Whats for dinner net topic RSWs 67 MGB GT

[W3RSW]

Couple of more pix on downstairs computer that I'll try to reduce and ring up.
Yeah, looking at these old slides is about as close to a time machine that I've been exposed to in awhile.

1967 MGB GT 1800 cc's.  "B" engine with two SU carbs., 98 h.p. whoo, whoo. British Racing Green #2, black leather seats w/ white piping.  The GT was a hatchback, lots of chrome compared to Miata's, etc. of more recent vintage.  Wire wheels had knock-off, splined hubs; ya had to grease the splines about every 5k miles, put oil in the SU dashpots, etc.  It was a much fun maintaining it as it was driving it (until I put on the Abarths.)
We used to ride around with the real hatchback cracked open just to hear ourselves back off.   Who cared about the fumes when you had so much natural leakage and circulation.

 Oh yeah, it had positive ground; I used to place the 8 track on the passenger seat for insulation and hook up the player with the cig. lighter pickoff.
Rick

[W2JTD]

'67 MGB GT. What a car.

In '74, my cousin Bob and I spent a few months traveling across the country in one.  It was red.

Traveled Muncie, IN to NJ, to RI, back to IN, then Springfield, MO, Colorado Springs CO, Phoenix and ending up in Cotati, CA.

Replaced the head gasket in Muncie. Hung the old one over the kitchen stove with a sign "In homage to HHR Queen Elizabeth II".

Then took a corner too fast in Muncie... engine jumped off the mounts and shoved the fan into the radiator. Beat the fan out nicely, then found a junker radiator way down in southern Indiana for $35.

Lost the starter on the second trip back to Indiana. No problemo.... just put it in first gear and give it a push and off we go.

Lost the generator in Kansas City, MO. That had to be dealt with. It was on a Sunday in the middle of the bible belt, yet good old NAPA was open and we replaced it right on the street.

The car still exists somewhere in northern CA. My cousin Bob is SK.
We made a lot of friends and have a bazillion stories about that summer. Great times.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Oh yeah, it had positive ground; I used to place the 8 track on the passenger seat for insulation and hook up the player with the cig. lighter pickoff.
Rick

Ah yes...The "Prince of Darkness"...Lucas electric system.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Ah yes...The "Prince of Darkness"...Lucas electric system.

I'm forever in debt to the ol' Prince as he allowed an otherwise-poor college student to drive some nice chick magnets for little coin. 

Was listening to the discussion last night but was in the midst of lashing up the 32V-2/75A-1 station across the room. And then there's that whole 'gotta give up the frequency at...' thing too. But it's always interesting to hear about the experiences of others with respect to these fine little autos. Sounds like you were pretty bold, Paul - striking out cross country with one of those things. How was it we never seemed too concerned about such things just a few years ago?

First car I ever bought was a 70 MGB ragtop with wires. Paid a whopping $500 in the fall of '79. Drove that thing all over New England and never had a spare tire, jack, or the big-ass wrench for removing the wire wheels (post-knock-off style). Never thought a thing of it, either. It's amazing how invincible you feel at 19! Took it up to have a cousin do some body work on it, got a call later from my uncle saying I should come up and take it for a ride. It had more power, felt like someone had added a cylinder. That's when my uncle mentioned it had only been hitting on 3 cylinders and I'd been driving it that way for several months. Ignorance is bliss.

Went on to own 2 more of them, the last one being a 73 steel wheel model that was totaled when a Chevette pulled out of a parking lot and took me almost head on. The only thing worse would've been getting totaled by a Yugo. That was the crash that limited the range of motion in my neck.

Also had three Triumphs: a '72 TR-6 O.D. (first car I drove over 100 mph) and a pair of TR-7s (dawgs, got 'em in a trade), '64 Jag XKE coupe project, '67 Jag MK II 2.4, '66 Jag MK II 3.8, '75 XK-6L, and a real Mini made by British Leyland. All 1000 CCs of it. You guys who were talking about making out in an MG really need to try a Mini sometime. MG is spacious in comparison.

Highest I ever paid was $3K for one of the Jags, most of the others were a kilobuck or less. And yes - I got them from people who wanted European looks but expected to drive it like a Buick: add gas, maybe check the oil now and then. As my dad used to say, "the reason they call 'em sports cars is because you gotta be a sport to work on the damned things!". An uncle claimed you had to work on them all week in order to drive them on the weekend, then start the cycle all over, hence making it a 'sport'. No doubt they needed regular care and feeding, but it was simple once you got the knack of it and I really didn't suffer much as far as problems. The worst repair was a munched throwout bearing resulting in a clutch job. The rest was basic maintenance like replacing the organic rubber brake seals after some nitwit put the wrong brake fluid in the reservoir, and the usual electrical issues.

German cars are another matter entirely, starting with the BMW 2002 I drove that had brake caliper issues repeatedly. Not to mention the boxy/boring nature of styling, if you can call it that. When German cars break, they break expensive. Even wee things. At least the British cars were cheap to fix.

Then there's the Saab Sonnet, Corvair Corsa, and other oddities....

[w3jn]

I sold all my stock in fire extinguisher companies when Todd stopped buying odd European cars 

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Yeah, well I just bought stock in the company that makes strapping tape, in time for your next aerial project. I'm gonna be rich! 

Actually, the only one that ever caught on fire was Italian: a black Lancia Beta with a red line somewhere around 7 grand and oil seals that let copious amounts of oil leak past them creating a cloud when idling down a hill. Was taking this little bird named Annie Nedeau for a cruise when the car filled with smoke. Hopped out, walked over to her door but could only see her through the smoke when she got her mug near the window as she frantically tried to open it. Finally she stopped bobbing long enough to read my lips as I said 'unlock your door' and escaped. Reached up under the dash, grabbed a handful of hot wires and yanked 'em out. No mo' fire.

Weird thing was, the car ran fine without the wiring and everything worked as before. Annie refused to get back in however, and walked the two miles back to where we'd started from. I got to frighten her again later in the last MGB though, giving the local coppers the slip on the side streets of Montpelier.

There's a foot bridge in Montpelier that an MGB would fit across with maybe an inch or two to spare on either side, until they added those big posts...


 

[w3jn]

 

[Carl WA1KPD]

Todd-
About 15 years ago I restored a 59 Bugeye Sprite. All 6'2" and 250 Lbs of me made quite a sight in it.

[AJ1G]

Carl - you didn't by any chance get that Bugeye from Moe Clark in Niantic?  He had a red one that I almost bought a loooong time ago that had some 2x4s JSed to hold the rear suspension together.

I had an 70 Austin America with a single SU carb version of the Midget 1275 cc engine and 4 speed automatic in college that I sometimes took out to Geneseo, NY from URI.  Kept blowing out head gaskets.  After I put a tach on it, I found out that going 75 MPH in it with 4 people for about 8 hours straight at over 4000 RPM was probably why.  On one trip , the coolant was blowing out between the head and block all over the ignition wires and I had to stop every 100 miles or so and wipe things down.

[WA1GFZ]

Lucas taught the UK to love warm beer.
I worked at a place that teamed with Lucas on  a deice and one of my friends spent a few weeks in the UK. Lucas treated him like a spy so he really screwed with them. They were afraid he was there to rip off their half ass design. So he acked the part and had a ball with them.

[W3SLK]

How on earth did you ever get those damn Webers to run correctly? 

[Bill, KD0HG]

For a while in my misguided youth, I owned a '53 MG TD. Black

Not an ordinary TD, but the previous owner had replaced the drivetrain. A Chev 265 V8, Powerglide and a narrowed Ford rear end. Delco electrics. Glasspacks on both sides under the running boards. I'd take the hood off to watch the exhaust manifolds glow red at night while cruising. Paid $500 for it.

I was sooo stupid to sell it, but it was a death trap.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

True, but you could say that of most small econobox cars even today, Bill. Still, I recall being a bit.....unnerved the first time I slipped into that very first MGB. As Carl eluded to, it fit a tall guy like a glove, but your feet were a few inches directly behind the front suspension, so even a moderate front end collision seemed to guarantee at least broken ankles, knees, lower legs, etc. Not the case for my wreck, but it was fairly low speed. I do have a photo somewhere of a guy trapped in a B sitting outside a hospital ER on the flatbed tow truck they hauled him there with, being cut out of it. Not your average ambulance ride!

The T series were really sweet looking cars, especially the TC with its big spoked wheels and the TF with the headlamps fared into the fenders. TDs seem to have been the more available and reasonable model to deal with and enjoy.

Carl, I developed a way to 'dismount' that involved sliding upwards in the seat, putting my right foot on the transmission tunnel, then stepping over the door and out with my left leg. Once had a bystander ask me how many times I had to fold up my legs to get them to fit into there (6'2" also). The later 'rubber bumper' models (1974.5 on) stood a bit higher off the ground due to US safety regs, but the older ones were low indeed, and it had to be amusing to see what probably looked to some like a clown car arriving with a tall person getting up and out of it.

Mike(y), the Webers aren't so bad to play with (many folks switched to a single manifold Weber), it's the dual Strombergs/SUs that were a tad fussy. Keeping the dashpots topped with ATF or similar was half the trick, using a Unisyn with the floating ball for synchronizing has to be right up there with blacksmithing as a dying art. Always had better luck doing it by ear, oddly enough. Listen to the hissin'.

And hey - how about those fluid-filled lever shocks? Dual 6 volt batteries behind the seat made for an interesting 'jump start' scene.

[W3RSW]

Sure reminded me of more memories of that car. In the B-GT there was a very small jump seat behind the two front ones.  The battery compartment was under that. It was just a board, straw stuffing and leather.  One adult could sit sideways with cramped head and neck or two small kids.  What fun. I always had a rolled up sleeping bag just behind that on the deck below the hatchback.  Was establishing a reputation at the work parking lot without realizing it.

My brother in law sold the car to me. (a big no no I later learned in life.)  He owned a satellite of Ed Roths (Philly) out in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Anyway he outfitted me with Dunlop SP radials, a big deal in those days and later a Cosworth head with dual Webers.  Yeah, they were more finicky the the SU"s.  I'd forgotten about the manometer alignment with the balls.  He also 'gave' me a bunch of spare parts, fuel pump which he claimed would die at about 35k miles, driving lamps, (as seen on the bumper) gaskets, filters, springs, PCV valve, plugs, points, front brake pads, you name it.  He also told me that the clutch spring would break around 30k miles, snap off an hit you right in the center of the crotch.  It did at almost the milage predicited. Really funny.  The fuel pump also died and so changed it out in an underpass one rainy day; just drifted down the hill and jacked 'er up. Remember the jack?  Fuel pump was up under the right rear fender. Easy access. 

Tool kit and lead hammer for the knock offs came with the car.  Also had a shop manual and used to marvel at the nomenclature, 'oil galleries, gudgeon pins, bonnet , hood (top), etc.  But it sure came in handy.  Master brake cylinder leaked from day one, of course.  But a lot of things about that car were really built. It had 18 guage steel panels, hand rubbed lacquer finish and the obvious cow hides, lots of real thick coated chrome and the gorgeous wire wheels. 

He also knew all the things 'the Queen' (BMC before it became BLMC) would pay for and what she wouldn't.  After only about 2k miles the clutch end of the engine started leaking; he replaced the big end bearing, seals, throwout bearing, etc..  sent the parts back, etc. and charged the queen full ride.  Other things were on me.  I'll never know.

 Btw, '67 was the last year before US emission controls, air pumps and all the stuff that sucked down the hp and fuel economy of the 'B' series engines.  Fuel injection was mechanical in those days and way too expensive for an economy roadster.  Too bad Morris Garage is no more....
"Long live the King."

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Yeah, I remember that jack alright, Rick. Think it stayed lashed in the back and I carried a small scissor-type from a V-Dub or some such. Worked a whole lot better, especially if there was any rust around those jack posts. Slip it right under the box frame and crank away.

Think I ended up finding a big cast aluminum wrench off a milk tanker that fit my wheels. Taking the ears off the knock-offs did away with the threat of getting your scarf caught and wringing your neck (as seen in a popular 60s movie), but made it a pita to remove the large hub-nuts that replaced them, thought there were good enough to mold the removal directions into the hub.

IIRC, only the last ('73) MGB still had its smog pump attached, and it wasn't hooked up. Fastest I ever managed to go with one was somewhere around 99MPH downhill, and the front end started to float around to the point that it seemed like a BAD idea.

Last Bs were made in 1980, although many folks aren't aware that Rover bought the MG name (before Ford bought Rover) and produced the MG RV8 for a few years. A restyled B, it kinda looks like Ford's attempt at the 'new' T-Bird. But it had an aluminum V8 in it, Connolly leather, burled walnut, etc.

No pics online of the ol' Britmobiles except the 3.8 MKII just after pulling it out of an 8 year slumber and washing dust off. Might've posted these before, dunno.

[W3RSW]

Gorgeous car Todd; all ya need is a 20m whip....
- lots of chrome, laquer, and knock off's on that one too.
Chuck sold MG's, Jags, Healey's, Mini's too and always had a TC or TD on the lot from trade ins.  Drove a TD around Cherry hill for a week while visiting sister and got offers at just about every light I stopped 'at.'   That thing had been washed and waxed so many times that some of the black paint was rubbed off on bonnet angle ponts.

Anyway he sold the dealership just about the minute the Datsun 240z came out; (actually about a year or two later.) He could see the handwriting on the wall.....    British fun with Japanese quality and reliability.
    About the only Japanese junk I can ever remember were the early Hondas; always rusted out completely; didn't like American salt I guess.  Well they've come a long way since then, Lexus baby.

Hey Ralph,,  you have to turn you head sideways to look at Todd's pix too.
Looks fine to me; Are you sure you are tilted the way we are? 

[Bill, KD0HG]

No one mentioned the MG Midget!
 

[Carl WA1KPD]

Carl - you didn't by any chance get that Bugeye from Moe Clark in Niantic?  He had a red one that I almost bought a loooong time ago that had some 2x4s JSed to hold the rear suspension together.

Hi Chris,
No, mine came from Bristol. Had to ahve it trailered down here just to get the work started. My first few drives were  at 6 AM Sunday mornings in the lower valley shore area. No brakes- just the emergency, no registration (threw my extra set of plates on the stern), no insurance.. Ah to be 38 again.
The week spot on those cars were the rear spring boxes. The rusted like a cheap tin can. I'm sure that was what the 2X4 repair was about.

True, but you could say that of most small econobox cars even today,

I have to say I took a pretty good rear ender on I-91 this November in the Acura. I was at a dead stop and some lady piled into me. Must have been yacking on her cell. Destroyed her Saab. Pretty much totaled my car. Even crumbled the roof. However I walked away. Both the body shop guy and the adjuster commented that the "Car did its job" and took the energy from the hit.

it fit a tall guy like a glove, but your feet were a few inches directly behind the front suspension, so even a moderate front end collision seemed to guarantee at least broken ankles, knees, lower legs, etc.

I was sitting at the stop light at a very busy intersection one day and looked at the door. You may recall that in the Bugeye there was a storage area between the door and the seat. No mechanicals in there and of course no pricey glove box in the dash. Anyway I realized the only thing between me and an idiot who might run the light was a thin pice of sheet metal. Became one if the reasons I sold it and used the $$ to take flying lesons. Then one day I looked out the side of the Cessna 152 during a turn and realized the only thing between me and the ground was again a thin metal door. Landed and took up beer and boatachors instead.

Not the best picture, as it is from an old scan but you get the idea. Note the black hair. Wish I had that too.


73

Carl /KPD

 

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Old pic or not Carl - that's one of the nicest Bugeyes I've ever seen. Up this way they tend to be a bit tatty around the edges. Looks like mid-80s by the background? Not going near the 'hair' subject, don't want to scare off anymore of mine.

Bill, IIRC: AH Bugeye Sprite --> AH Sprite --> MG Midget. Did once look at a Midget, not sure how Carl managed as I felt a bit claustrophobic in it. At least the Mini gave a false sense of security being enclosed.

Curious to know what folks got for mileage? Seems the B got around 30 mpg if you weren't pounding on it. Mini did around 50-55 mpg. Jags, not so much but still in the 20s with the DOHC straight six and electric OD in the MK IIs.

Speaking of which, I discovered a nice MK II online yesterday with the floppy top, 3rd one I've ever seen. Guess it's called a Webasto sunroof?

http://tinyurl.com/54jzpp

Not sure how to affix the AM whip for 80m without drilling holes, Rick 

[W3RSW]

You might get by with a mag mount on 20, Todd. 

the Mini, AH sprite/MG midget, all used the BMC "A" engine.
The mini's was mounted transversly.  - way before its time.'

Chuck had a mini decked out as a "surry with the fringe on top" on the lot for awhile.  Kind of a glorified golf cart look, also way before its time.
Used it in parades, etc.  Wonder what ever happened to that one....   

My roomate in Vegas (when I was working at NTS) had a sprite and wanted to trade for my VW beetle in '66.  Should have done it but with no overdrive or A/C it was a beast in the desert. Lil' bastard really ran hot; the tranny baked you since you sat damn near inside it.   Oh yeah, sweet times across the stick....

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Sounds like the Mini Moke, Rick. They're 'big' (haha) in the islands as simple transport for the big hotels and resorts. Never rode in one, but the original Mini is a lot like a Go-Kart with a body on it. Sticks to the road nicely, even at high speed. The 1300cc Cooper rally models would do a buck thirty without breaking a sweat.

[W3RSW]

Your right !
How could I forget.... what a blast from the past. - the Mini Moke.
my mind's just rustin' away.

[Carl WA1KPD]

a sprite a.......the tranny baked you since you sat damn near inside it.   

Boy that brought back some memories of a hot August day road trip. That and the oil dripping out of the gauge onto my bare leg. With the clearance maybe 5" from the hot road, the exhaust system running up under your arse and the tranny an intimate part of your right thigh things were interesting. Top it all off with  a black interior and it was Dantes Inferno on wheels.

But a nice cool summer evening and a trip to the local pub could not be beat.

[AJ1G]

There once was a man from Boston, who had a little Austin...

There was room for his ass and a few gallons of gas...

What's the rest of this limerick? 

[Carl WA1KPD]

There once was a man from Boston, who had a little Austin...

There was room for his ass and a few gallons of gas...

What's the rest of this limerick? 

There was a young student from Boston,
Who drove around in an Austen.
There was room for his ass
and a gallon of gas.
But his b###s hung out and he lost 'em.