alabbasi, glad you saved the car AND the house from any damage!

Do you run a radar detector on your cars to avoid tickets?

Have you attened the M-100 meets before?

__________________
1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Thanks, I'm also very glad. I don't run a radar detector and am not sure what the value is here as most cops use laser. I could have used it for the camera the other day though This is the first year that I have ever gotten a ticket.

WRT M-100 meets. I went to the one last year and had a great time in Charleston meeting everyone. It's a good group and Axle at Star Motors was a fantastic host. I hope to go to Minneapolis next year.

__________________
With best regards

Al

I am also an MG owner, two in fact a 70 MGB roadster and a 69 MGCGT. Parts are easy to come by. Moss Motors and Victoria British being the biggest. Wiring harnesses are different. A 73 is a late model, last of the chrome bumpers (actually 1974.5) Double check the wheels, nostyles (rostyles) are bolt ons, WW hubs are different. Daytons are the best IMHO much better than Dunlops. They are not as well built as a Mercedes, but are easy to work on. I used to think that tuning the dual SU's were a pain, simple compared to the two two barrel Zeniths on my 71 250C. Check British wiring in Ill for the harness cheaper and very good quality. Check the MG enthusiasts board for any and all info you might need.

Ron

I was considering a Valentine One for the car at some point in time. I think that can detect laser. Do the speed cameras use laser to track the cars as well?

If things work out I will be moving to Milwaukee, WI this fall so chances are I will see you and others at the M-100 meet. Mapquest says its only 340 miles.

__________________
1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Those SU carbs, hard part is synchronizing them. Always one seems out of sych to the other. I think the best feature of the MGB is shifter and drivetrain, zero linkage and short throw. Spitfire advantage was better handling and probly a few hundred pounds lighter. It was like a sled sliding around corners, controled over-steer fishtail using the emergency brake to skid the rear wheels. With a little practice 180's werent difficult. My best friend had an MGB and the car never wanted to wail around corners as did the Spit. Could be weight distribution with the spitfire having all its weight on front axles, no ass-end at all. Two of us could litterally lift the rear wheels off the ground.


(edit: better than a radar detector is cb radio for spotting bears

I learned the hard way that following the workshop manual is the best approach. Loosen throttle shaft connections, loosen screws, and synchronize using screws in exact position first. Then use flow meter to fine check if needed. For the jets, close them all the way, open them each exactly two turns, and start adjusting by listening to engine noise fall or gain by using the little pushrod on each carb. I liked the old type (HS) better than the newer HIFs. New carbs can make tuning life a lot easier too. I put new carbs on my 1963 and boy, I did not recognize that engine, it ran much better and faster. I must have had a lot of leakage along the shaft of the old ones. And after such a long time, you may have ended up with different needles in those things too.

I agree with earlier post. The zeniths on my 1972 250C were the absolute pita to tune. Who on earth designed one carb with a heater element and the other with a water controlled choke?? Talk about natural imbalance when starting. Mine was a pain to drive the first 3 miles and then things became normal. Unfortunately, that was over half way to work so not much enjoyment. I love the fuel injection on my coupe. Runs like a charm hot or cold.

Bert
1970 280SE/c 3.5 (4 speed) + 1963 MGB & 1973 MGBGT V8 (6 speeds)

Bert, every m180 engine I've ever owned equiped with Zeniths was practically undrivable until it warmed up, probly the sloppiest stone cold idle performance of any vehicle almost including diesels. But for top-end performance nothing provides the acceleration boost that Zeniths can.

Tell us about that MGBGT V-8..... same engine as the TR Stag or some kinda home-cooked hotrod? Never heard of an MG V-8 and never heard of British Leyland Motors producing a 6 spd either.

And that 280/SE 3.5 coupe - what the hell is that.... maybe some kinda Euro 112 that can only be found in Georgia smuggled off the boat at Port Savannah?

The Valentine One appears to be the way to go if you want a radar detector. The problem with Lasers is that they are instant on. So typically when your valentine one kicks off, its normally too late unless you get a stray shot from someone who got clocked.

The MGB GT V8 uses the Rover V8 engine. It's a pretty powerful little car for it's size. They never built a convertible version because it was thought that it flexed too much. I have heard of Rover and Ford V8 conversions.

When British Motor Heritage started building Heritage shells, Rover made the MGR V8. This is a 3.9 litre V8 with 190hp engine. The Stag used a different engine. They used a 3 litre V8 engine (which was basically 2 1500cc four cylinder engines joined together) and had a reputation for overheating.

Good luck with your move to WI, you'll be down the road from Wodnek so you can share your M-100 experiences and I'll look forward to catching up with the two of you next year.

All the best.

__________________
With best regards

Al

Hmmm, and you've got both the R 3500 and an MGB shell in yer driveway? Sounds like no contest to me if you want to build a hybrid ass-kicking little roadster and then chuck the Rover 2000 longblock into the 3500 shell.

CBRadio is the only solution for 5-50 mile coverage of bears on the highway. It will tell you where all of em are, not just the ones within radar/laser range. And if you learn how to speak on CB then you can ask about em wherever you are. As in: "southbound, whats the smokey situation up ahead..... y'all got one polar bear rolling on yer side at the 112 yardstick, plus a kodak in the median shooting pictures at the 140."

Just an ordinary w111 280SE 3.5 coupe like many others here have, except it is a factory original four speed. Nothing special otherwise. It did come from Europe, but off the boat somewhere in the Northeast. Hence it is a bit of a rust bucket here and there. One day I will do a full body restoration, but the car is perfect for a daily driver.

The MG V8 I have is an early factory original GT. They made about 2400 MGBGTs with a 3.5 liter V8 engine in it, plus uprated gearbox, brakes, and using the MGC differential. They used the lwo compression Range Rover engine (derived from the small block Buick V8) that gives only about 137 bhp, but an amazing torque. I have the orginal engine in the basement and a 160 BHP Rover SD1 in it now ($500 engine vs $3000 overhaul was a no-brainer). They only made them for the UK market, and only 7 LHD protypes. I bought it way back in The Netherlands about 10 miles from where I lived (after having looked for some in the UK). It's restored and we converted it to LHD (that's how I know all about those wiring looms). Sweet to drive, but a GT with no A/C and small windows pretty brutal in Atlanta summers. Unfortunately, the painter did a lousy paint job 5 years ago and the paint is starting to peel.

FYI, all rubber bumper MGBs share the same engine bay bodyshell as the V8, so any MGB after about 1974 can take a Rover V8 with no problem in the bay. The earlier ones need a bit of engine by and transmission tunnel modification. There are some good books on how to convert one around. 'The Mighty MGs's (Graham Robson) and 'MG V8' ((David Knowles) are very good books on the standard V8s. I still haven't found any books on my MB coupe that are of the same rigor as those MG books. Bought 'The Restorers Guide' for the Coupes and Cabriolets (by Tim Slade) and was disappointed in the details. Pretty pictures, but not much on body schematics, model updates, etc.

MG 6 speed is the standard 4 speed with electrically activated overdrive on 3d and 4th gear, giving you two extra gears in addition to the standard 4. I use overdrive on 3d a lot for low rev 35-40 mph city cruising.

Bert
111 280SE/c 3.5 + 1963 MGB & 1973 MGBGT V8

You should take it to the guys who did my W108 and my 6.9. They do a fantastic job and like a bird, they cheap!

you can walk through the phases on my 6.9 and see the work done:
http://www.alabbasi.com/450SEL.htm

__________________
With best regards

Al