778R

[EXCEL V8]

It does get really expensive with a fan heater on for hours!

Pete

[Straker]

Whilst wait for the weather to improve I thought I’d share what I found when I removed the rear seats....

For your entertainment I present upholstery by Vlad the Impaler...

I’m sure I can do a better job after watching some you tube vids on upholstering

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Straker
Changed image size

[EXCEL V8]

Is that a po's handy-work?  I think the factory used staples.  Lovely colour though!

Pete

[Straker]

Yes a PO’s, everything has been done to a similar standard....

I’m going to keep the colour the same, As it works perfectly with the black exterior

I’ll need to dig out my staple gun and evostick over the next few weeks and rebuild the rear seats....

[Straker]

Replaced one of the front seat belt reinforcement plates and whilst in the same location found the lower roll bar bolt was badly corroded.

Strangely the roll bar is in good condition?

[Straker]

Started work on the rear side panels.... they  both had the top section snapped off at the seat belt slot so I’ve had to reglass the back of them.

the right hand one was as bad as the left, I still nee to sort out the leather/.vinyl

 

[Straker]

Spot the problem........

 

[tom kilner]

3 hours ago, Straker said:

Spot the problem........

 

The car is standing on its rear bumper at night?

Or the trailing arm mounting bolt has snapped off? I've got a spare🙂

Trailing arm might be full of rust too - I had to recycle mine,  after grinding them off the rear hub body bolts🙁

[Straker]

Hi Tom
 

Option 2 could be right.... the nut is only on 1/2 the threads.... I need to lift the car up and have a look to work out what’s the cause

 

Rob

[Straker]

Whilst sorting out fitting the MX5 motors for the light pods I thought it was time to remove the old hoses....

Remarkably it was still holding a vacuum a couple of months ago!

[Straker]

Before fitting the new motors to the light pods it seems like a good idea to sort out the radiator fan controls, as the relays will be going in a box in the pods.

I’ve decided to fit a two stage switch to control both fans independently. This needs a 22 X 1.5 mm boss which is close to the dia of the original otter switch.

So cutting down the otter switch branch showed that the internal dia was too large for the boss by 2mm. To fix this I made a 1mm thick brass insert for the branch and silver soldered it in place. Then soldered the boss in place.

i decided to use silver solder as the existing fittings are brazed in place + I’ve only got a MAPP gas torch.
 

 

 

[EXCEL V8]

Good job - silver soldering is tricky!

Pete

[Straker]

Does anyone one know what mounting hardware or bezel to use?

At the moment all that’s fitted is a rubber and metal washer.

many thanks 

Rob

[EXCEL V8]

That's correct on the outside - stainless washer and chrome-plated brass nut.  Did you know you can get an octagonal wrench for the nut?

Pete

[Straker]

Pete, many thanks.

At least I’ve got the correct fittings!

Looking  at the wheel box this morning I can see that the lower 1/2 of the threads have been stripped so I’m going to have to replace the wheelbox.
 

Thankfully the interior is out of the car so it’s probably the  best time to tackle this job...

Rob

[EXCEL V8]

Can you make the spacer inside the car longer so you only use the good part of the thread?

Pete

[Straker]

I think that I can extend the spacer / put a reinforcement washer as the hole has some damage as it looks like it’s been a long term problem 

 

Rob
 

 

[EXCEL V8]

Sounds like it's been fretting away at the fibreglass.  Could you also fit a collar to take up the slack around the shaft?

Pete

[SimonOmeara]

On 18/02/2020 at 20:18, Trunnion 74 said:

This is what’s inside the smaller 2” gauges.  No white just blue, and only round the sides

 

 

The faces are different, and care needs to be taken when removing the internals so as not to bend the needle.  There are two parts to them and the top can be levered off.  Taking the cap/s off makes it a lot easier when you come to refit the internals.

 

 

There is a white reflecting band around the top inner.  The back of the base has some white paint on and the back of the cap has the blue again.

 

End results

 

Rev counter and speedo

The speedo trip reset cable has been replaced as I managed to break the end of mine when I was liberating it from the dashboard.  Don’t try and disconnect it from the speedo from the outside.  The business end of the cable has a Hexagonal pocket which sits over a hex ended rod inside the speedo,  as you remove the internals it will disconnect from the pocket.  If you then twist the cable through 45deg (outside) then press the two clips on the inside it will pop out.

 

Time has not been kind to the faces, the markings are degrading and showing some smudging of the text.  Caused by damp??  I have not been able to find any replacements so I decided to get them clean by gently dry wiping them.   Sort of worked, they are not as good as I would have liked but then the car is 46 years old!  When refitting the glass there is no O ring, just the one for the bezel and the dash.

 

Onto the next job.

The air-con Unit!

 

On 27/04/2020 at 16:02, mikeeech said:

I had a slight problem after I put petrol in the car the other day... Later on in the evening my wife could smell petrol in one of the rooms next to our garage. When I went to investigate, one of the union's on the fuel pump was leaking and leaving a pool of petrol on the floor...

No problem I thought, I will just disconnect the fuel pipe at the carbs and use the fuel pump to empty the tank into a few containers. So with the ignition on and the fuel pump running fuel into a container I started to smell a burning smell! It turns out my ballast resistor which I mounted next to the coil was glowing red hot. Not great to mix a flammable substance, a combustible car and a very hot source of ignition. Taking the feed of the resistor was enough to cool it down so only a little drama and not a full blown crisis!

I fixed the leaking fuel pump today and it turns out the problem with the ballast resistor was straight forward also however searching the internet would have you believe that these ballast resistors are supposed to get hot. Warm maybe since there is only current flowing throught it when the points are closed, but not glowing red!

The ignition coil should get a 12v supply when starting, to give the spark a big kick, rather than the coil being fed through the ballast resistor. I had wired this through the ignition switch since, when it turns to iii, you get 12volts to the starter however it also provides a route to earth which is why the ballast resistor was getting very hot. The positive side of the coil should be fed from the second terminal on the starter which is only live when the solenoid is engaged.

I'll get the bonnet off tomorrow to check the timing.

New seat belt clips arrived today with the switch in. My old ones didn't have the switch in so eBay and an old dmg provided replacement. New stickers for the button and a coat of satin black should get them looking like new.

 

On 07/05/2020 at 14:26, mikeeech said:

Hi simon,

I was wondering if you can help me. I am having difficulty sourcing a wiper blade for my elite in chrome and I noticed that you have one on your car... Can I ask whether it's a 22inch or 18inch and if it's the former then where did you get it? Also can you give me the length of the arm and blade for the rear screen?

Many thanks

Mike 

 

On 14/05/2020 at 19:35, mikeeech said:

My wiring is almost done now... Just need to wire up the rear windscreen wiper, the brake warning light (so hand brake, brake reservoir level and brake pressure switch) and the curtosey lights but have ploughed through another 100m roll of wire so will have to order more. I have ignored the heater for the time being since i may change it out for a different one at some future point. I guess my trip to the furka pass will have to wait or I may freeze at the top!

Currently I still have 4 relay slots free. I guess a couple for the heater fans leave two free. Result!

Lots of tidying up to do for iteration number two I think!

With a bit of luck, new fittings for the fuel pump will turn up tomorrow which will sort the petrol leak. I also routed the screen wash pipe inside the car to keep this out of the engine bay for neatness and had to fix a leak on the new screen wash bottle. That reminds me, I must check the rear which is the same type.

News on the windscreen wiper saga too... Paul Matty have a stock of 24inch stainless wiper blades... Hooray, but they fit the original wiper arm only... Boo. And they don't stock the original arm... Boo hoo!

 

On 18/05/2020 at 20:07, Straker said:

Does anyone one know what mounting hardware or bezel to use?

At the moment all that’s fitted is a rubber and metal washer.

many thanks 

Rob

There are 2 brackets one off each side of the wheel box (8 ) using the clamp screws  that go into the back body of the car. Stops the wheel box moving giving you the issue you have. 

[Straker]

Not much progress since May as I hit a deer on my bike and broke / dislocated some fingers...

So just been working on some easy things, although nothings ever simple..

The header tank heater return inlets are damaged where I assume  the jubilee clips have been over tightened.
 

So I’m intending to replace the through pipe and it looks like there are a series of horizontal holes into the tank is this correct?

Many thanks 

Rob

[Straker]

After a year of inactivity the 1st job is to replace the radiator.

Mg Tf ones are almost the same dimensions, with the same outlet locations. The fixing points are more widely spaced than the original and consist of aluminium pins

[EXCEL V8]

Good find!  Upgraded versions are available at very reasonable cost as well.

Pete

[Straker]

I had the same thought when I realised the rad would fit!

I bought the original mg Tf one mainly for the Fans which are the correct size for our cars. I then made up a frame to fit it which was a waste of time... as a friend suggested threading the pins at the top and bottom of the rad and using them.

so I’m going to mount the upgraded MGTF one below, I’ve cut m10 x 1.5 threads with cut down mg mounting bushes and stainless nylock nuts. I’m going to use copaslip to minimise any reaction between the stainless and the aluminium.

 

[EXCEL V8]

Excellent!  Where did you get the upgraded rad from? 

Pete

[Straker]

From fleabay for £100. It’s got a 40mm core which is twice the depth of the stock MGTF one.

the stock one is good for 160bhp in the MGTF, Although I assume that they get some additional coiling from the length of coolant pipes running under the Car.