Wocha bin doin on your MG this week then?

All that lot 'sounds' bad Beth - but I think we all have to realise that our little MGs are getting on now. Even my Sunstorm is 10 years old now..... The radiator is almost a service item at this age as they deteriorate over time, fuses etc pop at any time. So I guess it's not as bad as it seems - it's just annoying it all comes at once!

Just be glad that once you've sorted those bit they will last for years, and plan for any 'wearable' parts of you can in advance. Maybe get a few bits from eBay 'just in case' when you see them going cheap, then when they finally go you have them ready.

I can't see what you have fitted Mogatrons....image not there?

You are right Adam, it just feels a lot especially as the week before I had to replace the washer pump, the week before that I did a service and before that it was the MoT and brake pipes to be replaced! I fully expect though that I am setting myself up for a summer of relatively trouble free and thoroughly enjoyable driving.
I've no intention of getting rid of Imelda the Effer.

Beth557 wrote: I can't see what you have fitted Mogatrons....image not there?

You are right Adam, it just feels a lot especially as the week before I had to replace the washer pump, the week before that I did a service and before that it was the MoT and brake pipes to be replaced! I fully expect though that I am setting myself up for a summer of relatively trouble free and thoroughly enjoyable driving.
I've no intention of getting rid of Imelda the Effer.

Plus imagine once you've fixed any niggling 'issues' it's on to adding all the 'dark side' bits you find on the bay of E!

WARNING here comes another of my long ramblings!!
I've had a couple of weekends of small car jobs that grew, though none related to the TF.
Neither are MG related either, but the first was at least related to a car built at Abingdon, and one that is 60 years old this year.
Having borrowed lots of tools from my uncle in the course of refurbishing the rear end of the TF I thought it was about time I repaid the favour!
His Riley 1 & 1/2 RME has been going through a restoration which is now in it's 19th year :oops:, but really doesn't much have left to-do. The plan was to recover the roof on a nice warm day, but to-do that we needed to get the car out into the sunshine, only it wouldn't start. It looked like the fuel pump had failed, so off came the air box, to get some access, and the pump was eventually removed and then rebuilt with a kit which had been procured via e-bay. That made it sound easy. But I can tell you it was not. Just finding the right spanners that would fit the nuts and bolts was a length process, and they seem to have employed the "why use to the same size when you can have a selection" method when they originally put it together.
The following picture shows what it was like when I started the strip down having removed the top and the filter mesh.

There is a handle at the front that can be used to prime the carb with fuel (they through of everything back then :broon: )and the built in filter had done it's job of capturing the crud and dirt. I didn't notice at the time but there were signs of a leak in the pipe to the carb float.
Anyway by early afternoon the pump was rebuilt and re-fitted. In doing this, that pipe to the carb fell off. The solder had degraded over the years. So would need re-doing; Well we had some solder, but no flux, 10 minutes later some had been borrowed from a friend. The banjo would need to come of the float bowl but it wasn't playing ball so the top was taken of and went into the vice so I cold apply the necessary force more safely.
Then I realised I need to be quite precise in how it was soldered back together otherwise it wasn't going to connect up properly. Oh for a bit of braided hoes!
So it all went back together again to be marked up. :bat:
Once soldered and refitted the system was primed using that useful hand pump, and it got enough pressure in the system to blow petrol past the banjo washer!
But she still didn't start. :rant:
Time now to check the electrics. We seemed to be getting a spark, on number 1 so tried again. No joy. On checking the rest they were found to be quite cruddy, luckily we had some more, so in the went....
...and this time after a couple of miss fires she start up. :woohoo:
However petrol was leaking from the pump and the banjo, the ignition light was staying on and the oil pressure was so high I though the oil pressure gauge needle would break! :omg:
The pump just needed the top to be tightened down a little, but the banjo need a new washer. I tried it the other way round, which was slightly better, but really not good.
We spent about 20 minutes looking through 2 draws full of gaskets but could find nothing suitable, by now it was nearly six PM so we decided to pack up for the day.

Sunday we started early, too early to go to Halfords to buy some of the bits and pieces we needed.
So we check the dynamo. The output was less than 1 volt. So off it came and on strip down we found a broken brush spring. No worries my uncle had 4 RMA ones in the loft, so we liberated one of the necessary spring, reassemble the dynamo and got it back on the car.
Once fired up (and she was starting rely quickly now so we were chuffed) we were getting 1.5 volts. Better but not right. So off it came again and we clean up the commutator, but only after considering put one of the RMA ones on, however they were a different shape and had a different pulley. once back on the results were no better.
It was now past 10am so it wouldn't be long before Halfords would be open. The sun was shinning, so we had to make the difficult decision of going for a 20 minutes journey up winding country roads including the Fosse Way to Leamington Spa in the TF or the Soft top Triumph Herald vitess with it's glorious sounding 2ltr straight 6. The TF won out because it was at the end of the drive and had to be moved any way.
So an hour later we were back with various things including a selection box of paper and rubber washers. Non of which were exactly the right size, so we reduced the outer size of one on the bench grinder. It did the job a treat. no more petrol leak!
So finally time to get the old girl out of the garage.
On removing the ladders etc that were being stored under her we found the front bumper.
"Let's put that on, won't take long" my uncle said. Yeah right!
Exactly what goes where?
First fit was upside down, through the wrong holes and fighting with rusted fixing nuts & bolts. Of it came again, we cleaned up or found replacement fixings. Stopped for lunch, then wrestled with it for another 30+ minutes. No flexible plastic her just great big lumps of solid chromed steel.
But it looked a bit strange, something was missing.
The badge board!
With it fixed to one of the over riders I stopped my self laughing just long to pointed out that it was 6+ inches short of the other one.
Out came some old pictures and it was apparent that the badge bar should be attached to the wings behind the bumper. :doh:
It was now 2pm and I had to leave by 4:30, so the car finally came out into the sunshine.
The metal mesh roof was treated to 2 coats of rust converter, and then we stuck the wadding on with some spray on impact adhesive.
She finally looked like this...

...but it was time for me to go home.
So she went back into the garage, and the hessian blanked and roof covering were draped over so that gravity can gradually force out creases as shape it ready for fitment.
So we ended the weekend, with an unfinished roof, sky high oil pressure and a dynamo problem.
Despite not achieving what we had hoped, we'd had a great weekend, drank some :beer:, had a lot fun spannering, and the experience gave my uncle his mechanical mojo back. So I'm hoping he will have made a bit more progress before I can find the time to get over and help some more.

That is a truly BEAUTIFUL car!

It's not supposed to be a girly thing but that sounds like some of my best days 'jobbing' with my step dad. Not usually on such an exotic vehicle. Thanks.

cairnsys wrote:

David Aiketgate wrote: I now have a straight steering wheel. Until the next lazy tracking adjuster type person. :rant:

I've clearly got too much time on my hands because I've been watching your little rant icon for the last few minutes :doh:

It's actually quite good as it goes through quite a large range of movements when you look closely.

Sad bugger that I am :coat:

If that Icon had a rectangular mustache it would look like Hitler giving one of his speeches! :lol:

Argen69 wrote: Just finding the right spanners that would fit the nuts and bolts was a length process, and they seem to have employed the "why use to the same size when you can have a selection" method when they originally put it together.

On a Pommy car of that age the nuts and bolts would all be Whitworth/British Standard, so unless you have proper WW/BS spanners you'll have trouble finding anything that fits properly in your normal selection, you can usually get a closeish loose fit by raiding your sets of AF/SAE and metric spanners, but you'll end up rounding off the heads of the nuts and bolts.

In the process of fitting my new DRL'd front lights...front wheels came off eventually with some persuasion...that's what thick paint on newly refurbed wheels does!..still, some judicial hammering with a mallet soon sorted that...arch liners out...boogered some of the scrivets but fortunately I have a stock exactly for occasions like this...bumper came off easily....now to swap the bulbs over, wire up and test the DRLs plus all the other lights in case I've cross wired anything..and put everything back ready for a wash and polish so as to be ready for Bromley on Sunday...

Aargh!...just realised it's Thursday and storms are forecast for Saturday....better get a wiggle on methinks.... :yesnod:

Well the DRLs are in and wired...WOW!...I am so chuffed with them..They are 80mm Halos..and they are BRIGHT...until I turn the lights on then they dim...and each side flashes with the indicators...and also flash when locking and unlocking..I love ;em..got the wiring spot on..no smoke trying to escape..and the wiring in the front boot is hidden..

I've taken some piccies so a How To is forthcoming....just gotta get it all back together and spruced up for the weekend..

One happy bunny...:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: