The Great MGB Rebuild Pt4

Part 4 of my ongoing rebuild efforts. In this episode I'm assembling the Differential while waiting for the body to come back from the dipping process. Then we mount it on the rotisserie and start with rust repairs....

[@Johannes7707]

Great work. A lot of hours! WOW!

[@gfurstnsu]

The work you did in the heater box area shows how important it is to keep the drain in this area clear. It also means that you must keep Tom’s knob clear. It is rubber and easily clogged is you do not keep leaves out of the vent in front of the center of the windshield.

[@gfurstnsu]

I’m really impressed with your work to correct the backlash on the differential crown gear and pinion heat that it mates with. I assume the backlash is related to the play of the pinion with the crown gear. If it is too tight, it would wear the crown gear. If it is too loose, there would be a back lash and too much play between the pinion and the crown gear. There does need to be some play so the gear oil can cover both gears when you drive. I appreciate your showing how to spread the differential housing. The use of shims to correct this critical measurement is well done. Also your lighting is excellent. Only wish you has shown the fiber and copper spacers too. This is a more common job for us B owners. I did this job a few years ago and it eliminated the clunk when starting to move car forward. Great job you are doing and thanks for sharing.

[@stevegnome]

yes - the thrust washers under the pinion gears is critical and is usually the main culprit of the on throttle, off throttle clunk. Didnt include that in the video at the time as I had some trouble getting the thrust washers for that.

[@rickhhowes]

The idea of a patch is to bring back the integrity of the part. I think your welds will hold just fine👍

[@billyboyblue17]

Steve, chances are extremely high that whomever was giving you crap about your welding has never welded before. Having earned a living as a welder, I learned something decades ago - quite often the "pretty" welds are not very strong, while the "ugly" ones are the ones you can hang anything on without worry. I was impressed by the "finished" ground out stuff how good they looked. GREAT WORK! Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

[@albabmg]

Nice video series Steve. Looking forward to watching more. My MGB has developed a clunking noise on the front offside. I've been racking my brain trying to work out where it is coming from. Your tip about the worn hub splines in one of your earlier videos has given me a possible answer. Cheers.

[@boozacreeper]

Great series, lots of progress each ep with interesting before and after shots.

[@MyDyerMaker]

You're an artist.

[@alfaromeoalfettarestoratio7817]

Excellent work again, Steve. And very nice job on the vids / photos.

[@tomedge1044]

Seriously impressed with your heater box work, getting those areas to look/be right using just sheet steel and considering the "english lace" you started with is very impressive. Make sure to put a new drain in the bottom of that area to help prevent it getting that way again. Another thing to consider doing is to put some mesh under the air intake grille to prevent leaves from getting into this area again.

[@hawkmoon560]

Impressive work 👍

[@jonathangilmore2584]

fab!

[@geoffmcconville5410]

The corroded square beside the battery box is in the area of a rectangular identity tag on early cars ie your 64 car. Wonder if this corrosion relates to a now missing patch?

[@ianfaulkner7622]

What type and thickness of metal did you end up using?

[@stevegnome]

Hi Ian - pretty hefty - but between 1 and 1.5mm. Used 1.5 in the major structure bits. Its easier for beginners like me to weld :)

[@lucsavoie9501]

Who says cancer can't be cured......