Hello all MGBers!
Here is the tale of my recent MGB/GT purchase and trip home! Enjoy!
THE BIG PURCHASE.....
For the past couple of years, I have been contemplating buying an MG. I
spent many years helping my parents restore Model 'A' Ford's while growing
up, and caught the restoration bug early. Last year I was in a used book
store and something in the Automotive section caught my eye. I wandered
over and there it was: a book on DIY restoration of an MGB. I picked it
up, and thumbed through the pages.
I was caught. The car was elegantly simple. Affordably available.
Fun to Drive (Or so I imagined! :) I was hooked.
For the last two months, I have been scouring the paper, and the local
ads. Saw a few MGB/GT's for the 2.5 - 5K range. Looks interesting!
Driving home from somewhere, my Wife and I saw one on the side of the
road. I pulled over, we hopped out and looked it over. (This was the
first one we had seen in person.) Deborah thought it looked really cute!
I was in love. But, the one on the side of the road just didn't feel right.
We tried to narrow down the search. What years did we want? We chose my
birth year - 68 to Deb's - 72. So, Convertible or GT? We both liked the
look and usefulness of the GT. So that was it: Chrome bumper 68-72 MGB/GT.
During College (CSU - Chico) I remembered going on a road rally with a
friend of mind. Yah, he had a small sports car.. What was it anyhow? I
gave him a call.....
Hello Paul? Yah, this is Dave.. Hey, remember that car you used to have,
the one we drove in that rally? You still have it, eh? What was it
again? A 72 MGB/GT!!!! Really??? No WAY!!! :-> Wow, that's exactly the
type of car I've been looking at buying. What? You are thinking about
SELLING IT? (YES!) Well, what kind of shape is it in? (No dents, kept
running great, new suspension, minor spots of rust, etc.) How much? Cool!
Now, how do I get it home? (Home is in Vancouver, WA - just over the
Columbia river from Portland, OR.)
My mind was reeling. Was this just coincidence or what? I was hooked.
Two weeks after the phone call, I flew down to the Bay Area where Paul lived,
check book in hand. (OK, so I was a bit excited - sight unseen and all.)
I took it for a test drive that evening - first time ever driving one! I
thought it was WAY COOL. Spent some time going over the car... Looking for
major rust, etc. The car was perfect - Not a single dent in the body. No
major rust spots. Needs a new paint job/interior. Some minor mechanical
work, etc. I was sold!
THE BIG TRIP......
The next morning I drove Chico, CA - my home town, and stayed with my parents.
My dad and I spent some time checking the car over, fixing some minor stuff -
turn signals, backup lights, etc. My wifes parents were planning on coming
up to visit the next day, and I was going to follow them. My mom (for whom
I will always be her 'Little Boy') offered to tow me up! (I'll be OK, really
Mom! :)
6:00 the next morning I arrived at my in-laws, and we hit the road. I was
ready. My father had packed me a complete tool kit, extra oil, rags, fire
extinguisher, etc. My mom had packed me a cooler with enough food for three
days! I was following Jo and Ernie, when the sign for the first rest stop
came up, and the mornings coffee had finally caught up with me. I waved them
on and pulled in. I pulled into the lot, and what did I see? A cute black
bumper MGB. (Hehe, this was a sign... this was going to be an excellent day!)
I parked next to it and headed for the rest room. "Cute MGB" someone said as
I passed them. "Thanks, is that yours? It's cool too!"
I get back on the road, and speed up a bit to try and catch Jo and Ernie.
I get to the next rest stop, and no sign of them. The one after that... still
no sign of them... Hmm... Well, I guess I'll go on and meet them at the
place we were going to have breakfast - Grandma's House in Yreka. I pull into
the Chevron next to Grandma's House, and fill it up. (I'm starting to get
a little worried at this point. I should have caught up with them by now.)
I get back in the car at the gas station... Put the key in the ignition...
Turn the key... The starter motor spins, but it doesn't engage... Hmm,
that's weird. Is a tooth missing in the flywheel? Now I start to get
worried. I stick my foot out the door, push the car a bit and pop the clutch.
Try starting again.. Clunk.. No start. I get out and look around. Dispair
begins to set in. (OK Dave, relax, calm down...) A gas station attendant
comes over, and helps me push start it. Vroooom.. Hmm, weird.. runs fine..
I drive it across the street to the restaurant.. (What should I do? Turn it
off? I'll probably be here for a while.. OK, turn it off..) It doesn't even
try and start back up right then. I'm thinking to myself - starter problems.
I pull the hood off (fiberglass - four pins, no hinges. Perfect for road-side
repair! NOT!) and look around. Everything seems OK. Now, I'm starting to
get really worried. Jo and Ernie still haven't shown up. I decide to take
a break to calm down, and go into the restaurant to get something to eat.
About 15 minutes later, they show up. (Yeah! I'm saved!) I turns out that
all Jo saw as she looked in her mirror was me darting off on some exit. I
guess she missed the Rest Stop sign. So, they circled around, went quite a
ways beyond the rest stop, and were behind me! (And there I was, going faster
to try and catch up with them!)
We eat breakfast, go out and Vrooomm... Car starts right up, no problems!
Hmm, weird. Might be heat related with the starter? We get to the next rest
stop, and I park pointing down hill, and turn the car off. Sure enough, it
doesn't want to start back up. (Did I get a lemon?) We push start it and
continue on. At the next rest stop, I decide to leave it running. We get
back in, and start out.. sputter, cough cough... it dies in the lot. A guy
and his wife wander over as we are looking under the hood, scratching our
heads. Turns out he's got a MGB also. He asks what's wrong? I describe the
symptoms I've been having.. He has had similar problems, and that sometimes
the starter motor seizes. So, we try and loosen this bolt on the front of
the starter (which I guess is supposed to un-seize it.) Of course, this bolt
is right next to the oil filter and block which is quite HOT! I can't manage
to get a wrench on it. (It's really thin, and I can't quite get it.) After
a few more minutes.. "Have you tried jumping it?" I pop open the hatch, we
hook up the jumpers, and Vroooomm.. Starts right up. Hmm.. Weird I think.
(At this point, I should have been thinking battery, but I was totally
frazzled.) We hop in and start out again. (Thanks for the help Mr. X if you
read this!)
I notice that the tach is fluctuating rather wildly. And the engine is
running really cold. Like it really is missing quite a bit. That's not
right I tell Jo who is now riding with me. Half way up this really long
hill, the engine just dies. Kaput. Nothing. Nada. I pull off to the side
of the road. (Dispair really starts setting in now! All I want to do is
get it home!) I am thinking to myself.. Ignition... No spark... I pull off
the distributor cap, clean the rotor with some fine emery cloth. Put it
back together. Nothing. I let it roll backwards, pop the clutch... nothing.
I get out and wave to Ernie who is driving the Modern Iron to come back. He
has to circle around since he was ahead of us, and across a narrow bridge.
I sit on the railing on the side of the road and start thinking. (Not very
clearly, mind you!) Short jump starts.. runs erratically... Won't start
by itself... Dead battery? (But it started up after breakfast?) Gotta
be dead battery... Better yet... Dead Alternator!!!! When Ernie pulls up,
We jump the car, and this time, I leave it connected for about 10 minutes.
Vroooom... Starts right up, and tack is tracking appropriately! (Yeah! We
have found the enemy! His name is Alternator!)
So, if you happen to have been driving up I-5 that afternoon, stopping at
rest stops, chances are that you would have seen (at every rest stop), a
Toyota Camrey pulled up behind an MGB/GT with jumper cables running to it.
Yep, every rest stop, we jumped the car and let it run for a while to keep
the battery charged up. (Who needs an alternator when you have in-laws
following you with a portable charging station?)
What a Trip!
Dave Hall
(dhall@vcd.hp.com)
p.s. The alternator was totally shot.. I had it rebuilt and our LBC is
running wonderfully!
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