If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
Extra bearings are just additional, potential failure points. It's not like the power production is ever going to start twisting up the crank. This piece of history is a direct link to the age of steam. And belongs back there.
@Big_Adam: Ah yes, the joys of tuning "a carb named SU"; one friend, after close to a year of continuous fiddling with a pair of them, determined he was essentially swapping between 3 different jetting configurations to match barometric conditions and obtained 2 more sets of screw-in shafts for his use. It was orders of magnitude quicker and easier to change jetting that way than to deal with c-clips and sliders in the field.
@felis_concolor:
After dealing with the SU's on a Datsun roadster( and driving myself stark raving batshit in the process), I was let in on a little tip. The shaft that the butterfly's are on just runs through the carb body - there's no bushing, etc. The hole get's worn, and no amount of effing around with it will help you tune. Pulled the carbs, made seats/ bushings. problem solved...
@Vintage Racer - with V-12 goodness: Augh, I need to let my friend know about that alteration the next time I bump into him. It was his own experiences which kept me happy with my '72 510 sporting the ubiquitous 32/36 Weber atop the manifold. I spent so much time w/Q-jets after making a general shift to big American iron that suspecting a leaking throttle shaft bushing or pivot comes naturally there when tuning issues arise, but I never considered that as a malady for SUs as well.
Permanently attach DMMs at various locations around vehicle-a Colossal time-saver when attempting to locate electrical Inconsistencies. In point of fact, an athletic Co-Driver might be utilized to invigorate Electrical Function-even while Motivating!
It's only the taillights, you think to yourself, as you tap the brakes for the first time and cringe as the first of the glass-tube fuses pops and showers your leg with wee shards of glass.
"Shit." You think.
It's gonna take years for the shrapnel to work its way out of your leg this time.
Yeah, well, we've all been there. "Well, I really should just remove that/cut that away/pull that out and replace it, but hey, I can't try this first, and then if it doesn't work, I'll go whole hog."
It is precisely the seductive 'This really should work...' logic, that makes the succubus of Lucas Electrics so soul consuming. See, it works JUST LONG ENOUGH to get the harness ready, then once installed, the secret shorts, and the cracked copper inside the retained bits, they crap out. Whereupon you, along with whatever barrel fuses that are in the system, melt down into an inert molten lump.
This has been my favorite project you have been hammering away at, Murilee. I can't wait until it is finished, then I hope you post some video of it running, too.
@TurboRefrigerator: It runs just fine now. Only problem is, it doesn't stop- brake system is completely garbooned. I've been doing my best to find a junkyard Midget (trying to keep the total investment as far under $1000 as possible) but it looks like I'll have to buy some stuff from Moss.
@Murilee Martin: The brakes on the 633 Threatmobile are causing the pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth right now.
No boost, the pedal holds pressure until you get low in the stroke, then it yields. Running, you can press it straight to the floor. You can pump to get some pressure, but it won't hold.
Basically, everything points at the master cylinder, except I just replaced it.
I have answered it to my friends, my family (all except my father, who owned a twin-cam MGA) who have asked: why don't I lock up my MGB when I park it somewhere? This car IS an anti-theft system. And an anti-start, anti-turn signal, anti-brake light, anti-both headlights being the same brightness, etc. We won't even talk about the previous MG that I had that caught on fire Easter Day, 2006.
It is not that this car is a basketcase, no. It had just 50,000 miles on it when I bought it, practically new! And I would never accuse a british car with electrical problems of being a basketcase, either. This is just the stuff that you deal with on a daily basis.
Expect the car not to start the key every time you need it to. Expect to tinker. If you love cars, I think you would love a British car. Just don't expect to be on time for everything.
As much as I love my Volvos, when I get the urge to go tinker, they leave me with nothing to do. I have hammered out 100% of the electrical gremlin issues on my 50,000 mile MG, and it has been as reliable as a Toyota ever since. But I know, I just know, at the most inopportune time, something WILL happen again. It always does.
FP - in black for the Jezebel Nine promoted this comment
Edited by TurboRefrigerator at 08/01/09 1:57 PM
TurboRefrigerator was starred
TurboRefrigerator was unstarred
@TurboRefrigerator: You can find Volvo trouble, if you look. Mine's playing the Rough Idle Game right now. But you know what? That's an afternoon's work, and then it'll be fine for six months.
It's really a bit boring. So mod it until it isn't.
@FP - in black for the Jezebel Nine: About the only trouble my 240 has ever given me is an idle issue. I cleaned up the throttle body, bought a remanufactured IAC valve, and it has been gold ever since. Here's hoping yours is just as easy.
@TurboRefrigerator: Given that every last one of 'em seems to have the same problems, it wouldn't surprise me if this is another.
I've been told to clean the throttle body, and that's the first thing I'm gonna try.
I trust that yours also has shattered door pockets, a cracked console, at least one crack in the dash, a loose glovebox door, a hood that's not quite perfectly aligned...
@FP - in black for the Jezebel Nine: Mine actually had NO door pockets when I bought it. Would you believe I picked up a NOS set (in BEIGE, the worst color for breaking, no less) on ebay for under $40. I promptly applied a layer of fiberglass to the inside of them, and they now even stand up to my club-footed brother in law bumping them with his foot when he gets out of the car.
One commonly ignored point of failure in Lucas electrical systems are the bulbs. Perhaps by now every MG out there has dumped it's OEM bulbs but I remember in 1985 my '78 Midget appeared to be an electrical nightmare until in a fit of frustration I replaced *every* bulb in the car with new bulbs. Magically my electrical problems went away and I never had another one until I got rid of the car in 1990 after I had purchased my Miata (which by the way is the only Miata in the world with electrical problems, lol).
If you're worrying about brake lights, you must be making good progress there.
I built Audiovox speaker enclosures out of 1/2" CDX ply to slop around in the back of van. Some of my roughest carpentry ever, and they sound as good as twenty pound Bozak floor speakers. Next time I build some speakers I'll have to put a crusting of lights on them. Nice handle, also.
Can I just say here that this new gallery style sucks? When I try to view the pictures larger, the first one opens for a second then disappears and won't open again. A hard refresh allows me to do this again (IF the page reloads correctly). Are these pics on the Flickr page, Murilee?
Edited by Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. at 07/20/09 9:50 AM
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
08/17/09
Look what happens when you run it with extra hamsters....
08/16/09
08/16/09
08/16/09
08/16/09
@brianesser76:
Apparently, they just prefer to sit right on top of it... easier to access while pedaling that way.
08/16/09
Let down only by its wiring harness, it was.
08/16/09
Heeeey, I and my 1964 Hornet take offence. 40odd year old and I have yet to have an electrical problem.
Carbs on the other hand. Urgh, damn twin carbs.
Anayway, YAY A-Series engine and all the glory and horror it provides.
08/16/09
08/16/09
After dealing with the SU's on a Datsun roadster( and driving myself stark raving batshit in the process), I was let in on a little tip. The shaft that the butterfly's are on just runs through the carb body - there's no bushing, etc. The hole get's worn, and no amount of effing around with it will help you tune. Pulled the carbs, made seats/ bushings. problem solved...
08/16/09
08/16/09
(Obviously, I'm half-kidding - see Auto Union, Western Union, Union Pacific...)
08/02/09
Permanently attach DMMs at various locations around vehicle-a Colossal time-saver when attempting to locate electrical Inconsistencies. In point of fact, an athletic Co-Driver might be utilized to invigorate Electrical Function-even while Motivating!
You're welcome.
08/01/09
It's only the taillights, you think to yourself, as you tap the brakes for the first time and cringe as the first of the glass-tube fuses pops and showers your leg with wee shards of glass.
"Shit." You think.
It's gonna take years for the shrapnel to work its way out of your leg this time.
08/01/09
You almost always have to go find the hog.
08/01/09
08/01/09
08/01/09
08/01/09
08/02/09
08/01/09
08/01/09
08/02/09
No boost, the pedal holds pressure until you get low in the stroke, then it yields. Running, you can press it straight to the floor. You can pump to get some pressure, but it won't hold.
Basically, everything points at the master cylinder, except I just replaced it.
Bad remanufactured part?
08/01/09
It is not that this car is a basketcase, no. It had just 50,000 miles on it when I bought it, practically new! And I would never accuse a british car with electrical problems of being a basketcase, either. This is just the stuff that you deal with on a daily basis.
Expect the car not to start the key every time you need it to. Expect to tinker. If you love cars, I think you would love a British car. Just don't expect to be on time for everything.
As much as I love my Volvos, when I get the urge to go tinker, they leave me with nothing to do. I have hammered out 100% of the electrical gremlin issues on my 50,000 mile MG, and it has been as reliable as a Toyota ever since. But I know, I just know, at the most inopportune time, something WILL happen again. It always does.
08/01/09
It's really a bit boring. So mod it until it isn't.
08/01/09
08/01/09
I've been told to clean the throttle body, and that's the first thing I'm gonna try.
I trust that yours also has shattered door pockets, a cracked console, at least one crack in the dash, a loose glovebox door, a hood that's not quite perfectly aligned...
08/01/09
Otherwise, yes to everything else.
08/01/09
08/01/09
I built Audiovox speaker enclosures out of 1/2" CDX ply to slop around in the back of van. Some of my roughest carpentry ever, and they sound as good as twenty pound Bozak floor speakers. Next time I build some speakers I'll have to put a crusting of lights on them. Nice handle, also.
08/01/09
@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: Yeah, vintage speaker fan!
I've been trying some 12" Tannoy Monitor Golds in prototype cabs. They sound fantastic.
Sometimes the old ways are still best.
08/01/09
That amp does go to 11?
08/01/09
08/01/09
07/20/09
07/20/09