Great answer and examples to a sensible question. For some of us, just
knowing what is important to watch; what could be replaced once and
expected to last another 10 years; and what is forgiving and could last
a long time in less than perfect shape; is welcome information!!! I was
born female, raised female and still am female (I think) and as such, it
was never considered important by the males in this world to pass that
information along to me. It was almost unheard of for a woman to work
on a car back then. Yes, I guess I am dating myself, but it does serve
to explain my point. So if there is anything specific that can be
passed along by you folks, please don't assume that the rest of us know
it, even if it seems to be only common sense.
Thanks so much for saving me from myself!
Becky
watching and learning, hopefully before I destroy anything!
Robert Allen wrote:
>
> I has able to attend a wonderful little car show in Columbia, Missouri,
> this weekend. It the organizers on this list, congrats on a job well
> done. A nice show and a great time.
>
> There is a thread on the MG list querying preventive maintenace tips.
> This brings to mind several observances the last couple of weekends.
>
> One fellow has been bringing back a TR8 with a lot of sweat equity and
> quite a few new parts -- and a nice paint job. He blew the upper
> radiator hose. He has owned the car for a year and a half and knew it
> had been neglected for 10 years before he bought it. The hose is
> specific to an 8. He never bothered to renew it.
>
> A Midget lost a fan belt while trying to run home at speed on the
> freeway. They hadn't owned the car long. It's a low mileage Midget but
> its still 20 years old.
>
> An MGB filled it's crankcase and carbon cannister with gasoline. It got
> to the point that a foot of flame was coming out the exhaust.
>
> A Spitfire was running really, really hot. Finally removed the
> (required, here) front license plate and frame to stop blocking the air
> flow. This was somewhat effective. But when you open the bonnet, none of
> the original fiber board shroud directing air into the raditor could be
> found. The car eventually overheated on the freeway and then locked up.
> The motor is gone.
>
> A fellow with a Big Healey was contemplating selling the car. It just
> never rode very well and shook and shimmied on the highway no matter
> what he did. What he did was paint it and replace the wire wheels. This
> weekend he was praising new tires. He finally replaced the Pirellie
> Cenurtos (sp) that haven't been produced in about 10 years. It
> completely transformed the car. It now is a decent road car again.
>
> At a previous event, an old guy in a V12 XJ sedan hoofed it good and
> hard. He blew a heater hose, the engine over heated and it hydraulic
> locked on its own coolant. The beautiful old motor is toast.
>
> And your's truly never bothered to service the U-joints on the
> halfshafts of the TR6 until it was almost too late. I had always been
> meaning to so it but I knew it was an ugly job and just hadn't got
> around to it. I was lucky to limp that one home.
>
> These truly are pretty realiable cars but they are now at least 20 years
> old. Just how long do you think the maintenace can be prolonged? All of
> these car were shiny, and pretty, and looked pretty sharp. In each case
> the owner lacked the knowledge, common sense, or gumption to do the
> required mainteance.
>
> If you expect to keep them on the road, you have to hold up your end.
> These are pretty reliable cars if you replace the parts that would
> normally wear over time. That is all the rubber items, the U-joints,
> wheel bearings, brakes, a major tune-up and make sure you have healthy
> fluids.
>
> If your engine is healthy, a professional could get the car in shape
> for, maybe $750 plus a good set of tires. Is your car worth it? Are you
> worth it? Maybe that is a lot of money but, as a point of reference, the
> Wife's Z28 ate it's water pump at 60k miles. The dealer replaced the
> pump, belt, and hoses. The bill was $700. Our cars are no more expensive
> to maintain that the modern stuff and, in fact, most of the parts are
> relatively cheap. You just have to set your mind to it.
>
> Off the soap box,
>
> Bob Allen, Kansas City, '69C/GT, '75TR6
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