Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Mini Bonnie

My girlfriend and I had to spend Christmas last Friday since we wouldn't be around for the actual date. One of the presents she gave me was a model MGB! Same year, and even colour! These replicas are almost as rare as the car itself (and the price encroaches on it too...).


Greetings from the snowy Tatra mountains in Slovakia.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Cold morning

This morning was rather cold, but I went out to start Bonnie regardless. After all, having spent a whole week in the cold, it was time for a little warm up. Apparently I primed the fuel pump a bit too much, letting too much gas in the carburettor prematurely. Nothing terrible, it all burned off quite quickly:


I've always known that flames and smoke came out of the carburettor when the engine is cold. This generally happens if I accelerate too hard on a cold engine. However I had never seen it in person before, so when my girlfriend jumped back the other day while I was starting the engine, and she then filmed what happened, I must say I was quite surprised. Regardless, I'm getting a new (more regular) fuel-pump as soon as possible.

Here's a freeze-frame of the large flame:

Update:
Apparently I had no idea what I was doing. The problem is mis-firing, where a not enough fuel is being ignited, and it all goes off in one go (hence the stalling). The fix: new spark plugs (actually, just changing the spark plug wires does a lot already) and adjusting the timing.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Update

Why haven't I posted anything lately? Well, the temperature has been too cold for me to be out, not to mention it's raining a lot, I've been out most weekends, and I desperately need new brakes. I still start the car from time to time to keep the engine from dying entirely, but until I get new brakes I don't trust driving it for long distances anymore.

I'll keep you posted as soon as I do something.