Hi folks,
A report on the first week/600 miles with a '77B as the commuting machine.
The first day was great, the '77B ran and started as it should. Got a chance to
learn about leaks and the effect of high headlights behind you. One cold
morning last week (14F) I had a difficult time keeping the car running smoothly.
Took a good while before I was able to push the choke all the way in. The ride
home, though warmer (30F), still took a lot of playing with the choke. Friday
was terrible, had to drive with the choke almost all the way out to keep the car
from coughing and f*rting. The car has dual HS4's, recently rebuilt by Lawrie.
Communicating with him led to the thought that there might have been a fuel
starvation problem. But, the car has a new fuel tank, pump and filter.
Saturday I got ready to check out the entire fuel system when I remembered an
experience that I had with a '68B*W 2002 in 1970. One day, while in rush hour
traffic on a Boston expressway, the car started running rough and eventually
gave out with a monstrous backfire. After that I could only keep it running by
pulling the choke all the way out. When I got to the dealer we discovered that
the capacitor (condensor) had literally exploded. The symptoms gave me a
feeling of deja vu'.
I pulled out the distributor and discovered the worst burned set of points
that I have ever seen. A few months ago I bought a Pertronix ignition from Skip
Kelsey but the distributor plate was so sloppy that I didn't install it. I
eventually bought a rebuilt distributor and just installed it. Saturday I
installed the Pertronix unit. Wow! What a difference. No more f*rting or
burping. On Sunday I went so far as to also install the Lucas Sport Coil that I
got from Ed Kaler. These cars are fun when they're running right.
If any of you are familiar with Moss' SU rebuild video, produced by and
starring the lists' very own Lawrie Alexander, in the opening frames a statement
is made to the effect that "90% of the problems with SU's lie with the Lucas
electrics". QED.
Bud Krueger
52TD
77MGB (getting better every day)
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