Taking Bonnie out for a spin

• Refitted passenger seat
  

If there's anything research has taught me, it's that even the simplest task will on average take 5-8 times as long as it should, generally due to technical difficulties and unforeseen complications. And this is despite extensive background research on the theory behind a novel procedure, working out the maths, the physics, and preparing for every possible complication that could arise, in the hope that the operation could be performed in a reasonable amount of time, and then move on to the next one. Working on an old car is just like that. Reading various manuals, studying diagrams, scouring MG websites and reading millions of posts, can take hours. Of course, that's nothing compared to performing the actual operation.

I still need to change the fuel filter, replace the coolant, fix the hole on the passenger side, replace the air filter, ..., and that's even before I start working on making the car look good again. But I felt lazy this weekend and thought I'd do something simple like reattach the passenger seat so I could start taking people for rides (rather than make them sit on the battery). Replacing the seat seemed to be more complicated than I anticipated. If you can avoid it never remove the seats.

DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID! Do not attach the rails before installing the seat. There is not enough room to slide the seats in place. Instead place the wooden absorbers in place with the metal spacers, and attach the rail that fits onto the side that has the mechanism that blocks the seat from sliding. Place the seat on the wooden absorbers and push the seat all the way back so the front hole becomes visible on the rail. Screw in a bolt but don't tighten all the way. Next push the seat all the way forward and do the same with the back screw. Push the remaining slide into position by sliding it under the seat, push the seat back, and screw in the front bolt. Repeat the same for the back. While doing this you may have to lift the seat up from one side occasionally, push it around a bit, force things into place. Then tighten all bolts, and you're done. This took me about an hour. If your MG is in better shape you'll get it done sooner. Make sure the bolts are in good shape so the seat can't come loose.

Anyway, so it all worked out in the end, and I was able to go for a ride with Jeremy. Below you'll see the first ever (cell-phone) video of Bonnie-Delilah in motion.