James Page

CAR #MG-1300 / #MG / #ADO16 / #BMC-ADO16 / #BMC
Run by James Page
Owned since June 2014
Total mileage 96,319
Miles since September
2017 report 315
Latest costs £550

MUCH ADO ABOUT GEARCHANGING

Back in August, the MG passed its MoT with flying colours. I’d given everything a quick check beforehand, which threw up a couple of things that needed doing. First was the handbrake operation on the nearside rear. Or lack of operation, I should say. I adjusted it so that it felt quite convincing and, while it wasn’t so impressive a couple of days later on the rollers at the #MoT station, it did enough to pass.

The other job was to replace the brake-light switch. The lamps were a bit feeble, coming to life only when the pedal was some distance into its travel, but a new switch sorted it. Not that the old one gave up without a fight – as is often the case, a five-minute job turned into about 20 minutes as we tried to unscrew the stubborn b… blighter without knackering the pipework.

With those minor tweaks sorted and a new ticket issued, the MG then had a short period of behaving itself. When a headlight failed, I took the opportunity to convert to halogen units, but time was always against me when it came to various other small annoyances.

That being the case, I eventually gave up trying to do it myself and took the car to local specialist Autoclassico, which had Jaguar, Aston, Maserati and Lotus projects on the go when I dropped the MG off. My humble saloon still seemed to be a popular visitor, though. Everyone who drove it did the universally recognised ‘bobbing’ motion to describe their progress, bouncing down the road on Hydrolastic suspension and softly sprung seats. As well as a general service and a look at that handbrake, I asked them to investigate its embarrassingly long-standing clutch problem.
For a while, selecting and deselecting gears had been something of a hit-and-miss affair, although predictably it behaved perfectly during their first test drive. They nonetheless rebuilt the master and slave cylinders. Apparently, the crud in the old fluid was a sight to behold. I went to pick up the car and, for 25 miles or so, it was transformed.

As part of the thorough fettling, the timing had been checked and the carbs adjusted – even though emissions didn’t officially form part of its MoT, the ever-affable tester at Elberton Garage had remarked that it sounded rich and took a reading that confirmed it. The handbrake was much more effective, too.

The following day, and buoyed by how well it was running, I went for a random lunchtime drive. After about 10 minutes, the pressure again started to disappear from the clutch pedal and gear selection proved stubborn. Eventually, at a T-junction, it went completely and I couldn’t find anything – the first time that it had reached that stage.

I checked the master cylinder and it hadn’t lost any fluid, so there was nothing to do beyond calling for recovery. By the time that it arrived (which wasn’t long, despite me initially sending them to Tockington by mistake rather than Tytherington…), gear selection had been restored, but back the car went to the chaps at Autoclassico.

This time, the diagnosis was that the piston was sticking in the master cylinder – it would be okay for the first few gearchanges, but gradually it wouldn’t return correctly. Given time, it would get there eventually, hence why it had ‘come back’ after 20 minutes or so. Mike at Autoclassico refused on general principle to order one of the plastic master cylinders that are currently on offer, but eventually we found a genuine Lockheed item on eBay. With my credit card recovering in a darkened room and what must surely have been the world’s most expensive master cylinder fitted, the MG was once again back to full health – and seemingly on a rather more permanent basis this time.

THANKS TO Autoclassico: 0117 956 9115; www.autoclassico.co.uk / Elberton Garage: 01454 414670

With everything finally sorted – after a return visit to Autoclassico – the MG is back on the road. MG ready for MoT test at Elberton Garage. Recovered, but note bright brake lights! VW rolls by as MG refuses to select gears. A fresh pair of Wipac halogen headlamps. New master solved the gearchange issues.

CAR #MG-1300 / #MG / #ADO16 / #BMC-ADO16 / #BMC
Run by James Page
Owned since June 2014
Total mileage 94,940
Miles since May 2016
report none
Latest costs nil

MURKY COCKTAIL BUBBLES OVER


Brown sludge isn’t what you want to see when you remove your car’s radiator cap to check its coolant level. The hope was that it was remnants of oil from its previous head-gasket failure rather than a new problem. I checked the dipstick and the oil-filler cap, but there were no signs of either water getting into the oil or of the oil level dropping. The coolant level, too, was okay.

The obvious place to start was therefore flushing out the radiator. Removing the radiator was easy, but once it was free it was obvious that assorted rubbish and grime had collected on it. Air-flow must have been minimal, so I applied a little detergent to the muck and then poured hot water over it to loosen it all off. It cleaned up nicely, so I moved on to back-flushing the radiator itself. Not surprisingly, it took some time for the water to run clean, but I left it for a few minutes and eventually it did.

With the exception of the time we had to wait in a queue for the ferry while en route to the 2014 Le Mans Classic, the MG has never run even remotely warm. Quite the opposite, in fact – despite its horribly bunged-up radiator, the needle never really gets beyond one-third of the way up the gauge. While it was empty of coolant, therefore, I satisfied a quick bout of curiosity and checked that it did indeed have its thermostat in place. It did, but the inspection proved that a new gasket was required.

The area of chassis that’s usually hidden beneath the radiator was looking scruffy, with peeling underseal, so I scrubbed off the loose bits, wiped it down, and reapplied some Waxoyl to protect it.

Space is a little tight when putting the side-mounted radiator back in, so I tried a couple of methods, but quickly realised that my ‘brilliant’ shortcuts involving the bottom hose and the fan shroud weren’t going to work. Instead, I settled for doing it the traditional way and actually it wasn’t too hard.

The fiddly hose went back on easily enough, and the bolt that goes through the bottom of the shroud, and which you have to fit by feel alone, was remarkably faff-free. I refilled it with coolant, fired it up (which is becoming an increasingly long-winded process, but the battery seems to be coping well) and checked for leaks. Nothing from the bottom hose, a little – predictably – from around the thermostat housing, but otherwise all seemed to be as it should.

With that done, I turned my attention to fitting the rear seatbelts that I got a while ago. The only other time I’ve done this job was on my Morris 1800, which had all the relevant mounting points. It was a doddle. On the MG, though, the central points were there, but there was no sign of the ones in the corners that are needed for the bracket coming down from the retractors. Those corners, a corrosion hot-spot on these cars, comprise metal that is noticeably more recent than 1970, so they could have been replaced without replicating the mounting points.

It looked as if, as Martin Port put it, I’d have to be getting busy with the drill, but installing belts is obviously something that I’d rather get absolutely right. Probably better for a specialist to take care of that. While everything was out, though, I cleaned up the muck that had collected on the floor, then treated the seat itself to a thorough clean.

Next up, though, is to get it to Phil Cottrell at Classic Jaguar Replicas to see if he can sort the rough running. Having read Graeme Hurst’s running report this month, it’s tempting to invest in a new electronic distributor and see if that has the same effect as it did on his Mustang. Perhaps it’s simply time to hand it over to someone who would no doubt be somewhat more methodical than that.

‘Not surprisingly, it took some time for the water to run clear, but I left it running and eventually it did’

Underseal was peeling from chassis… …so a new coating of Waxoyl was applied Once removed, rad grime was all too clear Proof that oil and water really don’t mix Rear seats came up nicely for a quick clean Thermostat was in place; gasket crumbling

CAR: #MG-1300 / #MG / #ADO16 / #BMC-ADO16 / #BMC
Run by James Page
Owned since June 2014
Total mileage 94,940
Miles since October 2015
report 512
Latest costs nil

SLEEPING BMC BEAUTY AWAKENS

After being used as weekend transport to the golf club through the autumn, the MG – like my woods and irons – has been hibernating over the winter. Knowing full well that, when I did dig it out again, I would quite likely face a continuation of last year’s endless niggles, I was still unwilling to subject it to month after month of salty roads. So, when the first signs of spring appeared, out came the battery charger. Despite being started and warmed at regular intervals over the winter, the A-series took a bit of waking up this time. But wake up it did, so I headed off into the countryside to see if all was well.

As I was checking the tyre pressures at the local garage, a chap stopped to compliment the car and how sweetly it was idling. He then noticed the wing badge: “ British Leyland ? God, they were lousy…” People clearly have long memories. I was reminded of the various non-mechanical jobs that I had intended to sort over the winter, but which I’d never got around to. First is the tear to the driver’s seat base – one of few interior blemishes and so all the more noticeable. Martin Buckley has pointed me in the direction of a local trimmer, so that should soon be sorted.

The other problem is that the driver’s door is hung in such a way that the upper-rear corner slightly fouls the B-pillar. It’s now reached the point where it’s worn away the paint, so that’ll be another job for Cromhall Refinishing in Thornbury – as will the rust bubble that has appeared on the windscreen surround. That has the potential to be more involved than it looks, but is best sorted as soon as possible. The MG’s still not running quite right, either. Having spent almost countless evenings going through the timing, carbs, points gap and valve clearances, it may be time for a second opinion. Martin Port has suggested that Phil Cottrell at Classic Jaguar Replicas – a man who knows the A-series inside out – would get it sorted in no time. I still reckon that it’s distributorrelated in some way, but no doubt Phil will be able to tell me for sure. It would be good to have it at full strength, because it feels abusive to be driving the 1300 when it’s clearly not right. I’m sure that’s not far off, and then it can once again be loaded up with golf kit on a regular basis.

After being laid up for the winter, the MG is gracing the roads again but poor running still needs sorting. Window frame has worn paint from pillar. Split in driver’s seat is due to be tackled.

A PAIR OF RACING LEGENDS

In #1971 , Motor brought together two great sportsracers and ran them on the road. As writer Michael Bowler put it: ‘I thought it might be interesting as well as entertaining’. Here, #Jaguar-C-Type acts as camera car as #Ford-GT40 / #Ford goes flashing past LAT.

THE NAME OF THE BEAST / #Lamborghini-Miura-P400SV / #Lamborghini-Miura-P400 / #Lamborghini-Miura / #Lamborghini /

A record 23 Lamborghini Miuras came from across the globe to toast the car’s halfcentury in Andalusia, Spain. The rally featured a visit to the Miura ranch, which gave the model its name. It was devised by Miura expert Simon Kidston (by his black SV) Kidston SA. ‏ — at Andalusia, Spain