Ok, so how long does it take to restore an old car? As long as it takes. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me: “Hey Hogan, when’s it going to be on the road? ” Today, I now see the light at the end of the tunnel. The original Orient Red color (single stage) was applied recently by the technicians at Vintage Motors LLC, Westbrook…and baked in their new Marathon high-tech Spray booth.
and then there was paint
In October 1998 I purchased a tired 1959 MGA Roadster (convertible) from a woman in Stonington. Jim Greybill of ALLPRO automotive flatbedded “Bridget” home to my garage where the lengthy restoration process began. (BRIDGET is the name of my late Irish Grand Mother, Bridget Hogan.) Restoration is a time consuming, tedious task. Each part has to be disassembled, labeled, and should be photographed. DON’T THROW ANYTHING OUT! Like building a house, you start with the foundation, the frame. Then I proceeded through the years as I had money to do so to restore the engine, drivetrain, transmission, rearend, suspension, brakes and finally, the body. The body of the MGA is a classic design and where restorers put most of their money. GULP.
How not to restore
Like many project at home, I try to do things myself; plumbing, mason work, roofing design landscaping. But when it came to replacing rusted sections of the MGA….I failed miserably. I cannot weld. I had no clue how much science and knowledge of metals is involved in restoration. Thank you Richard Willard and staff at Vintage Motors in Westbrook for steering me in the right direction. GET ANOTHER BODY!!! Because, you didn’t do any service to this one. The purchase of a matching twin body in Walpole, Mass…was a huge savings.
Fast forward two and a half years…and hundreds of hours of dedicated labor, and you’ll see the MGA body is painted with the newest single stage paint to provide years of shiny service.
Now the fun begins!
Now my rebuild is well underway! I just have to order some new parts to replace the ones I threw away.
Kevin
PS – please don’t ask when she’s going to be on the road, soon I hope!
