That awful colour MGB GT

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SiC
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That awful colour MGB GT

Post by SiC »

So I don't need to give you guys any introduction to this one. Instead I'll update on where I'm at with it and what I've done over the last week since its been back.

I decided I was going to make a concerted effort to using this bastard of a car. As I had a new toy (Boxster) that was distracting me, that new toy would be put away and the BGT taken out.

The approach I was going to take was to try sorting the final issues it had and just go for using it. Biggest issue I had was the lumpy idle and rough running. The idle especially was a massive inconvenience as you'd come to a stop at the lights and it could be idling at 1500rpm one time, then 400rpm/stalling the next. I had read up that the HIF carbs I have in my BGT have poppet valves on the throttle discs. These are apparently notorious for leaking air and cause crap idle + running. So the first repair was to replace these discs with HS4 equivalents that have no poppet valve.

Thus a shopping trip to Moss Motors in town was made to buy some stuff.
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Once acquired, I had to get the car back. Starting was as eventual as I expected.
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However I got her back down
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I got the carbs off.
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I was careful to keep the linkages and tuning as untouched as I could.
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Bucket of carbs
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Bench with carbs
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Offending poppet valves
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Now gone
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The hateful things
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Carbs went on.

While I was there, I replaced the rocker cover gasket
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Old wasn't that old but I way overtightened it and crushed it.
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Also put a new oil cap on. Old can be cleaned out, but this was cheap and gives me a chance to clean up the original one properly.
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Found more crap aftermarket parts with the dizzy cap. Terminals had actually twisted in the cap. Luckily I had already bought a spare at Moss. That came with rather nice brass terminals and felt much better made.
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Also found a break in the insulation for the wire that feeds the coil
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Short term I ran a new wire from the coil directly to the fusebox. Also fitted an ignition amplifier box to hopefully keep the thing running a bit better with the cheapy Lucas cloned distributor. I must send off my original to be rebuilt sometime soon.
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Also fitted a new Chinese special radio. Took the time to clean up the wiring a bit too. Looks the part and useful to have Bluetooth tunes that can be played through it.
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Next up was the fusebox. The contacts on this are looking very worse for wear. Long term I want to clean this up properly and reuse it.
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Short term, I took another trip to my local Moss and purchased a new one. Quality isn't too bad on it to be honest
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Next up on the electrics was to fix the candles/headlights. Popped the headlight switch out for cleanup.
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Found a rouge wire plugged in that had nothing attached at the other end. Or it did and I managed to pull it out while removing the switch. Glad I pulled this out, these sort of things can cause all sorts of headaches and potential fires.
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Dirty contacts
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Clean contacts. On reassembling I turned the slider side around to get more use out of it. I'll worry about that side wearing out when it's 80yrs old.
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Next up while I was in this area, I noticed that the gearstick ball area looked a bit sorry for itself.
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Took the stick out.
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Cleaned up surfaces with a bit of 400grit. Also put a new bush on the end - just under 4 quid for this flipping bit of nylon.
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Liberally greased and reassembled.
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Last edited by SiC on Fri May 27, 2022 11:13 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Post by SiC »

Then it was time to take her for a drive.

I took a quick photo at a local church. Unfortantly the moderns were polluting the scenery.
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I found out that apparently most people who own classics carry tools in the back. Possibly where I've been going wrong and not helping my anxiety when driving this car. Thus a small collection of tools were taken out of my tool chest and dumped in the spacious boot.
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After the drive, the plugs were inspected.

Plug 1
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Plug 2
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Plug 3
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Plug 4
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Mixture was slightly leaned out on the back carb as it looked a bit rich. But generally the plugs looked pretty happy with themselves.
Last edited by SiC on Sun May 12, 2019 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SiC »

This brings us up to today. First job of today was to get the oil changed. This was for a number of reasons. Firstly I put Granvill 20w-50 stuff in - apparently this is cheap crap. Secondly that oil had no indication it had any ZDDP in. Thirdly my oil pressure dropped a good 5-10psi since I put that oil in. Finally, with it doing so many short runs and idling on my drive, it probably was pretty polluted with petrol and water.

Went for a short drive (~4 miles) to get her up to temperature a bit. Jacked her up and whizzed off the sump plug
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While I was waiting for the oil to drain, I had a peak on the underneath. Looks like the rear main seal maybe leaking a bit. Something I will have to keep an eye on.
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Replaced the oil with this
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Put a big-arse filter in. Usually these go on American v8 lumps. Same thread and fitting, just a lot bigger. Not sure it'll make too much a difference really, but price is similar and can't hurt really. The one on the right is the size that is supposed to go on.
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First signs were good on startup. A good 6-7psi more than the old oil. Also much closer to how it was when I first bought it.
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Last edited by SiC on Sun May 12, 2019 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SiC »

Then I went for a good blitz. Made a short video of part of the route. Sorry for the shakiness, that's down to the fact I'm just using a standard mobile phone windscreen mount. Also the clanking on corners is my tools flying around the boot.
[youtube][/youtube]

Which tools made quite a mess back there.
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Oil pressures are now much more reasonable.
3k when hot
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At idle when hot
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Unfortantly a rather spirited drive was not fully appreciated by the old girl. A 20 year slumber and probably not been driven like that ever meant she had to protest a little.

Which she did by manage by loosing her nut
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Meaning temporary measures had to be employed
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Luckily most of the hardware didn't escape. A nut from my spares box with a bit of locktite was deployed to hopefully avoid this happening again.
Last edited by SiC on Sun May 12, 2019 11:15 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by SiC »

This brings it up to date.

The engine runs the best I've ever had it running. Way quieter with less tapping and an idle that I can trust.

At the moment it appears the brakes may need some work next. Front discs were reading ~160C on the IR thermometer and the back drums were at 95C and 60C on the drivers and passenger sides respectively. When I looked at the caliper pistons previously, I did note that there was corrosion on them. My suspicion is that they are sticking a bit.
Last edited by SiC on Sun May 12, 2019 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: That awful coloured MGB GT

Post by Junkman »

Look what happened to this OMGMGBGTBYMG.

[youtube][/youtube]

Its oil pressure was too high.
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Re: That awful colour MGB GT

Post by SiC »

How the hell did he manage that? Surely the BGT doesn't suffer tuck under like the shoddily/penny pinched design, early Triumph sports* car products? Especially a race prepped one.
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Re: That awful colour MGB GT

Post by fried onions »

Get rid of it and put the money into the 1100. That only has a warning light.
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Re: That awful colour MGB GT

Post by Junkman »

SiC wrote: Sun May 12, 2019 11:12 pm How the hell did he manage that? Surely the BGT doesn't suffer tuck under like the shoddily/penny pinched design, early Triumph sports* car products? Especially a race prepped one.
He actually drove it spirited.
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Re: That awful colour MGB GT

Post by SiC »

fried onions wrote: Sun May 12, 2019 11:14 pm Get rid of it and put the money into the 1100. That only has a warning light.
The 1100 needs time, not money, throwing at it. Almost got the BGT in working order now and it's running much happier. However I can't let it take too much of my spare time away from finishing the 1100. Hence why I'm probably going to buy new brake parts for the BGT and try throwing it at a garage to sort.

Also I'm actually just starting to enjoy driving the thing now! Did just over 20 miles today in it - quite an achievement for me. Biggest thing though is that I have loads more confidence in it. Plan to make an appearance at shitefest with it first.

As I said before, my biggest regret is not getting one with a Webasto roof. Open top motoring suits me way more when I drive for fun. Be it a proper sunroof or soft top. If I sell, it'll be replaced with a BGT with a Webasto (possibly rubber bumpers too), or a Midget/Spitfire.
Last edited by SiC on Sun May 12, 2019 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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