MG Midget 1965 MKII Restoration Project
Follow my project of restoring a 1965 MK II MG Midget classic car. This will be a complete rebuild restoration.
Sunday, 7 May 2023
All done! Well mostly
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Chrome Trim
This is without doubt one of the scariest jobs. Fresh new paint and one slip and it's ruined.
The first thing I tackled was the MG badge on the boot lid.
I bought a nice new shiny set as I wanted it to look perfect against my lovely new paint.
Next up was the long chrome beading rail that runs from front to back along the wings, a-post and doors.
It is important that you make sure each clip is the same way. I had it so the two prongs were at the bottom, so when you fit the beading you slot it on the top and push down so that it clips in.
Sunday, 9 April 2023
Seats
As mentioned in another post I decide to get the seats professionally restored.
I thought I had taken a photo of the seats so I could show a nice before and after. I can't find one!
This is the best I have, sorry.
Hard to see but the vinyl was ripped. The vinyl itself was very dirty and stained and the foam underneath was falling apart.
So lots to do. I really didn't know how I was going to tackle this. By complete chance I met a guy called Ray who lived in the village. He was a car trimmer. We got chatting and he agreed to help me.
I came to pick up the seats and all the panels and in a couple of weeks he returned with this!
Monday, 3 April 2023
Interior Trim and Panels
Time to restore the interior trim and panels.
These were stored for quite a few years in the loft of the garage. Some of them had been nibbled at by the mice. All of them stank of mouse piss. Whilst there were all there few were in good condition I decided to remake new boards for most of them and get them retrimmed.
I decide to outsource the retrimming of the seats to a local professional and so asked him if he would be happy to recover all the panels for me. He agreed and for a very good price.
In a couple of weeks he called me up to tell me everything was done apart from the rail that runs behind the seats. He said he had trouble getting the vinyl to stretch around the corners.
I told him not to worry and drop everything off and we'd work it out together. I didn't take a photo of the rails when they came back, but it didn't look good. The rest of the panels were really good though and ready to fit straight away.
As you can see from the photos below the MK2's rear rail is not an easy shape to stretch vinyl around.
I tried speaking to a few other trimmers in the area. They all said it would be difficult and some of the pricing quoted was making it not worth the effort. Some suggested just painting it.
These rails all bolt into place using the sliding bolts. (sorry poor pic)
I used glue as well rather than just the back adhesive. Some fitted in very well but others needed a better fixing and I used modern alternative.