MGB vs. Santa Monica Mountains

[spiff23542]

And the winner by KO is the Santa Monica Mountains!

The short version of the incident is that I came in a bit too fast around a corner, my rear end started breaking loose causing me to drift toward the concrete barrier. Instead of counter-steering and pushing through it instinct took over and I laid into the brakes causing me to spin and impact the mountain at a right angle to the road. Pinned between the mountain and the barrier my first priority was to dislodge and get out of the imminent t-bone collision I was facing when the next driver came around that corner. Given my rotation I ended up having to drive uphill the wrong way to reach the shoulder. Once safely on the shoulder I was able to assess the damage and figure out the rest of my afternoon.

Truthfully it could have been a whole lot worse. The car is somewhat drivable, at least under 10 mph. Attached are a couple of photos. It would seem that the majority of the impact was absorbed by my rim and the steering lever. The end result is a net toe out of at least 10 degrees. Of course there is the obvious cosmetic damage but thankfully it seems to be isolated to the valance, fender and bumper.

Besides my pride which took a hefty blow, I escaped uninjured from the entire incident. Given the long lead time between now and the next run, I fully expect to be ready to tackle it again on New Year's Day assuming the suspension geometry isn't completely ruined. I will keep you all updated as the repairs proceed.

[tannyo]

Nate has some free 14 inch wire wheels.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=909

[Steve Simmons]

Ouch! That's worse than I was led to believe but not nearly as bad as it could have been. That's a real bummer but the main thing is that you're ok! I love that you have a good sense of humor about the whole thing. I know the feeling, having made a similar move in a dirt parking lot many years ago while screwing around. I did similar (if not worse) damage against a wooden post right in front of a bunch of friends and clients!

I see tanny already directed you to Nate's wheels. I'd grab them, inspect the splines and use the best one on your car with the existing tire, assuming it didn't suffer any cuts or other damage.

The steering issue could simply be a bent tie rod, but I'd inspect everything very carefully. I'm not sure where you live exactly but if you need help then surely someone knowledgeable is close enough to come by and help figure out what you need. There are enough spare parts laying around people's garages that I'm sure we can get that B back on the road in no time at all.

Real bummer that the fender took a blow, but I don't think it's as bad as it looks. If you need a body shop there are a few around who know these cars. If Burbank isn't far from you then let me know and I'll send you to the guy who did the body and paint on my GTS. He'll take care of you so long as you don't tell him you know me. (just kidding!)

[Jimmy]

with the existing tire, assuming it didn't suffer any cuts or other damage.

Well, finally a good argument for running tubes.
But I'd be very surprised if that tire isn't toast.
Be sure to have a good tire store check it out, Kristian.
Tires are a lot less expensive than repairs...as you'll find out soon enough.

[spiff23542]

Thanks everyone for your support. I appreciate you doubling back to come check on me. I needed to get off the mountain to get cell service and find a decent spot for a tow truck to come pick me up. Tubes for once were a blessing for sure. I will certainly take up an offer for a free rim. I was in the middle of replacing the wheel with my spare when I found that the spare would not sit on the hub for some reason. Either the splines are too worn or it is not designed for my hub. In any case it held air. In the process of changing the spare I noticed the toe out issue and after a fair amount of inspecting noticed that the steering lever was completely bent. After I have a chance to remove it I will take some photos. Once again thanks to everyone for your support. I'll post more in the next week.

[Jimmy]

Kristian, by "steering lever" I assume you mean "steering arm", right?
It would make sense, or you wouldn't have toe OUT.
Those are easily replaceable, but after yapping about your dilemma with Malcolm, he pointed out that (close your yes now in case you don't want potential bad news) chances are you bent the "frame" leg upwards in the process.
Please be sure to check that the "frame" is still in alignment before getting any bodywork done.
And be glad you weren't driving a GT, or that heavy roof would've helped inflict even more damage.

[Steve Simmons]

Jimmy, are you talking about the unibody or the front cross member? I'd have a hard time believing that the unibody could have been bent, since the damage appears to be solely in non-structural areas. There could have been enough force transmitted through the wheel to tweak the cross member a bit I suppose, but those are a dime a dozen anyway. The whole thing can be removed, the entire suspension rebuilt and reinstalled in a weekend.

Good point about the toe out though, you're absolutely right that a tie rod would result in toe IN.

[Jimmy]

I'm afraid I'm not talking about the easily replaceable, and fairly stout crossmember.
You may want to run this by Malcolm, as he's apparently pretty keen on these things. For example, he still insists that the POS '74-1/2 (the Beater)I bought from him is a good car, because the "frame horns" haven't been bent on it - yet.
Also, he does present a rather convincing argument on the subject.

[Larry Kluss]

Kritian, I'm very sorry to hear about your incident. I'm glad you're okay. I had no idea it happend until someone told us at the PCH stop. You may have seen me in front of you after turning onto Tuna Cyn. I waited for about 30 seconds to create some space from the group in front of me. When I saw you make the turn onto Tuna, I took off to see if I could catch the group, so I didn't see you again. Had I seen what happened, I would certainly have stopped to help you. I look forward to seeing you out there in the future.
Larry

[VWNate1]

Your new (used) wheel awaits .

You'll be happy to learn that the _entire_ crossmember easily unbolts for easy access and rebuilding , plus , in the Arcadia Pick-A-part on South Peck Road (just So. of Live Oak) are _TWO_ good MGB's you can score any suspension parts off of super cheaply , they're up off the ground for easy access too .

I'd suggest taking the entire thing loose to rebuilding and you can replace the crappo stock rubber crossmember to body tub mounts with vastly better urethane ones at the same time... replace the A frame bushings too ,it'll greatly enhance the handling and safety , cheap parts that make a world of improvement .

[gorms68]

Nate are they chrome or rubber bumper I need a steering rack? And live near the yard.

[spiff23542]

Thanks Nate. I will certainly make my way out to Arcadia this week to pillage for parts, seeing as a new steering lever arm is $160 by itself and there very well may be additional items that have been tweaked. Of course if anyone knows of other parts cars that are readily accessible, please pass on word. Funny thing is I had already purchased inner A-arm poly bushings and had been looking for an opportunity to install them. I will look into the remaining bushings in the complete set as well.

As for the order in which I will be tackling the repairs, I think everyone is on the same page. I will be replacing the bent steering arm and inspecting the rest of the suspension as best as I can, replacing anything else that seems askew. Malcolm is right though, the force ultimately would result in a fair amount of thrust through the rear A-arm which could cause damage to the "frame" legs that the cross-member attaches to as the cross-member would be looking to rotate around the front mounting bolt. I'm just hoping that the wheel and the steering lever were the weakest links in this impact and therefore dissipated most of the force before it could cause any damage upstream. Ultimately a tire shop with some digital measuring equipment should be able to determine if the swivel axles are in the same alignment post-repairs as they were when last measured in June. Any variance in castor, camber or hub-to-hub measurements will certainly but a troublesome, although not unexpected, diagnosis indicating some sort of unibody damage.

Assuming that all of the suspension repairs go well I will be able to start tackling body repairs. I'm shooting for the end of the month to have a final mechanical diagnosis. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

[VWNate1]

Nate are they chrome or rubber bumper I need a steering rack? And live near the yard.

According to the Moss catalog it makes no difference .

FWIW , when you're topping up the GEAR OIL (never grease a rack !) you can often find shims to adjust the play in an old rack as long as it has no tight spots...

Don't forget to check the A- Arm for bending , they often tweak a bit to take the impact . this minor impact is unlikely to have tweaked the frame horns but I bet the rubber pads and maybe the bolts are toast .

[Jimmy]

For your sake, I hope Malcolm is wrong this time and that the wheel, steering arm, etc. absorbed enough of the impact to save you any additional grief.

[Steve Simmons]

Later racks (perhaps all rubber bumper?) have a lower ratio. You don't want that! The other difference is in the column itself (solid versus collapsible) but I'm not sure if the columns are interchangeable between racks.

[Kerim21]

Kristian, glad to hear that you are OK. I was one of the first ones to pass right after you drove up to the side of the road but I didn't see any damage on your car, I thought that you had parked there to take pictures of everyone coming down the hill at the end of that sharp turn... I found out what had happened when the news came down to PCH.

When you go look for your parts let me know, I an somewhat near by and I can go look for a couple of parts myself...

Kerim

[gorms68]

Your new (used) wheel awaits .

You'll be happy to learn that the _entire_ crossmember easily unbolts for easy access and rebuilding , plus , in the Arcadia Pick-A-part on South Peck Road (just So. of Live Oak) are _TWO_ good MGB's you can score any suspension parts off of super cheaply , they're up off the ground for easy access too .

I'd suggest taking the entire thing loose to rebuilding and you can replace the crappo stock rubber crossmember to body tub mounts with vastly better urethane ones at the same time... replace the A frame bushings too ,it'll greatly enhance the handling and safety , cheap parts that make a world of improvement .

Nate those MGs ( a rubber bumper midget and B) are not in the public yard. At the moment there are no MGs to pick parts from

[spiff23542]

I guess that rules out cheap replacement parts for the moment. I will start trolling my local wrecker's yards around here, but if anyone runs across a parts car waiting to be stripped at another yard, feel free to PM me.

[Jimmy]

Don't worry, Kristian.
You don't even know what replacement parts you may need yet.
Hopefully, few, if any.

[VWNate1]

Nate those MGs ( a rubber bumper midget and B) are not in the public yard. At the moment there are no MGs to pick parts from

You didn't walk the yard , I did .

There were TWO complete MGB's in the rows , one in the front area mixed in with the ' old cars ' and the other all the way in the back in a row of old Mercedes cars .

I don't ever post " I think " they have it , if I say it's there , bank on it .

I depend on P-A-P both for my fleet and customers cars , I like to help out others by alerting them to orphan cars where the parts are cheap .

The MG's in the front storage area have been there almost 10 years now , not for sale .

[MGBJockey]

Kristian!!!!
Oh no! What a Summer for you and the roadster! Let me know what I can do to help!

Frank

[gorms68]

Nate those MGs ( a rubber bumper midget and B) are not in the public yard. At the moment there are no MGs to pick parts from

You didn't walk the yard , I did .

There were TWO complete MGB's in the rows , one in the front area mixed in with the ' old cars ' and the other all the way in the back in a row of old Mercedes cars .

I don't ever post " I think " they have it , if I say it's there , bank on it .

I depend on P-A-P both for my fleet and customers cars , I like to help out others by alerting them to orphan cars where the parts are cheap .

The MG's in the front storage area have been there almost 10 years now , not for sale .

I am afraid they are gone then. I walked the entire yard twice and the only British cars were the usual big Jags. I checked real good in the GM sections thinking one of the PAP employees might had been looking at the car upside-down.

[VWNate1]

I'll keep an eyee out , I hit tha various P-A-P's from Milliken to Long beach on a fairly regular basis , I no longer need much MGB stuff but I always try to watch out for them .

[Steve Simmons]

I guess that rules out cheap replacement parts for the moment. I will start trolling my local wrecker's yards around here, but if anyone runs across a parts car waiting to be stripped at another yard, feel free to PM me.

Kristian, there are lots of guys around with sheds full of parts. It's better than wrecking yards anyway. When the time comes, put a call out for the parts you need. "GTGUY" of this forum has a ton of MGB parts in his back yard waiting to find good homes. He's just over in Sun Valley I believe.

[spiff23542]

I'm pretty sure GTGUY is Steve Gartner, president of the So Cal MG Club. I emailed him yesterday and he confirmed that he has two parts cars that I can pick over. I plan to catch up with him on Saturday at the El Segundo show. Right now, what I need for sure is one steering lever (steering arm) for the right hand swivel axle. As soon as I can pull the front end apart I will have a better idea of what has been damaged.