Burning Jeeps and wobbly MGBs

Since getting the Jeep back on the road, it's been running really well. That's not to say it hasn't required attention. Whilst driving to Bristol (a regular trip the Jeep makes) the control unit for the heater fan started to smoulder! A quick trip to the hard shoulder ensued, where my son David promptly dived under the dashboard, disabled the wiring and circumvented what could have been the Jeep's fiery finale!

The problem turned out to be a resistor that, in brief, had stopped resisting, cooking the blower motor circuit board in the process. Apparently, this component failure is relatively common to the breed. The cure was a new control board. The price varies, but David paid £30. Whilst fitting the new part, David took the opportunity to repair a section of the blower system, namely an air deflector as the original had crumbled. As a result of his labours, the blower motor works perfectly (and safely), and with the repaired deflector the distribution of hot/cold air is back to normal and controllable once more.

Whilst David has been using and fixing the Jeep, I have been to a number of classic car events in the 944, including the excellent and very well supported Golden Valley Vintage and Country Fair, and to meet-ups with friends at the Clytha Arms. I've also been out and about in my good friend Derek's MGB Roadster. Sadly, due to an eye issue, Derek is no longer able to drive. But another good friend, Graham, and I act as chauffeurs to ensure that this rather lovely MG (and Derek) get to a number of gatherings.

It's fully roadworthy, but during our drives we both noticed that the car tended to wander, and that its bump absorption was below par. There is a small amount of play in the rack which will be attended to, but I reckoned that the majority of the wandering could be attributed to the tyres. Upon checking,

I discovered that they were over ten years old. Plus they weren't what one would call premium tyres, and the front pair were also from different manufacturers. This would explain the car's occasional wayward behaviour.

Tyres degrade naturally through exposure to heat, sunlight, UV rays, rain etc. Then there's an additional problem with little-used cars, such as a good number of classics (including Derek's MGB). When being driven, tyres release anti- oxidising chemicals which slow down the rate of ageing, but when used infrequently or when stored ineffectively, tyres will age much more rapidly. Remember, just because a tyre appears to have plenty of tread this doesn't meant that it's roadworthy. Age plays its part in a tyre's degradation, too. Some manufacturers recommend you replace tyres after six years regardless of tread, whilst others advise a 10 year maximum. My advice to Derek was to bid goodbye to his current tyres

A set of 175/ 70/14-sized Falken 310s was duly delivered to Bathwick Tyres in Newport, and a week later Derek and I set off in the MGB to get them fitted. Despite being sunny, the day was rather windy and I had a bit of a struggle keeping the car on the straight and narrow due to crosswinds. Thankfully, with the Falkens fitted, the return journey was much less of a challenge and much more pleasurable. The handling was vastly improved, as was the ride comfort, and the MGB felt really planted.

There's another thing, too. The tyres, although thoroughly modern, have a rather subtle appearance and really suit the MGB. Undoubtedly, due to their aesthetics they'd also look good on other classics. Bathwick Tyres did a great job of the fitting and balancing, taking particular care when jacking the MGB. Talking of which, I have to admit I have a soft spot for the B. On quality tyres, it's a fun car to drive with nice road manners, loads of character, and can hustle along with modern traffic, although another 20bhp would be nice!

I've also found time to give the Davrian some attention. In particular, I've been tackling the brakes – again! The recent suspension and corner weight adjustments have improved things, and this time around I spent time equalling the length of the master cylinder pushrods. But despite the improvement, I'm still not fully satisfied with the Davrian's braking behaviour. For some reason, even with the bias bar adjusted completely in favour of the front brakes, there's still too much braking at the rear. So, I'm planning to swap the rear master cylinder for a larger one, up from 0.625 to 0.7in. This will reduce the power of the rear brakes, and I'm hoping that it will sort things once and for all.

ABOVE: Martyn is a firm believer in using one's classics, as are his good friends Glyn Jones and Dave Wichbold. At the Golden Valley Vintage and Country Fair, Martyn's 944 was joined by Glyn's stunning Alfa Romeo Zagato SZ and Dave's rather splendid Alfa Romeo Spider. The following week, at their Clytha Arms breakfast meet, Dave brought along his superb Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato 1600. Was Martyn envious? Of course he was!

ABOVE: The control module for the Jeep's blower motor not only stopped doing its thing, but it started to smoulder too! A brand new replacement has since been fitted.

ABOVE: Derek's lovely MGB was very much in need of some new high- quality rubber. A set of Falken ZIEX ZE 310 Ecorun tyres fitted the bill and are now doing sterling service. They have transformed the car's road manners, and they look great, too.

ABOVE: To replace the control module, and repair the directional flaps, quite a bit of disassembly was required, including having to remove the fan. Everything is now back in place though, and working perfectly.

ABOVE: The Davrian's brakes are getting better thanks to the recent chassis adjustments. Recently Martyn repositioned the cable and spent some time adjusting the pushrods so that the balance bar is level when at rest.