Finally bought an MGB. It's a 1971 with 96,000 on the odometer. This is my
first so any advice will be greatly appreciated.
The Good:
The engine runs strong and smooth. The PO had the fast idle adjusted
such that there was no fast idle. He must have had three legs in order to back
the car out of a parking space with a cold engine! The car looks good, new in
fact if you stand back about 20 feet. The complete drive train runs smoothly
as far as I can tell. The shock and the suspension seem ok. I think the PO
keep the car well lubed. There are no holes in the floor. Tires look good and
it runs highway speed without vibration.
The Bad:
The speedometer needle swings wildly up and down. The gas gauge always
reads empty and the alternator light flickers. The doors have cracks right
below the vent windows. Took me two hours to figure out how to get the top
down and stowed correctly while my wife was waiting for a ride. (Boy, that
hurt my engineering pride!) The temperature gauge reads exactly half way between
C and N. Should it be running closer to N? It was in the 80's today.
The Ugly:
The sill and inner panel (as called in the MOSS catalog) on the
passenger side are rusted out. Strange, they are pretty solid on the driver
side. The jacking bracket on the passenger side has completely rusted away.
Again, it looks fine on the drivers side. As this is structural stuff, I
would like to get it fixed soon. Does anybody know of a shop experienced in
this sort of work? (I live 50 miles north of Indianapolis IN.)
The Miscellaneous:
Do I need to use a lead substitute in the gas? I remember 1971 was
about the time lead-free was introduced. The owners manual says nothing
about lead-free gas.
Bob Donahue " 50s FOREVER "
rdonahue@holli.com
1953 MG-TD under restoration
1971 MGB
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