MG Sports Cars

We're having a great time in Indy at the British V8 meet

Roadmaster is now stored in Ken Nicks shop in Jonesville, NC.

....and has been registered for an upcoming event at Hilton Head.

Hilton Head registration is completed, We will be there 10-30 through 11-1-2015.

It was a great event, Modified British cars will be invited again next year so plan on coming in 2016.

PJ, you making us drool!. thanks for your efforts. See you in May at Townsend

I've showed the RM several places locally in the last week. when I get some photos resized I'll post a few from a arts festival showing and an all european car club where I gave a presentation about the car and the trip to Hilton Head. Toady is another beautiful Fall day so I'll drive the RM to get a few more Moss Motoring points then have dinner in GSO
(oops airline jargon Greensboro,NC) with a joint meeting of the Triump club and the central Carolina British Auto Society.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2015 09:22AM by lawnvett.

A couple of possible events for 2016:

Amelia Island ?March 2016?

Key West LBC parade April 2016

TCOC Gathering Dobson, NCApril 2016

Please make suggestions that meet the mission of RM

If I'm still hosting the car I'll drive it to these three events, anyone south of NC can let me know if you want me t0 schedule a stop in your area for a test drive.

We need a BADASS volunteer to drive the Roadster to the British V8 meet in Townsend, TN in May 2016; I have a schedule conflict and will be absent this year. If any of the BADASS members from the west coast or other far away places want to fly to Charlotte (an American Airlines Hub) I can arrange for you to pick up the car to drive it to TN. It's only a couple hours from the airport.
We also need a volunteer BADASS to drive the RM to Louisville.KY for MG 2016 in June. you can get really cheap airline tickets if purchased months in advance.

Happy New Year and let me know if you'd like to see/drive the RM.
My bonus daughter (aka step-daughter) enjoyed a spirited drive through the twisty back roads of Yadkin county, while here for Christmas. She drove RM like she stole it. see photo.

Jim Watson and I have agreed to take the Roadmaster to the Street Rod show in Knoxville May 6, the V8 meet May 8-11, the local British/European car show May 13-14, and then to MG 2016 in June. We'll pick it up in NC, and hand it off in Louisville for the next leg.

We'll probably pick it up in late March or early April and tend to some of the needed maintainence.

If that's agreeable to every one.

Sounds good to me!

there will be a Roadmaster work party Monday Jan. 11, 2016 in Jonesville, NC at Ken Nick's shop: Eclectic Rods and Restorations 134 Bluff St.

We hope to fix: fuel gauge and the heater valve leak

and several other niggly things if time allows: courtesy lights, rattles, leaks, holes in floors & "trunk" area,

Ya'll come PJ

RM jobs done Jan.-11-2016

Used black roof flashing caulk to seal holes underneath. This should help keep water out temporarily. We are beginning to see a rust bubbles on the rockers near the back of the doors.
Welded exhaust it no longer leaks or rattles
Fixed fuel leak at carb fitting
Adjusted headlights
Tightened alternator belt
Fixed windscreen washer ; it is our opinion that the windshield should be replaced PJ can get this done for about $350 in Winston-Salem poor visibility driving into the sunset or the sunrise.
Recently new rear tires oil changed and lubed diff & tranny oil ok
Claybar cleaned waxed and polished carpets cleaned vinyl seats cleaned Added 2 USB ports on portable cigar lighter adapter
An old semi-smart phone was donated it has an eclectic mix of music and you can text or email if you're in Wi-Fi
A big thank you to all of the following: Carl Floyd, Ken Nicks, Patricia Nicks, Clyde Hollar, Lance Harrington, Danny Jacob. And anybody else I might have forgotten.


A good time was had by all.



Submitted by your somewhat dyslexic scribe



the director of transportation for badass



also known as RoadMeister

PJ

Dan & Jim, here are a few things we did not complete yesterday:

Rm to do list as of January 12, 2016

Carl thinks we would need to pull the dashboard to fix some of the following:
Heater defroster control cables
Power to the fan for heat and defrost
Gauges (parts and a new capacitor are in the car)
Install the steering column (it is in the car)
map light or courtesy light located near the radio
Installing under the dash radio antenna
Not related to the work in or near the dashboard but the other big job is to replace the cooling system overflow tank with a smaller one fabricated by jim Blackwood in order to fit the new bonnet.

I'd be happy to do the work on the tank if you guys will mark it up and send it to me. Might even anodize it.

Jim

OK Jim will do, I'm going to try to twist Carl's arm and get him to drive over to NC again in Feb.

BTW do you like Cuban cigars, I'll get you one, we r going there next week

RM performed fine sans coolant overflow tank these last few s as I drove from Jonesville, NC thru Winston-Salem then to Danville, VA and on to Moss in Petersburg, VA. Just missed a tornado in Waverly, VA on my way to Zuni, VA and finally to Yorktown, VA. Today I'm visiting a former HS teacher I haven't seen in 50 years.

PJ

It may continue to do so if we are fortunate, due to the large radiator. However, the high spot in the coolant system is the top end of the engine so any air in the system will accumulate there. This is OK as long as three things remain constant:

1) the flow from the water pump is sufficient to push most of the air into the radiator on start-up and;

2) the heat output from the cylinders does not exceed the heads' ability to transfer that heat across any bubbles to the surrounding coolant.

3) you maintain the coolant system in as close to full condition as possible.

Even so we may be developing hot spots above the combustion chambers and that would not be good for valve life.

Please don't let anyone push the engine hard until we get the surge tank reinstalled. We could end up with warped heads. The damage could be done long before the engine shows signs of overheating because it is a local effect. I hope to have the tank done within about a week, I'm waiting for some sheet metal that should be here in the next day or two, then I need to form a piece for the tunnel in the bottom (clearance for AC hoses) weld that in, weld the new top on, polish, anodize, leak check and seal. Then it will take a few days for shipping. So a 2 week estimate should be reasonable at this point. I have already removed and relocated all of the fittings, cut down the tank, cut a tunnel in the bottom, formed and welded a new top and smoothed the welds, and welded on the filler neck. About half of the work is done. The tank will be about 1-1/2" shorter and have maybe a half gallon capacity estimated. If the volume is not adequate we can add an overflow bottle, but I think it should be OK.

I added another 1/8" port for the 2nd vent line that was "T"d into the drain fitting, it will now be separate and can run along the fender lip. Put the heater and one vent fittings on the side of the tank for more direct routing of hoses. Also the chromed hexagonal cap was a casualty I'm afraid. I have a standard octagonal one I can send back with it though, or if anyone knows where to get a chromed octagon cap that'd be pretty cool.

Jim

Jim,
RM never overheated, I did add a little coolant almost every time I stopped
as it would expel a little onto the ground.

And I watch it temp gauge like a hawk. The single largest discharge of coolant was one time when the car was parked with the nose slightly lower than the rear. That was from backing in at a motel. Next morning it took 2 qts.

Highest temp was 200 in some city traffic in a construction zone. I stopped and added a Qt or so.

1290 miles and a total of 2 gals total. 99% of the time the temp gauge set on 185-190.

cooling fans working as they should.

It was a good road trip and the gas milage and gas prices were favorable.

RM will be parked for the next couple of weeks. The we'll install the tank. You can mail it to me at 715 Jersey Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27101


PJ

PJ, the tank is assembled. Still requires buffing, anodize and sealing.

Jim

pm Best to send it to Ken's shop:

Ken Nicks,
Eclectic Rods & Restorations
134 Bluff st
Jonesville, nc 28642

Ill be out of town for the next 2 weeks, the work party will be at Ken's on Monday March 21, 2016

Now we need a consensus on prioritizing the tasks to do

Number 1 is the surge tank

#2 ?? pull the dash fix gauges, heat defrost, steering column???

let me know

PJ