Page 31: Finally. The Miura Goes Back to the Shop
February 2021

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2/4/21: After 11 years collecting dust in the garage, the Miura heads back to Bobileff Motorcar to continue its restoration. It's been a LONG time and so much has happened to me and the world in those years. But I'm finally in a good state and so, with a careful contract in place, the car is back in the shop, along with four other Miuras under restoration.

It's amazing that it's been so long since there has been any progress on the Miura. I've spent my "car time" on the Urraco, and although it still needs a few minor things, I've been very happy driving it occasionally. (I can't wait until car shows start up again.) I almost started a concours restoration on my 1967 MGB (my first car) that's under the car cover in the background. That's another story, but I'll get to that one day. Now - finally - it's back to the Miura!

2/20/21: Back in the shop

The first step is to finish the body. With some weight in the car, all the panels are being checked for fit and the gaps are being adjusted. This panel behind the passenger door didn't align quite right with the rear clip and door, so a new section was fabricated.

This lower section of the engine bay frame looked a bit rusty from the outside, so the old panel was removed, it was cleaned out, painted with POR-15, and sealed with a new panel.

Working on all gaps has taken a couple of weeks, since the car went in on Feb 4.

Gapping is not done yet, but the shop needs to work on other cars too. My project will get two weeks on and then two weeks off so there won't be any news for a couple of weeks. But that's better than 11 years!

3/6/21: Gapping is finished!

After about three weeks of work, all the gaps are perfect. Here are some before and after shots.

The leading edge of the trunk lid was pretty tight while the rear was correctly aligned with the tail, so the front gap was opened up a bit. Personally, the factory inconsistencies in gaps don't bother me that much because that's the way they were made. But I'm also a concours judge and I know panel gaps are one of the first things to evaluate. It is nice when all gaps on the body are even and the same width. Then everything fits together perfectly instead of looking like separate parts.

Now that gapping is done, the car moves to bodywork, where the surfaces will be worked and finally blocked for painting. I am so looking forward to this. Bobileff says that most of the restoration work is getting the chassis and body done and painted. Then progress moves along at a good pace, so I'm glad to be reaching this milestone.

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