I have manage to burn three tankfuls of Amoco's best so far this year. The
A is running great although I notice a wetness on top of the rear float
chamber once in a while. I expect that it is time to clean the needle and
seat. I don't run a fuel filter right now so I would guess that adding one
of those would help also.
The A has never been restored so it does have a few of the problems
associated with advancing age- much like its driver. One such problem was
the deterioration of the battery boxes. When I brought it home I knew that
the battery boxes were kluged and that something would have to be done.
Well two weeks ago all the planets were aligned properly so my neighbor,
fellow list member, and fellow MGA shepard Mike H and I, under the full
moon, savagely ripped out the old metal and grafted in some new stuff. Dr.
Frankenstein ain't got nothin' on us.
Mike had already purchased the proper sized L iron for his car since he is
in the process of a body off. He had also borrowed the club's MIG welder
for that and other chassis work. At the appointed hour I rolled the A into
his garage and took out the battery. After much head scratching, we
decided that we had to turn the car around to do the job. No problem, I
said, we'll just roll it down the driveway and bump start it in reverse.
Well the old girl still has pretty good compression and the clutch still
holds pretty well because all we did was skid the tires when the clutch
came out. So we ended up pushing her back up the steep but relatively
short driveway by hand. We were now sufficiently loose to begin the
operation.
Since the car was still together, we did not have a lot of room to work.
Also, the rear brake line and the emergency brake cable attach to the right
battery box. We got them out of the way and attacked the old box with a
saber saw with a metal cutting blade. Two blades later, we had it mostly
out but one area was too tough to get at with the power saw. A hacksaw was
brought in and the destruction was completed.
With the body on and the fuel pump/lines in close proximity, we decided
that the best approach would be to leave stubs of the old box at the frame
and below the box stays. We could then weld the new box to these fairly
easily. Also, the A came with a bigger than usual battery which fit since
the old box was basically rust, birdsh*t and plumber's tape. We decided to
make the new box big enough to fit the existing battery since I wasn't
going to win any concours event in the near future anyways. So we cut,
bent and welded the new box then placed it in the car. We covered the fuel
pump with a wet towel. I went under the car with the welder and Mike
stayed above with a fire extinguisher. We made sure the driveway was clear
in case we had to push the flaming carcass out to save the house. I welded
as much as I could from below stopping occasionally when an unfamiliar
burning smell was detected (usually hair). I then went up top and finished
the job. A few minutes with the angle grinder and viola! a suitable perch
for the battery. Modify a 3.00 generic hold down to fit and call it a day.
If it ever gets warm enough in the evening I will paint our handy work but
for now, I drive with new found confidence knowing that the A will not be
running over its own battery in the near future.
On another note, the A has never topped 200F since it followed me home but
I have noticed that it burps a lot of antifreeze out before it stabilizes.
In fact it looses so much that you can't see any in the filler neck. Like
I said it doesn't leak or use antifreeze once it stabilizes but it drives
me nuts to open the radiator and see no fluid. I run it that way for a few
weeks then I worry and fill it up again. It then spits the stuff out the
first few drives until it gets back down to "normal." I tell you it's like
feeding a 1 year old. Freeway driving seems to make it go down faster than
backroad cruising. Any thoughts? Should I just install a catch tank and
be done with it? Should I lick the antifreeze on the ground until I no
longer care? Any input would be appreciated.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA out enjoying the first 70F sunny day of the year
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