Author Topic: 1973 MG B  (Read 157599 times)

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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1075 on: September 10, 2015, 06:19:53 PM »
Shipped.  It should be in Illinois Monday morning.

With any luck, I can pick it up next Saturday and drive home.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1076 on: September 12, 2015, 02:32:01 PM »
I'm considering doing this over the winter.  It's a quarter of the price of an overdrive or supercharger unit, but I wish I hadn't tossed out that 280ZX transmission I bought a few years ago (one of the downfalls of not owning a garage at the time).

http://032516d.netsolhost.com/mgb_kit_description.html
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1077 on: September 17, 2015, 03:10:11 PM »
"Hurrah, our M.G. Magna is ready!"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAYIz5BLKm8[/youtube]
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1078 on: September 22, 2015, 01:35:58 PM »
Got a call from Simons today.  They said the old Mallory distributor is "stuck" and they are going to have to break it to get it out.

Never having taken one out, I'm a little confused.
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1079 on: September 22, 2015, 03:02:48 PM »
Got a call from Simons today.  They said the old Mallory distributor is "stuck" and they are going to have to break it to get it out.

Never having taken one out, I'm a little confused.

:wtf2:

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1080 on: September 22, 2015, 03:23:30 PM »
Maybe you should give them a call and ask them what the hell they're doing.
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Offline freedumb2003b

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1081 on: September 22, 2015, 03:41:21 PM »
Are we still working on this car?

By now you could have sent the components to different CCers, let each fix one, the send them back and all you had to do was reassemble

:) :) :)
 
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1082 on: September 22, 2015, 03:42:59 PM »
There's a reason they're called Dumb Previous Owners.  That Mallory was a waste of money.
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1083 on: September 22, 2015, 03:57:16 PM »
The only thing I can think of is that the Mallory is not a dissimilar metal and fused itself to the engine case.  Other than that, I'm at a loss at to what they are doing.

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1084 on: September 25, 2015, 12:59:56 PM »
Finally getting my car back this weekend.  My bill was $275 plus the cost of the new distributor.  :whatever:

Maybe I'll rent something nice from Enterprise for the drive back up there.
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1085 on: September 25, 2015, 02:04:08 PM »
What do they have available?

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1086 on: September 25, 2015, 02:18:28 PM »
Everything from a Kia Rio to a Chrysler 300. 

Standard and full-sized cars are cheaper to rent than the intermediate/compact/subcompact cars.  Go figure.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1087 on: September 27, 2015, 10:53:19 PM »
What a ****ing mess of a day.  Thanks for the flat tire, guys.,

Got the car back home.  The OEM Lucas/MG distributor compared to the Mallory POS is night and day.  I got the carbs out of adjustment and they're running rich... the plugs are fouled and it barely idles after a few hundred miles.

I can't believe I drove through three states and half of Davidson County without being pulled over for a non-working tail light.
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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1088 on: September 28, 2015, 09:05:16 AM »
Its home though!  :yahoo:

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1089 on: September 28, 2015, 10:12:41 PM »
An interesting thing about the MG B... if you're stuck in your run-of-the-mill cold British drizzle, as long as you're moving, the positive air pressure around the car is enough to keep you dry.  Maybe that's why the tonneau covers are such a popular item.  I was puttering along though southern IL in weather just like that until the sky opened up and I got dumped on by a torrential downpour.  Zero visibility.  I barely got off the road to get the roof pulled over my head before getting soaked or running into a ditch.

I knew one of my tail lights were out and I flipped and flopped that hazard switch hoping to get it working.  It looks like I will probably need to take it apart and clean it.  I am still amazed that I wasn't pulled over, arrested, or crashed into.

I didn't get to see the blood moon but I did get to see the Mississippi River at sunset.  It was amazing.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1090 on: September 28, 2015, 10:25:49 PM »
I remember getting off the plane on the tarmac at Heathrow, before they forced everyone to deplane at the terminal.  Grey.  Cold, dark and grey as far as the eye could see.  If it had been the United States with a sky like that, you could have expected 2-3 inches of rain in an hour, but the weather never changed.  It just was like that... cold and grey with some drizzle or the constant wetness that never seemed to stop.

Cold and grey.  Sometimes, being stuck in the north Atlantic has it's drawbacks.  Hyde Park is an amazing feat of gardening and landscaping, though.  The grass was perfectly manicured and soft.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline freedumb2003b

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1091 on: September 29, 2015, 12:26:29 AM »
I remember getting off the plane on the tarmac at Heathrow, before they forced everyone to deplane at the terminal.  Grey.  Cold, dark and grey as far as the eye could see.  If it had been the United States with a sky like that, you could have expected 2-3 inches of rain in an hour, but the weather never changed.  It just was like that... cold and grey with some drizzle or the constant wetness that never seemed to stop.

Cold and grey.  Sometimes, being stuck in the north Atlantic has it's drawbacks.  Hyde Park is an amazing feat of gardening and landscaping, though.  The grass was perfectly manicured and soft.

And grey.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1092 on: September 29, 2015, 12:51:51 AM »
And grey.
Yes. 

Yes, it was.  It was like being stuck in a rerun of "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington".
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1093 on: October 02, 2015, 11:38:05 PM »
I wonder if the nail-in-tire flat wasn't responsible for the horrible shaking I had above 64 MPH on my drive up to Kansas City before my breakdown. I ended up moving the oversized spare to the front left so the car would steer on to the shoulder and not into oncoming traffic, and rotating the front left to the same-sized rear tire on the right. The small nail and puncture would have been enough to cause the terrible shaking at the time.

My drive home from IL and TN was between 60-80 MPH and went smoothly. I wanted to get home.  It's nice having evenly-balanced tires in an old car. :p
« Last Edit: October 02, 2015, 11:45:23 PM by Chris_ »
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Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1094 on: October 06, 2015, 10:26:37 AM »
"There.  I fixed it."

This is what's left of the old distributor.  There are more pieces of metal in the frame rails.










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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1095 on: October 07, 2015, 06:50:59 PM »
99% sure that seized to the block at the base. 

Why didn't they use a tiny slide hammer to get it out? 

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1096 on: October 07, 2015, 11:28:34 PM »
I have no idea.

I have no brake lights... the hazard switch is fried.  I pulled it hoping I could take it apart to clean it, but I may have to order a new one. 
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline zeitgeist

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1097 on: October 10, 2015, 01:08:15 PM »
99% sure that seized to the block at the base. 

Why didn't they use a tiny slide hammer to get it out?

Patience (applied with penetrating oi)  is a virtue.  Heat is nice too.  But that looks more like " that mother &@#!! 's coming outa there NOW!!"  Alas, in my youth I probably did loose patience and go to the slugging wrench a bit too soon too.  And yes, it is always easier to use heat and oil rather than a drill to get out broken studs and other stuff.  Work hardening is a metallurgical fact!!  Unwritten law:  Just before it comes free it snaps off at flush,  strips,  or elongates beyond use.

I was at a show last weekend with a great '61 A and '73  B.  Also one 'real' and several kit car Cobras.  Plus TWO  Detomaso Panteras. http://jalopnik.com/jay-leno-explains-what-makes-the-de-tomaso-pantera-so-a-1595538214
< watch this space for coming distractions >

Offline Chris_

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1098 on: October 10, 2015, 02:02:19 PM »
Patience (applied with penetrating oi)  is a virtue.  Heat is nice too.  But that looks more like " that mother &@#!! 's coming outa there NOW!!"
I was billed for roughly 3 hours of labor.  I don't think 'patience' is in their dictionary when they're getting paid by the hour.

I missed the annual car show today.  It would have been nice to have more than 24 hours notice.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline freedumb2003b

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Re: 1973 MG B
« Reply #1099 on: October 10, 2015, 02:20:40 PM »
I was billed for roughly 3 hours of labor.  I don't think 'patience' is in their dictionary when they're getting paid by the hour.

I missed the annual car show today.  It would have been nice to have more than 24 hours notice.

Well, now you have a year's advance notice.
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Hello to the Baizuo lurkers from DU, DI, JPR and Huffpo

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