Sorry I haven't posted in so long...I kinda lost interest in the messageboard for a while.
But anyhow, Mog is about "finished," insofar as I've run out of things to do on it and it's ready to go on the road when there's enough money. (Anybody care to contribute to the cause...? 
)At the beginning of summer break, I started in on modifying the new wiper gear sweep, because it was much too large (despite being stamped 100 degrees!). I did this by drilling the drive peg from behind, drilling a new hole, and then welding the peg in the new hole.[frame]
It took a few tries to get the sweep right, but eventually I got it good enough -- they no longer go off the windshield, but the driver has enough field of view. (Don't mind all the pollen.)[frame]
Next I started on the right-rear wing; it was the only wing that was original, and the only one not repainted, and moreover its taillight did not match the location of the opposite light (I suppose this location was "correct" but the other side was higher and more prominent, which I preferred). You can see the difference here:[frame]
The wing came off and had its paint stripped -- about six layers, I think.[frame]
It's fascinating to watch chemical stripper work...[frame]
After a few days of work, the wing came out pretty well.[frame]
With the wing and taillight remounted, the rear of the car looks much more symmetrical. Mmmm, symmetry!
[frame]Looks pretty good alone, too.[frame]
Moreover, the taillights still work! Here are just the running lights...[frame]
...and both the running lights and the brake lights (actuated by a piece of PVC pipe).[frame]
My dogs like being in Mog! Here's our eight-year-old basenji, Sammy, in the driver's seat.[frame]
After some fiddling, I finally got all the gauges a consistent brightness (and bright enough to read easily at night).[frame]
The next big project was headrests.
Mog's front seats are not original Minor seats, but are out of a different car (I don't know what); the seats have headrest bracket mounts on their backs, so the first task was to make brackets that would fit (after finding nice headrests). Here's what I came up with:[frame]As you can see, the headrests have adjustable height, and they have internal angle adjustment too. The brackets themselves took a lot of work to make, but are fairly simple in design: thick plates to bolt to the seat back, welded to vertical tubes to take the headrest studs.[frame]
Here's what Mog looks like now:[frame]
And here's a nice artsy shot for those of you who like that sort of thing:[frame]
So what's left? Not much, really. The only major things are: paying the sales tax, transferring the title, and having the car inspected, licensed, and insured; having the driver's seat restrapped and restuffed; resealing or replacing the dampers; and stopping some minor engine leakage (which I believe is from the timing chain cover and the oil pump or backplate). There is of course the matter of learning to drive it well. Beyond these things, the car is done, and the car can already be considered "operational"...just not "roadworthy" because it's not licensed.
The sales tax (including tardiness penalty) comes to about $400. The title transfer, inspection, license plates, and insurance should together come to less than $100. So it's doable, and I'm saving money as well as I can toward it. I hope to have enough money by a month from now. Wish me luck, friends!
The former owner had used the original piping (in Clarendon blue, I think) but had simply painted the maroon over them, which had cracked over the years.
