Groom your pasture
While we wear out a couple of brooms a year sweeping up in the shop, most of our outside maintenance is performed with a lawnmower. Every so often we do a major clean up, and this is a picture of Patrick scraping the corner of the lower hayfield which was used as a feedlot late last fall, on the north side of the shop.
Jesse, in the foreground, is backing away from the operation, a complicated manuever because he’s a three-wheeler.
Butch installs trunk upholstery
With the rest of his extensive punch-list completed, pending final testing and re-inspection, Butch turned his attention to installing the trunk upholstery in this big Jaguar sedan.
Sometimes this is referred to as ‘retrimming”, an entirely appropriate description in this instance because all of the panelwork was about 3/8″ too big. We know the cause of the problem. When the fabricator traced the panelboard from his master pattern, he
This little MG got an O/D
then cut to the outside of his line instead of the inside. As a result Butch had to peel all of the panelwork and recut & re-glue it. When the major catalogue parts vendor used to advertise “You Are The Craftsman”, this is why.
Also this week an MGB got an overdrive conversion so the owner can use it to commute to work on the Interstate. We had a used one lying around that looked O.K. and everbody got lucky.
MGA master cylinder resleeved in brass
As previously mentioned in these notes, all original MGA master cylinders still in use have some pretty severe pits in the bottom of the bores where moisture has settled over the years. We’re even starting to see that now with the TRW replacement cylinders like the one we keep in stock for customers who absolutely must have new parts.
Our preferred solution, however, is an original casting with brass sleeves installed because the brass sleeves will never, ever pit again. Not that it’s an excuse to skip the periodic maintenance, which is
MGA on test
changing the brake & clutch fluid (same thing) every other year. To repeat ad nauseum: Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture, and that moisture corrodes hydraulic cylinders internally. Just as you change your oil to remove the contaminants which are the by-product of combustion, you also need to change brake fluid that has trapped the moisture which is the enemy of your brake system. Got it ?
Our road test revealed good power, low oil pressure and no speedo or fuel gauge, so it was back to the shop for a few adjustments.
