MGB Special
John’s fleet gang up together to jointly drain his bank account
Since my last report, much water has gone under the bridge and many pounds have gone out of my wallet. It started when I was asked to display the Rapier at a couple of shows. The timing chain had been noisy for while, so I decided to replace it, along with the tensioner, plus change the oil and filter too. They were no problem; the job went well and the trips to the events went without a hitch.
I sensibly thought the problems with the Rapier were sorted, but of course, the car had other ideas. It developed a large oil leak, meaning we had to end a run early. We called in at a garden centre for lunch and I purchased some SAE30 lawnmower oil as emergency top up, before driving steadily home. After a thorough inspection, I decided to change the tappet side cover gasket and oil filter mounting gasket, as that seemed the source of the leak. But with the engine running there was a still an unwanted flood. It turned out to be the new oil filter leaking around its seam; with a new filter fitted, the problem was cured.
Work continues on the MGB Roadster, with the burnt out wiring repaired, electronic ignition fitted and a re-cored radiator, new thermostat and electric fan helping to keep things cool. Fresh fuel pipes, along with an inline filter, were also added. With the battery charged it was time to fire it up for the first time since I bought it. Amazingly the fuel pump started ticking and after a few turns of the engine it burst into life and sounded great, too.
Engine condition assured, the next step was new rear wheel cylinders, along with a new handbrake cable. A clutch slave cylinder repair kit was fitted and the system bled. To my amazement the clutch plate wasn’t frozen to the flywheel and I was able to select all the gears.
I then visited the Beaulieu Autojumble, in search of a bootlid. I was only able to find one, which was unsuitable as it been fitted with a rack and had several holes in it. So I ended up repairing the original, which turned out well and is being sprayed by my mate, Ivan Wilson, in a black-withsilver-speckles shade that he was able to match .
Finally, my lovely old Alpine let me down on the way home from Bourne Classic Car Show when the fuel pump gave up the ghost. We had to call the AA and completed our homeward journey on the back of a truck. A new fuel pump was ordered as I decided the original had served the car well for over 50 years and deserved a break. However, I’ll fit a repair kit to it later and put the pump put into reserve, as it will also fit the Rapier.