The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (October 1- October 15, 2021)
Friday, October 1, 2021:
Getting together a parts ordering list. Need front brake slave cylinders (not from Moss). brake shoes, a couple of Payen head gaskets (recently out of stock), a new steering wheel, wood batten for the boot lid stiffener (maybe wishful thinking) and some miscellaneous little stuff to replenish inventory. Will require orders from at least two different sources.
Saturday, October 2, 2021:
Found in an MGA, would anyone care to venture a guess what this was intended to do? Three wood slats whittled out of Douglas fir. inserted into the rear tonneau braces, pushed in from the rear side of the rear bulkhead to sit in front of the bulkhead above the spare tire. My best wild guess might be a slot to hold top edge of a vertical board to carry radio speakers without drilling any holes. in the body.
 Someone wanting instructions for changing the rubber boot on the shift lever. Too lay to raise hand to scratch head, I guess.
Sunday, October 3, 2021:
Another round of discussion on the benefits or pitfalls of installing a clutch roller release bearing. Tired of that game, so I'm not going to play any more.
Monday, October 4, 2021:
Bunch of questions about resistors in the ignition system High Tension side. Got your choice of resistor spark plugs, or resistor plug terminals, or resistor wires. Some people not getting the message that you should choose one only, and not combine multiple resistances in series.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021:
Busy day on the net. Solved a fairly serious engine problem by remote email. Another case of a timing chain being installed one tooth off causing a running engine with very low power, bad idle and common stalling. Some grunt work to pull the radiator and reinstall the timing sprockets, but otherwise a cheap fix.
Just ready to head for Darrell's Garage for tech night when a 1980 MGB rolled in, and the driver got out and began kicking the tires and raised the bonnet. He said. "Got jumpers? It won't start". Took all of three seconds to notice the shredded fan belt, and boy was it hot, but not boiling. I don't carry a belt that long, so a quick trip to a local parts store, and we soon had him lashed up and running again. I was about to invite him to Darrell's place when he began talking about some lights not working. He had RF parking light and LR tail light, no brake lights and no turn signals. Getting dark fast, so I sent him home to be safe while there was still a bit of daylight.
Got to Darrell's an hour late, pretty dark by then, but I wanted to investigate a light jingling noise under the bonnet. This turned out to be the new alternator installed a few weeks back, with the tip ends of the alternator fan just touching the face of the alternator housing. Ten minutes work with a small screwdriver had all of the fan blades bent a smidge forward to not touch the casting, and that was an easy fix.
Then to see what the guys were up to in the shop. The late model MGB that was pulled out of storage a few weeks ago was about to get serious attention to getting it running and driveable. Having been parked for well over 10 years, fuel tank seemed to be empty, and we suspect likely rust inside, so spray the sender unit screws in preparation for removal.
Planning to replace all rubber bits in the hydraulic system, so remove brake drums and spray down anything that needs to come apart. Checking the next bit with a double take, there was a bellhousing bolt missing, and another one loose, so the fore to aft engine stabilizer bracket was hanging loose. Should be an easy fix, but need to check condition of the rubber mounts.
Two U-joints a little loose, so spray those down and put them on the shopping list. Checking out the front
suspension, nothing serious there except what looked like newish looking accordion gaiters on the steering rack were cracking and leaking (cheesy thin vinyl material), so put those on the list. Rubber bits in the suspension will need replacing sometime, but maybe not right away. The prime objective here is to make the car reliably driveable so it can go off for a repaint.
Late night receipt of the CMGC newsletter Publisher file, so plenty to do tomorrow to get that on line.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021:
Added a new tech page for another installation of the Vitesse (Mazda MX5) gearbox in the MGA, It still has teething problems which may not get fixed any time soon. And another new tech page for MGA Twin Cam brake pads.
Bit of a delayed news discovery today. A fairly nice MGA Coupe sold at H&H Auctions in 2013 for £16,031 (including buyer's premium) was listed as older restoration, and apparently went for a reasonable price at the time. It is now revealed that it was competing in the January 1960 Monte Carlo Rally, a fact not even mentioned in the old auction listing. Seems like the buyer got a real deal.
Then a large part of the day spent transcribing the CMGC October newsletter form Publisher format to HTML web pages for the club web site (and not half done yet). Most of my Moss parts order has arrived, but likely not going to get to it tomorrow. More good news is, the replacement part for the broken van door handle has also arrived, and that's just one screw to install.
Thursday, October 7, 2021:
Finished the CMGC newsletter and got it on line. Enough grunt wok for one day. And apparently my oil filler cap was mysteriously found and was delivered today.
Friday, October 8, 2021:
Some information today about a special bolt that secures the MGA Twin Cam parking brake caliper onto the rear disc brake hydraulic caliper. One of those parts often missing and hard to source. and it came in two different designs. Going to have to make a new tech page for that one.
A reminder that MGA front and rear bumpers and overriders are available in stainless steel, available from Taiwan for about $1000-USD for the set, (if you were so inclined). Seems to me to be a lot of money for parts that are not chrome and will most likely have different appearance.
Something different, just for the entertainment. I spent half the day doing research (watching videos) while learning a lot about the AMX-III. For the uninformed, is (was) the AMC version of the Ford Detamaso Pantera. The AMX-III had either 360-cid or 390-cid mid engine with a custom built 40speed transaxle, rear coil-over rear shock absorbers, and dual caliper rear disc brakes. Before today I didn't know there was such a beast.
Learn more at www.amx390.com and on on YouTube
Saturday, October 9, 2021:
New photo for a tech page showing an alternate turn signal switch that pops up occasionally (the one on the left). So far just a picture, not yet disassembled to see what's inside, and no word on a part number. MG TD, MG TF, and MGA all use the same vendor part number I don't know yet if one of these parts succeeds the other and may or may not have the same vendor part number (being interchangeable). There must be different Lucas part numbers, since the internal parts are different the assembly number must also be different.
Sunday, October 10, 2021:
Added photos to a Suspension Tech page showing alignment of the collar flat and clearance notch in the MGA swivel swivel pin relative to the steering knuckle.
After today's tech questions, just contemplating some work to be done on my MGA in the next few days. In the afternoon a brake tech discussion turned into an appointment for a club tour convoy heading south out of Lancaster, PA later in the week. So now it looks like we will likely be in Virginia by Thursday night.
Monday, October 11, 2021:
For about a month now I have been occasionally reviewing MGA cars for sale pictures in the process of elimination
(so to speak) trying to find a nice daily driver MGA for a friend in Florida. We may finally have a winner. An older body-off restoration done in the mid 90's, and may have been repainted on the outside and in the engine bay once more since (but now with paint chips showing age of the paint). With chrome wire wheels it shows fairly well, something you wouldn't be ashamed to show to your friends. An interesting quirk was a windscreen sticker from Chicagoland MG Club (my old stomping grounds) and current Texas license plates (not a clue). It is a decent car that may be suitable for the prospective buyer. Hoping for some negotiation space on the asking price, which seems a bit high for condition of the car (not quite as nice as it looks in this picture).
Tuesday, October 12, 2021:
What? Someone said Columbus day? Pay no attention , because we have things to do. Up early, in and our of breakfast, and over to Darrell's garage by 10:30. Time to unpack and inspect my recent Moss parts order, stash most of it in the trailer, and hold out a few parts for immediate installation.
I just bought a new MGA cowl vent grille from Moss and tried to install it today. Same problem, never fixed since 2008, too much crown, touching at the ends, big gap in the middle, and rocking back and forth. I cannot believe they can still be selling this POC 13 years later, and still be in business. What I'm really sorry about is that I ended up paying for another one because I forgot about this problem and didn't ask at time of order. Something to report to Moss (again) tomorrow. Meanwhile, I stuck it in place to cover the hole, but will not pin it down until I can procure a good one and toss this one in the dust bin.
Next chore was to reconnect the fast idle link with a 1/8-inch Tinnerman fastener at the bottom end. No way to do it in situ, so had to remove the front carburetor for access. That was also a good opportunity to clean a lot of oil out of the front air cleaner, which had been accumulating since replacing pistons and rings (and cam and tappets) several weeks earlier. Gotta say the engine runs much better without a clogged up air cleaner. Also installed a new top vent hose and oil filler cap. This cap stays tight and sealed and should not rattle, Navigator broke the lanyard anchor nest off of the side of the valve cover filler neck, so now we need new valve cover. It's always something. Picture of the RR wheel is to remind us that the tire has a slow leak that should be fixed soon (and we need to replace a failed 5-year old 12-volt tire inflator pump.
We also took a few minutes to install a second layer of weather seal for the front edge of the convertible top. We stuck this one on top of the windscreen frame in direct contact with the one previously stuck under the front wood bow. Also glued the three rubber pedal pads onto the pedals so hopefully they might not fall off again. And while repacking the trailer we quickly glued part of that top cover weather seal back in place. There is another problem on the car we would like to fix, but maybe tomorrow.
Time for a two hour late afternoon lunch break, then back to Darrell's Garage for the evening tech session. Move a few cars around and get the 20-year dormant 1980 MGB back on the lift for some tinkering. Pull the fuel filler neck hose connector and pour some vinegar into the fuel tank to hopefully dissolve some rust. Remove the fuel pump from the boot floor, because it needs new hoses, and may need the points cleaned to get it running (hopefully). Then one more inspection trip under the car before making a two-page shopping list for parts to rebuild all hydraulic components and replace all hydraulic hoses and some coolant hoses. Going to type up and collate that list by noon tomorrow before ordering.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021:
Early project today was to type up the parts ordering list for the 1980 MGB into a spread sheet to be sorted and easily transferred for quotes and ordering. It was 35 line items, mostly for rebuilding all of the perishable rubber parts of the entire hydraulic system, and replacing a bunch of rubber hoses.
That done by noon,we were then back to the garage for one last project on our MGA. The right side inboard tie rod ball joint (inside the rubber boot on the steering rack) has been notably loose for a long time and certainly not going to fix itself. The immobile 1980 MGB was still on the hoist, and we didn't need the hoist for this job, so on with floor jack and jack stands. Front wheel off, remove clamps on the steering rack boot, crack loose the jam nut on the tie rod end, unscrew the tie rod from the ball end counting the turns to disconnection, remove the jam nut and pull off the rubber boot. Then the fun began.
Small screw driver and hammer to open up (unlock) the locktab cup on the inner ball joint A pipe wrench was enough to unscrew the ball joint from the steering rack. The issue here was this inboard ball joint had a little free play (maybe 0.020-inch or so) that we would like to banish, because it leads to some occasional (and annoying) steering shimmy and expressway speed. I did not have high hopes of success here, even though I had done this a few times before, because I didn't have the right tools at hand, but wanted to give it a noble try anyway. The idea is to unscrew the large female threaded acorn nut from male threaded base plate to open the coupling, removing the tie rod and inner ball. Then the Book says to remove some shims to reduce clearance to minimum (like zero), and reassemble.
There are a few problems here. Last time I did this (about 300,000 miles back) I had removed all of the damaged shims, and had done the adjustment by surface grinding the internal parts to suite. Grind the face of the acorn nut to make the joint tighter. Grind the flat back face of the internal socket seat piece to make the joint looser. Aside from the fact that there are no longer any shims in this joint, it is nigh well impossible to actually unscrew the parts. A pipe wrench will do for the acorn nut, but the flat backed inner piece calls for a special pin wrench, which no one has. And even if you did have the special tool, it would likely be broken by excess torque without unscrewing the joint (yes, they are always very tight). The worst of it is that the exposed edge of the backing plate is very thin, maybe 1/16-inch thickness exposed on the outer edge. I tried clamping this in a big bench vice and unscrewing the big nut with a pipe wrench, but no go, just kept popping out of the vice jaws while visibly damaging the edge of the inboard part.
In the end we gave it up for a lost cause and put it all back together, injecting another 6-ounces of EP90W gear oil through the small end of the boot before installing the last clamp. Now I may be ready to buy all new parts for this assembly, if they were available. But for now, put it all away for another day (whenever).
Thursday, October 14, 2021:
Today's adventure would be a Covered Bridge Tour with Mid Atlantic Chapter of NAMGAR. Some of these folks drove up from northern Virginia on Tuesday, enjoying some activities in and around Lancaster. Pennsylvania all day Wednesday, and today they were headed back south. We met them at their base hotel in Lancaster at 9-am to join the convoy heading out at 9:15. Count 5-MGA roadsters (including ours), 1-Miata, and 1-sport ute people hauler. Cool, cloudy and humid weather, lights on please.
In about two hours we found and crossed five covered bridges, all still in southern Pennsylvania. Couldn't swear we hadn't been through some of these before. They all seem to have similar construction this time, so likely built in same era and possibly by same people.
These days many of the touring MGA are well appointed with accessories. The dark color car here is, I am assured, not black. It is apparently a very dark brown that the owner calls "Root Beer".
Two of the MGA had similar Bimini tops, which are absolutely great for touring in warm sunny weather. This one had a pair of interesting side mirrors that are attached to the wind wings via a large suction cup. I guess they just get folded in if you want to use the rag top and side curtains for inclement weather.
With a change of plans on the fly, the crew landed at Firestone's Culinary Tavern, in Frederick, Maryland for lunch. The place has an interesting history (along with a couple more adjacent buildings) if you want to look it up. Like many downtown venue, there is a parking problem. When you can find a parking space on the street it is $2/hr to feed the meters (and a bit of a trick parallel parking our MGA with trailer). I recon they timed it about right managing to finish lunch and get back to the cars in a few minutes shy of two hours. I tried a quick estimate for the city's annual take on parking fees, maybe close to $200,000 per year per block in the downtown business area. I wonder what the incentive might be to build a parking garage to accommodate more vehicles?
After fuel up for the car, and a couple more hours driving (jiggle in the steering at high speeds), and a couple of misfires with closed dining rooms in Maryland and Virginia, we found a late evening WiFi stop in Strasburg, Virginia. Spent some time on-line shopping for car parts, and found (to my surprise) male and female threaded ball housing parts and shims for the inboard tie rod ends, and at reasonable prices even. Wow! Put those on the shopping list for sure.
Friday, October 15, 2021:
Breakfast in Harrisonburg, VA. Started for the day, by catching up photos and notes in the trip log and then posting a new tech page for MGA Twin Cam radiator construction. The Twin Cam does not use a cell core radiator like other MGA, but has flat tube and fin construction more like the later production MGB cars.
Then I received a message about another faulty replacement part, the flex
hose connecting the engine to the oil pressure gauge signal pipe, as the new hose will not screw onto the union fitting on the engine. This concerns me some, because I currently have three of those hoses in my trailer as spare parts (my mistake for ordering too many spares). The most recent one was purchased 2-1/2 years ago, so maybe mine don't have this problem (but now I have to go check the parts anyway). And I took the time to post up another tech page for the faulty replacement oil pressure signal hose.
Then I took the time to make a call to Moss to report the problems, and some suggestions on how to resolve them. Faulty MGA cowl vent grille, faulty oil pressure signal hose, part number for the mating threaded union on the engine (which seems to be 1/8-BSP thread), and the continuing saga of repeated failures of Lucas alternator electronics (because my dash light is glowing again). All kind of a nuisance chore, but "Charity is like wetting your pants when wearing a blue suit. It gives you a warm feeling, but nobody notices".
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