The Steering Column
Left Hand Drive from our President

Spring has sprung and summer is almost here – if you are looking for a simple and fun road trip to take this summer through the state of Illinois that will be okay, but if you are looking for adventure, I highly suggest not only joining NAMGBR (North American MGB Register) but going to the yearly conventions.

This is the adventure we all look forward to even though for some it could build up anxiety caused by driving your MG on a long road trip with possible breakdowns – however during this adventure we can hope for no issues along the way.

This will be my fourth event, having already been to San Diego, right after my dad passed. I told my mom – do not cancel, Dad would want you to go. Because I did not have enough vacation time at work, we took a plane and flew to San Diego, California. I cannot stress enough that I wish I had driven, as being in a plane causes me stress and motion sickness always gets me down. Anyhow, it was a fun event.

This was the start of a new tradition with NAMGBR. I promised myself I would attend the yearly event.

On the way to Gettysburg PA, alternator went out, On the way to Traverse City MI, we made it no issues, On the way to Atlantic City, NJ, we made it no real issues until we arrived then we needed to replace the rubber diaphragm on Stromberg carburetor.? This was a simple project for John Twist and Dean Hickenlooper and a tech session for all involved

As you can see it has been an incredible journey with NAMGBR. Now, I am getting ready to go to Peterborough, Canada. A great part of me would love to take my car, but since I am traveling alone. I will take the Queen Mini, my mom’s super orange mini with black racing stripes – yeah!

One day I do hope some of you will join me traveling to NAMGBR’S yearly event. Chicagoland MG club is one of the biggest clubs in North America and since our club is a NAMGBR affiliate in good standing – with at least eight members (although we have more than eight) in our club who are members of NAMGBR – this allows us to be covered by the policy NAMGBR offers. What does the policy cover - the policy supplies general liability coverage to the club, and covers the officers (and each club member individually) for claims that may arise during club events.

I realize most of you will not be attending next year’s event in Calgary Canada, (for many it is just too far). I may not attend this one…but who knows, I still have time to decide.

~~ Melissa Gonzales

	The Steering Column
	Right Hand Drive   from our Vice-President

I am finally enjoying my convertible roadster.

I spent all last summer getting an MGB up and running with a lot of help. I decided to not take on any more projects with my car over the winter and this summer. I still have plenty of projects lined up for my car, but right now it’s time to drive.

I finally got the idle of car under control—At least better than it was. My idle is down to about 1,300 rpms from 2,100 rpms. The largest problem I found was that my choke was not closing all the way. Once I figured out the housing for the choke cable was getting hung up that make a huge difference. I also did some adjustments with the idle screws on the SU carbs.

My next issue is going to be increasing the heat protection from my SU Carbs and fuel lines. Right now, after a long drive I think too much heat is getting to the carbs and when I rev the engine, I get some fuel shooting out of the float bowls. Hopefully this is a small project that I can tackle while enjoying my car.

While I tackle the small projects and enjoy my car I am also planning. The next steps in my plan is to drop the rubber bumpers for a fiberglass bumper kit. The first part of that plan is to understand the changes I’ll need make to the suspension. I would like to get my 77’ MGB down to the pre-1974 ride height. I need to understand what I need to lower my car with the addition of reducing the weight from removing the rubber bumpers.

~~ Paul Pickley