Well, in case you couldn't tell...
It WORKS!
Earlier today, Chris Kantarjiev came by to help me get the new
starter into my '71 MGB. For anyone who's just joining the list,
this is my MGB that made ugly noises last May, so I pulled the
motor, redid the bottom end of the E Production semi-race motor
I had left over from the car I sold John Ross, and over the
intervening months I worked in it little by little.
Virtually every SOL in the Bay Area got his or her hands dirty
at one time or another with this car. Rob Keller helped me pull
the bonnet. Tim Pettenati got coated with old grime pulling
the old starter out. Daren Stone showed up on a number of
occasions. And I guess TeriAnn really came by to do the picture
thing and not to crawl under the car, but hey, that counts.
Anyway, it's been one thing after another since last summer.
Over Christmas I determined that the starter motor had been bad
all along (well, either that or the solenoid.)
So Kim picked up a new starter yesterday at O'Connor Classics.
Chris K and I put it in this afternoon and sure enough, the car
turned over first time. We spent only about 60 seconds to get
some oil pressure showing on the gauge, and were stymied by what
appeared to be oil puffing out the spark plugs. In fact it was
gasoline, which was a good sign, and besides by then I had 25 or 30
psi just on the starter.
Plugs in, ether in... it caught. But wouldn't run. So we dialed
a few things -- timing, carbs, and were still baffled. Throttle
response sucked, it idled at 4000 RPM. So we at least let it
warm up, set the timing, then tried the carbs.
It still wouldn't work. So... I followed the book. TUrned the carbs
all the way to the top, dropped them both 12 flats, and started it again.
It ran! It still hiccuped and wanted to die, but it ran! So Chris
and I decided to clear the plugs. After an exciting moment when one of
my brakes decided it really wanted to grab rather than release, we
circumnavigated the block and set about fiddling with it. Then we
opened a Roederer and put the bonnet back on.
Chris had to leave, so the rest of this is new to him. I took Torrey
out for a ride, and we dropped off a videotape. It was still running
rough, wanting to die on me, but it worked. I took Bronwen out for
a ride, and...
we ran out of gas. "Can you say car adventure, Bronwen!" "Yet I can, Daddy!"
"Tell Mommy we ran out of gas." Kim drove us to the gas station, then went
off in search of KFC for dinner after determining that the car would indeed
start.
By about 2500 RPM I realized that I knew what bad gas felt like.
The car SCREAMED. It ran smoothly, there was tremendous power, and in
short it was shat I'd hoped it would be with the old race motor in it.
I filled the tank and made one of my traditional test loops, up onto
the freeway then down the ramp. I think my tire pressures are still
wonky, I'll check them tomorrow; it's not as stable as I seem to
remember it.
But the POWER! I shifted at 6000 RPM; this cam is good to about 6700,
but I'll wait till the bearings are a little more seated. And it has
power IMMEDIATELY off idle, and continues all the way to the shift
point. I *like* the Piper Blueprint 285 cam, and I will recommend
it to all my friends. :-)
Anyway, it still needs to see Charlie about a little fine tuning (you
listening, Charlie?); the points gap is as it was out of
the box, and I have no idea what the valve clearances are; I'll
try to find my doc on the cam and we'll do it up right.
But...
Driving this car, with the engine I built myself, that I've driven
around Sears Point and Laguna Seca... to have it now anytime I want
it... well, it's better than I had hoped. I just wanted my M.G. back.
Instead, well, it's what all M.G.s should be like.
Tomorrow I'll post my proposal for the next Britcars Tour, which I'd
like to have around the first week of February. More later, but for
now, the KFC is getting cold and the girls miss me.
--Scott "Safety REALLY REALLY Fast!" Fisher
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