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loaded with vintage British cars, always busy. Then MASCO Starters & Alternators in North Charleston, SC turned out to be a snub, as the owner no longer works on LBC electrical stuff.

Saturday March 10, we had an early for a breakfast with British Car Club of Charleston where we got a couple of appointments for home shop visits, and one pro shop we were not previously aware of. Then we hopped across Charleston Harbor to visit Wray Lemke at his marine electronic shop in Mount Pleasant, SC. He has an award winning 1974 MGB, another MGB waiting its turn, a Chevrolet Thriftmaster 3100 delivery (nice but don't ask). A late model MG MGB GT is lady's daily driver car tied up for front suspension rebuild, a beautiful MG ZB Magnette Varitone, a fairly rare MG Magnette Mk-III, and an MGA 1500 with older repaint. Here I took advantage of his MIG welder to fix my broken MGA seat frame, peel, weld, paint, and staple it back together in less than an hour. We really need new seats. Then off to visit Robert Morey at British Sports Car Consulting in Charleston, SC, here for decades, particularly fond of a few Lotus cars, but also a TR3, TR4, Morgan and Jaguar XK gracing the place. When he offered an autographed copy of his book "British Car Restoration", I casually requested that he send it to CMGC for their members' library. Then a visit with Torsten Kunze in North Charleston, SC, who has a very nice very early MGA 1500, and an MGB race car. In late evening mu odometer rolled over all zeros again, now 400,000 miles since restoration in 1986 (550,000 miles since new).

Next day we had a walk-in local couple who used to own a 1956 MGA that was equipped with a Lebron Snorkle, the first time I have ever heard of anyone who had one. The guy's brother in Knoxville, TN has an MGA parked for 40 years (might contact us later).

Reassembling a distributor

Monday March 12, 2018 would ultimately turn out to be an epic day (considering this report), the beginning of a six-week stint in the Lexington and Columbia, SC area. Here we would end up working on several cars, ultimately reviving two long dormant MGA back to roadable condition. One belonging to George Lawson in Lexington was a 25-year restoration project needing a fair amount of help and ego boost to get running and therefore very near completion. We would be assembling rear brakes, swapping knock-off hubs left to right, installing a clutch slave, assembling a distributor, install batteries, fix the horn, ignition coil, fan belt, heater valve, ground cable, under dash wiring, lighting switch, dipper switch, flasher unit, fuel banjos on the carbs, revive the fuel pump, prime the oil pump, and we got it running. Fixed a leaky coolant hose, install a new ignition vacuum unit, and repaired an analog temperature gauge (two of them for good measure). Replaced seals in drippy carburetors, fixed some whacky throttle springs and a turn signal pneumatic time delay switch, replaced front suspension trunnion seals and repacked front brake slave cylinders.

Somewhere in mid-March we tried to visit Allmake Auto Electric in Murrells Inlet, SC, no luck, gone for at least eight years. But we did have a dinner meeting with Grand Strand British Car Club in Myrtle Beach, SC, which has been eluding us for nearly four years. Several British cars and about 35 club members present.

We also got to tinker with an MGA belonging to Dave Daniel in Lexington, SC, replacing the leaking clutch slave cylinder, adjusting vales, tweaking carburetors, and changing oil (never done since we revived the car two years earlier, and no one know how long before when it was idle). Also installed new foam seat cushions, including adding core holes to make the cushion softer (one side only). And we replaced the troublesome fuel pump on Dave's MG TF.

In late March we managed to attend The Carolina British Classic car show presented by British Car Club Midlands Centre in conjunction with The Highland Games at Columbia Speedway in Cayce, South Carolina. About 136 cars on display. You can find more than 50 photos from this show on my web site. Next day was a maintenance day for my MGA, replacing rear brake shoes (required every time they need adjustment because the new Moss shoes are too small when new). We also finally tossed out the rogue Mitsubishi alternator in favor of a more friendly Lucas alternator. By mid-April we installed complete new seats (and armrest), at least a year overdue, slightly over 200,000 miles since they were last recovered on 2002. A new convertible top is also in our possession waiting for a good opportunity for installation.

On March 27 we headed downtown Columbia, SC to visit Ansel Gandt and check out his MGA 1600 that has been sitting for ten years. Prior to that it had been pieced along with minimal maintenance to keep it running. Story was a pro shop had looked at it and told him the engine was seized. We put it in gear and gave it a push, and the engine turned, so we would be able to get it

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