1980 MGB
Roadster
Suffering from fuelish neglect and
repulsive rodents, this roadster with only 68K on the odometer deserved a
better fate than being broken up for parts. So I got her running and
moved her along.
|
1980 MGB
Roadster |
|
 |
April 30, 2011 - And away she goes - After looking at the 73 GT still sitting in the garage, I decided it was time to cut back on projects. So the roadster ended up on Craig's List for a week or so. The new owner came all the way down from DC to get her - I hope he has fun with the car. As for me? Well, I tinkered with her for 4 months and enjoyed it (mostly), and while I lost money overall, it was less than some folks spend for one night out on the town. It's a hobby for me anyway, not a business (Good thing). Anyway, the driveway ahs an empty space that I hope STAYS empty for a while. |
| April 18, 2011 - I've been doing battle with the MGB's carburetor off and on, and dragged poor Chip into the fight. It was spewing fuel from the carb, so I cleaned and tinkered with the needle valve and float again, and again, and again. Did I mention i tinkered with the needle valve and float? When held upside down, the needle valve would work fine, shutting off the fuel flow, Turn it right-side up and fuel would shoot from the carb. The apparent culprit was discovered by Chip - a broken damper that was jamming the center piston in the up position and letting fuel shoot up past the needle valve. Then we discovered that the gas itself was bad. I've got her covered back up until I can work up enthusiasm again. She's starting to look more and more like a parts car... |
 |
April 10, 2011 - With work and car activities piling up already, I decided a couple of weeks ago to see if someone else wanted to finished the roadster up for a fun summer car. So I listed in on my MG Club's website classified for the $1,000 I have in her, noting a 'solid body' and 'runs good.' I got an email this weekend from an interested person who drove over to check the car out. Not only did it refuse to start, the right rocker turned out to be badly rusted at the bottom, dumping rust and dirt on the ground when she poked at it. I am terribly disappointed in Chip, the official Right Rocker Rust Checker, who obviously was derelict in his duty when we looked the car over. (OK, maybe he didn't KNOW it was his job, but this is MY web site and I can blame who I want to!). And I am enough of a chauvinist that it was doubly painful to have our oversight caught by a GIRL! Well, a really nice, knowledgeable lady, but still... At least the main structural boxes are solid, as are the floorpans, so the damage is mostly cosmetic. In any case, I'll get the car running again and probably do what I can to get the car out of my driveway fairly soon. |
| March 20, 2011 - The MG Club mad a trip up to Moss Motors (MG Parts Heaven) yesterday and I was able to pick up some items needed to get the 80 going. First on was a new accelerator cable and guide. As is the case with many reproduction parts, both items needed some work to fit, but she now has a functional gas pedal. I also picked up a new hood cable. I did a little work on the brakes today, getting the lines loose from the master cylinder. |
| March 13, 2011 - A nice day and a few hours of sorting and soldering finished up the main wiring harness repairs today. Rather amazingly, everything fell into place, with no extra wires hanging and everything matched up. All the fuses have power now, and the temperature gauge is working. There are some individual wires to replace, but some time checking out the wiring diagram, I should have those all fixed in short order. Next comes checking out the brake line. |
| March 12, 2011 - No 'sorta' about it any more. The roadster came to full life today, revving up and idling smoothly. (Click HERE to see a short video). Car Bud Chip came over and gave me a hand today, which really helped progress. First thing was to blow out all the fuel lines and replace the fuel filter again. That got the fuel pump clicking, but the carb float or needle was stuck, and she dumped fuel. Happily, the carb came with new floats and a rebuild kit, and in very short order, the carb was yanked, fixed, and reinstalled. This time she fired up right away, and ran amazingly well. No smoke, no rattles, strong oil pressure. That was enough progress to warrant investigation into the wiring. Access to the chewed-up section was pretty tight, but by pulling the glove box and then removing the hood and charcoal canisters, I was able to start repairs. I butt-spliced and soldered matching wire from an old MGB harness and then covered the joints with heat-shrink insulation. This provides a fix that is hardly thicker than the original wire, and almost as strong. The really short wires are now extended, and I replaced some section that were intact but chewed to bare wire. Now it's mainly a matter of matching up wire to wire. With the extensive color-coding, I can pretty much get all of the wires to the right mates. Once I have the wiring done, I can look at replacing the bad brake line. It's really nice to have her running and such a head start on the wiring repair. A VERY good day! | |
 |
 |
| February 2, 2011 - It's ALIVE! Well, sort of. Unusually nice weather (70 degrees) for this time of year prompted me to take a few hours 'sick leave' and poke at the MG. I replaced the power feed tot he ignition, but got nothing. Then I checked the fuse box (which has the original Lucas fuses!) and found that only one power lead had survived the rats. I switched the ignition lead to that contact, and she fired up the first time I turned the key! Not for long - the fuel pump has stopped working, darn it. I used starting fluid and she fired up and ran each time. I'll probably go ahead and piece together the rest of the wiring. | |
|
 |
January 30, 2011 - As you can see by the photo (top left), the car's carburetor had suffered greatly. Besides looking ugly, the shafts were binding and the accelerator pump was frozen, The replacement (top left) is excellent throughout, and went on with little fuss. A test light revealed there was no power going to the ignition, so that's next. I need to look at a US-market late model MGB to figure out the wiring - once I have power set up correctly, I think the car will start right up. |
| January 24, 2011 - The second Zenith carburetor came today with some unexpected extras. In addition to the rebuild kit and new float assembly that had been listed, they also included new exhaust gaskets and a few other useful parts! Just the carb parts would have run $60 and I needed the exhaust gaskets as well. Now, if it will get above 25 degrees outside... |  |
 |
January 19, 2011 - I got in a replacement Zenith 175 carb from eBay today - it looks terrific and will probably make the difference in getting the car started sooner. The one in the car is really corroded inside and the automatic choke assembly is broken off. This one is intact and amazingly clean. The center piston moves freely, and there is no apparent play in the shafts. I have another Zenith coming that I bought for the rebuild kit and new floats that came with it, but may not need any of it. |
| January 15, 2011 - Some good news on the roadster today. A new battery and cleaning the ground cable brought her partly to life. The starter works well, and she reached 60 psi oil pressure just with the starter motor. Plus the fuel pump kicked in, and I was able to flush to lines out with clean gas. The carburetor is pretty nasty, but another one will be in this week. I'll probably swap the car over to a Weber setup later on. I made the mistake of putting on the hand brake when I parked the car in the driveway, and it turned out the cable had rusted enough that it did not release without help. However, Best Bud Chip had a new one in stock, so that is no big issue. Between the two of us, the roadster looks to be well on the path of resurrection. Oh, an interesting side note - the car has a 1979 VIN, but was actually built in 1977 and titled as a 1980. Such was the market for MGs as the line ended. |  |
 |
January 4, 2011 - I have started the first steps towards getting the MGB checked out. I replaced the rusted valve cover and oil filter (see the photo on left), and changed the oil. Happily, though it looked bad on the outside, the valve cover had not quite rusted through. The oil was up to the full mark and showed no contamination when I drained it out. Next step will be installing a battery and cranking the engine to check oil pressure. If I can get power to the coil and distributor, I'll try to get her to fire on starting fluid. The gas tank is either empty or close to it (a good thing for a car that has been sitting a while). I'll flush out the lines with clean gas and install a filter near the carb. Only then will I try to use the car's fuel tank and pump. |
| January 2, 2011 - The trip to get the MGB was an easy drive despite occasional showers. It was warm and the rain stopped long enough for us to get it loaded and unloaded. Popping the hood when we got home turned out to be more of task than expected - the release cable is locked up. However, easy access on the rubber bumper cars made it easy to get it opened from the front, and I added a safety wire release to use until penetrating oil loosens the cable up or I replace it. One of the brake lines is rotted out, and wires are off all over the engine compartment. However, these are all annoying issues that can be corrected inexpensively with elbow grease. The car would not be salvageable if I had to pay someone to do it, but since my labor is free (yeah, I know the old line about getting what you pay for) the car should not need much money thrown at it. On the plus side, the car has everything in good shape, right down to the cardboard valance under the radiator. In any case, she's home! | |
 |
 |
| December 31, 2010 - There's no better way to ring out the old year and celebrate the new than buying another car! Well, at least for a Caroholic. So here is the soon-to-be latest addition to my collection of MGs. She's a 1980, the last year MGBs were produced, with a standard 4-speed and MG luggage rack and AM-FM radio. The car was originally purchased by a school teacher, and then used as a daily driver by the fellow I bought it from's (Let's refer to him as 'Rob' from now on, OK?) brother. He ran into some carburetor issues, not uncommon with the heavily de-smogged Zenith carb MG stuck on US models, bought a new one only to find it was incorrect, and ended up parking the car for a few years. Enter brother Rob, who bought the car with intentions of restoring it. I imagine the MGB represented a real break from his primary automotive passion - vintage Porsches. He has a pair of real beauties - a 914/6 and a 912E that look ready for the show field. However, the MG posed some additional issues thanks to some homesteading rodents who turned the under hood pad into a nest on top of the engine and also sampled a good bit of the wiring harness. Understand that rats are actually a step below Frat House students, so the top of the valve cover and the oil filter had been rusted away from the outside by... eeeeewwwwwww. Never mind. Let's just say one of the first steps will be to thoroughly sterilize the engine bay. Back to the story. The damaged wiring combined with the weird fuel system made the car more of a project than he expected. Rob decided to put the MGB on Craig's List for $900 and see if someone else was interested in using the car for parts or restoration. Enter the CAROHOLIC. I spotted the ad (no surprise - I check eBay and Caroholic a couple of times a day) and sent an email. Rob called, and we had a really nice chat about the MG, and cars in general. He lives about an hour away, so Best Bud Chip and I rolled down to look at the beastie. The first thing you check on an MG is the body - this one is one of the most solid I have run into. I saw just one spot on the left rear dogleg - the rockers, sills, floorboards, trunk, and front fender lower sections were all solid - very unusual. It had a nice set of Michelin radials, but sitting has done them in where the car was probably parked on grass. There is no carpet and the seats were loose, making it easy to inspect. It was disconcerting to see a hole rusted through the top of the oil filter, but the engine turned by hand and was absolutely complete down to the little plastic snorkel on the smog pump filter! Most of the emissions systems were tossed decades ago. The wiring damage didn't look too severe, the oil was dirty but to the level and without traces of moisture, and there was no sign of oil contamination in the coolant. The brakes are out, but the clutch hydraulics still work smoothly. And the top is only about 5 years old, of excellent quality and installed with professional-level results by Rob's brother. There are always a lot of question marks when a car doesn't run, and Lucas wiring is never fun. On top of that, the brakes, tires, and fuel system all require replacement/rebuild so we headed back home with no decision made. I did a pass through the garage and dug up a valve cover, carpet, a couple of rebuildable Weber conversions (last resort), an early exhaust manifold, a rear license plate bracket that the car needs, and a wiring harness that can be used for repairs. With those parts to help mitigate the risk, I made an offer of $800 and Rob wrote back to let me know the car was mine. So Saturday I will be heading back down to North Carolina with a tow dolly and some wheels/tires from the GT and bring her home. Rodney's got a girlfriend! | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |