Hi all,
MGA is going so good now it's unbelievable! Doesn't overheat, no more
coolant leaks, just about perfect, even refilled the shocks and that has mad
a big difference to the handling. Today I hooked up a recovery tank and
recovery radiator cap (just in case :). Not a lot of room for it, but it
squeezed in behind the Heater in the end. Finally I think I've arrived at
some level of reliabilty engine wise. I fitted a thermostat blanking sleeve
to block off the bypass port in the head, and also a std thermostat with a
1/8" hole drilled in it. This on advice from my supplier after I saw an
original MGA thermostat (pics to come). The MGA still gets warm, saw up to
200 today, 210 while stopped, but mostly in the 180-190 region under way.
Good news is the car is not overheating at all, it's running very smoothly
even at 200 which is great. When the weather cooled she was stable around
the 170 mark, so I'm chuffed as it was reasonably warm today. :) I also did
a compression test, and was very surprised that my calcs for Cylinder
pressure were right on the mark, even more impressed at the consistency of
the results. 125,125,126,126 across the 4 cylinders. I'm so happy with the
power and reliability, I prob. won't bother skimming the head further unless
I get bored or something. lol! The price of petrol keeps going up and up
here, so running cheapo grade is great.
To the point! Does anyone know if it's possible to get replacement plastic
fans for the MGA? Hopefully ones that produce better airflow, and rob a
little less power?
Quite funny, I found out why the MGA sounds really different, a hole has
appeared in my muffler. <G> Hopefully they won't find it on the inspection,
as it sounds postively 'boadaceous' now. :) Finally it appears I can get
down to driving her again, what a relief! The only job on the horizon is
fitting the thermostatically controlled fan I bought a while back, for even
more summer fun.
Cheers,
Neil
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