12 February 2023 Little steps

Oh how time flies – no blog entry since September! anyone would have thought I was busy [sigh]. Some progress since the last blog – I have the bills to prove it! A couple of significant garage spells have seen some overdue tasks now completed. These include such delights as wiping wipers, a heater which blows and heats, washing washers, a rear hatch with all the right seals, working indicators and correct mixture in both carburettors.

Today, as well as recording the above progress, I can report a couple of minor jobs squeezed in between studying for an upcoming exam and visiting a local National Trust property (not in the MG, too much salt on the road).

Job 1 – SU Dashpots: I am chasing down a fast running issue, and following a suggestion from Dad, decided to check and clean up the SU dashpots to ensure they can slide up and down nicely. I wasn’t at all sure this would make any difference, but it was worth a try so Matt (future son-in-law) used some metal polish to clean these up while I did another job.

Job 2 – Repair servo hose: In chasing down the fast running issue, I decided to improve the seal where the servo pipe fits to the servo manifold. The pipe end (pictured below) was very ropey and I wondered if air was leaking through there and messing up how the carbs operated. So I used a junior hacksaw to saw a length off the pipe and then refixed it to the inlet manifold.

Road Test – Matt assisted to put on the air filters and we took the MG for a spin up the road to see if we had seen to the fast running issue. Straight away we found a problem, but we are now reflecting that we may have solved one issue, but caused another. In short, we now had a pinking issue under load. We cut the road test short and slowly returned to base. I am now wondering whether with a good seal on the servo manifold, we now to adjust everything to suit that new condition. Certainly the MG was not pinking when I picked it up from Clive and we haven’t made any other changes. What do you think?

Job 3 – Wipers: Clive had ordered me some replacement wipers which were on a delayed delivery, so I had picked these up from his garage the other week. As the car was out of the garage it seemed sensible to pop these on. The wiper blades were a little reluctant to come off- they have a dainty little clip which is supposed to release them, but having been fitted approximately ten years ago (conservative estimate) they were very attached to one another. With Matt pulling and me operating the long nosed pliers (surely everyone’s favourite tool) we got them apart and new blades slid nicely into place, immediately making the chrome arms look decidedly second hand. It was getting late, so no time to clean up the arms, that will go onto the list of jobs for another day.

Before putting the MG away, Matt and I dug out the sound proofing material I recently purchased. It was a bit difficult to work out what goes well, but it was clear that this would be an all-day job with the major issue being having to remove the seats to fit the acoustic matting and carpets (not yet fitted under the seats), so that will need a good dry day and a helper on hand. An interesting afternoon all round and it was good to see signs of Spring. I need to crack on with the MG (goodness knows when) as it is required for wedding duty in November!

3 Sep 22 Rework

First job on this hot Saturday was to refit the door pull which Helen pulled off recently when I picked her up from Tesco. To be fair, it wasn’t fixed properly in the first place so this time I used a decent nut and bolt combination on the dodgy fixing so this should now hold.

Second job was to replace the bonnet release cable because the reproduction one I fitted probably two years ago recently gave up the ghost and was beyond repair. I did toy with the idea of using the original but as it had a big old kink I decided to replace it with another brand of reproduction. This unit was of better quality and more closely resembled the original factory item. It’s a fiddly thing to fit and with my limited know-how I had to think hard about how it went together. Eventually I figured it out but it did involve threading the cable down the fitting and trying to find the hole in the cable sheath which I reckon is like trying to crack a safe. Managed it though! 😀

New bonnet pull fitted after some fiddling

Just to also mention a recent Garage tidy up and selling off of a couple of surplus parts which went easily enough on Facebook marketplace. More to sell off where that came from

14 August 2022 Brooklands

A visit to Brooklands Museum and a chance to catch up with a friend, John, on a sweltering Saturday, Summer 22. This museum has been on my list for a while. John and I had visited the adjacent Mercedes Benz World before and meant to go to Brooklands but ran out of time. As unfinished business, a visit was overdue.

A bonus of our visit was that the Aston Martin Heritage Club were meeting the following day and we witnessed the cars being offloaded through the day. The guys were a friendly lot and they were willing to chat to us about what was coming in.

I think the memorable thing about this visit was the volunteers who were mostly knowledgeable and always friendly which really added to the day. The whole museum has a lovely feel with a super blend of aircraft and cars within some (not all) historical buildings and the evocative banked circuit as a backdrop. It was a bit like Goodwood would be if it wasn’t so blooming busy!

A few shots of the circuit

View of the banking from the Members bridge

Probably the best part of the day was the Concorde experience. I’m on a mission to tick off all the remaining Concordes in the UK and this is number 2! This was Delta Golf. They played a video at the end showing off the aircraft in its glory days and I have to confess it moved me to tears!

Under the bird. The RAT was deployed for interest

The aircraft hangers were really good with some special exhibits

The car exhibits were equally special, arranged in historic workshops

And finally a collection of Astons

Zagato bodied DB4 ready for Pan-America Rally

19 August 22 Steering eased

Stiff steering resolved, although not by me. I am striking up a good relationship with our local MG specialist and after a couple of disruptions I was able to get the MG down to him today and he resolved the stiff steering. The problem was with the column itself which had become misshapen and was catching on the mounting bracket. I don’t have full details on the fix as I wasn’t there but it involved reshaping it with some tubing. Anyway, the steering is now bang on and the car drove back from the garage a lot more nicely than it drove down! A major hurdle overcome. He also spotted a few other issues around the car such as the bonnet alignment and non cancelling indicators which are on my list but it was good to discuss possible solutions. The bonnet catch cable has unfortunately also failed, stripping its fitting at the dashboard end which is annoying so that will need a replacement. This evening I reviewed my Completion Schedule, updating jobs done and adding on the new jobs. Its nearly at one page now and with the car basically driveable I can get out and about to get things done. Finally, spotted a rear light out so another job for the list!

A final reflection, it was good to watch Clive drive the MG up the road as I could listen to the exhaust note from the outside – sounded good!

16 August 22 I can handle this

I rarely work on the MGB during the week, being in that phase of life where the day job takes the majority of my time and energy. However, I found myself with a free hour this evening and I was itching to fix some bits I had bought with some birthday money. The parts in question are window winders and door handles. As is often the case, the reason for selecting parts is partly aesthetic and partly needs-based. When we fitted the doors cards earlier in the summer we fitted the existing ‘telephone’ style door pulls. These are soft touch items and very much of their time from the 1970s. Both handles were original and not in the best of shape although I did give them a bit of a scrub up. The one handle was in really poor shape and it barely lasted a couple of pulls before coming free of its fixing. As new units are quite expensive, I instead researched the after market and found an array of aluminium handles (with sporty drilled out holes) which would do the job nicely for a lower cost. My research led me to a reasonably priced set of door pulls and window winders actually intended to fit a Mini but with interchangeability with the MGB. Weirdly this meant ordering the set which comes with Mini escutcheons and door catches which I have no use for but at a lower cost than buying separate parts. To be clear, I haven’t splashed out on these, they are fairly cheap parts but fully up to the job.

Fitting them proved really simple, once I had found suitable screws for the window winders which have a fine thread. I fitted the handles with ‘botch-it’ self tappers into the worn original door fitting – hope that doesn’t offend any purists, it was a pragmatic solution. So there we have it, a nice smart and economical installation and another job off the tick list. Mrs Relentless Duck can now enjoy the luxury of not having to ask to borrow the window winder if she wants to lower the window.

7 August 2022 It’s getting better all the time

Can’t beat a Beatles quote, but it sort of sums up the last couple of weeks on the MGB. In the my previous post I was expressing my disappointment at missing the local car show. Shortly after this I managed to make contact with a local specialist who is literally down the road from where I live and he was able to sort out the troublesome radiator hose and diagnose an alignment issue with the steering which should explain the stiff steering. the MG is booked back in with him but I’m in a queue so I’m being patient about it.

To today which is my 52nd Birthday and what a lovely day, nice array of gifts, morning Church service with the family, a light bite at the local farm shop and a free afternoon with the MG, although a bit too hot for anything too energetic.

First priority today was to commit to driving to the local Tesco to half full the tank with Ultimatum E5 which was the longest journey I’ve done yet and a test of me as much as the car. I kept a close eye on the oil pressure and temperature gauges but all was well although the idle speed dramatically rose until it was a very noisy 3,000 rpm which was all a bit embarrassing. I filled up regardless and tootled off home, revving like mad at every junction.

Back home I realised that the fast idle screw locking nut was loose and so however I set it was going out of true as I drove along with the throttle open. I took out my tiniest spanner and nipped it up so hopefully that’s done.

The MG was a bit sluggish on the way to Tesco so I advanced the ignition a fraction afterwards and took it for a test drive which showed a big improvement with the MG pulling eagerly without any pinking.

Other minor developments were the installation of various grommets under the bonnet to reduce the oily smells entering the cabin.

I’m writing all this with the benefit of editor’s prerogative so this is a slightly tidied up version of events but the resulting improvement is a matter of record.

A hot day for my fourth birthday with the MGB

10 July 22 Chippenham Lions Cherished Car Show

Although disappointed not to be taking the MG, I did visit this local show which was held in the field of a local nursery (of the plant variety). Below is a selection of vehicles that took my eye. My takeaway from the day is that a lot of owners don’t seem that bothered to have a perfect car and if anything that encouraged me that mine doesn’t have to be perfect. That said there were some absolute gems on display, fully detailed and immaculate. The weather was sweltering with those people who had gazebos looking much more comfortable than those out in the open.

I had a couple of nice conversations and typically people are friendly and knowledgeable.

9 July 22 No Show…

I’ve decided not to take the MG to the show tomorrow. This afternoon, a sweltering day in Southern England (Wiltshire to be precise), I undertook some show preparation, but sadly with one issue unresolved, I’ve reluctantly contacted the show organiser and withdrawn my entry. Sheer stubbornness could have won the day, but a breakdown on what is predicted to be a hot day is not sensible.

The specific issue which tipped my decision is a seeping leak from the hose which connects to the bottom of the radiator. This hose is a three-way unit with a smaller hose heading off towards the heater, and other end connecting to the thermostat at the top of the engine. The space at the bottom is devilishly tight, even for my skinny arms and when I fitted it, I couldn’t get the hose to slide nicely over the spigot (I’m going to call it a spigot). Hence, this poor fit leaks when the engine is running. What I need to do is to remove it and refit it, but in the heat of the day and with my puny office muscles (optimised for typing), I couldn’t get the fit any better, despite trying. A short road test proved the MG is running alright on the whole but with a steady drip from the seeping hose, a 10 mile drive, even with planned top ups just seemed too risky.

I did sort out a couple of other nagging issues.

Front disk brake shields. The front disks have a steel shield on the back (presumably to keep out road muck) and when I pushed the car in after nipping up the track rod ends recently there was a scraping noise. I reckoned this was the brake shield rubbing the disk. So I jacked up the front end, removed the o/s wheel and spun the hub to trace where the scraping was coming from. The track rod end was actually resting against the shield, so I loosened it off and retightened it so it was clear of the shield. It was then simply a matter of easing the shield away from the disk until it turned freely. Sorted.

Fuel Pipe. I replaced all the fuel lines on the MG early in the build and had somewhat cobbled the filter to carburettor length under the bonnet which consisted of two short lengths of rubber tubing and a straight bit of copper. This seemed to offend my Dad’s eye as he comments on whenever the opportunity arises. Sorting through a box of bits, I found a length of surplus rubber tubing and wouldn’t you know it was the right length (some may say that this was the correct piece all along, but we will never know). Anyway, it was a relatively straightforward job to remove the existing contraption which is like something off Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and replace with an elegant single length of tubing. Sorted x 2.

All this work was carried out under a new Gazebo we bought off Amazon for £99. It was destined for the back garden, where it has since been erected, but it was first pressed into service to cover up the MG (with the blessing of Mrs Relentless Duck) and what a fine job it did in the hot hot sun.

Happy Summer everyone, I’ll get to a show one of these days.

[Post blog note – just had invite to join friends who are racing at Castle Combe Circuit next week, so maybe the MG will ‘break her duck’ in the near future if I can get that hose seen to.]

7 July 2022 Show time?

I rashly committed to a local car show and the weekend has rolled around and I’m faced with a 10 mile drive in the MG on Sunday. The car is fully Road legal so no worries there, but it’s not finished by a long shot and I’m nervous that problems unknown could occur on the drive.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained so I rolled her out the garage tonight on a beautiful summer evening for a bit of preparation. Main job was to give the paint a quick wipe over with some quick detailer just to remove the dust and rub off the odd oily smudge from my fingers. Then I used a glass cleaner to remove the smudges and dressed the tyres.

Inside the car I secured the centre console which I’d removed when I put the carpets in.

Tomorrow I’ll get a can of petrol filled and top up the tank and maybe do a run around the bypass to check for leaks and creaks.

3 July 2022 Stiff steering

The stiff steering is persistent despite having changed the boots and lubricated the rack. King pins move freely so everything point towards the rack. I bid on a steering rack on eBay (with light use apparently) and won that, so for £105 it’s worth a try. I have to pick up the rack from Northampton so will combine this with a visit to the office in Oxford which isn’t too far away, unless the seller agrees to post it.

I’ve researched the ease of swapping out the steering column and it doesn’t look too horrendous, albeit it would be a lot easier with a ramp! I’ll have to make do with the driveway! I’ll need a day off with a pal I reckon to get that done. Hopefully that will be a fix. The steering is the current blocker to the car being in working condition so finding a solution is important here!

I’ll keep this channel posted on progress!

Trying to get to turn a bit more easily!

Post blog update 7 July 22 – I’ve bid on a steering column on eBay and won it. Collect from Northampton next week which is conveniently on my way up North where I’m going to a meeting👍

2 May 2022 Track Rod ends

When I discovered recently that the steering rack boots were split and all the oil had leaked out I knew I had a fairly big job on my hands. I ordered a pair of new track rods ends and boots and my friend Paul offered to help.

I started by jacking up the front of the car, settling it on axle stands and removing the front wheels. Then I used a ball joint splitter to unstick the existing track Rod ends which we’re looking a bit ropey. I got stuck trying to the free up the locking nut on the rack ends but a quick call to ‘Mechanical Mark’ soon fixed this. Mark was round in a heartbeat with a lump hammer and huge adjustable spanner. A couple of firm accurate blows and the locking nut was free. I had sprayed it with WD40 but it could have done with longer – anyway, it was released.

With the track rod ends off we could then remove the steering rack boots which was a bit fiddly but as we were replacing with new we did not have to be too careful.

With the hubs disconnected from the steering arms we checked how well the king pin assembly was moving as this might also explain the stiff steering but both sides were operating smoothly and without any issues.

Next job was to get the new boots on and this was straightforward enough. It was fiddly getting the cable ties on nice and tight and the tails trimmed off but a reasonable job was done on both ends of the boot

The track rod ends wound on easily enough and the rusted exposed thread gave a good gauge as to when they were in the right place, although I had counted the exposed threads (16) and number of rotations (17) so I’m confident they are near enough aligned – that’s always assuming the tracking was right on the old ones which is anyone’s guess! Once the ends were threaded on we popped the shank onto the hub and tightened up the locking nut. The near side was painful as the locking nut wouldn’t go on, it just spun the ball joint. I got a bit lost and had to admit defeat, solving it later in the week. The key is to get the shank nicely bedded into the opening because then the taper grips and stops it from turning. I used a hammer handle to brace it while I got a few turns on and then it was easy breezy. I pumped the oil in a couple of days later and it’s all back together as intended.

2 April 2022 Horn of plenty

A clear, bright, cold April morning was rapidly warming up as I pushed the MGB out onto the driveway. Today I was intent on changing the float chamber gaskets (more on that later) and there was half a chance I would get some help from my friend John to sort out the horn button which would in turn allow me to finalise the steering wheel installation. While poking around under the bonnet I decided to fit the metal cover over the pedal box as just one more job to do. It fitted nice and snug and is another step towards finishing things off.

I was just finishing removing the air filters when I had a call from John confirming he was free to come down and help. So I halted work on the carbs and John and I worked on the horn button. This was more challenging than it should really be. Because I am using a non-standard wheel (wooden), with a non standard boss, we couldn’t just stick it all together. Instead we had to measure everything to get the indicator stalk, horn ‘pogo stick’ switch, and cowl all to work together. Unfortunately, there was no obvious way to fix the ‘pogo stick’ so John ingeniously modified the indicator stalk bracket to mount it. This was going well until we realised with a dry fit that we had not taken the indicator cancelling cam into account. Drat. John persevered and as I write this the whole assembly is mounted, but pending the araldite hardening off before we finish it off. So a really awkward job which is now nearly done thanks to John.

The pogo stick switch mounted on the modified bracket. Note steering column now at correct height

While this was going on, I investigated the stiff steering by removing the inspection plate on the steering column and taking a look. The plate came off easily enough and the shims that came with it too although the surface rust on them suggested little oil was in the rack itself. So, pleased with myself I started merrily pumping gearbox (the correct) oil into the rack and it was taking a lot as it was so thirsty. Or so I thought until John spotted a pool of oil appearing on the drive, which we traced to a split gaiter. Drat again, but entirely my fault, although it does explain why the steering rack was dry. So, parts to order before I can completely resolve the stiff steering.

With the plate removed I could pump oil into the steering rack

A final bit of fun was discovering that the steering column could be raised from where it was mounted by loosening the bolts and sliding the column on its slotted mounts. I had not spotted this when I fixed the steering column and I had been finding the wheel uncomfortably low. Now sorted in about 5 minutes – easier than selling the car because I couldn’t fit in!

Classic car events and fettling

Restoration of my MGB GT with occasional other stuff