vintage viewpoint
TRANSCRIPT
Vintage Viewpoint
The Newsletter of the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago
Vol. 51, No. 1 January 2017
The Open Cockpit By Bob Lee, President
Making progress…
I have been able to spend some time in the garage
“working” on the TD. My wife might say I am
“playing” but that is a story for another time. The
front motor mount may not have been “perished”
but it was very oil soaked and bloated.
I figured I would loosen everything up prior to
raising the engine and then swap it out with a new
mount. The mount to frame attaching nuts would
not come completely off without the mount being
raised up above the frame. My initial thought was:
who was the idiot who designed this arrangement.
After calming down and reflecting, my thinking
now is that the design was thought out with the
objective being to prevent the mount from
completely becoming dis-engaged while in service
– brilliant! The new mount is installed.
I do not remember how I replaced the rear spring
shackle bushings in 2012, although I did review the
workshop manual and I am pretty sure that I
tightened everything before letting the car down on
the wheels. Since I am hunting the source of a
slight klunk noise, I ordered new urethane shackle
bushings. I did rotate the rear wheels looking for a
drive line klunk but found only what I believe to be
forward/reverse slop in the rear end. However
while loosening the spring to axle U bolt nuts I did
note after un-locking the bottom nut that the top one
could be tightened more without a lot of effort. I
attribute this to the rubber pad on the spring
accepting its fate of being squished and
compressing over time. Hummm, several
participants on the MG forums mention when the U
bolts are not tight the axle movement can cause
clutch judder. Could this be a source of the klunk?
I removed the rear apron and removed the rear wing
The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 11,
beginning at 8:00 p.m., at the Pizza Joynt, 39 W. North Avenue, Northlake, Illinois.
STEVE'S BRITISH CONNECTION
WANTED: EUROPEAN antique, classic
cars. Jaguar, Austin-Healy, MG, Morgan, Triumph, 356,
190SL, Alfa Romeo, Riley, Land Rover,
Singer.
Also pre-War cars and other interesting
European cars in ANY CONDITION, ANY
LOCATION
Please call 630-553-9023
E-mail [email protected]
www.stevesbritishconnection.com
(fender) attach bolts and replaced the shackle
bushings. The rubber bushings were a little
distorted but quite solid. I put some copper anti-
seize on the urethane bushings and installed them,
tightening the shackle pin nuts after putting the
weight of the car on the wheels. These tightened up
solidly. I am not as positive about the axle U bolts
nuts. I used an 8 inch combination spanner and
tightened them pretty tight – but I know I can go
more. I experienced an uneasy feeling that I was
going to snap the bolts and stopped. My
compromise is to put a couple of hundred miles on
the car and then re-tighten or tighten the bolts more,
maybe until I am unable to go tighter. I am open to
recommendations from the collective wisdom of the
members.
Other odds and ends:
I got the radiator cleaned and checked, the tubes
looked clear before I took it in and I was told it
flowed well but flunked the pressure test. Jim at
Lake Zurich Radiator only put 1 or 2 psi on it, he
said, the equivalent of filling it with antifreeze,
since the TD has an unpressurized cooling system.
He found a leak, patched it then found another; he
believes the metal is worn thin. He would do a re-
core for $900 but I elected to replace the unit for a
lower cost.
I used a step drill to open up the center hole of my
swap meet plastic fan and used the water pump
spacer to drill four holes to mount it. It is about 11
inches in diameter, smaller than the MGB fan but I
will see how well it works. I painted most of it
black, leaving the blade tips orange for visibility.
I ordered a water pump with a six blade impeller
and will likely replace the thermostat housing.
Mine looks a little corroded. I have a replacement
aluminum one but have read that they corrode very
quickly – which is maybe why I did not install it
years ago. I do not remember.
My gearbox leaked a lot this past year at the
speedometer pinion drive housing. I got one of
Doug Pelton’s housings that is machined with a
groove for an O ring seal and now have it installed.
A very impressive fix. It hasn’t leaked yet but I
have not re-filled the gearbox yet.
Whether it is very cold or mildly cold we will have
our next meeting on January 11. Hope to see you at
the Pizza Joynt.
Minutes of the December 14, 2016 Meeting of the
Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago
The meeting was called to order by President Bob Lee at
8.00 PM. Thirteen members were present.
The Minutes of the November 9, 2016 meeting were
approved as published in the Newsletter.
Reports:
Treasury – Ric Maitzen – The report was circulated. Membership – Greg Hoeft (presented by Ric Maitzen) –
We have 30 paid members so far for 2017. There are no
new members. Regalia – Lou Louchios – Not present. Driving Events – Reinout reviewed the awards won by
VMGCC members presented at the Holiday party.
These are detailed in the December Newsletter. Old Business:
The Christmas party was a big success.
Although limited to 80 people, two additional people
showed up at the last minute. Two other people were
unable to attend, so we had 80 people net. There wasn’t
a significant number of people who wanted to attend and
were turned away. The room was adequate and the food
good. Rick Rausch would like suggestions for other
venues so they can be investigated long before next
year’s party. Rick Rausch is recording total “T” mileage for
2016, so please send him your total mileage. New Business
Bob Lee asked members to consider the giving
of memorial flowers or donations. He suggested that the
club give donations to charities instead of flowers and
that a dollar limit be established. Jerry Cihak recalled
that such a policy already existed with the dollar limit of
$50. Members present passed two motions. One to
increase that limit to $75, and the second to make
charitable donations in lieu of flowers. Doug Pelton, of “From the Frame Up,” is
offering 10% off on orders received by 12/24/2016. Technical Topics
Bob Lee took out his original radiator and had it
tested. Unfortunately, it needs a new core. He received
an estimate of $900 for the work and is investigating
buying a new radiator. Win Gould’s MGB V8 with a 5-speed Borg
Warner gearbox has a gearbox leak at the front main
seal. Repairing this requires pulling the engine and
gearbox. Steve Skegg, in Downers Grove, is going to
do the work. Win asked that when the time comes (in
March) some assistance would be welcome. Reinout
added that Steve has a very nicely equipped shop to do
the work. Bob Lee is also having his radiator slats stripped
and will paint them the same color as his car’s body
(red) to match his red interior. Bob is installing a one-piece rubber seal at the
front of his XPAG engine. He brought his crank pulley.
It looked good enough so that it will not need a sleeve.
He also brought his deteriorated original front engine
mounting block for show and tell. He will install a new
one. Last month Jerry Cihak noted that the website
www.teregister.org will let you look up the build date
for your car. Ray Costa went to this site and found out
his car was completed (the first time) on September 10,
1952. Program:
The program was Gerry Risner reciting a
wonderful spoof on the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 PM. Happy Holidays to everyone, members and non-
members alike!
Ray Costa, Secretary
Tourist Trophy
Deadline: January 15th
All entries for the 2016 Tourist Trophy must be e-mailed or postmarked
on or before January 15th 2017.
Send your total miles driven for the year to:
[email protected] or Rick Rausch, 701 Inverness, Lisle IL 60532
Happy New Year to all and a great 2017 Driving
Season for you and your MGs. 2016 was a very
good driving year for our clubs. And with a little
bit of planning, 2017 can even be better.
What do I mean with better?
Well, in the first place I would like to see more
participation. Most events in 2016 already saw a
record number of MGs but there is really no reason
why we can’t have even more MGs come out in
2017. We had a fantastic variety of driving events,
from rallies, garage tours, weekend tours, social
outings, autocross, and technical meetings. If you
participated in some of these this year and liked the
experience, plan on returning in 2017. And if
you’ve never been to some of these varieties, plan
on trying out at least one in 2017. If we all do that,
2017 will easily beat the 2016 numbers.
With better, I also mean more events. We had a
little bit of everything this year and I hope that we’ll
find some new events or event types in 2017.
We’re planning to bring back an early summer tour.
It may not be exactly like the Secrets of Jo Daviess
County Tour, but something along those lines. I’m
also looking for someone to pick up the Lake Tour
and maybe return to the Burnham Park Yacht Club
like we did for the 4050 Tour. And wouldn’t it be
nice to do four or five rallies again in 2017? All it
takes are a few people to take the lead and be the
rally or tour master and put the event on the
calendar.
And finally, we can try to do a little better with the
invitations for our events in the Driveline and
Vintage Viewpoint. Timely announcements will
allow you to plan ahead and block your calendars to
keep the day free from other commitments. That
way, when the events come, you can participate.
And after the events we can maybe provide the
newsletter editors with more photos and more event
reports, maybe even a little personal story of how
you experienced the event. The readers of our
newsletters who didn’t participate want to read
about what is going on with the Driving Season.
And if the stories and photos look really good, they
may think that they missed out on a great driving
event and decide to join us for one of the next
events.
Did you notice that the things that can make our
2017 Driving Season even better have one thing in
common?
Yes, that’s right. All three involve you, the
members. The MG Clubs of Chicago need you, the
members, to come out with your MGs to participate
in the tours, rallies, autocross, and technical and
social events. We need you, the members, to think
about new events and maybe step up and organize
something. And we need all of us to do better
publication before and after the driving events for
the newsletters.
We’ll start planning the calendar soon and I hope to
hear your ideas, suggestions, and plans for the
events that we are going to support. If you have any
questions please let me know. Or, you can take a
look at the list of awards that we handed out at the
Holiday Party, The people who won the awards in
the various categories are the ones to ask, They
know how it is done, The complete list was
published in the December issues of the newsletters
and I’d be happy to send you a copy if you prefer.
New Directions
Monthly Column of Driving Events
"The more you think about driving, the more
you smile".
-- Reinout Vogt
Save the Date
Sunday, March 19 – All British Swap Meet!
Same great place as previous years: the DuPage County Fairgrounds. More details to come!
The 54 Horsepower Snow Thrower by Charlotte Raymond
The restoration shop my husband Michael
started is doing well. Winter is here, and the old
cars can’t be driven in the snow, but Michael has
plenty of things to do in the shop when he’s not
busy being a middle school science teacher.
We had a big snow, which is not that
unusual in the Chicago area. It started Friday night,
and by the middle of Saturday, we had more than a
foot and a half of the vile stuff. Michael used our
little five horsepower snow blower five times in
twenty four hours, just to keep up with it.
“Never again!” Michael cried as he came in
from blowing snow the last time. “I need a bigger
and better snow blower. Maybe, even, the
ULTIMATE snow machine!”
“So just go out and buy one,” I said.
“My dear, you just do not understand. I
want a really, really big machine: One that can take
a lot of snow, all at once, and blow it over the
neighbor’s house.”
“Ooooh Kaaay,” I oozed. “What are you
proposing?”
“Let me talk to the boys at the shop and I’ll
let you know,” Michael said as he tromped off to
change clothes.
For the next week, I didn’t see much of
Michael. He spent every evening at the restoration
shop and would not tell me what he was up to. He
did, however, start smiling more and more.
The next Saturday he disappeared, and came
back three hours later with what looked like a clone
of our red, 1952 MG TD save for one important
difference: There was a massive snow thrower
bolted to the front where the bumper should be. It
was painted to match the car.
“Michael! What did you do to our poor
MG?” I screamed.
He grinned. “First, this isn’t our nicely
restored, show-winning car. I picked up this MG
last year as a partially burned out basket case.
Lenny and Squiggy have been working on it down
at the shop on-and-off for months. If you look at it
closely, you’ll see that it still has no interior or
instrument panel, and it still needs paint and body
work. But the engine, gearbox and brakes have
been redone and it runs fine. So I thought I’d turn it
into an MG snow thrower!”
“And now, I suppose, it is worth nothing at
all?”
“Au contraire, mon ami,” Michael crowed.
I bought a used five foot snow thrower attachment
from the John Deere dealer for peanuts. Lenny
rebuilt it and painted it. Then Squiggy welded up a
bracket so that it can be bolted to the same
attachment points as the MG front bumper. I had a
crankshaft pulley made up so that it can turn a
second belt. The belt goes to a shaft that we
mounted on the bottom of the front sub-frame, and
that shaft drives the snow thrower. It can all be
removed in a couple of hours and nothing on the car
has been modified. I added snow tires to the back,
and with a couple of bags of sand stashed behind
the seats, I think this baby will really do the job. I
had to rig up a lever so that I could raise and lower
the snow blower, but again, that’s bolted to the
frame without drilling any new holes. I also added
a heater, and with the tonneau cover in place I
should stay nice and warm. I can’t wait for the next
snow to see how it works.”
“Michael, you are one crazy guy, but I still
love you. Don’t get hurt with that contraption,” I
admonished.
A month later we were hammered with
another huge snow. Michael started up the MG-
five-foot-snow-thrower and proceeded to do our
long driveway in three minutes. Then he drove to
our daughters’ houses and cleaned off their
driveways. He came home and cleaned off the old
T-type.
“That thing works so well I may never
restore it. I think I’ll take it to the British Car
Festival next year. Won’t that be a hoot?” he
grinned.
The following September Michael did
exactly that. I drove our restored TD, and Michael
drove the 54 horsepower snow thrower. Guess who
won best of show?
Note: Author Charlotte Raymond is the nom de
plume of a VMGCC member. "The 54 Horsepower
Snow Thrower" is published with the permission of
the author and may be re published with full
acknowledgement given to the VMGCC newsletter,
the Vintage Viewpoint.
XPAG OVERHEAT – An unexpected but common cause
by Doug Pelton, From the Frame Up
Engine overheat is a common problem within our
T-series cars. It has been discussed on many forums and
there is a logical decision tree to go through to help
trouble shoot. However, it is not uncommon for the
problem to remain after exhausting the list of common
sense things to check. First, let us review the obvious
and then reveal the not so obvious solution.
Radiator – Flush your radiator and block periodically.
If you have your radiator off, you can check if your
radiator is plugged by filling with a garden hose and see
if the flow in from the top is equal to the flow out at the
bottom. If blocked have it rodded out by a professional.
Proper cooling fluid is mandatory and the additive
“Water Wetter” may also help.
Water Pump – Understand that the water pump pulls
cooler water from the bottom of the radiator and forces it
into the block to circulate and cool the block and head.
Then the hotter water exits the head through the front
water outlet, up through the thermostat, and on into the
top of the radiator to recycle and cool down through the
radiator to repeat the flow. If pump is bad there will be
no flow, but this is not the common problem.
Thermostat – The thermostat is closed at start so the
engine can warm up to operating temp. While it is
closed, no water goes to the radiator top tank. Instead
the water coming out of the head returns to the engine
block via the bypass hose and into branch pipe to the
water pump and then block. This cycle continues until
the engine is warm and then thermostat opens allowing
hot water to go to the radiator top tank to cool. There
are 2 scenarios involving the thermostat to be the
problem. First, it could be plugged or frozen. If so,
water will never get to the radiator and over heat will
occur. Second, overheat could be caused by the bypass
port being full open and thus the water is bypassing the
radiator. The outlet on the side of the thermostat
housing should be partial blocked which will deny full
flow of water to bypass cooling and return to the block
even with the thermostat open. Original thermostat
housings automatically blocked this port when
thermostat opened. Modern replacements have this port
partially blocked for same purpose.
Fan blades – Fan blades can be installed incorrectly.
Install originals with the rear blade having the offset
holes and the reinforcements facing forward. A common
change for more cooling is to install the 7-blade fan from
the MGB. This will give more air flow and may help.
However, if you have an overheat problem you should
find the source of the problem and not mask the
problem.
Block – Engines that have been stored for a long period
tend to be full of corrosion. You may be able to
chemical flush the block while in the car but the best
way is to clean during engine rebuild.
Carbs – If the carbs are adjusted too lean this will cause
the engine to run hotter. Making them a little richer will
help your engine to run cooler. However, check your
plugs first. If they are dark with carbon, your carbs are
already on the rich side and the carbs are not the cause of
overheat.
So, the above are all the commons things to check.
While these topics are all common sense there is often a
root cause that is not on the list - the distributor.
Distributor – Engine timing can greatly affect the
operating temp of the engine and a worn distributor can
have a serious impact. The engine is normally timed at
idle at 0 degrees TDC. However, with modern fuels you
should set the timing on the advanced side. But what
happens with a worn distributor at high rpm? If the shaft
and bushing have end play the dizzy gear will ride to a
higher contact point on the cam gear. This retards your
timing at high speed and can cause over heat. Your
advance weights and springs can also be the culprit and
add to the problem. There is a simple check you can do
for your dizzy. Remove the cap and rotor and pull on
the rotor shaft to see if you have any end play (up &
down movement). If you do, have your dizzy rebuilt or
replaced. Although this is the last item in this article,
consider this one of the first things to check. The
dizzy’s are 60+ years old and are tired and need
attention.
FTFU will be glad to assist trouble shooting your over
heat issue. We also offer every one of the above
discussed items to include rebuilt distributors.
Don’t run it hot – stay cool Doug Pelton 480-588-8185
www.FromTheFrameUp.com
VMGCC Club Supplied Regalia Qty. Item Price Amount Send Regalia orders to:
Lou Louchios
3101 West Frontage Rd.
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Orders may be picked up at regular business meetings
with no postage charge. Contact Lou first.
e-mail: [email protected] phone: 847 397-0623
First Name
________________________
Last Name
________________________
OCT2016
Lapel Pin 1" 5.00
Key Ring 1" 5.00
Stick Pin 1" 5.00
Charm 3/4" 4.00
Tie Tack 3/4" 4.00
Lapel Pin 3/4" 4.00
Name Tag 12.00
3 1/4 Iron on Transfer 1.00
VMGCC Gril Badge 25.00
50th Grill Badge 40.00
50th Lapel Pin 5.00
4 in. sew-on Patch 6.00
VMGCC Cap (black or tan) 12.00
2005 GOF Lapel Pin and Plaque 1.00
Postage 3.00
Total
Name: Address:
Phone:
Membership Application and Renewal
Dues and registration: $25.00 per year
Make your check payable to: Vintage MG Car Club
Mail your payment to: Ric Maitzen, VMGCC Treasurer
2881 Fredric Court
Northbrook, IL 60062
Include the following with your dues. We will use this information to update our membership directory
Name:___________________________________ Spouse or Partner:_______________________________________
Address:___________________________________________ Email: _______________________________________
City, State and Zip:________________________________________________________________________________
Home Phone:_________________________________ Cell Phone: ____________________________________
Send me the newsletter only by email: ____________
Please list your MGs, including Model and Year: Send me a hard copy of the newsletter: ____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ OCT2016
Vintage MG Car Club
c/o Editor 1814 Illinois Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
First Class Mail
Officers and Directors – 2017
President: Bob Lee; Vice President: Don Ross; Secretary: Ray Costa; Treasurer: Ric Maitzen; Board of Directors: Jerry Cihak, Brian Dubin, Win Gould
Newsletter: Greg Hoeft- Editor Website: www.vintagemgchicago.com
Email Contact: [email protected]
Upcoming Events:
January 2017
11 – VMGCC Meeting, Pizza Joynt, Northlake, IL, 8 p.m
10 - Natter'n'Noggin at Finn McCool's
16 - CMGC membership meeting, Mack's Golden Pheasant, Elmhurst, IL
February 2017
8 – VMGCC Meeting, Pizza Joynt, Northlake, IL, 8 p.m
14 - Natter'n'Noggin at Roundheads Pizza Pub
20 - CMGC Annual Business Meeting, Mack's Golden Pheasant, Elmhurst, IL
2017 Dues are now due!
Check the mailing label on this issue of The Vintage Viewpoint.
If the year printed at the top shows 2016, your dues are due.