Rosy, a restoration project - Road Test.

After restoration 1



After restoration 2




Before restoration




On April 1st 2009 I finally got Rosy in a position to attempt to start her!  David Rider who was helping me confirmed that there was compression, we had ignition and petrol was in the tank.  This did not mean it was getting to the engine, we could hear the petrol pump ticking away but it did not stop.  We checked the fuel tap to see if that was leaking air, I had replaced the cork washer but the pump was still not drawing petrol from the tank.  We determined that the fit of the cork washer although being well soaked in oil was still not air tight.

To overcome this we fitted an 8mm elbow to bypass the tap and when we turned on the ignition the pump sounded a lot healthier and soon stopped, we now had petrol to the carburettors.  Compression, ignition and mixture combined to fire 'Rosy' up for the first time in 38 years!

This now inspired me to get on with the many jobs still outstanding to get the car ready for its first run down to the MOT test station.  I had insured it the week previously so I could drive it on the road after informing the MOT test centre to book me in on April 25th.  Driving the car with the steering wheel off my other TA, the one for 'Rosy' is away being restored, I drove it to the MOT test station.  It drove with no problems at all except for the accelerator 'sticking' at about half throttle which was a little disconcerting.  That and the petrol tap are two of the things that have to be sorted out, one or two other problems are a fuel leak from one of the unions. When it was being tested the mechanic noticed that there was a slight leak of petrol and pointed it out to me.  One or two of the brake connections also require attention, but the brakes worked fine, I always wondered when I riveted the brake linings on to the shoes how good a job I had done on them.

However it passed with flying colours and when I drove it back home I got on line to the DVLA and requested a tax disc, I was expecting the computer to hic-cup when I realised that the car had not been taxed or 'sorned' since 1971, but no there were no problems and the tax disc arrived in the post Friday morning as we were setting off to Windsor to the 85th anniversary event for the MG.

It has been booked in to have the tonneau,s, roof and side screens fitted so that will be the last major expense, so when that is done I will be able to reckon how much the rebuild has cost.

You can see from the photographs that 'Rosy' looks quite stunning, if you compare the before and after photographs you will see what 8 years of polishing with plenty of 'elbow grease' can achieve.