Having my own small channel I understand what you mean by being part of a community. It’s what makes it all worthwhile! Cheers

[@Endfloat]

Best of luck with your new car. Good to have you along, and say hi to everyone in Australia for me! 😉

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Top Job on the MG and amazed at how solid it is that crude must have kept the rust at bay!

[@Endfloat]

Yeah as I said in the video, crud is not my method of choice for rust prevention but it certainly did the job! I was pleasantly surprised! Thanks!

[@donthuis]

I used a cloth completely saturated with turpentine/white spirit on the fenders once: it not only removed the Waxoyl I sprayed there earlier, but also loosened a lot of grease. And putting new Waxoyl on or on rusty surfaces if any some Hammerite is also aided by this. Of course the thickest layers of muck should be removed first as shown in this video. BTW I used Gunk in the past, but only on the engine block...

[@russheath15]

Great job on a not too nice job if you get my drift fella. Watched all your videos on the MG now keep up the good work 👍

[@Endfloat]

Thanks! I did go in thinking it wasn't going to be a nice job but I was actually very satisfied with the results in the end. There's LOTS more to do on this car so there'll be plenty more videos down the line. Thanks for watching!

[@stevejones8665]

I used to just use Gunk let it soak and then steam clean it. Use to come up like new. Obviously it's a lot harder getting it steam cleaned when you can't drive it. Not too sure about the oven cleaner bit, I would have thought caustic would cause rust. Good luck with the restoration and hope you manage to get it back on the road.👍👍

[@Endfloat]

It's important to make sure the oven cleaner is removed thoroughly and given that I was able to bring the subframe outside, that was possible. My issue with gunk is how it degrades rubbers and plastics and the wiring harness is still installed, as well as many pipes and vulnerable things. I was actually really impressed with the elbow grease, so much so that I'm going to see if I can buy it in 5l drums and use it in my parts washer.

[@jerryp2433]

WD40 and a stiff brush seems to work ok.

[@johnw6498]

ProTip: 1. Never use oven cleaner or any caustic chemical on aluminum. It will ruin it. 2. Most car dealer shops use brake cleaner. But only use the non chlorinated kind and stay away from electrical connectors and especially the alternator. 3. Don't use a power washer in the engine bay, just a garden hose. MOST IMPORTANT: WEAR GOGGLES, A RESPIRATOR OR MASK, AND GLOVES!

[@rstevep9413]

im doing what you are doing right now 80 mgb

[@Endfloat]

How are you getting on? Is yours as grubby as this?

[@keithrodgers1030]

Have you tried swarfega the hand cleaner, that removes grease off your hands and should be safe to use on plastic parts & painted services. I use a small wire brush ones that show shops use for suede shoes it works a treat.

[@Endfloat]

Never would have thought of that to be honest but I might give it a go! Thanks!

[@paul-uk]

Great Job mate.... It looks, but its possibly just my eyes, has the car ever been Ziebart'd ? It looks like the sort of thick layer in the bay, covering everything. (probably not). Just cannot quite understand why its that thick... Would your Ryobi EZclean be any good for this, not sure if that is what you used?

[@Endfloat]

Cheers! No it's just a thick layer of oily gunge from various leaks and spillages over the years mixed with muck and road dirt. I had to Google ziebart though! I did use the ez clean in the video. It worked really well actually. It's a great piece of kit.

[@paul-uk]

@@Endfloat Yeah, Ziebart is like this thick black layer that was used and sprayed in the 1970's and forced in between the sill's of cars. It looked a bit like what you were scraping off. I had it on my Fiesta Mk1, was great at preventing rust, but just horrible to look at. May of changed over the years since though.

[@paul-uk]

Obviously could see some of it was just pure gung, but amazed at the amount. Probably made the car weigh about 150 kilos more than it should do! LOL :)

[@davyp7107]

I have never tried it but was told Diesel & Petrol mixed together is a good cleaning agent ?

[@Endfloat]

I tried diesel but I was reluctant to use much petrol because of its flammability. If it was outdoors I might have done though. The diesel didn't do a great job on its own.

[@davyp7107]

@@Endfloat yep need to be careful lol

[@clashcityrocker1367]

The best stuff I've ever used is JetA1....

[@Endfloat]

Interesting! 🤔

[@aoifetuna]

Ah yeah, #mrshinch