MG Sports Cars

I know why the shock broke.

That flat spot was indeed the clue we've been looking for. The answer is that the main mount cushion compressed in excess of the 1/4" clearance that there was above the top of the shock and allowed the shock to contact the floor of the car above the battery box. This contact eventually wore a flat spot on the shock end nearly .100" deep and 5/8" in diameter. That flat spot then created a side load on the shock rod whenever the suspension compressed, and that side load eventually caused a crack to propagate into the shock rod and caused the failure. I will need to look at the other side to see if there is a similar wear pattern, and look at the mounts to determine the proper remedy. Most likely simply harder mount cushions.

What is surprising to me is that we weren't noticing an increase in differential and road noise. But it's an easy fix at least.

Jim

Can anybody get us a discount on a QA1 shock and a Hyperco spring?

The shock is on order and will get to Dave next week in two shipments. Cost will depend on shipping charges but will not be less than $250.

Jim

Hey Jim:

Good job investigating the problem! And thanks for perseverance and getting it handled.

FWIW, I think once the shock cushion problem is solved we shouldn't have to carry a spare. (I mean, who carrys a spare shock?!)

WE continue to improve the engineering of the car and get it sorted, it'll get there.

Remember: the Wright brothers crashed a LOT of planes! Unique problems required unique solutions.... :-)

M

Thanks Max. As it turns out we won't have a spare anyway. I got the old shock apart but it was too buggered to have any chance of putting it back together again, and in fact I had to cut the end off it to get it disassembled enough to get the old rod out. Not enough undamaged parts left to be worth trying to put back together. As for the valving being adjustable, not so much. I suppose if you had a race tuning kit (not cheap) and were inclined to completely disassemble and knew what valve parts to combine in order to get what results, then yes, it is tunable. But certainly not by simply turning an adjuster or stacking some parts.

This has been a not so great experience for me and I still don't know how it turns out for us all. Lane Automotive charged me $72.48 for the spring and snubber but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop on the shock. Their invoice shows an extended price of 0 instead of the $160.99 that would be expected. Then at the bottom it has this line:
*** FOR REFERENCE ONLY - Final Total May Include Additional Fees and Adjustments ***
I'm just not sure what is going on there. It almost looks like a warranty claim but I don't think so. I expected to see another invoice when the shock shipped. Maybe they are just slow with their billing. In the end I worry that I'll have to eat the cost of this thing as my accounting is not so good as some.

I also will be going over today to renew the tags. That will be about $25.

Dave should have everything he needs now to put it back together as I shipped him back all the original small parts. I think he is trying to make a meet this weekend.

Soon after that the car needs to come back here so I can go over the rear suspension and make sure we don't have this problem again.

Jim

Dave got the invoice for the shock. There was no shipping charge shown for the spring and snubber but about $12 on the shock. So our total was right at $245.

Registration renewal was $24.99

Jim

Jim,
Thanks for taking care of all that.
see you in Townsend.

Steve

What is the status of Roadmaster?

Steve

I was wondering about Roadmaster yesterday, just hadn't gotten around to asking.

Oh, it's probably sitting in Dave K's back yard. After that problem with the master cylinder I think he had an issue with the fuel pump. I guess some guys just have all the luck, eh? I haven't heard from him in a couple weeks, maybe you guys should give him a call and see how he's doing?

Jim

Rumor has it that the Roadmaster is now back in it's Old Kentucky Home.

Actually it's sitting in my garage waiting out the snowstorm. Steve D and I went up to Dave's house yesterday while the weather was nice and the roads were clear and after ignoring the GPS and spiraling in on it, we arrived only 8 minutes after Dave had to leave to go to Terra-Haute. But he was magnanimous about it, taking the time to show us his project GT and making sure we were all set to go. He had the engine warmed up already and Steve jumped right in the driver's seat while I wasn't looking, so shortly we rolled out. We were a little concerned about the heater but had a good and uneventful trip home, and I stopped at the halfway point in the hopes that we could switch rides and Steve could get warm, but he just said, "Why'd you stop?" so we rolled on in.

But it's gotten me kinda concerned. All evening yesterday Steve complained about being cold and I feel so bad about it that I think we need to do something right away about the heater fan so the car won't be so cold. I'm just thinking about our other members who might have to drive the car in the cold or poor weather and I'm afraid we could be endangering their health. You guys aren't getting any younger and you don't recover from things like that as quick as you used to and there could be complications that could be serious and even life threatening, all because we didn't replace the blower fan with something better. I really feel like we need to do something about that.

Jim

I concur. Winter is coming on, we sure don't want anyone to catch pneumonia! :)

Hey, I'm just thinking about the rest of you. I know how delicate some of you are, and want to make sure everything is just right.

Running the blower motor backwards didn't help any btw. There's a whisper of a gentle breeze wafting out of the heater but that's about it.

Jim

Anyone want to send one of those magnets that go over the cowl vent so the cabin air can be recirculated? That might help.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2013 05:36PM by BlownMGB-V8.

Quote:

I know how delicate some of you are...

When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was backwoods camping in the Smokies in the dead of winter. Now that I'm nearly grown, I can't take cold weather. I'll be miserable from now until May. I now know why old folks go to Florida for the winter. If I weren't so poor, I'd do it too.

I #%@# hate being cold!

Jim, perhaps you can cut a pattern that covers the cowl vent from a sheet of magnetized material. sometimes you can choose a matching color. Hobby store or other supply place. Even an old magnetized sign will work.

wool socks, long johns, ski clothing, who needs a stinkin heater. . . .Last Spring I drove several hundred miles in temps of 30-40 degrees F no problem but I'm only 65 years young, not as old as some of you guys.

I volunteer to drive RM to the deep south for the winter then no heater needed, Key West would be nice this time of year. Anyone in Palm tree land have a spare garage space????

RM needs AirCon more than a proper heater. much more driving is done in the summer than in the winter. . . Oh how I remember driving RM from Houston, TX to IL in 98F. I was half naked and soaking wet for two days, drinking 2 gals of Gatorade per day and sweating it all out; didn't have to pee one time.

I tried night driving but the headlights were pointing too far down and I couldn't see 20 feet ahead. But it was fun, I'm ready for another 1000+ mile road trip!!

All I want for Christmas is gas money!

I drove the Roadmaster a little today just to get a feel for it again, and I can tell that we are going to have to do something about the ignition system. Before I went out I retarded the timing enough to reduce kickback on starting a bit. Not eliminated yet but less of a problem as it was so bad I'm sure we'd soon be buying another starter. So it's still there but better. Didn't put a timing light on it, just dialed it back a few degrees and tried it, said good enough, adjusted the idle screw, fast idle and automatic choke up a bit and went out.

Oh and I stuck the hood strut back on, slipped some strap down the channel and bolted to that. I think it'll stay until we get the new hood from Dave Craddock. He says all he needs is the paint codes.

Anyway, the power seems like it might be be off a little bit with the timing retarded but it's really hard to tell because any time the car develops much G force the engine cuts out. Seems to me like an electrical problem and at this point I'm all for removing all that MSD crap and going back to a straight coil and distributor setup. I don't see where that stuff ever helped us at all. Then dial back the static advance until the car will start without breaking starter noses. Then if it won't run right do something to get some more advance. I saw where somebody is selling a MegaJolt ignition system in the classifieds, maybe that would be a good answer, at least then it would be adjustable. I know how to tune that, so if you guys want to buy it and send it here we can install it on some work weekend and finally quit messing around with the ignition.

Jim

Have to agree with PJ on the A/C. It'd be a tremendous improvement. How could we do it?

Well, Dan B has 2 or 3 Sanden compressors that might be usable and is willing to donate one.
Carl mentioned an evaporator unit that he might donate if we want it, dealer option type.
Steve D left a combo A/C and Heater matrix here that might fit that evaporator unit if it isn't already a combo.
I'd be willing to make up a set of mounting brackets for the compressor.
Which might leave little more than the condenser, drier and hoses to complete the parts list. We'd have to install it of course and spend a little money on making up the hoses.I'd have to look to see if we have a double pulley on the crank and water pump.

Something to think about anyway. In the meantime, my roadster is camped out on the lift and I'm trying to get some wiring finished up there so I can start the engine. I hope to get around to looking at the subframe bushings eventually but my car has to come off the lift first and that isn't happening until either it moves under it's own steam or I have help pushing.

Jim