Well, I picked up the parts cars last weekend that I'll use to fix my
burned-out car. I rented an auto transport trailer from U-Haul, because these
cars weren't really ready to roll on their own, and I didn't want to start the
whole driveshaft debate again. The 1979 was in decent shape (although the
paint was much more worn than I thought, having seen the cars in the rain), but
it doesn't have an engine. The engine for it was in the trunk of the 1978. I
got the 1979 home and tried to push it into the woods in front of our house,
having promised my wife that she wouldn't see these cars, I'd hide them. I
used a come-along and a length of chain to pull the car from one tree to the
next, until I wedged it into a tough spot not too far from where I wanted it to
be. It's closer to the road than I expected, so you can still see the front of
the car if you drive down the street - the headlights are like a cat's eyes,
peering out from the trees.
The guy I bought the cars from has a Bobcat, which was very helpful in getting
the cars onto the trailer, and changing the tires (quote: "We don't need a
jack, I have a Bobcat!"). I should have worried when he tried to fix a leaky
tire by hitting the rim with a sledgehammer to try to get a better seal. It
worked on one tire, and cracked the rim on another. I didn't really care; the
body is very rough (one door, holey floors) and all I wanted was the wiring and
some of the plastic bits, hoses, etc. I didn't even try to push this car into
the woods; it's sitting in front of the house near my car. This gives me an
incentive to strip it and crush it soon before my wife's patience runs out.
If you want a good laugh, pictures are at www.shoyer.com/mgb/partscars.htm. I
now have three MGB's that don't run.
The 1979 is in decent shape, so I might try to fix it up and sell it to recover
some of the costs. It has an OD transmission, which might be worth selling on
its own. The transmission from the 1978 is in the passenger footwell, and I
don't think it has OD, but I'm not sure. The shifter knob looks like the OD
style, but it is missing the top cover where the switch would go, so I don't
know if it was supposed to be there or not. Perhaps some lister can tell from
the photo.
Today (almost 4 weeks later) I got the numbers from the insurance adjuster:
$5700 value for my car, with repair costs over $6000, so they're declaring it a
total loss. I'm waiting to see what the salvage cost will be. I'd like to try
getting the insurance company to give me the difference between the car's value
and the salvage cost (minus the deductible) so I won't have to get a salvage
title, but I don't know if they'll do that. At this rate I might have the car
running again before we settle.
One question on distributors: the new engine from the 1978 has an Opus
distributor. My old one was the CEI with external amplifier. I thought I'd
have to toss the whole thing, because the wires were all burned, but there was
an external amplifier in the trunk of the 1979 along with some other parts.
Should I try to hook it to the distributor in my car to see if it will work, or
should I just go with the Opus? I'd heard bad things about the Opus.
Also, while I'm taking parts off the 1978, is there anything I should be sure
to get because they're now made of unobtainium? Once I get enough parts to get
my car running, I want to get rid of the 1978 as soon as possible, but I'd hate
to throw out anything worthwhile.
Thanks!
--Steve Shoyer (1980 MGB, 1979 MGB, 1978 MGB)
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