The MGA Restoration Project

Page Thirty Five: Coming to Life

Late June of 2004 brings record high temperatures in the low 90s to the Puget Sound area, so the MG is rolled out into the sun to facilitate the curing of the paint. This paint job had been curing inexplicably slowly, and as a result the rubbing-out process had to be suspended until it hardened more.
It looks almost like you could just jump in and take off. Unfortunately, it isn't still quite ready to travel under its own power.
Back up on the hoist, the horn can be seen just in front of the steering gear, and the carburetor overflow tubes are visible between the front suspension crossmember and the oil pan sump. Also visible to the right of the sump is the new exhaust system...
...however there is a discrepancy. The exhaust pipe hanger bracket on the pipe (vertical arrow) is several inches ahead of the bracket on the body (horizontal arrow). Also, the muffler is rubbing on the parking brake cable. The exhaust pipe will need to be cut and a new section inserted. This type of problem seems to be par for the course for many offshore-sourced reproduction parts.
June 24, 2004. A landmark event approaches. Matt Graham installs the batteries in preparation for the first starting of the engine. This will be the first time the engine has run since 1992. Listen to the momentous first running of the engine. (700k .wav file)

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