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30 vintage Fords touring at Brice Staton Winery

On the 26th we ran east to Murphys, CA near Yosemite National Park to visit Stuart Brice at Brice Station Winery. Been here a few times before, a particularly good friend and good place to work on the car. Next day we had it up on stands to pull the oil pan and change the connecting rod bearings. All bearings still in white metal, so not a scratch on the crankshaft. I keep good records, so it was no problem getting the correct size bearings before disassembly. We also pulled the center main bearing cap to verify the main bearings were still in good condition, replaced the center main bearing anyway before buttoning it up again. Also installed new oil cooler hoses. It's just maintenance. Great success as it now runs 60+ psi with slightly over 40 psi at slow idle with hot oil, and we are cruising again.

Cam grinder with two fists full of control knobs

D.Elgin at D.Elgin Cams in Santa Rosa, CA

If you can remember back in 2014 when I replaced a broken piston and installed a sleeve in the block, I had reinstalled the crankshaft bearings that already had 107,000 miles at the time, wanting to know how far they could actually run. Well, we have the answer. They can run indefinitely, until the day you run the engine with no oil. The crank bearings had done 280,000 miles still in good condition before the oil hose failure. The rod bearings are now new again, while the same main bearings (and cam bearings with same mileage) are still hanging in there (at least the front and rear main bearings). Just keep the oil clean and keep driving it regularly.

Another failed heater valve, only 9-1/2 months this time

A few days later we had to replace a leaking heater water valve again, third time in the past two years. One lasted 14 months, the latest one only 9-1/2 months before failure of the rubber diaphragm. I have been installing some of these on other cars as well, with some of the failed ones being fairly new, so this part number is being reported to Moss Motors as a Faulty Replacement Part. I doubt that they will throw away inventory, so this issue may be around for some time to come.

Between the engine repair and trouble finding WiFi spots with electrical outlets in California, this report is a bit late and might be holding up newsletter production a few days (sorry about that). Otherwise I think the world is back to normal so we can head north for shop hopping in Oregon and Washington, to be followed by ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, NB, SD, NB and IA. Need to be back in IL to renew my driver’s license in June, then Dubuque, IA for the NAMGAR GT in July. Also planning on Ohio and Michigan shop hopping by August. By that time, we should have completed the North American Yellow Pages for Vintage British Cars with well over 1000 shops listed including photos and notes for each. Meanwhile I recon we will be passing through Illinois a few times this summer, so hoping to get back to see the home town crew again, during driving season this time. I also hear they are starting on an MGA project car with some enthusiasm, so will be interesting to see how that goes.

Until next time, follow our follies at: http://MGAguru.com/mobile

~~ Barney and Elliot Gaylord