Thanks to a few late nights, I almost have my front suspension back
together. I have everything attached but one brake caliper. Stopped their
because the lock washers were inside and It was too late to go back out to
the garage.
I loaded my grease gun with gear oil and started pumping it into my
steering rack. That helped a little so I tried again using 20W50 Castrol.
The rack moves pretty freely now but it makes a farting sound from air
escaping somewhere. Just before I went inside I notices some oil on the
floor so I am thinking that I overfilled it and maybe blew out one of the
boots.
I used V8 suspension bushings. They went in fairly well and look good. I
used antiroll bar suspension arms. The sway bar attachment arms replace
the front outside 5/16 spring pan bolt with a 1/2 inch hole for the sway
bar. This hole lines up with a similar hole in the spring pan (at least it
does on my 61). I bough a 1/2 by 1-1/4 bolt, nut, and lock washer to hold
that corner together until such time that I install a swaybar.
I did not get out this weekend. The are forecasting 2-5 inches of snow
today and tomorrow but the temperature should be over 50F by this weekend
so we'll see.
Other stuff on the list.
Someone mentioned having to pump their clutch to make it engage. I would
suspect a collapsed hydraulic hose.
Concerning shock rebuilds. I am not aware of rebuild kits being available.
The buy vs rebuild question is not always about money. I prefer to do
some things myself just for the experience and knowing that it is done
right. I have learned a lot by taking things apart. I have learned even
more the few times that I have successfully reassembled the parts in
question.
The 80-20 rule governs many things. It even has a name - Pareto principal.
It surely applies to LBC's since 80 percent of the problems come from 20
percent of the parts and 80% of those are labeled Lucas.
Last but not least, in my posting about thermostats. I do understand that
the MGA and MGB cooling systems, like most modern systems, are pressurized
and that the pressure is controlled by the cap, not the thermostat.
However, those of us who are older or have and agricultural background
remember non-pressurized cooling systems. Our 8-N F**d tractors had them.
In our LBC's, I would recommend keeping the thermostat. Cold engines wear
faster and contaminate the oil. Getting the engine up to temperature
quickly is a good thing. The thermostat's negative effect on fluid flow at
high temperatures is negligible. If I have overheating problems with my
car this summer, I first install a radiator shroud. After that I will have
the radiator boiled. If this fails I will install an oil cooler. If this
doesn't fix it, I will grab my tin snips and convert the car to a "bottom
breather" by opening an air flow channel from below the bumper to the
radiator and installing a small chin spoiler. This will increase the
pressure in front of the radiator and reduce the pressure inside the engine
compartment. The radiator looks big enough to me.
Back to the tractor comment. One of the first motorized vehicle that I had
the opportunity to operate was a Fergusson tractor. For those of you who
don't know, Fergusson invented the three point hitch and licenced it to
F**d. After the war, Standard bought the Fergusson and, in their attempts
to standardize parts, fitted the tractor with the corporate engine. This
engine was used in many other Standard cars including the TR-2/3/4. I
wonder if you can put twin SU's on a Fergusson or if anyone has put a
single updraft Marvel on a Tri**ph. The Fergusson had another interesting
feature where the shift lever was used to engage the starter so the shift
pattern included 1,2,3,4,R and S (for start).
Regards
Bill Eastman
61 MGA still confined to garage rest
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