56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it going?

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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Steve Simmons »

I'd like to support you here but I'm the guy with seven old cars and no radios. ;)
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by spydermonkey »

Mine had an aftermarket radio and speakers in it when I purchased it. Then I came across the plate with the MG logo that fills the radio hole so it had to get pulled. If I need a traffic or weather report, I'll just look around
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by tannyo »

Jimmy and Steve both give me a bad time about the radio in my MGB GT and I think it's exhaust is even louder than yours. I think Steve said something about the music of the exhaust is what he likes to hear. Jimmy keeps complaining about how loud the exhaust is on his V8 MGB and how it would like it more muffled.
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Fifty Six MGA »

spydermonkey wrote:Mine had an aftermarket radio and speakers in it when I purchased it. Then I came across the plate with the MG logo that fills the radio hole so it had to get pulled. If I need a traffic or weather report, I'll just look around
Yeah, I like the look of the plate too, though mine is the one from the MGB, not the correct one for my A. (for my car, it should be smooth and painted to match the metal dash, not black and crinkle finish. )

I didn't want a modern stereo looking out of place, so I used a stereo designed for a motorcycle. I think it worked pretty well, and is nearly hidden.

G
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Jimmy »

Unlike Steve, I must admit to having radios in two of the Bs.
Both came with them, and both are very quiet - yes, they're the roofed kind - so the radios can actually be heard even at low volume.
Also, I did put a radio in my first car, a '65 MGB, since it was my only car. Actually, it was more the cassette player that made me do it as there wasn't squat to listen to on the radio.
In baseball, running into someone is apparently a "collision".
But doing the same thing in a car somehow makes it an "accident".
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

What are you talking about? Couldn't you get Radio Luxemburg, or radio Caroline in Sweden?
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Jimmy »

Never heard about radio Caroline before, and if Luxemburg played good stuff I must've forgotten.
There were a couple of pirate radio stations off the coast for a while, but don't remember listening to those, either.
Guess the tapes were good enough, and as Spydermonkey pointed out, it's easy enough to see what the traffic and weather is like.
Especially in a car not burdoned with a roof.
In baseball, running into someone is apparently a "collision".
But doing the same thing in a car somehow makes it an "accident".
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Fifty Six MGA »

Huh. It's been awhile since I've updated this thread. There has been some work done, but I'm not going to try and remember it all.

I haven't driven the car much in the last 6-8 months. I've been stupid busy, and the car has been plagued with a problem that I was intermittent enough to make it tough to figure out. (as in, it never happened when I was working on the car in the garage). But frequent enough I wasn't willing to drive it further than I'd want to walk home...

Basically, it acted like it was out of fuel, at intermittent times. And made my garage smell like fuel when it sat. Not at normal "old car" levels, but at "don't light a match in here" levels.

With a huge amount of help from Stewart, for which I am tremendously grateful, he has been very generous with his time and knowledge, I think we may have got things sorted.

We have replaced the old rusty fuel tank, the fuel pump (currently have a spare MGB pump of Stewarts installed, the right one is back-ordered from Moss), and rebuilt carbs.

I drove the car around a bit yesterday, and it drove great. Maybe better/stronger than it ever has in my possession.
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Steve Simmons »

Sounds like a bad hose between the tank and pump. It will cause the pump to starve intermittently, and will leach gas fumes while parked. Not that it matters anymore.

Fumes can also come from the top of the fuel tank when it starts getting pin holes rusted through.
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Stewart »

I'm pretty much convinced that the fuel pump was the big culprit. It never stopped running but fuel delivery was intermittent. At the end it was lasting just long enough for Geoff to make it 3/4ths of the way around the block. It was some odd aftermarket pump.


Sure was nice to see Geoff drive into his garage for a change.
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Larry Kluss »

That's good news, Geoff. I'd hate to see anyone give up on a decent car. Maybe we'll see you on Monday, then?
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Re: 56 MGA -Rolling restoration/sorting/just keeping it goin

Post by Fifty Six MGA »

Steve Simmons wrote:Sounds like a bad hose between the tank and pump. It will cause the pump to starve intermittently, and will leach gas fumes while parked. Not that it matters anymore.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't just a fuel line. when we replaced the tank, one of the fuel lines appeared to have a possible kink/tight bend in it. I replaced it, and the problem was the same.

The other day, after I drove the car around the block (and pushed it into the garage), we tested the pump, and there was no flow at the carbs. If stewart blew into my fuel tank, he had no problem pushing fuel through. Seems like if it was simply a bad fuel line, it would have made that difficult.


I think Stewart is right, that it was ultimately the pump that was the heart of the issue, though my tank was certainly in rough shape, and the carbs had some issues (sticking jets and such).

I guess we'll see how it all works Monday. :drive
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