Hi Doug/Cynthia
A couple of things you may want to check, these things happened to me, so i
speak from first hand experience, not from a mechanic's point of view...
1. Check the fuel lines running to the bottom of the carbs. After I rebuilt
mine a few years ago with a kit from Victoria British, the plastic fuel lines
were quickly dissolved by the gas and were leaking fuel onto the exhaust. (not
good) I replaced them with rubber lines and it was fine.
2. The tops of the fuel tank are notorious for rusting out. Moisture from the
air condenses in the top of the tank, plus trapped dirt and grit from the road
seems to hold water from the road on the tank, making it a great place for rust
to form. The tank can look fine from under the car, but when you drop it down,
there could be gaping holes. I thought my gas smell was coming from a porous
fill pipe, but it turned out to be from the tank itself.
As for the button with the red light, it is a brake warning light, connected to
a sensor in the brake lines. You are supposed to push the button occasionally
to check it. The lever, I don't know about.
Good luck and keep asking questions.
David Lynes, Woodstock, GA
73 Midget
78 MGB
Cynthia_Cameron@icoc.org wrote:
> Folks, let me first say I am very grateful to have found a bunch of people
> such as you. Your posts have already been tremendously helpful, and tho at
> this stage of the game this newbie 73 MGB owner may be more of a "taker"
> from the group, I fully intend to be a "giver" as soon as I can!
>
> Here's a couple of questions - please excuse the naivete.........
>
> 1) Fuel smell while driving - frequent whiffs of gasoline. No apparent fuel
> leak - is this an anomaly of the SU carbs, or should I be worried about
> blowing up? (I hate it when that happens......). If this is not a common
> experience, then I guess I better spend some time figuring out quick what
> the problem is.
>
> 2) Not having a manual (yet) I am trying to figure out what 2 things are in
> my cockpit. One is a 3-position lever near my right knee while driving - I
> am guessing it is a vent lever - but for the life of me cannot figure out
> which position does what. Any ideas?
> The second unknown is some kind of light fixture on my dash. It is in the
> top left corner; rectangular black frame with a red lens and a black
> knurled pushbutton of some sort. Don't have a clue as to what that is for.
>
> PS - thought you would appreciate this - last week, changing the oil for
> the first time; likely the first time in a LONG time. I cannot for the life
> of me get the upright oil filter off - it's rusted on. Ticked me off that
> of all things, an OIL FILTER was rusted on! Tried a screwdriver through the
> filter body, couldn't get the angle, etc. I finally put a tie-rod end
> separator (pickle fork) vertically down thru the cannister, and then used a
> pipe wrench to turn the arm of the pickle fork. The soft metal of the
> filter held enough to be able to get the darn thing off, with a lot of
> torque..........! After I calmed down, I had to laugh...............
>
> Thanks again! - Doug
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