MG Sports Cars

Good timing....this was posted on the MGE this morning:

[www.mgexp.com]

Pretty sure I have a spare column or two. If Gerry would do the rebuild, I'd send them to him so he could rebuild & send the rebuilt one to wherever the car is so it'd be a quick swap out & car wouldn't be down. Would need to confirm that mine use the same splines but pretty sure both are '72-74 chrome bumper columns. Will double check them this weekend -- they might not even need a rebuild for that matter.

I'll contact Gerry to see if he would be interested in assisting with the Roadmaster.

Of course, none of this will help a worn rack.

Gents:

Let me confirm where the wear is. There are only two shims left in the rack-- both .010's. There might be a little to gain there by taking out a few thou, but taking out just one of the tens locks up the rack, so it's pretty close to correct. The simple check is turning the wheel while watching the column to see if the movement correlates (before/after the steering knuckle.) Given all the vibration we were suffering, it's also possible the steering u-joint is going bad!

Also, pretty sure the column is the OE 1969. And I believe this matters based on how steering lock, switches, and cowling attach...? Not to mention steering wheel. (I'm not sure they are different. But something in the back of my mind thinks there are things that are year specific...)


I'd rather get the car running better. The column is a minor annoyance (constant driving corrections) but doesn't limit the enjoyment of the car like the lack of positive throttle response. :-pj

More later...

M

I guess everyone has read this.

[www.mgexp.com]

We now have a "new" steering column....all we need is to get the old unit sent to gerry masterman.
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Rick, sure send it to me and I'll be more than happy to fix it up for your club.

What kind of time frame are you looking at? I just told a local machine shop to make be 200 sets of bushings so it may be a week or two before they complete the order and I have yet to order the other hardware that goes in the kits. I'm thinking maybe 3-4 weeks turnaround from today. Is that OK? Gerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Mowog1
To: gmasterman
Sent: Fri, Mar 29, 2013 4:14 pm
Subject: MGB column bushings


Gerry, our club car the 1968 MGB/GT V8 conversion (aka The Roadmaster) is in need of a rebushing of its steering column.

Would you like to help us out here? (We are a Not-For-Profit organization)

Would you consider donating a set of bushings....and possibly refurbishing the column for us?

We could send the column to you for rebushing....or if you want to simply donate a set of bushing, one of our members could then re-bush the column.

Your name would of course, then join those who have donated (cash, product, labour, etc) previously to this educational project.

Thank you for your consideration!

rick

Oh Max...

hehehe

Well, last time *I* came up with an idea, I ended up doing a Diff Swap with my Crew!

I think we'll let Ingram handle the steering column chore... :-) (I will, however, come up with my best analysis of where the remaining slop actually resides.) Also, I'm a strong believer in rebuilding a spare and then swapping when possible. Rebuilding the OE just means 'down time" on the car, and anything "volunteer" is rarely subject to time constraints. :-p

$.02

M

Max...Rob Ficalora was going to send Gerry a spare (68-76) column to be rebuilt...we can then install the one Gerry sends and keep the old column for a spare if needed.

Rick:

I have an OE Leyland/BMC book at the shop. We should verify it is the same Leyland number before swapping. (I think the ignition lock is what doesn't swap...? Definitely the '69 BMC lock assembly is different than the '70 Leyland! Whether the column is also different to match is the issue.)

No use rebuilding something that just causes more problems!

$.02

M

(later that day)---> slop IS in the steering column. :-( I will check OE part numbers on Monday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2013 05:59PM by madmax.

It IS two different part numbers for steering columns! (Actually, four total-- 2 C/B, one that crosses over (70-76) and then the later R/B column).

The break that concerns us is 68-69 are the same, then 70-76 are different. :-(

So, IF you want to do this column rebuild, I would strongly recommend sending a '68 or '69 column to Mr. Masterman. Otherwise, we're fixing one problem to only create others... :-p (Ignition switch, cowling attachment, etc?)

$.02

M

Does anyone have a 1968-69 steering column that they would like to donate to the Roadmaster???

Thanks in advance.

I have a rebuildable 68-69 MGB column headed to Gerry courtesy of Glen Towery.

Should go into the post soon.

RE: Fans.

I think the fans were staying on today, but not sure. (They were still going 5 minutes after I shut off the car.) It's possible they needed too-- car was still showing up around 190F. But as I had to walk away from the car, I tried something.

a) I pulled the rear fuse (for the RH fan, I think.). The relay clicked, the fan(s) went off. I put the fuse back in, the fan(s) went back on. (I don't know if one or both were running-- I just know the sound ceased then returned.)

b) I then pulled the fuse for the LH fan-- I heard a *click* right there at the motherboard (where the RH relay would be!) and the fans went off! (The LH relay is suppose to be the one in the engine bay!)

However, was this coincidence? Because when I put the fuse back in-- the fans stayed off.

So, don't know if this gives DanM any ideas of other possible issues, and I'm sorry it's not conclusive data. But we are getting near the "hot" season, so we at least need to be aware of the fan issue.


Car had a difficult "hot start" today as well (big shake/kickback when starting) and ran poorly under anything but mild throttle. (Obvious pinging trying to enter the highway.)


I'm busy with Race Team activities for the next few weekends, so don't think I'll have any time for the Roadmaster until May. I'm happy for someone else to take over the car....

M

Max,

That gives me a clue, but still not the definitive answer. it does tell me that the problem is not the temp switch, nor is it the RH relay circuit. If everything was ok, both fans should have been on, and when you pulled the RH fuse, the RH fan should have quit and the LH fan should have stayed on. When you pulled the LH fuse, the opposite should have happened. This tells me the problem is in the LH relay somewhere. I still don't think it's a miswiring, as it would happen all the time if that were the case. Did we ever replace the LH relay?

Try this the next time you have a few minutes to spare: Pull the connector with the black/green wire off the temp switch and connect it to ground. Both fans should come on. Remove it from ground and both fans should shut off. If they don't, pull the LH relay (in the engine bay) and see what happens. If they go off, then the relay is bad.

I think.

Dan: Got it, and understood. Will try at some point.


OTHER NEWS:

Was driving the car today by default (oil cooler line blew on the 4-banger. Waiting for new one.) Nice day, thought I'd have some fun. I punch it for the FIRST time in ages-- and blow the exhaust pipe off the passenger header!

BRRRAAAWRRHHH!!! (Loud). I drop it into 5th and trundle slowly back to the shop (2 miles away).

[Always something with this car... :-/ ]

Fixed that, and then tried a small adjustment to the Quadrajet-- lightened the "flapper" for the secondary. (This on the advice of a local machinist who called himself a Q-Jet guru. He seemed to know the carb inside and out...) Anyway, preliminary report is the car feels "crisper".

He says Q-jets hate big cams and also hate manifold vacuum. (I'm quoting Him, don't jump on Me.) I can't do much about the cam, but I can mark the timing settings we're at and see if the behavior is better with the ported vacuum. Also, he can't believe we haven't drilled the throttle plate (what Carl and I talked about) to get enough air flow at idle.... (I think this is where the man vacuum is helping us....)

Anyway... :-/

M

next time just call Rick he'll be right over with his trailer

re: next time just call Rick he'll be right over with his trailer

...........and his attorney. :)

BTW...the steering column has been refurbished and is ready for shipment....please contact me as to where it should go!