The panels for the sides of the Gatsby hood are made of sixteen gauge cold roll steel. Dimensions for these and positioning of header holes are shown in Fig. 17 and 18.
STEP 8The side panels which have been cut may now be installed (see Fig. 19).
STEP 9Cut a piece of 3/4" x 3/4,' x .125' x 71" long steel tube for the hood hinge brace and install it (see Fig. 20-21).
STEP 10Now, install the chrome plated double hinge, La Deau #57425025520/2½x72", on the brace. You must first cut the hinge down to 66'. Use V4' bolts to mount hinges (see Fig. 20-21).
STEP 11 At this point, you must fabricate and install the hood panels (see Fig. 22-23). Each of these hoods has to be hand formed once you have the two sections of sheet metal cut and bent according to the dimensions in Fig. 22-23. The critical fitting will be at the cowl and front of the hood sections. Use ½" rubber grommets between the hood and side panek. Hood latches required, two per side, are Perko #5 hatch fasteners.It is time now to use the Gatsby fenders and templates which you purchased earlier in the basic kit package. In the next three steps, the fenders will act as a precise guide for finishing the rear wheel wells and positioning the front grille.
STEP 12
The rear wheel wells on the MG main body section must be finished at this point using the templates from our package (see Fig. 1-2).
STEP 13You are now ready for positioning the grille (Mercury Cougar/1979), Inner D9WY 8200R, Outer D7WY 8A156A, and locating the fender position as well (see Fig. 24A).
STEP 14Once the grille is in place, the front of the fenders come together and flush beneath it. The fenders are now in the proper position to be fitted to the side panels (see Fig. 24-B). At this point, the hood must be extended to the grille as shown in Fig. 25.
STEP 15 At the rear of the body, it is now time to use the template and cut the finishing parts to complete the modifications in Step 1 (see Fig. 26-27). STEP 16 Mount the stock MG rear deck lid and align it for fit (see Fig. 26-27). STEP 17 The side mounted tires are attached to a plate on the chassis and a bracket on the body (see Fig. 28). STEP 18Fabrication of the front bumper brackets and front frame are template items (see Fig. 29).
Now to the rear of the chassis, the gas tank (20 gallon/72-8O Ford van unit) and rear bumper brackets must be mounted (see Fig. 30). There are also templates for this procedure. This diagram also shows the location for the rear luggage rack mounts.Revised 7/2/2001