The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (December 1 - December 15, 2019)
Sunday December 1, 2019:
Started the day in Brooksville, FL, but we had an appointment later. Got the call about mid day and headed south another two hours to meed our old friend Rick Schnittker in Venice, FL. He used to live in Naperville, IL, but moved to Florida this past July. So this is to be a social call, hang out a few days, and will find a few car things to do while we're here. Wow, nice house with a couple of guest rooms near the pool. Two car garage makes a decent work space (if to put the other car outside). And there's his MGA, which he has been driving for a coon's age. It had a little rust repair and a repaint several years ago (not the first repaint).
Monday December 2, 2019:
Early afternoon we walked through Rick's back fence to visit his neighbors John & Pam Holic immediately behind him. This guy was mayor of Venice for some time. There is a 1951 MG TD resident here that is apparently the wife's car. It is reported to have a fuel leak. Switch on, and the rear carburetor was dribbling like a stuck pig. Oops.
Digging in past the non-standard pancake air cleaners, we found the problem right quick. The banjo bolt holding the float chamber had threads stripped out of the bottom of the throttle body. Dang. I don't have a Heli-Coil for the odd BSW thread. Decision was made to remove both carbs and send them off for a professional rebuild.
In the evening we took a cruise in Rick's MGA under Venice city lights. After a while we were passing a couple of houses with friends who have vintage cars, and we found Tito Gaona in Venice, FL kicking around after dark. This guy is quite a character. He is an artist on trampoline and trapeze, used to work in a circus, appeared on the Ed Sullivan show multiple times, and the house he lives in used to belong to Ed Sullivan. He is now 72 and currently runs Tito Gaona's Flying Trapeze Academy (yes he still flies). He is also a car guy down to the bone.
At one time he bought a junk yard full of vintage cars and was supplying tons of parts to vintage car shops and dealers as well as reselling vintage cars. At his home he currently has a late model MGB, a very early production DeLorean, and a Triumph GT6+. No help needed here, as he can take care of his own cars.
Tuesday December 3, 2019:
Day to catch up photos and notes, email, etc. Also laundry day?
Wednesday December 4, 2019:
Had a couple new shops to visit today, recommended by Rick Schnitker. First up was Horst's Bavarian Auto Works in Venice, FL. Nice shop with half a dozen double depth service bays and multiple techs on staff. 47 years in service (as of 2019), they work on anything that does not have an ECU (think pre-1980), including vintage British cars since when they were new.
Next up was Twin Cam Sportscars in Sarasota, FL. They are vintage British car specialists (but not strictly British). An MGB GT was just arriving. May be only one "they", but meet the owner, Steve Smith.
Lots of fun toys here, most of what you would recognize. The prize catch today was the Renault Alpina, about 1969 series (definitely not to be confused with Sunbeam Alpine). These things used to kick ass in European road rally. You may also notice a few Datsun here, keeping in mind the close relationship to post-war British cars.
The Datsun Z on the hoist is getting significant sheet metal repairs here, to be contracted out for paint work later.
Engine work here as well, pretty much anything mechanical, electrical, or sheet metal but not in-house painting.
Thursday December 5, 2019:
Some tech discussion about new bearings causing crankshaft to seize. Turned out to be one slightly misaligned rear main half shell slightly mis-positioned with the indexing tab running interference. Easily fixed, just a process of elimination to find the offending part. Also a little update on the CMGC web site for changes to the upcoming swap meet.
Friday December 6, 2019:
Most of the day spent uploading the CMGC December newsletter to the club web site. A little time looking forward to future appointments.
Saturday December 7, 2019:
Day off? A little planning, organizing a list of possible future appointments and possible route planning.
Sunday December 8, 2019:
Thought we had an appointment today, but rescheduled for tomorrow. Otherwise just cleaning up some odds and ends.
Monday December 9, 2019:
Dropped in for a visit with Joel Theard Orlando, FL. Been planning this meeting for some time. He recently bought an MGA sight unseen from St Louis, MO. Supposed to be restored, or older restoration, being shipped to Florida. Shipping delayed some due to Joel's scheduling problems, car due to be picked today, to be delivered in 2 or 3 days. But we're here today, so we stopped in to chat anyway. Good time to pass along some experience and get the motivation rolling. Need to come back later after the car arrives.
Tuesday-Wednesdy December 10-11, 2019:
Waiting for delivery of Joel's "new" MGA. Easy to kill a couple of days catching up email and a few web site updates.
Thursday December 12, 2019:
Okay, back to see Joel Theard in Orlando, as his MGA from St Louis, Missouri has arrived. We spent some time just getting intimate with his new car. First notice was nice chrome wire wheels, but three different brands of radial tires on the car, and a bias ply tire in the boot. Looks like he will eventually be looking for some new tires. Weather seal on the doors is incorrect tubular type that interferes a bit with door closure.
Spiffy looking engine bay, some incorrect hose clamps and HT wires and errant air cleaners (fairly easy stuff to fix). Radiator is vertical tube type, not cell core, that would be a little more expensive to change, but maybe don't need to change it. Had to reconnect a couple of detached wires on the ignition switch. It runs fairly well (after a few carburetor adjustments), but has a funny tapping noise. Valve clearances look okay, and oil pressure is good, likely not a crankshaft or cam bearing problem, but might be a worn cam lobe (want to check that later). Some time later it didn't want to restart, low battery. My little jumper box got it going again, and the generator was charging normally with higher engine speeds, so maybe the battery was low as received and just needs a re-charge. Incorrect boot seal, no pop-up, makes it difficult to open the boot lid. Easy part to replace.
Vinyl cover on the dash panel and wrinkle paint on the radio blanking plate are not original. Turn signal bat handle is upside down, and once set right will require swapping two wire on the switch. Turn signal jewel is red, should be green, and is missing the chrome trim ring. Safety gauge is Smiths rather than Jaeger, but should serve as well. Fuel gauge is also Smiths and looks out of place, and we haven't checked yet to see if it works right (might be in the wrong resistance range). Lighting switch is incorrect 2-position switch, so head lights and parking lights are connected to work together (no parking lights only position). At first it looked like all of the lighting parts worked okay, then then noticed turn signal in one direction only was blinking the headlights and front parking lamps together. Ran out of time just then, so will have to de-bug that later.
Fri-Sun, December 13-15, 2019:
Mostly just hanging out, feet up and relax (so to speak). Had a three hour phone chat with a friend in Oklahoma who is looking to buy an MGA (talked with him a couple hours some time ago). Also had two our chat when a brother from Indiana called, just personal stuff, like week end trip to Branson, MO (tourist trap). Monitoring BBS and email, and fielding a few tech questions, nothing to write home about.
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