At 11:07 PM 1/13/97 EST, MICHAEL J ROBSON wrote:
>I was looking forward to re-entering the list to see what threads were
>on-going, who is fixing what and whether there was anything to be
>learned, gleaned or otherwise enjoyed-
>hmmm - seems like the winter doldrums have been rampant whilst i have
>been away..
Au contraire, Mike!! There have been a couple of "food fights" while you
were away! ;-)
>Carol and Barney are silent - not a good sign - and all in all there
>seems to be vibes of the less than optimum nature abounding.....
Gee it's nice to be missed!!
Carol has been BUSY!!
Vince and I lit up the Lil' Darlin' on Friday afternoon to take her for her
first drive in three years. (Please recall that the car is a 1961 MGA
roadster that belongs to DOS - Donn- Owner-Sister) We changed the oil for
the third (second?) time, and there was no smoke while the car was running
this time!! (The smoke from the first two startings killed every mosquito
within a 3-mile radius!) The carbs may need a bit of tuning, but otherwise,
she runs fine. The near rear brake was a bit tight (way too tight) and Vince
pulled the wheel and took care of that problem. The wheel cylinder wasn't
moving like it should have. (Never-Seize is wonderful stuff!)
The emergency brake cable was riding atop the exhaust pipe, and a bit of
worrying the pipe with 8" of wood fixed that problem in a trice. The
tailpipe broke just ahead of the muffler. Oh, well, it was pretty rusty and
noisy anyway. What's another couple of hundred dollars at this point??!! ;-)
It's not *my* money!! It's Donna's. (I rather think she dreads my rap upon
her door at this point in time!!)
We drove the Darlin' around the neighborhood several times, and the neat
thing was that the one left behind didn't have to wonder if the other two
were having car trouble. You could hear excactly where the car was at all
times!
At this point, the Darlin' has new brakes, new rear hubs, new wheels, a dip
stick that is finally the right length for the motor (the old one was way
too short, and caused two engine rebuilds!). Everything that has been
touched has been redone to perfection! We drained the pumpkin and put in new
gear oil. I must be missing something here. It's been two months since we
started getting her ready for the road!
What's left to do...? Receive the authorization from the state of Texas to
put antique plates on the car. Have the new war wheels balanced while on the
car. Get the tach and speedo to function (the tach worked when the car was
last driven, the speedo hasn't worked in years). Consider why the petrol
gauge doesn't seem to register the volume of petrol correctly -- plus it
jitters. Get the new battery holders welded on. Replace the exhaust system
(not originally part of our "Phase I"!!). Drive the devil out of the Lil'
Darlin'. Get some photos up on the homepage.
Then, I still have a box of "toys" to fiddle with....replacing all the
rubber around the rear lights. Since all the lights work properly right now,
I think it only fair that I try to bugger them up! ;-) We need to replace
the rebound straps.
You know, I may be nuts for me to be looking for my own car with all this
still to do on DOS' car! Just a thought.... Heck, I probably AM nuts!!
Anyway, the three of us (Vince, Donna and I) are all tickled that the car is
finally driveable. We're looking forward to a rally that's happening this
coming Saturday -- hopefully we'll have the tags by then. If not...I'll just
take the receipts with me and pray that I can "explain my way out of it"
with any over-zealous state trooper!! (Doubtful, but I'm a gambler!) Or
we'll drive a lovely Midget!
Recognition and thanks are in order for Vince Pujalte, my friend and
spiritual leader and a wonderful philosophical and practical mechanic,
George Merryweather, my guru and Santa Claus for parts (and the dip stick
nagger!), and all of you that have jumped in to offer advice, warnings
and/or assistance, when I posted notes about the car as we progressed. We
can all take pride in the fact that the car runs, and runs as safely and as
well as she does!!
Thank you!
It's amazing how warm that car is even with the chilly weather (chilly for
you guys in Vermont, etc.! COLD for us!). Don a warm coat with a hood, and
turn on the heater, and the car is driveable in the winter weather, unless
it's raining or snowing -- like the last few days. (Recall: there is no hood!)
So there! That's the 1/97 update!!
Welcome home, Mike!
Carol
>
>Well...
>
>In an attempt to return to the more positive narrative that I enjoy I'll
>bore you all to death with what I'VE learned in case its of use - or
>better still....IN CASE ITS FUN!!
>
>mike robson
>69 roadster
>70 BGT
>72 roadster
>the "other" one
>
>
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