TECHNICAL RESPONSES - Week of 6/15/96
MGB STEERING RACKS:  Nearly every rack can be restored to like-new
condition.  Totally disassemble the unit and clean and wirewheel / dress
every part.  Replace the brass bushing in the rack housing that holds the
pinion, and replace that seal (I think it's CR 6765). Renew the bearing at
the bottom of the pinion if necessary, and correct the end float of the
pinion w/o the rack in place.  Fit the rack to the rack housing and select
those shims necessary to allow the rack to move left and right freely.
Adjust the inner tie rod ends so that they move smoothly and are under a
slight preload.  Fit the new rack boots and fill the unit with 90 weight
hypoid gear oil.

COOLING FAN BLADES:  There are several ways to determine the front side of
the cooling fans -- simply replacing them the way you found them is not
always correct.  The fan blades are curved -- convex toward the front,
concave toward the rear.  If the blades have a cutout on one side , that is
the leading edge.  If the blades are thick on one side and thin on the
other, the thick side is the leading side.  The mechanical (water pump)
fans run clockwise; the electric fans (77->80) run anti-clockwise.

MGB REAR BRAKE ADJUSTER:  If not kept well lubricated, this adjuster
freezes.  To thaw (unfreeze), heat it up.  Remove the wheel, drum, shoes,
springs.  Use a 1/4" square socket or the Cornwall RB404 air conditioning
tool.  Heat the adjuster. Turn the adjuster back and forth until free and
unscrew it ALL the way.  After it's cooled, smear grease over the threads
and run it all the way in and all the way out.  Reassemble the brakes and
adjust.  Slack off the handbrake adjustment; run the adjuster in until it
is impossible to turn it further (DO NOT TWIST IT OFF!), then back off,
quarter turn by quarter turn until the drum just runs free.  Adjust the
handbrake for full engagement in 3-5 clicks.

MARINA:  Scott, from Iowa, is the Marina Man.  Look in the past two years
of British Car -- they did an article about him.  As an aside:  when I
worked at the original University Motors in London in 1972, I did A LOT of
warranty work on the Marina gearboxes.  Those same well designed, durable
units (Hah!) were used in the Spitfires and rubber bumpered Midgets.

DUST CAP REMOVAL -- Wire Wheel MGBs and Midgets:  Use a thread chaser
5/16-24 to clean the threads on the cup.  Use a TALL 5/16-24 nut (from the
thermostat housing on the MGBs 1968-1980) to make the tool.  Use a six inch
5/16 bolt, thread on a nut, thread on the tall nut, jam the thin nut
against the tall nut.  Now thread this tool onto the stud on the dust cap.
Grasp the tool with your vise grips and tunk outward with a hammer.
   OIL PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE --  In some MGs, this valve will open and
close in a harmonic action, causing the dash gauge to flicker.  This
usually happens only at idle or lower speeds.

   MGA IGNITION TIMING -- While 5-7 degrees BTDC is an accurate setting for
the engine STATIC, the figure of 20 degrees BTDC at idle is the correct
DYNAMIC setting!

   MGA IGNITION LIGHT --  Sorry to confuse in the last posting.  The
ignition light is connected to the WHITE or switched side of the ignition
switch and to the BROWN/YELLOW or YELLOW connexion on the "D" terminal of
the control box.  With the engine not running, key on, the electricity
flows from the switch through the bulb, into the "D" (dynamo) connexion of
the generator, across the armature, thence to earth, completing the
circuit.  As the RPM increase and the generator begins to produce
electricity, the ignition light receives the same voltage from the ignition
switch and from the generator, hence the light is extinguished.  Now, in
rare circumstances, the ignition light will come on if the generator
produces too much voltage; and it will illuminate if the generator is
"motoring" after the loss of a fan belt at speed.

   ROCKER SHAFT OIL --  Some engines seem to pour oil from the rocker shaft
while some barely drip.  This oil lubricates the rocker and valve stem; the
rocker and pushrod; the pushrod and lifter; and the lifter and cam.  It is
essential that enough oil escapes from that shaft or mechanical wear
accelerates.  Remove the shaft and pedestals, remove the plugs, and spin
the engine over to view the quantity of oil escaping from the port under
the rear pedestal -- it should be a steady flow.  The oil comes from the
rear main bearing, into the rear cam bearing, then up to the head.  If the
rear cam bearing has been misfitted, the oil flow is hindered.  Disassemble
the shaft and rockers, blow everything clean, and reassemble.  Before
starting, cover EVERYTHING in LOTS and LOTS of oil.

    EXHAUST SYSTEMS --  I prefer the ANSA systems for the MGBs.  Actually,
the later model systems (74/2->80) fit BETTER than the earlier systems. Of
hundreds we've fit, we've only refit several -- they are durable!

    EXHAUST HEADERS --  All headers leak; all headers are a horror to fit
to an existing exhaust; all headers are headaches.  This is the rule -- but
to every rule there is an exception.  The CAST IRON manifold fitted to the
MGB 1963->1974/2 is WONDERFUL.  There is never a need to replace one of
these with some goofy tubes.  I use these on the later MGBs 75-> during
carburetter swaps.

    TAKE A LAP -- Terry Williams!  It is possible to take a lap -- take a
lap of Lake Michigan at the 20th Annual University Motors Summer Party this
August.  This is the Lake Michigan Millia re-visited.  The 4th Annual
Endurance Run.  For REAL enthusiasts!

    SHOP SHUTDOWNS --  I have traded as University Motors (service and
restoration) for over 21 years.  During that time I have seen many shops
open and close.  Nearly always, the last days are a debacle as a swarm of
creditors, taxmen, and angry customers descend upon the shop owner who has
lost his ability to control the situation.  It would seem to me that if a
reputable sort was to stop trading, he would send out a letter to his
customers, he would return the cars to their customers, finished or
unfinished, and he would make his plans clear to customers with a credit on
account, and to his creditors.  The best and worst of these situations was
played out in the past year in Washington DC and in Chicago.  The rule is:
if you believe there is financial trouble, get your car out now and let the
owner sign a note if he owes you money.

    ALTERNATOR IGNITION LIGHTS --  In theory, those alternators fitted to
MGs DO NOT need an ignition light to work.  If however, it is a late model
MGB with a spade terminal configuration "narrow - extra wide - narrow" (to
be differentiated from the normal "narrow - wide - wide"); if the
alternator plug has been installed upside down (wires coming out of the
bottom of the plug instead of the top); and if the ignition bulb is burned
out; then the alternator will fail to charge.  I'm interested to know more
of Mr Henrich's story.

    OVERFLOWING CARBURETTER -- There is an unusual problem that will allow
the carb float bowls to overflow at speed.  If the floats have the metal
fork, through which the axle pin passes, and if these metal tabs are VERY
worn, then the float can vibrate in a certain harmonic with the engine and
allow gasoline to pass into the float bowl, even if the bowl is full.  This
results in overflowing and a distinct gasoline smell in the cockpit.

    ARMSTRONG DAMPERS -- There are the SPAX conversions, the add on tube
shocks, the Brown and Gammons coil over shock conversions -- but those
Armstrong shocks are just fine for 99% of driving.  If you wish to upgrade
the shocks, drain out the fluid and replace it with 50 weight, available
from some suppliers.  The shock oil is a hydraulic oil with a seal sweller
and an anti-foaming agent.  Those stiff shocks will make the MG "grip the
road like a limpet."

    BATTERY CLAMPS --  Dirty, corroded, or loose battery clamps cause half
the electrical problems in our MGs.  Half of the remainder is caused by a
dirty fusebox.  Mr Tusler's odd problem is a textbook case of bad battery
clamps.  When he turned on his key, everything came alive, but the instant
he tried to draw a large current through the clamps, ZZZZZZzzzzzzz......,
the resistance increased and no current could flow.  Take a hint, clean
your clamps (or simply replace them) and clean your fusebox today!!

    RESTORATION --  A restoration takes two people -- the one paying the
bill and the one doing the work.  Sometimes a restoration takes five years
because the owner will spend only $500 a month.  We have a car in the shop
now, removed from another shop, and the owner allowed that he had not
called or stopped by the former shop in three years (it had been there for
eight?).  We have another customer who has had his Jag in a shop for 13
years.  Now whose fault is that?  It takes two!  If you are not satisfied
with the speed or the cost, remove it from that shop and start again. The
quickest restoration we've done, as a shop, took eight months -- top to
bottom, side to side, front to rear, every nut and bolt, every assembly.
The longest, well, probably three years.

    LEAD in GASOLINE --  Tetraethyl lead was added to boost the octane. It
lubricated the valve stems at the valve guides.  It helped improve the
conduction of heat from the exhaust valve to the exhaust seat.  There is no
lead in modern gasoline.  For years the gasoline sold as leaded was not.
Something like 1% of the former mixture was there -- and it wasn't even
lead, it was phosphorus.  Tetraethyl lead is extremely poisonous -- that's
why is was eliminated.  No MG needs to run on leaded gasoline anymore --
it's a moot point anyway.  When you have a valve job, demand hardened seats
(the original valves work just fine).  When you have an engine rebuilt, go
for 8:1 compression (that works well with 89 octane).

        TUNING:  I wanted to include Stromberg tuning here, but I've
prattled on for 10,119 characters.  Just one more thing:

        AUTOMOTIVE PHYSICS:
                              POWER X EFFICIENCY X RELIABILITY
                       COST = --------------------------------
                                        EMISSIONS

        Be Ceeing you AT Indy!  Fast Forward!  John Twist