What I want, What I Really Really Want!

During my dads ownership there were a few issues that began to cause a loss of confidence in the car. Although my father is quite a handy sort of chap and always used to maintain the family cars until I took over that roll. He seems to have gotten used to paying for someone to service his car and is a little out of practice and patients with the joys of classic car ownership.
First problem, the battery would die after a few days with the car left standing. After a lot of head scratching and a period of routinely disconnecting the batteries when the car was not in use he discovered that the radio would not turn off which was draining the battery. This must have been the reason I took it out of the car it was originally fitted too. Oops.
Second problem, a points failure while out driving. Although a simple job to fix the fact he had no tools and the points are difficult to get to resulted in the RAC being called to fix and follow them home. My dad struggled to replace and set up the new set of points after lots of swearing.
Third problem, my sister and her boyfriend went up to stay and he set the ignition timing with a strobe. When my dad took it out for a drive once they had gone home, the car was running very poorly. He must have set it incorrectly. My dad then readjusted it by ear and got it running ok. This was the final straw, what with the fact that it was not a Roadster and that the old man (and old girl) were finding it difficult getting in and out (like I find it easy being 6 foot 1). The car then sat in the garage until I visited them.
While up there I discovered they wanted to sell it as it was becoming too much trouble. They asked me to advertise it on ebay. I did this and it failed to meet the reserve price. I put it on again and once again it failed to reach the reserve. A number of people had viewed and tested the car but they all seemed to want it for less than the £1500 it was being sold for.
Aside from that I did set up the carbs. I had no special tools and did it the old fashioned way. Listening to the air flow and using the lifting pins for mixture. It was the first time I had ever tuned up twin carbs and I was chuffed that I managed to make the car run better let alone at all.
Following the fact that nowbody wanted to pay the £1500 they wanted for the car and that they refused to budge from this (quite right really, it had full mot and I believe it was worth it) they decided to give (yes give) the car to me as they knew I could not afford to buy it and they knew I would use it. Well I was on cloud nine. Wow a free car and a very nice one at that.
All I had to do was drive the car back down south and it was mine.
Needless to say I shot straight up to Derbyshire at the earliest oportunity just in case they changed their mind. I gave the car a quick check over and a test run while going to the petrol station to fill up ready for the journey home. Once parked up outside my parents house I checked the car over again to check for leaks. Oh F~@& there was a leak. Petrol was running out from the front of the tank. I could not see from where but I just had to get the car home. I had a fire extinguisher with me so I was sure I'd be ok. I reasoned that the hole must be at the top or at least high up on the tank and as the level goes down the problem would go away. Yes the ostrich technique. If in doubt bury head in sand. Besides the car was parked facing down hill and the tank was full to bursting point. As I later deduced the last time the tank got filled was when I drove it up to Derbyshire as my dad had only ever topped it up with a tenner here and there. And even after I filled it on the way up north the car never sat parked with a full tank so I would not have noticed a problem.
My parents offered to show us a minor road route to get round Nottingham which would allow me to put some miles on the car and allow the fuel level to drop some. I then planned to stop in a layby and if the leak continued I would call the RAC but if it had stopped I would continue under our own steam. All was ok so I bid farewell and off I went.
The journey was unneventful, at least until I got 10 miles from home. Great 170 miles of plain sailing then 10 miles on the edge of my seat. The problem? A dodgy temperature gauge I hoped. The engine temperature began to be unstable flickering and going up and down. Mind you it never went up to a high level but just became erratic. The car did make it home but as I lifted the bonnet it became obvious that the gauge may not have been at fault afterall. Water and steam were comming out the radiator overflow and water was running down the outside of the rad. I was not greatly concerned as I suspected the radiator need replacing as the fins were rotten and the lip where the cap screws on was split and rolled over as if something heavy had be dropped on it while the car was off. Once cool, I refilled the system and everything seemed fine.

The long way round

Once the front suspension was rebuilt I expected the steering to be much lighter than before. However, I was little dissapointed by the fact it was still heavier than I would have liked. Don't get me wronr it was better and yet I appreciate the steering will be heavy due to not being power assisted. But all of my other 'old' cars never had steering as heavy as this. I decided that the uj's on the steering shaft may be a little out of line and that there was less leverage on the steering wheel as it had been changed for a smaller one.
Oh yeh. I forgot to mention the brakes were sorted out easily when I found the seals had gone on the master cylinder and the servo was filled with brake fluid. I ordered and fitted a new unit and the brakes were sorted.
So back to the plan. My parents had now settled in their new home up north and I had to arrange to deliver the car to them. The journey directly is about 170 miles. But me being me why make life easy for yourself. Besides there was method in my madness to drive from south Essex to Derbyshire via Cambridge.
I decised to drive the car to the MGBhive for them to check the steering rack and column alignment and column bushes as well as fit a new larger steering wheel. WHile they worked on the car my friend and I (who followed me up there, and to provide a lift home) would have a bite to eat and then pick the car up after the work was done. Then We could continue our journey to deliver the car. Well the drive to Cambridge was nice. It was the first time I really had a chance to drive the car. This time I was able to wind her up to motorway speeds safe in the knowledge that I could slow down and stop if I needed to. The car drove well with good oil pressure and the water temperature stayed within limits. Due to the relatively new interior the seats were also very comfortable and the heavy steering was never an issue.
After the car was worked on and it was given a clean bill of health I test drove it and once agin was still a little dissapointed with the amount of steering effort required to turn the wheel. The larger steering wheel etc had made a difference but if some is good more is better.
We then made our way across country to Derbyshire.
Just thought of another thing I had forgotten. Knowing that I was to be driving for such a long time there was no way I was going to drive all that way without a radio. Speakers were already installed so all I had to do was connect up an old radio I had laying about and that would be that. I used the wires that were taped up after the previous owners had removed the cd player and all was fine.
The drive to my parents house was fine and almost a pleasure until we got to Mansfield where the traffic got heavier. This only became a problem beacuse we didn't realy know where we were going and neither of us had a codriver to look out for road signs etc. Anyway we made it and I pulled up on my parents driveway. Unfortunatelly I scraped the bottom of the car (the exhaust most likely) as there is a crest where the path goes up then back down again. No harm done though he will just have to be careful when getting the car out.
After saying hello and ensuring the kettle was on I jacked up the car and drained the engine oil while it was nice and hot.
Once we had been watered I changed the filter and replaced the oil. Fired it up to ensure oil pressure was as it should be and that was my job done.

No Room at the Inn

Just before my parents agreed to buy the car the in laws finally cointacted british motor heritage to confirm the age of the car. It was first registered in March 73 but if it could be proven that it was built during 1972 then it would be eligible for free road tax. As this represents a saving of about £150 each year that allows for any extra expenditure on the car itself and helps to justify owning the car but not using it a lot. We the car was first bought I sorted out the address of where to apply for the age varification but this was ignored like lots of my other advise. Anyway the up shot of this is that the car was indeed built in 1972 and now the tax disc can be proudly displayed in the window knowing that it didn't cost a bean.
As I said before my dad was keen to get the steering sorted so I advised him that the kingpins needed replacing as there was a lot of play on one side and the bushes may as well be done at the same time. As always I had too many other projects on the go and had no room to store and work on the car. I also did not want to take the car apart in their garage in case I did not get it reassembled in time for them to move out. I had a chat with my sister who agreed to store the car in her garage until I could get the time to work on it. The day before my parents were due to move out I came round to collect the car and drive it the 10 miles to my sisters place. I had not been used for about a month as my dad did not like to drive it until I sorted it out.
It started fine and after warming it up and checking for leaks and tyres pressures I drove off. As I reached the end of their driveway (only about 50 feet) I applied the brakes. The pedal went straight to the floor. I ynked on the hand brake. There was no time to fix it and besides I didn't need the hassle. So with a cheery wave a wet off as if nothing was wrong. It'll be ok I'll take it easy and enjoy the drive. Thank heavens for a half decent handbrake.
Within 2 miles I was on a dual carraigeway and not wanting to slow the traffic down I wound her up to a steady 75mph. As I smiled at the passing motorists or passed them I bet they had no idea I had no brakes and would not be able to slow down let alone stop if something happened in front of me. Very irresponsible I hear you say but you only die once. I was relieved when I approched my sisters turning. A tight left hand turn down hill and quite narrow. As I approached I used the hand brake to slow me down to make the turn. I miss judged it some what and what with the stiff steering and only having one hand on the wheel I almost went straight on into one of her neighbours gardens. If there had been a car comming the other way the MG would have been toast. And so would I.
Finally the car was put in my sisters garage until such time as I could get to work on it.
When the time came I decided her garage was too small. It was a standard size garage that you find now with most modern homes. My sisters boyfriend had just bought a new house that had a big double garage. Ideal I thought. I asked and I got. All I had to do was get the car there.
Needless to say I hired a trailer. Well I did have to move two ther projects on the same day.
Over the next couple of weeks I stripped and rebuilt the front suspension using poly bushes. The kingpin bushes were fitted and all I had to do was ream them out. I could not find a reamer for love nor money (at a sensible price anyway). I tried all the local garages and tool hire firms even Ebay which usually serves me well in times of need. I eventually hatched a plan. I would take the parts to The MGBhive a specialist repairers not too far from home, get them to ream out the bushes, pick up a few tips and a couple of parts I still needed ie bump stops. I could then bring them back and fit them. The plan worked well other than it taking a day to get there do the work then drive back. The old guy in the workshop instructed me on how to shim the kingpins and I was confident of getting the car back on the road soon.

A Bit of a Hair Dressers Car That MG?

I found out after a about a month that following all my hard work they had not been using the car. I ased why only to be told the car was not running right. I was too busy and to be honest didn't think I could stand to look at it again. This went on for a couple more months and for some reason I was beginning to get annoyed that they were critising the car for its faults when they had done nothing to correct or fix them. I finally agreed to have a look at it to see if I could get it running right.
I went round lifted the bonnet and the sister in law (just for laughs she was the registered keeper and was in fact a hair dresser, sorry hair stylist) started her up. The engine started and was indeed running rough. I saw the problem straight away. plug lead No. 3 had fell off. I reconnected it and as if by magic the car was returned to its old self. I muttered something to myself about "six months off the road for that" when I was struck by lightning. Well the metal fan blade actually. My left thumb was caught as I leaned over the engine. There was blood everywhere and the top of my thumb was flapping in the breeze from the fan. It hurt like hell and throbed like you wouldn't believe. I suppose you'd call that Karma so in future don't dis' the hair dresser in the MG.
Once they started to use the car again they soon found that leaving an old car laid up for so long and with out any care or attention, more things can go wrong. The brake master cylinder seals were shot. Seeing as I only had limited use of my thumb and the fact I could not be bothered, they paid someone else to re seal the cylinder. This allowed them to MOT the car as it had lapsed during it's lay up. Also as a result of not being used the batteries also died and were replaced.
Finally they decided to sell it. As much as I disliked all the grief it had caused me I still liked the car and would have liked to have bought it for myself. "Besides you can never have too many projects" sorry an in joke for the lads at work.
When my father heared they were getting rid of it he decided that he would like it as a toy to mess about in give him an excuse to were a cloth cap and tweed in his retirement. They only had a certain amount of money which was some way short of what the in laws wanted for it so unbeknown to them I put up the rest of the cash as a treat for the old man.
When he finally got the car he seemed to have had one of those senior moments as although it was parked on his driveway for over a week (a couple of years before) for the welding work he some how forgot that the car was in fact a hard top rather than the roadster he had been expecting. I think this resulted in a loss of heart to some degree. My dad drove the car for a bit and decided the steering was too heavy and asked me to have a look at it for him. They were moving to Derbyshire in a month or two so he wanted this done before they moved or atleast before the car went up there.

Doomed to Failure

During this first period of ownership a number of parts began to fail leading the owners to become disolusioned with the idea of classic car ownership.
The first failure came when the now brother in law took the car out for a spin and to refill with petrol. After filling up and paying for the fuel the car would not start (it later turned out to be the fuel pump which was replaced). Anyway I got a call asking if I could come and tow him home and I drove to the pertol station to either fix the car or tow him home. I expected him to have moved the car from the pump to one of the parking bays so he did not cause a jam at the pumps. But for some reason only known to himself he was too embarassed to push the car the 30feet to the parking bay.
After giving the pump a few taps with the end of a screw driver and failing to get it to run reliably I hitched him up and towed the car to his house.
I left it to him to buy and fit a new pump. This got the car back on the road but only after a delay of a few weeks. Not because of not being able to get the parts but because he took so long to order them.
Next was the sticking needle valve in the carbs, another simple and cheap fix but still took a couple of weeks to sort.
I don't think these faults were too bad for a years worth of motoring. However, the MOT threw up one job that I somehow got lumbered with. I tell a lie I volentered.
The only problems for the MOT were a headlight bulb blowing exhaust and some rust around the jacking point on the drivers side. New bulb fitted = fixed. New Stainless Steel exhaust ordered and fitted = fixed. Jack up car on driveway (mum and dads driveway) clean off loose rust metal weld on a patch job done. Yeh right!
I ended up having to use a weeks holiday off work to replace the three part sill, jacking point and front/rear lower wing sections. I am actually quite pleased with the job and it turned out alright but what a job. The only problem was that I put a little too much heat into the repair and managed to blister and burn some of the paint that I had so carefully measured and cut around so the weld would be hidden by the sill covers. I left the task of touching up the paintwork to the brother in law. This job never got done and to this day you can still see the redoxide used to cover the burnt paint.

When Michael Met EFAL

My first real blog will explain how I came to meet EFAL a 1973 MGB GT. A long time ago in a county far far away. My girlfrinds sister (now my sister in law) got the idea to buy an MGB. She saw EFAL and fell in love. As the family car odd job man I was asked to cast an eye over it before they exchanged their xr2i for it.
On initial inspection the car looked very good. The paintwork was in good condition (it had been resprayed but that was some time ago rather than a quick blow over) and it suited the chromework beautifully. The interior was in very good condition having been recently re trimmed in brown velour with cream piping. Nice but not to my tatse. Mechanically the car was sound with a sweet running engine nice gear change and recent overhaul of the kingpins. The only real faults I could find were preignition/running on when the engine was turned off, wear in the carb spindles and the fact it was a 73 rather than a 72 with added bonus of free road tax.
Needless to say they bought it.
The new owners are not the most old car sympathetic people in the world so I suggested to them where to spend a little money to ensure they enjoy their ownership as much as possible. These were to replace the carbs with recon ones (about £100 at the time) and install electronic ignition to ensure it stayed in tune and would start reliably. They ignored this advise and decided to spend £500 on new chromework.
Theres no helping some people.

It's only me!

I guess this Blog stands a chance of becomming a new obsession for me but don't expect it to be maintained on a daily basis. I intend to up date it when there is something worth reporting or that may be of interest to someone other than myself. Besides I'm sure my mates at work will enjoy ripping the p!$$ out of me when I do.

For my sins this is me. If all else fails you could always print out a copy and hang it infront of the fire to keep the kids away.