As a new member to the list, I guess I can thake the "Beater" thread and
introduce myself and my three MGB's.
For my first car, I found a 1980 Midget, and had put a down
payment on her until my Dad said no. I'd kill myself, he said, as he
lured me towards a Plymouth. I was in love with British cars.
Last year, my college roommate told me about his two 1977 MGB's
that he was trying to sell, one ran, one didn't. I got the one that ran
and towed it from Daytona Fl to Pittsburgh! After a summer's worth of
tinkering, I got her running better, inspected, and on the road with a
week of summer to spare. I bought the other '77 this fall, and parted
her out in FL. I got some better fenders, another engine and tranny, and
a non-leaking brake master cylinder. Over Christmas break of this year,
I hit an ice patch, and then a telephone pole, totalling her. I cried,
and it really hurt because of my broken rib! I was inconsolable. She
even had overdrive! My dark blue B gone, I started looking again.
Two weeks later, while talking to a distant buddy about the
wreck, I mused, "Boy, I'd do anything for another MG." He told me about
the one that sat in his uncle's back yard since it was restored. I
inquired, and the '74 chrome bumpered B was for sale! It had a bad
backfire, but I could drive it! I was estatic! As I hopped in the B in
early January, I dropped the top, what a joy! As I started the car, I
was told about the bad rear wheel cylinder. A short trip around the
yard, and the brakes weren't great, but I could stop with a careful blend
of downshifting and pumping. My friend and I motored down the driveway,
the car backfiring and missing miserably, and shot down the road. What
joy and rapture I felt until I heard a terrible "sploosh" coming from the
front wheel area as I applied the brakes. The front brake hose
shattered, and as we zoomed down a hill, I imagined the telephone pole,
again. I managed to get the car into second gear, and at the apex of
another hill, jammed the e-brake to bring the car to a screaming stop.
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! At 25 mph, an MGB with it's e-brake being
pumped does some crazy moves! The tow truck driver wondered what we
could have been thinking, driving a car with bad brakes in January with
the top down! I got the beautiful black B for $100 less than he was
aking, due to the little adventure! He replaced fenders, floorboards,
and rebuilt the SU's. The car had been in 100% better than the '77
at it's best. The best part came when I noticed the odometer:
73,000 miles! After I got her home, she wouldn't start, and that's when
I got the electronic igniton. My question, after all this, is can I
replace my non-servo unit with my later-model servo system? Has anyone
tried this with any luck? Is there enough room in the engine bay?
Thanks for listening, I'd like to think that this B will be a little more
lucky!
Mike Lishego
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Elementary Education Major, English Minor,
Class of 1999
R.A. of Winston-Salem Hall
"If you want to be happy for a few hours, get drunk. If you want to be
happy for a few years, get married. If you want to be happy forever, get
an MGB."
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