Hello all
My '73 MGB has recenlty be returned to daily driver status (see reason
below), amd I have a couple of quirks that you may me able to elucidate.
First, the fuel and temp guages often seem to read higher than they should,
but sometimes drift back to what appears to be normal positions. The fuel
guage often reads at least 1/4 tank fuller than actual, and when it drifts
back to what I think is "correct" the temp guage also drifts to the left.
Could this be caused by unstable voltage source, or bad voltage regualtor?
Along the same lines, I know each car is unique, but what is a common
position for the temp guage when motoring down the highway. Returning from
DC yesterday, cruising around 3000 rpm on the interstate, 90 F and sunny, my
temp guage fluctuated from just right of center to just left of the white
square by the H.
Second, the car (fitted with a Weber DGV) seems to stumble a bit initially
when accelerating from an idle. It seems to happen only at low RPMs, as
open throttle acceleration is still good. The problem worsens when the car
is warmed up and it also idles poorly when warm. Could my idle mixture be
incorrect?
Saab story
In March, the B was down for some head work and I fell into a great deal on
a 1985 Saab 900. 5 spd, 180K miles but ran great, no rust, immaculately
maintained, nondescript lt. blue color. Good mileage, dependable,
underpowered but handled very well for a mid sized car. Needless to say, as
I am want to do, I got quite attached to this car. Great for long trips,
plenty of space for a dog, awesome for transporting me and my mountain
biking pals back and forth to races, the perfect companion for my MGB, it
actually made be enjoy my B more. In a word, the car was SOLID, after nearly
200K miles, the doors still shut better (you know, that combination of feel
and sound) than a new chevrolet, and in the 10K miles (3 changes) I put on
the car, it used not one drop of oil. I could be happy with these two cars
forever.
I am speaking of the cart in past tense because my beloved Saab met its
maker on 6/21/96 appox 11:00 am. Some F%#*king idiot decided to perform a
test of his antilock brakes in the fast lane of I-64 West, just west of
charleston WV. For no apparrent reason, the guy just locked on the binders;
I was 1.5 - 2 car lengths back and had to brake and swerve suddenly into
the right lane (in retrospect I should have just hit him, that Saab would
have done a nice number on his Tempo) at which time the car started to
slide, dropped off the edge of a narrow shoulder and flipped 1-1/2 times
endways and once sideways landing next to the interstate on its wheels
facing traffic. Amazingly I did not get a scratch, a testament to the
structural integrity of the Saab 900. Luckily I was alone, and I keep my Mt
bike inside the car on long trips, or I could have added another 2 grand to
the tab. The car on the other hand is totalled, _severe_ front end damage
and a seriously squashed roof behind the front seats, etc, etc, ... Here's
the dinger, once sucessful in running me off of the road, the a!@hole kept
right on going, he could have been clueless enough that he never even knew I
was there, and while a lady who was close behind me stopped, she has no more
info than me. So, being that I had only liability insurance on the car
(excuse me while I kick myself) I am S.O.L. (and that's not scions of lucas).
I always keep my cars in as good as condition as possible, especially
suspension, tires, brakes, etc. I consider myself a skilled and safe
driver. This incident has given me a new respect (fear) of the actions of
others that I cannot control.
sorry do inundate you with my lamentation
please, be careful out there
chris "hey, the doors are still good" lenth
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