The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (January 1 - January 15, 2019)
Tuesday-Thursday January 1-3, 2019:
Still just hanging out slightly northwest of Miami, Florida. We thought we had a couple of friends to visit in the area, but it wasn't panning out. Sneaking up on the week end, it was time to head back to the Gulf coast.
Friday January 4, 2019:
Having no other appointments, Friday is a good time to drop in again with our fiends at Tech Central in Bonita Springs, FL. First encounter there today was the MGB that is still for sale.
The silver MGB only needed minor carburetor adjustment. The red MGB would continue some disassembly for conversion to a race car. On the bench some guys were working on removal of rusted and broken studs to save an MGB exhaust manifold. When the studs are broken short it is common to weld a flat washer onto the stud, then heat the manifold flange with a torch to expand and break the rust bond before unscrewing it with vice grips.
It happened that there were two of these parts requiring removal of nine broken studs. We ultimately succeeded, only having to drill out two studs that were broken below the surface. We got lucky, and the remaining threads cleaned up okay with a tap, not needing any HeliCoils (although we were prepared to do that if needed).
Under the car port the MG Midget was proceeding (slowly) with reassembly of hinges, latches and door locks.
There was a new project requiring some serious mechanical work. This was the Jaguar XJ6 that got a new fuel tank and revival last year. Now the rear suspension was apart for a brake job and replacement of subframe mounts. Big job requiring multiple days effort. Today it was mostly figuring out how much of it had to be disassembled just to remove the inboard brake rotors.
Lower suspension arms had to swing down nearly 90 degrees to clear the rotors. This required disconnecting four coil-over shock absorbers and removal of the subframe bottom plate. Also apparently removal of the rear mufflers and pipes that ran through this assembly. I suppose that could be done in the car on a lift, but a lot of work regardless, and we think just replacing the mufflers may require significant disassembly of the rear suspension. The last picture shows new rotors and the pipes back in place, but nothing bolted up yet.
On the side there was some remodeling going on inside the race car transport trailer. New rubberized floor covering and a bit of rearrangement and trim in the forward kitchen facilities. The last photo is just a point of curiosity. It is a new extension on the back of the car port canopy constructed from bamboo cut from the property at no cost, some aluminum wind shutter sheet being recycled from scrap, a few bits of spare wood and some new fastener hardware, about $30 total cost for the whole project.
Saturday January 5, 2019:
Today was heavy into a special project, one that we may have mentioned before. There is a kit car with fiberglass body and custom tubular frame. This is a "Gazelle", a replica of 1929 Mercedes-Benz SSK. This one has been through multiple previous owners, and the full history is not known, but it was likely manufactured sometime between 1975 and 1995 (when the company Classic Motor Cars was closed).
As kit cars are prone to be, it was intended to be built using easily available cheap parts. As such, this one will use most of the drive train and chassis components from a Chevrolet Chevette. The donor car has been in process of being disassembled for some time. The rear suspension was already out, and the engine/gearbox power unit was being removed today (after a couple days of unbolting everything attached). By mid afternoon a Sawzall cam out to remove the body bonnet latch platform as a shortcut, and then the engine was out.
On the side a TR6 was getting an adjustment of the bonnet rest stops to make the bonnet sit more flush, and the Corolla SR5 in the paint booth got some small attention to engine mounts.
The other heavy project for the day (afternoon) was continuation of the Jaguar XJ6 rear end work. We managed to get the brake rotors and halfshafts reassembled, as well as the coil-over shock absorbers and the subframe bottom plate. Brake pads and brake hose procured turned out to be the wrong parts, as there was a design change in the middle of the 1993 model year changing from inboard to outboard brakes. By the time we lost daylight the assembly was back together and turned over right side up. There is a bit more that can be done, but there may be some more delay until the correct parts can be procured.
Sunday January 6, 2019:
Tech page update on MGA Coupe kick panel templates. Did up archives for a lost web site to recover the "Special Tuning Manual for MGA Twin Cam", compiled by Mark Hester in Australia, and post the recovered tech article on my web site.
Monday January 7, 2019:
Recover two more lost tech article from archives to post on my web site,"WEBER SETTINGS for MGA Twin Cam" and "WEBER DCOE Jets (Weber Settings)". Another incoming report on undersize brake shoes that cannot be adjusted to work. Start on uploading CMGC January newsletter to the club web site.
Tuesday January 8, 2019:
Discussing the possibility of correcting all of the errors in the Service Parts List(s) for MGA. Might take a year to do that, could involve re-typing these documents in spread sheet format, most likely never going to happen. Just a little progress on the CMGC newsletter.
Wednesday January 9, 2019:
Fielding question on bad engine mounts and misalignment of the Starting Handle (engine hand crank). Finish uploading the CMGC newsletter to the club web site. Small update to tech article on "MGA Coupe Window Regulator Repair".
Thursday January 10, 2019:
Update to tech article on routing and strain relief of coolant temperature and oil pressure signal lines.
Friday January 11, 2019:
Another day helping out at Tech Central in Bonita Springs, FL. Parking a bit congested, lots of people here today. Primary project today was to get the future race car onto the lift and do some more disassembly. Radiator already removed, as well as most of the ancillaries around the engine bay. Remove complete exhaust system, and cut it just ahead of the intermediate pipe to save the 2-into-1 collector.
Time to drain the fluids. We had been told it was once flooded, but never knew how deep. Pretty obvious when we drained 5-quarts of clean water out of the gearbox before a pint of scummy emulsified oil. Then drained three quarts of water out of the differential with no oil. When removing the clutch slave cylinder, we drained another quart of water out of the bellhousing. Better news for the engine, draining out a few quarts of dirty oil, no water.
Disconnect front end of propshaft, remove gearbox rear mount and chassis crossmember, disconnect speedometer drive cable and a few wires, only the engine mounts still holding the power unit in place. Off the rack, time to get the prior owner behind the wheel while we pushed it out of the shop and back under the out door canopy.
After a lunch break, time for oil change in a lady's Jeep, stripping broken sub-frame mount parts off of the Jaguar, and more reassembly of Midget door (window guides and regulator parts). Good progress and nice effort for the day. A little time to relax and chat, then back to WiFI work.
Saturday-Tuesday, January 12-15 2019:
Tech questions on an oil pressure relief spring problem, Andrex shock absorbers, seat belts, exhaust manifold to pipe gasket problem, horn (hooter) brackets, and an adapter fitting for temperature sensor in the cylinder head. Granting permission to a car club to republish my tech article on Mallory Dual Point distributor (and checking to be sure it is up to date).
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