~ While at a machine shop a few months ago, trying to have the splines
~ on a steering wheel from a '69 redone to fit my early '67 MGB (title says
~ 1967, chassis number matches what moss says is 1966)
"What Year Is It?"
This seemingly innocent question has, for M.G.s, a particularly
confusing set of possible responses. For any given M.G. made
between 1962 and 1980, there might be as many as three possible
answers, all valid within a given context.
To begin, let's look at the build date. M.G.s made after 1970
(and possibly earlier) have the month and year of manufacture
stamped on the vehicle identification plate inside the driver's
door; this is how I know that my M.G., GNH5UB241164G, was built
in March 1971.
But calendar year and model year differ, much like calendar and
fiscal years for businesses. M.G.'s model year typically began
in September of the *previous* year -- so an M.G. made in August
1971 would be a 1971, but one made a few days later, in September,
was built for the 1972 model year.
A third confusion exists because in some cases, cars built in
year N but assigned model-year designations N+1 were allowed to
meet pollution requirements for year N. Rumor has it there are
a very few 1967/68 MGBs with '68's all-synchro gearbox, for instance,
but with no air pump, making it highly desirable. I have
personally never seen such a vehicle, but someone on this list
about five years ago claimed to have one that was that way from
the factory.
For M.G.s made after 1970, the first six digits of the VIN are
the definitive indication of model year. Gxy5Uz is the format,
where x, y, and z have the following meaning:
x -- Engine displacement code (A for Midgets, H for MGBs)
y -- Body style code (N for open cars, D for GTs)
z -- Model year of manufacture, as distinct from actual date of
manufacture
(G is the manufacturer code, which is why Midgets are GAN and
Sprites are HAN -- G for M.G., H for Austin-Healey; the 5 is a
series number which was never incremented after 1970, and which
is only coincidentally the same for both Midgets and MGBs; the U, if
memory serves, indicates that this car was built for the U.S.
market.)
The model year code begins in 1970 with A and proceeds down the
alphabet. This means that my GHN5UB code indicates that it's an
MGB (H) tourer (N) made to 1971 specifications (B). My old Midget
was GAN5UE, and those of you paying attention will realize it was
a Midget (A) open two-seater (N, not that there *were* any Midget
coupes -- though to top my pun of the other day, if Marcus had
one, and it used a 998cc engine, would it be the Liter Tooze Coupe?),
built to 1974 regulations (E). That car's build plate said it was
constructed in August 1974, making it one of the last A-series
Midgets produced.
To make matters more odd, M.G. tended to use up whatever they had
available, at least till smog restrictions made it more critical
that cars produced *for* a given year matched that year's emissions
levels. My manager here at work tells a horror story of replacing
the clutch on his wife's MGA coupe, and forgetting to take the clutch
disc to the shop with him when he bought the replacement. The shop
guy asked him the make and year, and gave him the box. Neal took it
home, centered it in the pressure plate, and then spent a long
time trying to get the input shaft of the transmission into the
clutch. Eventually he looked, just to make sure, and found that
the spline count was off by one. And I've seen 1971 MGBs with 18V
engines and dual HIF carbs, not officially used until the 1972
model year (GHN5UC), though of course those could have been
swapped.
The moral of this story is that if possible, keep the part you've
taken off and compare the new one to the old one (assuming it hasn't
broken or been mangled beyond your ability to cross-check it),
particularly if your car was made in the two or three months on either
side of the model-year crossover in September. And don't be too hard
on the parts store or mail-order source; it's just part of the game
when you're dealing with comparatively small-volume manufacturers.
~ the machine shop man
~ asked if I liked MGs? I said I did and he led me to a corner of the shop
~ where he had a '20s or '30s Ford flathead V8 with an MG octogon on it.
~ Around the perimeter of the octogon read something like "Made by Ford for
~ the Morris Garages Car Company, 192*." Does anyone know anything about
~ these? Did MG make a car with a V8 before the BGT V8 of the '70s?
Not officially; this is the first I've heard of such a creature. I
have photos of a hot-rod T Series at home that used a flathead Ford
mounted low and far back; it was apparently wicked fast to drive, but
probably had trouble stopping.
This one's news to me, though; it's not in Porter's book, or McComb's,
or any of the other marque histories I've read. If the U and M in umr
stand for University of Michigan, you might try calling John Twist at
University Motors in (um...) Ann Arbor (I think; any Michigander SOLs
have his number?) John is pretty much the Pope when it comes to M.G.
history, lore, and knowledge, or at least the Cardinal... :-)
~ Carb Question: When I drive the MG and pull up to a stoplight the
~ engine seems to idle at about 2000rpm until I blip the throttle, at which
~ point it returns to the 7-800rpm that I set the idle speed at. What do I
~ need to replace to fix this?
Try cleaning the return springs (and make sure they're in the right
orientation: one on each carb and one on the throttle linkage; I
remarked to Tim Takahashi last night -- at least four or five of the
SOLs know who he is -- that M.G. does to throttle springs what Volvo
does to brakes :-), looking for any funny bindings there. Most likely
it's either grime in the throttle cable or possibly an old kink; if
you really want to be a nutcase about it, take the cable off, spray
WD-40 down the cable shaft to loosen and lubricate it, and then
reinstall it. And of course it could also be a carb piston that doesn't
want to drop all the way; try cleaning them (Brakleen) well inside
and out, dashpot and piston, and then fill them with a lighter
grade of oil. Also, the throttle linkage -- that is, the little
metal post that hooks the cable to the crossbar between the carbs --
is supposed to be lubricated from time to time; hit it with the WD40 or
Brakleen to degrease it, then give it a drop from the oil can. Of
course, you've probably already tried all this... Good luck!
--Scott
|