A visit from the sponsor

Welcome back! And a happy new year to all you MG enthusiasts!

Because I've been travelling a lot lately, taking exams, and because it's just too cold in Maryland right now, I haven't been able to do very much on Bonnie. However I have had a lot of time to think about what I plan on doing in the coming year:

- Replace brakes: Several hundred feet is not a good stopping distance, especially when you're only going 35 mph. Thankfully my grandfather, my biggest sponsor (he also bought the tyres), sponsored a new set of brakes. They've been ordered, and hopefully will arrive soon. More on the details of the brakes, and of course how to install them, when they arrive (and the weather warms up a bit).

- Fix fuel pump: The fuel pump works, but it takes quite a bit of time for any pressure to build up in the lines to properly start the car. I'm also starting to wonder that this may also be why performance has been rather dismal lately (a 110hp 2000lbs car should not go from 0 to 60 in 15 seconds). Furthermore the pump acts up from time to time resulting in the flames you saw in an earlier post. I'm assuming it's a bit clogged or perhaps the mechanism is a bit gunked up (which can happen after 32 years). Look forward to me spending (probably) an entire day taking out the thing (it's in the trunk), another day figuring out how to fix it, and then finally putting it back again. Also then I can finally replace the air filter (right now a new one would catch fire).

- Interior work: This year I'm taking the plunge and replacing all the carpeting and even the seats. I was recently quoted $75/seat in labour for the car at a local upholstery store, along with a combination of leather and vinyl, should result in a total charge of about $500 for both seats. Compare this to Victoria British, that charges $2000 for both seats in leather. Also like this I can customise the seat colours. Keep an eye out for this one in the near future.

- Brand new paint job: Waiting for my tax refund to kick in for this one.

Recently, while I was away, my grandparents were visiting and dropped by to visit my MG. Below you'll see a picture of my grandparents (left and right), as well as the kind family friend who lets me keep Bonnie at her house (centre). I should also note that my grandfather (left), the person thanks to who this car is more likely to pass a safety inspection, is probably the only person on earth who doesn't think I'm completely insane for starting this undertaking.

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.

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.

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.

Air Filter and general photography

• Buffed up air filter cover

One of the things I planned on buying, but never really felt was worth $64, was a new chrome air filter cover and filter. So instead I buffed up my old cover using a sander (first coarse paper, then fine), and I must say the results are pretty good. I didn't get the complete reflection I was hoping for -well, I got tired and gave up- but it is quite shiny. Below you'll see pictures demonstrating the difference, as well as the final result. Amazingly, this is the first thing I've done on this car that has actually gone according to plan.


Naturally I had to go for a test drive afterwards, and I took along my camera. Below you'll see the resulting images, as well as a short video on part of the route we drove.

(That tapping noise you hear is the connection of the top to the front windshield)

Update: The pictures and video you see above were taken by Luz, who had just started dating me at the time. She is now my fiancée!

Fuel filter

• Replaced fuel filter

I ordered a new fuel filter a while ago which arrived, also a while ago. It's just that I've been rather lazy lately and didn't really feel like replacing the filter. Yesterday it finally came to the point where I had to replace it (for safety and general 'not looking like shit' reasons).

The new filter was ordered from VB because none of the car-parts stores in the area carried the particular filter I needed (!!). What I received from VB was a Lucas (oh no!) fuel filter made almost entirely out of plastic (oh my god no!). While it is kind of cool that I can actually see fuel flowing through the filter, because it's made of plastic I'll have to change it again, sooner than later. We'll see how this works out.

To replace a fuel filter one generally relieves pressure in the lines by killing the fuel pump while it's running; this is most easily done on modern cars by pulling the fuel pump fuse on a running engine and waiting for it to stall (takes about 2-3 seconds). My '77 MG only has 4 fuses, all of which are a mystery to me, so pulling one fuse will probably not just kill the pump, but also some other things meaning that the engine could have died for a number of reasons with the lines still under pressure. Instead another solution is to directly pull off the connecting wires on the fuel pump itself, which is ridiculous on an MG because the fuel pump is directly attached to the fuel tank, and so tucked away in the back of the car far out of reach. There's something in the trunk that I thought was the fuel pump, but when I pulled the plugs off it the engine didn't stall (so I don't know what that is).

I called my friend Mike up, the previous owner of the car, and asked him for advice. He suggested to just pull the lines as the pressure isn't very significant anyway. And so I did, which is how despite using a towel and opening the line leading to the carb first, my hand was soaked in fuel (a smell that didn't leave me till much later). Then I replaced the filter and reinstalled the pipes. Took about 30 minutes of research, and 5 minutes to do the job. Done.

On the road again - at speed

• Installed new tyres (P185/70 14)
  

Finally! I can drive at speed again! More than 40 mph, here I come!

I finally got the new tyres I've desperately needed for ages (with many thanks to my grandfather who gave me the money to buy them). To keep with the spirit of the 70s I bought white-wall tyres. Some may say that this is an American tradition, not appropriate on a British car. Well they can go to hell. It looks damn good. And furthermore this is an American-spec MGB, not British (otherwise I'd have about 20 more horse-power).

Note that the 'white walls' are blue in these images. The blue is a protection layer that will wear off over time and reveal to be white. I'd wash it but I have a major exam tomorrow that I should be studying for. Also note that the guy at Sears was nice enough to use the chrome valve stems (without me asking), rather than the generic black ones most cars have. I feel like I should have tipped him.