The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (October 16- October 31, 2021)
Saturday, October 16, 2021:
Moving on a bit more, breakfast in Fairfield, Virginia. Since we are on the move again, I spent a large part of the day on planning. I was reviewing our Friends list (huge spread sheet) to find everyone with a hand up that we have not visited yet to be sure they get on our Planning list for a future visit. Add a number of car clubs we still haven't managed to visit (those are tough nuts to crack when they are hard to contact). And a few more shops, mostly new to the list since our (4-year long) first round of visits.
Sunday, October 17, 2021:
Bit of morning chat about fixing oil leaks for an MGA Twin Cam engine. Then I was posting two new tech pages showing original Twin Cam engine alloy oil sump (with related problems), and a modified steel sump from a pushrod engine to be used on the Twin Cam, including deep sump, baffle, and external oil pipe. That was fun.
Nearly half a work day catching up with a backlog of messages on the BMTA forum (British Motor Trade Association). Can't believe it has been six months since I checked in there. The good news is, that's because we have been traveling more since mid May.
 In other news, Plinkington may have stopped making windscreen glass for classic cars (damn, I need one). A few shops have been flooded, most figuring out how to recover from it. Nisonger saved their customers' parts, but lost lots of tooling and inventory and will no longer be rebuilding vintage auto instruments. Bummer.
Monday, October 18, 2021:
Couple of failed WiFi spots, then stop at Walmart to pick up some engine oil, and by the time we found a working WiFi spot we had missed breakfast, so start mid day with lunch.
This gets better every day. Now we have a picture of an original MGA Twin Cam engine alloy sump with a hand fitted steel oil surge tray (one of a kind).
Then I went out to change the heater valve, because it was passing hot water when it was supposed to be shut off. These things have a habit of dissolving diaphragms and leaking externally after about a year exposed to coolant. This one seems to have dissolved the valve plunger rubber first. If my records are right, it may have lasted 2-1/2 years this time. I kept the failed valve to be autopsied later.
I dropped the cable stop on the ground under the car but managed to find it soon and get it reinstalled. While adjusting cable length I moved the heater control and the cable stop under the dash popped off. I'm sure it is still in the car somewhere, but couldn't find it in the carpet.or under the seats, so had to fish a new one out of the magic trailer. And the WiFi spot closed shortly after 3-pm while I was working on the car with navigator locked inside and me locked outside. I got back in long enough to wash up and collect my computer.
Then cruising down the road navigator directed us to O'Reilly Auto Parts, because the alternator was not charging, and we managed to kill the rest of daylight hours. Alternator off and inside for testing, it tested good. Really? Put it back in the car and went after the wiring (where maybe we should have started first). After some diagnostic poking around with a test light and volt meter, we found the dash light wire not making connection to the alternator terminal. Put a 12-volt jumper wire on that terminal and it was charging. So it is true that if you disconnect the ignition light, or the bulb burns out the alternator won't charge.
I finally figured out to blame the plastic connector housing that Moss sold us to plug three wires into the alternator. Three connector spades in the alternator are all the same length, two wide and one narrow. But the plastic connector shell held the Lucar terminal for the ignition light back at least 1/8-inch short of the reach of the larger terminals, so connection there was often not making it. Solution was to cut away that end of the plastic connector shell to plug the warning light wire end right into the alternator terminal, then plug in the other 2/3 of the connector with the two fat wires, after which it was charging again. Except the ignition light still glows dimly when running at any speed. I suppose the alternator has one burned out diode, only charging on 2/3 of the output, as it also seems to be slow to recover charge of the battery, especially when driving with headlights. But it is charging, so still surviving (for now).
Tuesday, October 19, 2021:
In the small hours of the morning, a semi truck got into a tight maneuver in the wrong parking area at a rest stop
and mangled the left side fender on our trailer. Kinda ran over the rear corner, bent it down, twisted the wing, and tore one bolt out of the fiberglass box (not a big deal there). I pulled it back up some before taking the picture. I have long since lost count of how many times this trailer has been whacked. It has become a sacrificial lamb to prevent the car from being hit sometimes. Both wings have been mangled multiple times, straightened and repainted sometimes. These have been in service for 23 years, end replacement steel "Jeep" fenders are not very expensive, so I suppose it's time to buy new ones.
Crossed the state line, sitting in Jonesville, North Carolina this morning. Got a nice tech question leading to making a new tech page for reversing the MGA heater box to change it from standard model to MGA Twin Cam type (mirror image assembly). Also posting up a bunch more pictures of the MGA Twin Cam engine alloy oil sump. Spent a lot of time looking for any record of the plastic connector on the alternator, but can't find a part number or any record of order or receipt. Going to have to call Moss again, like I did to get the last one.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021:
Catching up some documentation, doing a little travel planning, and a short discussion on mating an MGB 5-main bearing engine to an MGA gearbox. Then we were off to visit Classic Wood Products, LLC in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is new shop for my list, recommended by someone since our last pass through this area. It is the largest automotive wood working shop in North America. They specialize in early American cars and post-war MGs (ta-da!). Say hello to the owner Ricky Hite.
We took a tour of the factory where they have planers and jointers and routers and saws and wood working tools of all sorts. Pretty big for a wood shop. We saw at last four hands on workers on the factory floor in addition to two live souls in the office. Third picture below must be the shipping and receiving area.
The little stack of wood parts below is his part number 090-535, a set of stop blocks (and tack strips) for the bottom of the seat back rests for standard MGA bucket seats (not Competition Deluxe seats). Next picture has MGA seat base boards on the lower level. And then stacks of MGA floor boards.
In the warehouse we found bundles being sets of wood parts for a complete car. First picture has most of the MG T-type wood parts. Second picture has an MGA full car wood set, and a smaller interior wood set with cockpit surround rails and rag top header rail. But not everything for the whole car yet.
I was looking specifically for the batten to reinforce the back edge of the boot lid, because mine recently rotted away from being wet, and I needed a replacement part. When I found they didn't currently make this part, we jumped into my web site to retrieve drawings for this part and two different styles of the batten reinforcing the front edge of the bonnet (engine cover or "hood" to us yanks). Now it looks like they will manufacture these parts as well in the near future.
Thursday, October 21, 2021:
Confirmation of shipment of a new electrical connector for the alternator.
Tech question fuel level sender unit burn out, and how to repair it. Easy if you have the correct resistance wire (which may be hard to find).
Continuing discussion on two types of radiator for MGA Twin Cam, and the correct format for the makers ID pages.
Friday, October 22, 2021:
Just received an update on the Chicagoland MG Club's "Twenty fifth Annual All Sports Car Swap Meet and Autojumble", now tentatively scheduled for March 27, 2022.
A minor personal note: I just begged off of Jury Duty back in Illinois, excused simply because I'm over 70. It only took a month to get the communications through (blame that on Covid as well).
Saturday, October 23, 2021:
New electrical connector for the alternator has arrived in Lexington, SC, before we have. May be a few more days before we catch up to it. Meanwhile I have the alternator connected with individual wires. The ignition lamp still glows, and charging is sub-standard, but we are still traveling.
Fielding a tech question on adjustment of differential input shaft bearing shims. That one I have down pat, just reviewing a tech article to be sure it is correct and as complete as possible.
Sunday, October 24, 2021:
Added some photos and notes to a tech page for a couple more installations of mechanical brake light switch (to bypass failing hydraulic switches).
Ordered two Payen head gaskets from Ol Phartz Auto Parts, and very glad to find a source in recent months.
Monday, October 25, 2021:
Placed a parts order with Moss Motors, on line, quick and easy, should arrive in a couple days.
Tried to place a parts order with Scarborough Faire. No catalog (at least I don't have one), no web site, had to make the phone call. Too many questions and misunderstandings. They requested that I send the parts list via email with comments, which I did. Late in day got a reply that they are looking into it, along with a note that likely not all parts are in stock, and they will get back to me later. Last time I ordered there it was not shipped for a full week, no communication, no notice of shipment, no tracking number. Also no notice of a back order until I received the package with parts missing, and the B/O note on the invoice. Then I had to call them to cancel the rest of the order, because we travel, and no telling where we might be if/when they might be ready to ship more parts. Funny way to do business. Wait and see on this one with a trickier order.
Sat in on the John Twist UML tech Zoom meeting tonight, 2-1/2 hours, 145 people in mid session. Mostly about lubrication, with a few other odds and ends tossed in. Good tech info as usual.
Got a notice from Ol Phartz Auto Parts that the head gaskets are actually not yet in stock, and won't be able to ship for about two weeks. Bummer. Might have to cancel that order as well, not knowing where we will be by that time. But it appears that Payen is now shipping these head gaskets again, so maybe not too long a wait, and might be able to get them somewhere else.
Tuesday, October 26, 2021:
Catching up with six days of belated updates here, so if you haven't checked lately you might want to back up to the 21st to catch up on the news.
Mid morning we decided it was a good time to get the oil changed, and headed off to a Walmart service center. Odd service hours, not open until 11 (blame it on Covid I guess). So we found a local auto parts store to buy and install a new 2-hole power jack to replace the old 3-hole jack that was failing badly with high internal resistance (bad contacts). Not too long to get that installed, so now the little plug-in digital volt meter works again (remains to see how accurate), and the GPS should work without interruption. Then back to Walmart for the oil change, and as usual it takes three people to service a vintage car.
Had a little incident on the way out when it wouldn't start, and we found fuel spilling out of the front carburetor float chamber. Maybe the float valve actuator arm is getting worn around the pivot pin, allowing the float to rise without closing the valve. I bent the arm down a bit to lower the float level, reassembled, and after a bit of cranking it fired up and we were back to normal. These are real vintage Gross Jets from the mid 90's, and I haven't had any problem with them for more than 25 years, about 375,000 miles.
For our late night run the headlights were getting dim (oh-oh), and the cheap plug-in volt meter was dropping into the single digits (damn). Having just installed the new power jack, I was pretty sure that was okay. Then a couple LED illumination lamps on the dash flickered and went dark. I can take a hint. Fall in behind a truck, drop headlights from high to low beam, switch off all non-essential accessories, and figure we can make it several miles more to the next rest stop. Pull in, kill the lights, leave it running, get the DVM, and check voltage up front. Yeah, about 8 volts and not charging. No way I was going to shut it off with only 8-volts in the battery.
I clipped a jumper wire from ignition coil White (battery power from ignition switch) to alternator "lamp" terminal), and it was charging again. Honest, all I did was bypass the ignition lamp on the dash, but I had done that before, and it seemed to work. We let it run about 20 minutes to charge, getting up to 12.0 volts on the inside LED volt meter, then shut it off, figuring it should start okay in the morning.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021:
The best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. It almost started in the morning. firing up just long enough to disengage the starter drive, but then not cranking fast enough to get it going again. We have the little lithium battery "starter box" in the boot just for such occasions, but it can only crank for a few seconds at time, and after several tries it also gave up the ghost. I think we need a better jumper box. After a while we found a nice lady maintenance worker who had jumper cables, and soon had it running. Sure to connect the little jump wire ignition to alternator so it was charging, and we were off again.
Then we were having a problem finding another WiFi spot in South Carolina, as the dining rooms were locked or barricaded, no sit-down space with WiFi. We got all the way to Columbia, and then to Lexington (north-west suburb, and still nothing, and it would have been one hour to go back to the last known good WiFi spot. So we pressed on a bit more, and finally found WiFi at a Loves truck stop 15 minutes farther on, oddly enough still with a Lexington address. Then after 11-am, the battery voltage was up to 12.5 on the main cable after shut down, so good that it was definitely charging (although maybe not as fast as it should). The jump wire trick had bought us some time to think about what the real problem may be.
First priority (already mid day) was to reply to an email from last night to verify a parts order at Scarborough Faire, and hope that gets shipped sometime soon. Then a couple phone calls, and email, and BBS, and soon the day had faded away.
Thursday, October 28, 2021:
If nothing else, two parts orders from Monday, shipped Wednesday, to arrive Friday. Looks like this will be a busy week end.
Late night we realized the battery was not charging (again), so we need to look into that tomorrow.
Friday, October 29, 2021:
Approaching mid day we took another look under the bonnet to find a wire broken, again. The ignition lamp connection wire to the alternator had broken at the Lucar connector end. Following the information from Kelvin Dodd at Moss Motors, I tried harder to fit a standard 1/4-inch female Lucar connector to the alternator spade terminal. First it didn't go, but after some prying open and pinching tighter and more fiddling I got it to fit. Looks like that terminal blade is thicker than usual with square corners. Then I reconnected the warning lamp wire, and also a short length of another wire in the same terminal so we would have a test lead connection point. Good move, because it would not charge with the standard warning light connected, but it would change with a 12-volt jumper from the ignition coil White supply terminal to the alternator lamp terminal, just with no functional warning light.
Battery was kind of low, like 10.5-volts open circuit, less when switched on, but higher when running, so it appeared to be charging some. We then took it for a drive to let it charge for a while, and the voltage was gradually creeping up. Then the Garmin GPS power cord supply transformer died, so we made a stop at Best Buy for a replacement. By the time we returned to our WiFi spot we had driven 40 miles, mostly at open road speed, and the battery was up to 12.0 volts open circuit. Not quite full yet, but a big improvement, and tonight we will get to see how it does with headlights and heater blower.
Good news, three parts packages arrived this evening, Moss Motors, Scrborough Faire, and Ol Phartz Auto Parts (the spare head gaskets), so we intend to do some work on the car tomorrow.
Saturday, October 30, 2021:
Mid day heading over to visit our Friend Dave Daniel in Lexington, SC, because that's where our parts packages were shipped, and we can also borrow his garage for work space. Navigator noticed on the way over there that our alternator was not charging again, and voltage was dropping, but we will worry about that later.
We will tackle the bigger and more important job first, replacing the front suspension coil springs. They were "advertised" as being 9.25" tall when the spec is only 8.88". That extra 3/8" spring length would make the front end of the car sit 3/4" too high (higher than when new). The "excuse" given was that the springs were intentionally made taller to give proper ride height when using modern low profile tires.
Well, I run 165-80-15 radial tires, not low profile, one size wider that original bias ply tires, but almost exactly the same rolling radius, so the speedometer is spot on. This is the most popular tire size now used on MGA, so the "excuse" sounded to me more like double talk to justify a faulty part. So I was all over measuring the dimensions of these parts. OD, spot on. Wire diameter,
spot on. Number of active coils, 7.2, as original.
And then the free length, 9.00". Really? Only 1/8" extra. That was good news, and the supplier really didn't need any excuse for being out of spec. And hey, look what I found when I pulled the first spring out of the right front. I recon a broken spring would account for the abnormal front end sag we've had lately. Those were "good" used springs I installed less than two years ago when we had the last one broken. Maybe the coil springs only have a life expectancy of 60 years or so. Now glad that I bought new ones.
Okay, on with the job. Standard procedure. loosen lug nuts, jack up the front, place stands under the frame aft of the wheels lower the jack, and remove the wheels. Disconnect end links for the front sway bar. Place jack under the lower A-arm, directly under the coil spring, lift to get the upper A-arm away from the frame buffer, remove lower trunnion bolt, lower jack, push down lower A-arm to remove old spring and insert new spring. Lift A-arm with jack to re-install lower trunnion bolt (and be sure trunnion thrust plates and seals are properly back in place). Repeat on the other side, and reconnect the sway bar links.
Meanwhile navigator was installing the new Classic Gold steering wheel. Nice, huh? That's to replace the broken Moto-Lita wheel that was in service since the mid 90's.
Still some time and energy left, we decided to replace the leaky wheel cylinder on right front, and do both at the same time, That was going well until it came time to start screwing hydraulic fittings back together, when one of my pet peeves for "cheap" replacement parts jumped up to bite me. Ports are drilled and tapped, but there is no lead-in chamfer for the female threads. Male threads are properly cut, except that again there is no lead-in chamfer for the threads. This makes screwing thr pipe ends into the cylinders a real bear of a job that may often take hours instead of minutes. Sorry, but when things are not going well I don't have time to take pictures.
We eventually got the cylinders replaced on the right side, but out of frustration decided to leave the left side for later. But we did get new brake shoes install both sides in front before putting it all back together, and finally were done and out at 8-pm.
But the grief wasn't over yet. Remember the alternator wasn't charging. Long story short, headlights went dim, voltage down below 8-volts and dropping rapidly, worried about losing ignition spark, switched off the headlights (kept tail lights on) and followed a truck for five miles to get to our WiFi spot and truck stop where we could work on the car under some lights, something like 7-volts on arrival. Alternator really dead this time. would not charge at all even with a jumper wire for excitation. So pull the spare alternator out of the trailer and get it installed. Then the Lithium battery jumper box came up a little short on starting the engine because of low system voltage, Lucky to find a Good Samaritan with jumper cables, so we soon had it running again, and charging nicely. That last alternator only ran three months before it died. I think that makes five failed Lucas alternators in three years. Grrrrr.
Then inside, cleaned up some, we put the jumper box on charge and ordered up late dinner (almost midnight). While eating and catching up notes and such, another voice asked, "You got jumper cables"? Well no, but we do have this nice little Lithium battery jumper box all charged up sitting right here on the table. So we got to pass the favor on and get another small car started and on their way home.
Sunday, October 31, 2021:
Tuckered out from yesterdays car work and 3-am late night computer work (and short sleep), so we just sat to catch up photos and notes and updating the parts orders (received and future) and inventory list.
I did get to one tech page update for a "3rd generation" custom fastback MGA coupe called "Superamerica".
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