Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Modern Classic Cars Frontline Abingdon Edition

Great pics Chris 👍

Thanks for the update Chris, lovely pictured of your Grandaughter having a cockpit familiarisation for later usage

Thanks I agree they are nice photos. She was certainly interested in touching all the switches on the dash and kept trying to reach down to the gear stick so a potential petrol head. My son certainly is a petrol head and everyone blames me for buying that Nissan Silvia convertible when he was young.

They are doing very well, our grand daughter is a lovely happy baby and both parents are coping well even though they are young. The girlfriend is very independent and trying to make them stand on their own feet but every now and then I will pay a bill for him as I know they are struggling a bit.

More pictures and progress update. Unfortunately none of my car but still interesting.

I took my Dad to Sydney on the 3rd of November to see the MGB workshop. We had a look at the car before mine that was just finished being painted, it is done in Aston Martin Sage Green and rather nice but I still think a variation of BRG is better. My body was supposed to be back from the strippers but was delayed due to the tow truck, it would have been nice to see it all striped of paint but really seeing the finished body of the other car was probably a lot more impressive.

We had a look at my engine and other parts set aside for my car, then I took dad for a drive down towards Wollongong in the red demo MGB with the 2.5L 215KW engine. All I can say is wow that car can move, a bit of fun listening to the engine accelerate and it is at 130kph before you can blink, then decide better slow down and not get booked. I just hope the 159KW 2.0L engine feels as good, probably not but should still be pretty quick and maybe safer for my licence I think the car must have a very light flywheel as it is rather responsive but hard to drive smoothly, it will be a good challenge for me to get used to mine one it is done. Dad said sitting in the car he felt more like 18 than 80, he said it is amazing how it feels like a 1960’s car but with nice finish, very solid with no rattles and very comfortable. I remember 7 years ago driving the same road in an Audi R8 as part of a super car drive day my wife bought me as a 50th birthday present. I think the MGB was more fun probably because it has no roof and a real gearbox instead of flappy paddles.

Dad was also very impressed with the quality of the body, as you can see in the photos the wings are welded on and made part of the car, same with any other part of the car so the finished product is completely smooth. He also showed us sections of the body underneath that he has reinforced with another layer of metal where the suspension bolts on, his idea is if a customer hits a bad pot hole he would rather see the suspension bend and need replacing that damage the body I agree that I would rather replace a suspension arm etc. than have to get the body straightened.

All up I drove 635km in the Octavia and 72km in the MGB so a pretty long day.






Last week the workshop owner phoned up rather excited. I thought something was happening to my car but no it is currently at another shop having all the seams welded. However he has a nice Green MGB at the workshop for about two weeks before going to the Gold Coast once ready for Australian Design rules. The owner was in the UK and the car was built by Frontline but moved back to Australia once COVID started bringing his car with him.

The workshop owner said it is BMW Alpina Green. He sent me some photos thinking I might like it and said a great opportunity to see that colour on a MGB, so my son and I went to see it on Saturday. The day started out nice and sunny but once we reached Liverpool at 10am it got very overcast, it didn’t rain until about 6:00pm on the way home but the sun was hidden the whole time we were at the workshop so couldn’t see the car in the sun which was annoying. In the overcast weather it looked very nice like a good quality dark British Racing Green which I liked but I would have liked to see it in the sun. I am worried it might be a bit too sparkly for a MGB in full sun, probably good on a car from the 1980’s onwards but not sure about a car from the 1960’s. However the general consensus is it looked quite nice in bad weather and people who have seen it at the workshop like it so just go for it. Just a bit annoying to drive nearly 7 hours and not see it properly due to the weather.




The other interesting news is my car was a UK import probably in the 1970's. The body number on the plate seemed much too high for Australia but seemed to match the Australian prefix. Once fully stripped of paint there is a number that is on the back parcel shelf rather than under the bonnet where Australia puts it. The number appears to have been stamped in Australia with the import permission number rather than a body number. Bad news is I will probably never be able to trace any history of my car but the good news is there was no rust anywhere apart from inside the back guard. Not that the history really matters when the car is going to be modified so much anyway.

I know you say that you prefer the darker green, but I love the Aston colour, Chris..

What a great project. Don't get bogged down on the minutae, chum. You'll love it, I bet.

AM sage green looks pretty cool, I like it also with the MGB. It is metallic but a 60is kind of metallic. More contemporary in my view that the BMW Alpina green. It would even be a nice colour for a Morgan.

Yes the Aston coloured car is going to look very nice but still keen for a darker green. But I agree it is a 60's style of metallic that would suit the era of the car well.

Yes it is a great project and will get more and more exciting the closer to the end. Picking the carpet, leather etc. is going to be a lot of fun.

A colour I would consider when I ever would have another Morgan is Highland Green like the Bullitt Mustang was. Also a true 60is metallic colour and darker than AM green. Could also suit the MGB.

Heinz, thanks that is a nice colour that would suit a MGB. I will have a talker to the body shop and see what they think.

Hi Everyone,

I went and visited my car to see the progress. They hope to have the body ready and painted by mid April and returned to the mechanical workshop ready to start fitting the engine etc. So hopefully more pictures in about 6 weeks but for now here are a few of the body being worked on.

Engine bay is ready for the engine. The top slam panel is being replaced with new because the Radiator Duct was replaced. By using the 1974 to 1980 parts in the front gives an extra 15 to 20cm of room for the engine, the MX5 based engine will fit but maintenance is easier with more room.


The passenger side floor and sill was in better condition than most MGB's they have worked on but still had some dents plus rust so they decided to replace them.


I was told most places when replacing the sill will leave the frame for the door hinges alone and cut the sill. My workshop prefers to cut out that panel out, fit the sill and then replace the panel, not only do they think it is stronger it also means they can get a good look inside to make sure there is no rust inside.


Drivers floor was perfect so left alone.


Drivers sill also prefect apart from a few small dents at the front that will need fixing


Boot area nice and straight.