The MGA With An Attitude

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MGAguru.com

MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (December 16 - December 31, 2021)

Thursday, December 16, 2021:
Tech question on MGA Car No. plate and how to interpret the format of the numbers stamped on the plate. And we keep moving on, now on the Florida southwest coast by late night.

Friday, December 17, 2021:
Off to one of our favorite haunts in Florida at Tech Central Racing in Bonita Springs. Instruction for the day was this is the annual Christmas party so don't bring any significant work projects. As we were arriving they were already hitching up a trailer for a morning rescue as one of the club cars had died on the road coming in. Not long to retrieve the green MGB, and the issue was just a failed condenser with no spark, so not long to get that fixed.

Half a dozen cars there before us but they kept piling in. Someone thought a photo-op would be a good idea so 15 minutes shuffling cars around squeezed a few more into the forecourt (but still not all of them).

An MG TF rolled in a few minutes later with disturbing oil smoke under the bonnet but otherwise running okay. We found some serious oil dripping on the left side of the engine first thought to be from the tappet cover gasket. But this was a slightly modified engine with alloy valve cover and rather loud dual exhaust and side vents on the valve cover and tappet cover. Oil was dripping from the valve cover vent when running, and appeared to be dripping on the left branch of the exhaust pipe, accounting for the oil smoke. Not going to be a fire starter so check the oil level and drive it home later.

Story here is that the guy bought the car from a nice collection in Texas. He went there to buy an MGA Coupe and ended up buying a MG TD and this MG TF at the same time. Apparently he had not driven a vintage MG before and maybe didn't realize what he was getting into. The seller in Texas is offering to cover half the shipping charges and free labor to fix it but the tactical issues are going to be a pain, Now the owner is considering sending all three cars back for a refund. But at least he found the right place here with a bunch of friendly consultants with free hands and moral support.
We had a jolly good party anyway, and after nearly everyone had left we got to tackle a failed fuel pump on the Triumph GT6+ race car. This was a Holly rotary vane pump making lots of noise but no pumping. Off the car on the bench getting it disassembled on the pump end for inspection. Turned out some or all of the radial vanes were sticking in the slots, not coming out to touch the housing bore. A generous dose for WD40 and a little running time got it all loosened up, so after reassembly it was working again. Moral of the story is, these old cars don't like long term storage, so give them a little occasional exercise.

In the evening we found one of our traditional local WiFi spots had the dining room closed for construction so we were off to find another spot for dinner and WiFi to bring you these photos and notes.

Saturday, December 18, 2021:
Had a walk-in inquiry today, a bloke with a really sweet 1963 Austin Healey 3000-MK-II. This guy lives about a hour northeast of North Fort Myers FL. He was on the west coast today for a monthly cruise with the local Healey club (out of Fort Myers), and just heading home. He had some interest in my web site tech information, but was more interested in the Shops List so he could maybe pay someone to maintain his car(s).

Received an interesting tech article I had to add to the web site, complete instructions with lots of pictures for rewinding the armature for the MGA windscreen wiper motor. I was really enthused about this one, because I had done the same thing for a heater motor armature nearly 23 years earlier in January 1999, about one year after start-up of my web site. At the time I had hand sketches and enough documentation to repeat it later if needed, but I hadn't taken pictures. I had an outstanding offer for a while, if anyone had a toasted heater motor armature I would rewind it for free just to have another shot at taking the pictures for the tech article. Unfortunately no one ever came up with a burned out armature, and I haven't needed to rewind another one since, so that tech article was never posted.

Sunday, December 19, 2021:
Some chat about a push-me pull-me 2-boot MGB trailer with late model MGB rear axle, and changing it to early model MGB or MGA banjo axle for less unsprung weight.
Some friendly advice about rust repair around the windscreen of a '67 Volvo. Not my normal area of expertise, but this was pretty generic.
Solved a couple electrical problems in the tail lights of an MGA 1500 in Australia. I recon internet is a good thing.

Monday, December 20, 2021:
Got an email, then a phone call from a guy in South Carolina still fiddling with a Mallory Dual Points distributor on a 1932 Ford Cabriolet flat head Ford V8. Seems like it should be simple stuff. Been there twice in person with hands on, each time finding faults with a professional rebuild not done right. He finally sent it to a different shop for better "pro" rebuild, and it seems to be better now, just out of time and backfiring. Now trying to remote coach the guy through proper set-up to get HT wires in the proper sequence and get the timing right.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021:
Added some new pictures to an accessories tech page for Ace Mercury Wheel Discs.
Solved a no oil pressure problem on an MGA in England. After sitting four months it wouldn't self-prime. Kind of an easy fix. Put oil in the filter pipe port and turn the engine backward to get oil into the pump.
Happy winter solstice in the north. Now we can look forward to longer days and shorter nights, but tolerate dropping temperatures for another month before it begins to warm up again.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021:
Still on the subject, adding another new picture of a faux wheel spinner on a different accessories page. Perhaps the most interesting point here was $24.95 for the set, and "Add $5 for chromed hubs" (for 8 pieces).

And adding a new tech page for Development of an MGB Twin Cam Engine for MGA, complete with mechanical tach drive and the T/C style alloy oil sump. Full credit to Bill Sphon who did all the development work and construction for this engine.

Thursday, December 23, 2021:
Added a Part Numbers page for AHH8002 wheel accessory part Rimbellisher. This part is applicable to the MGA 1500 only, as when the disc wheel style changed in January 1959 the Rimbellisher would not fit on the new style wheel.

Also added Part Numbers pages for 97H675, 97H676, BHA4165, BHA4166 Accessory parts ACE MERCURY WHEEL DISC. These are left handed and right handed parts (with turbo vent louvers), before and after the change in style of MGA disc wheels. The earlier part number wheel covers (and Rimbellisher) would also work for the MG Z-Type Magnettes.

Friday, December 24, 2021:
Wandered over to Tech Central to see if anything might be happening on Christmas Eve. The Jeep is the resident work car. Just a couple of the regular guys there, also looking to lend a hand. Nice to see the Excalibur kit car making some progress,

Seemed like a good time to fiddle with the MG Midget electrical problems. First there were intermittent tail lights and side markers in back, but no other lights on the whole car. Hope that's just a deteriorated rubber gasket behind th RF parking lamp.

Front corner lamps disconnected, intermittent lighting switch, no head lights, failed hazard switch, mostly failed turn signal switch, and dirty fuse clips for failed connections. Where to start?

Search of attic looking for a lighting switch found a spare hazard switch, so I started there. No internal connections at all, so carefully disassemble the switch, scrape all the contacts clean, reassemble it, and all switch circuits were working again. Score one for the good guys.


Then I was on to cleaning fuse clip connections in the Midget. Meanwhile the other guys were taking turns trying to figure out how to remove the lighting switch from the dash panel with badly obstructed hand access space. Thinking they might have to remove the dash, I was suggesting removing the speedometer to get behind the lighting switch, but then it was lunch time, after which the guys got discouraged and left.

One more odd task at hand, installing a motion detector switch for the shop space. Not for security, but so the lights would time out and switch off when there was no one in the shop, which figures to save some on the electric bill and night time inconvenience. The shop lights have 3-way switch controls, and the new motion detector was designed to work as one end of the 3-way switch circuit. Took a little head scratching to figure it out, but it eventually made sense. It works well, so he will get another one for the adjoining shop space.

Saturday, December 25, 2021:
Merry Christmas to all who follow this thread.

Sunday, December 26, 2021:
The question of floorboard securing weld nuts came up again, this time leading to an update of a tech page. McMaster-Carr now has a listing for the fine threaded version of the 1/4-incb wed nut, which they did not previously have.
Working on specifications for hydraulic pipes and fuel pipes, to list overall lengths and types of end fittings including materials. All originally steel pipes with steel flare nuts on the hydraulic lines. Fuel pipes had all brass soldered bullet ends and flare nuts, except for one steel female threaded flare nut connecting to the steel fitting on the fuel tank. Yet to determine if it has a brass or steel soldered bullet end at that location.

Monday, December 27, 2021:
Word got out that some of the guys drop into Tech Central more often than once a week on Fridays, and they would be here today, so we thought we would poke our noses in to see about it. Still poking around the electrical issues on the trusty rusty Midget, still no lighting switch, but we did finally remove the radio console to get the failed hazard switch out. Different pin-out pattern than the one I was cleaning up last Friday, and no contact on any of these pins either, so I opened up the switch to clean the contacts, got it back together and working again.

Then get the test light and a jumper wire and go after all the rear lights, that at least seem to be all there with complete wiring. Finding corrosion in all of the contacts from lying in storage for 20 years. Starting at right side in back, one lamp at a time, wire by wire, we got the RH tail light and RH side marker working, then the right side license tag light, and chasing red wires across the back, replacing a few burned out bulbs as we went. Then time for lunch break, after which the first two guys left, and the Midget project came to a stand still again.
Okay, then time to do something for my own car for a change. We popped out the Perspex panels from the side curtains, the ones we haven't been able to see through for a long time. Took after them with some polishing compound and a lambs wool buffer wheel, and actually did some good. Got rid of most of yellow fade film and nearly all the dirt, and some of the scratches. Ended up with a few swirl marks, and likely didn't get all the buffing compound washed off yet, but at least we can see through the windows again.

Tuesday, December 28, 2021:
I ordered a new pair of steel fenders for the trailer, as the 24 year old wings have been molested too many times, and I just don't feel like trying to repair them again. I also did some information updates on the CMGC web site, which I gleaned from the most recent issue of their newsletter (in spite of club management refusing to provide such information to the Webmaster).

Wednesday, December 29, 2021:
Casual day, not much happening, just a few common tech questions. New trailer fenders have been shipped, may or may not arrive by Friday.
Someone sent along a PDF file for MG emblem layout suitable for printing, so I posted a new tech page for the MG Emblems, Printed, in case anyone wants to make their own.

Thursday, December 30, 2021:
To settle an open question, I added a couple of pictures to an MG History page showing differences between MG Magnette MK-III and MK-IV models (which share engines with MGA 1500 and MGA 1600-MK-II models). While they did make thousands of these cars, they have become orphans and are very rare today.
Then we were off to Tech Central again, which might be u to three days each week for a while, until I can get some time to work on the "laundry list" for my own car. Still trying to help a few guys to fix the troublesome wiring on the rusty Midget. At least four light sources getting into the dark recesses in the boot today. Got the tail lights and rear side markers and license tag lights working all the way across,
Then I got the back up lights to light up by jumpering power and ground to the rear harness. The guys assure me they won't work, because the wiring is not connected to the gearbox shifter. When I connect three like colored wires the back up lights are on, when the key is on, but not in gear. So the supply wire for back up lights is connected somewhere up front to the ignition circuit. Maybe the two wires at the reverse switch are connected together, Nobody wants to fuss with the reverse switch now, so just leave the supply wire in the boot disconnected and do without back up lights until we get the rest of the lights working.
Up front we found a live red parking light wire and connected it to the RF side marker to get that working. Still looking for two more red wires for RF parking light and the front harness wire to the other side of the car, needing to change the 2-way connector to 4-way. Looking at a bunch of loose wires for both front parking lights and LF side marker, RF parking light fixture had red and green wires, no block for ground. LF parking light had red and black wires, no green wire, but the black wire works the turn signal when powered, so mark the black wire green and rely on body ground through the fixture mounting screws. Then it was lunch time, and folks left after lunch, so throw the cover over the car and come back tomorrow. Day three down, and no telling how many more days may be required when the guys only want to work an hour or two at a time on the orphan car.
Then we got to play with Jerry's motor home engine generator. Hauled it out of the pick up truck, hadn't run for a while, so choke it and pull crank it, and it actually fired up okay. Aside from being heavy, it is a nice bit of kit. The unit has an inverter to produce the desired AC output, so it does not depend on motor speed. Easy enough to hand crank, and it idles slow and effortlessly with no load. As load is increased throttle comes up first, and then engine speed increases to satisfy demand. It will only run full speed with maximum power draw, so it runs as quiet and efficient as possible.
Time to put the toys away and find a WiFi spot. Got an inquiry with an attached picture, and whipped up a new Part Numbers tech page for BMC part number 301140 for the MGA heater hose clamp, which is listed in the SPL's for all MGA's, but is not shown in the illustration for the heater for the Twin Cam model. That done, it turned out to be not for the application the guy had in mind, and he sent along two part numbers. Those turned out to be hose clamps for a connection pipe from water pump to thermostat housing on the Twin Cam.
Looking at items 42 and 41 the Service Parts List illustration, one part is drawn like a worm drive clamp, while the other looks like a simple band clamp with a machine screw and nut (which I'm sure would not be suitable for the high pressure water hose). So then searching the internet for any reference to those part numbers, only one hit on Kips Metropolitan Parts web site, a and that one is offered as a wire type clamp (maybe not as original). Otherwise most of the useful search references are pointing to my web pages, so it looks like I am the world's foremost expert here, and I don't know. So this may have to turn into a BBS groups search to get feedback from car owners who might have an unmolested Twin Cam (slim pickings).

Friday, December 31, 2021:
One last dash to Tech Central at year's end. Pretty good turn out for a typical Friday, about 8 guys, a few minor adjustments, mostly chat. Jerry was packing up the Kayaks for a week end camping trip a couple hours north. Then the guys were hollering, "Barney, get over here", and we were back on the Midget wiring issues again. Hour and a half got all of the front parking lights and side markers working before lunch break. Yee-haa, 10 bulbs all lit at once front and back. Another half hour after lunch got headlights working (mostly). Low beams work, and Flash To Pass works with high beams, but the high beam position of the switch was a no-go. Suspect a bad high beam contact in the "multi-function" switch, set aside for now. A jumper wire across the brake switch got the brake lights working, just that the switch is stuck in the depressed position (another little core for later). Still needing to get turn signals working, but time to cover it up and head for the New Years Eve parties.

In the evening I made a few new tech pages in the Restoration section for Panels, specifically boot floor panels for MGA supplied by Kilmartin, Moss Motors, and Sports Car Specialties. These join a prior page for the panel supplied by Sports Car Craftsmen. And time to get all these photos and notes uploaded before WiFi closing time. Happy New Year to all.