Year: 2023

Day 1 of our North East trip…

Shildon was our first call where it was good to see Fred again for work on his TF 135 in Trophy Blue, which was booked in for head gasket replacement and cambelt service and replacement of the CAT.

When we removed the head it was evident that there was something more amiss, piston number 3 was slightly lower than the rest and on measuring on them it was 7 mm out. Unfortunately, when the head gasket had gone it had become acqua-locked. So the sump was removed and piston 3 taken out, and sure enough the con-rod had a bit of a twist and a bend to it. Fortunately, there was no further damage to any other parts. Code retrieved from the con-rod and it’s bottom half and the crank, in order for us to obtain a replacement, which we should have at the workshop. The cylinder head was also quite badly pitted around the fire rings, so this will be sent away for skimming.

One thing at least, he won’t need the new CAT we took as he’s better off staying with the original one that’s on it.

Once all parts are sourced and sorted we will return to get this car up and running for him. Fred had bought it knowing it had head gasket failure, but unfortunately wasn’t to know to what extent the damage was. He’s very upbeat about the whole thing which is good to see, as he knows that it can be put right.

Thanks to Fred for the brews, it was good to chat while we worked, we look forward to going back and getting this otherwise fab car all sorted for him and his wife, who is really looking forward to driving it.

From there we went up to Consett where it was lovely to meet Tom, who had contacted us a couple of months ago to ask if we could come over and investigate an issue he had found with his MGF 143, (which was originally in Anthracite, but he had the car wrapped). From his description and then running all of our usual checks it was found to be a faulty expansion tank cap. The misfire was found to be due to a faulty coil pack, so both of these were replaced for him. All error codes cleared and car back up and running as it should.

When he’d had the car wrapped the weather strips were missing from the car, so we fitted these back on for him. Tom will now take the car over for a new set of tyres and get a MOT on it all ready for him and his wife to enjoy some runs out over the summer.

We then continued a little further north to our digs for the next few nights. – https://ift.tt/T34RVJn

The first call of the day was in Knutsford for work on Andy’s MGF 1.8 mpi in JRJ.

He’d noticed some overheating so asked us to come and investigate. We had replaced the head gasket back in 2016 and the car had been fine with runs over to Italy and Switzerland etc. Unfortunately, when the cambelt service was done in the last year or so via another garage, plus having the PRT replaced and the engine bay pipes replaced, plus fitting a random bolt into the bleed screw outlet on the radiator, the system hadn’t been bled properly, and there were a couple of leaks from the engine bay pipes and from the bleed screw on the rad, plus a lot of air in the system. So today we put right all leaks and airlocks, including fitting a new water-pump as it was suspected this had been leaking too. Not always a good idea fitting water-pumps with an evaporation chamber as it’s handy to know if the water pump is, in fact, leaking. On running up to temperature and bleeding the system all seemed well. Andy was to run the car report back, unfortunately it seems that one or all of these issues have caused the inevitable to happen. What a shame, but these things happen and are easily rectified. It was good to see Andy again after all this time, can’t believe it was that long ago! Well we will be seeing him again once we manage to find a date to return and replace the head gasket once more.

From there we went along to Northwich to carry out the annual service on Clare’s Steppy ‘Cilla’ (in paint code IAI).

Minor service carried out, with replacement of the HT leads as the ones on it had some heat damage. Couple of other things noted and reported back to Clare. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see her properly this time as she was otherwise engaged with her work.

The last call of the day was in Salford where it was lovely to meet Alan and to see this Vandem Plas, which was rescued from a shed, having been abandoned there for quite some time. Once up and running it was noticed that the suspension was a bit clumpy over potholes etc, although the car still had a lot of bounce in it, once we measured it we noticed that it was lower on one side so we pumped the hydragas up to the correct height and she’s now looking a bit more balanced. How great that this car has been saved, it’s so fantastic. We hope to see Alan and his fab car at next year’s Pride of Longbridge event.

A long haul this morning with so many hold ups due to the volume of traffic on the M62, not too bad a run home, it was time to get the admin done at least and now we’ve just got back home. – https://ift.tt/9JOGfkl

A local ish and a bit of a long one today…

Our first call was in Wales, near Sheffield for work on Lee’s TF 160 in HFF, with a green soft top, that they had bought about 18 months ago.

Head gasket replacement carried out including the cambelt service and also replacement of the thermostat and housing. Quite a few incorrect and also essential missing bolts and nuts replaced!All parts were cleaned up of all the thick mayo, so it all took a lot longer to do along with the horrible weather, it absolutely tipped it down and was so cold. But, eventually everything was put back together resulting in a nice smooth running engine.

Big thanks to Lee’s lovely wife Janet for a constant stream of warming mugs of tea, very much appreciated 🥶 Great to meet everyone. The rain finally abated right at the end which was handy for drying out the gazebo.

From there we went over to Barnsley for the minor service on Lilian’s TF 135 in HFF, also complete with a green soft-top, that she’s owned for many years and has enjoyed trips over to France in. We had replaced the head gasket and carried out the cambelt service on the car last year so it was nice to see her again and have a quick catch-up.

Eventually we made it over to Scunthorpe to check out a couple of things on a TF 135 in IAC belonging to Geoff, whom it was good to finally meet, having been unable to fit him in last year for clutch replacement. He’s been the proud owner for a couple of years, but only had one key fob. The central locking relays have been playing up, so the BCU was removed for him to send to Technozen for him to carry out his amazing wizardry. We, however, programmed a new fob for him today. He asked if we could check the car over for any other potential issues, the only thing found was a very corroded subframe mount, so a date booked in at the workshop for this to be replaced and have the MOT done on site at the same time ahead of its due date.

A long day and a late finish, but we got everything done that we set out to do, which is all that matters!

Have a great weekend everyone, hope the weather improves for some top down fun. – https://ift.tt/2K0yAgT

Wisbech was our first destination this morning where it was great to meet David for work on his Lotus Elise S2 120.

The cambelt service was due, so he asked if we could come over and carry this out for him. Cambelt, water pump, tensioner and alternator belt all replaced. Plus he’d bought a new expansion tank for it, as the old one was a bit murky, so we swapped this out for him.

Car now all sorted ready for some fun over the summer months, and a date to be arranged for later on at the workshop for a Kmaps tweak and fitting of 135 cams.

Good to meet David and his beautiful dog Boobles, didn’t get a pic unfortunately, but what a gentle sole she is.

Did get some pics of his fab car, I always say it, yes it’s a dream of mine to have one. Haha dream on! Oh and Jon wants one too!

Emma had got in touch a few days ago asking if, there was any chance, we could help her with her MGF 1.8 mpi (in CMU) that didn’t want to start from getting it out of winter storage. As we were going to be nearby and all went to plan in the morning we could get over to see her in Gosberton.

Due to being stood for so long, as it didn’t get much use last year, the alternator had seized, taking out the belt too. It was lucky that it didn’t wrap around the crank pulley and cause some serious damage! Unfortunately, the alternator couldn’t be freed off so a new one fitted. We had gone armed with a voltage regulator pack, hoping that this would sort the issue and be slightly less costly for her.

Good to see Emma again, and glad that we got her mobile once more so she can get it over for the MOT that she’d set out to do when things went a bit pear-shaped!

The trusty steed of our van had a milestone moment this morning as we drove on to the Humber Bridge… half a million miles!! That’s 500,000 miles of fixing MGs and the rest! 🤩 – https://ift.tt/DwenlxZ

A couple of cars dropped off at the workshop over the weekend, so we were back there and then back on the road for some local ones over the last couple of days.

Paul came over from Barmby-on-the Marsh to leave his Abingdon 1.8 mpi with us for the annual minor service. Although covered in some road much the cars still looking fab. A general check over and all ready for collection.

Jack came over from Leeds to leave his MGF 1.8 mpi in Wedgewood with us for a few things; heater control valve, minor service, new clocks supplied and fitted, handbrake adjusted and the hood he asked us to look at as it wasn’t closing properly turned out to be due to two of the hood control arm bolts having sheared off. So these were drilled and tapped out and new bolts fitted, resulting in a fully functioning hood! MOT carried out and she’s all good to go again, looking fab still since we did the head gasket last year.

Big restock and empty of all the recycling required with the van following our Scotland trip so we’re all good to go again.

This morning found us on our first call of the day in Barton-on-Humber where it was great to see Pete again and his TF 160 (in LEF) was due the cambelt service again. All belts, water pump, tensioner, all filters and plugs replaced. Plus an upgrade to the rear brakes with one of Will Naylor’s conversion kits.

Our next stop was in Rossington where it was lovely to finally meet Jane and her hubby for minor service on their very nice looking MGF 1.8 mpi (in CAQ). We’d met them very briefly whilst on another job a few years ago and since then frustratingly had been unable to fit them in. We look forward to seeing them again next year, date duly booked in!

The final call of the day was over to Howden to check out a ‘strange noise’ that Simon had heard on his wife’s fab TF 135 and had asked if we could come by when we had a minute to check it out plus check out a bit of a wet boot interior. Strange noise was due to the wear indicators on the rear brakes and the wetness due to the gaskets on the rear light clusters being old and not doing their job anymore, so will need replacing to cure that problem.

A very welcome change in the weather over the last few days too. – https://ift.tt/cAFhY14

Days 10-13 of Scotland trip.

Acharacle, Grangemouth & Gordon…

A day off on Wednesday was enjoyed for some R&R. Thursday morning found us back at Chris’s in Acharacle to fit the underfloor stainless pipes to his Steppy.

Yesterday found us back in Grangemouth to replace the head gasket for Stephen on his TF 115 (in MBB). So pleased to have got this sorted for him and we were able to fit him in due to a last minute cancellation. Initially when we saw the car last week for inspection there was coolant found in the bore. When the head came off though we did notice a piece of the previous water pump sat in the engine mount! Which could have proved fatal for the engine, should it have become dislodged and dropped into the cambelt. A very timely spot and save.

Once the head had been completed and we fired the car up, number 2 cylinder was still misfiring, so replaced all spark plugs, which made it slightly better, but still sensed there was an intermittent misfire. We tried the leads but with still no discernible difference, and then noticed a blue discoloration on top of the coil pack, so it was decided to replace both the leads and the coil pack, and now the engine is running smooth as.

Great to meet Stephen and have an in-site to what his work entails as a metallurgist, so interesting.

What a fantastic run down from Dalnabreac, where we had spent the last 5 nights, through the Highlands, taking in Glencoe, Bridge of Orchy etc, we just got through Glencoe as they were shutting the snow gates. Wow, what a stunning place and huge contrast in the weather!

We then continued south, after we bid our farewells to Stephen, and on to Lauder, to stay in our last digs of this tour.

So for our final call we headed a few miles along the road to Gordon this morning, where it was lovely to see Alasdair again, not forgetting his beautiful dog Seamus, good to have cuddles with him.

Minor service and health check carried out for Alasdair on his TF 135 in British Racing Green, ahead of his travels throughout the summer, which will see him heading down to Portugal again.

While we were there Hamish popped over from a neighbouring village in his MGF Steppy to say hello.

Thanks to Alasdair for his hospitality and warm welcome, we bid our farewells and then headed back home. We look forward to seeing him again in a few weeks time to n the Highlander.

What a trip this one has been, fabulous people, fantastic MGs, amazing locations, with a total of 1,360 miles, 15 cars, 12 people, 6 lots of digs over 13 days. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 – https://ift.tt/hdC6bZL

Day 8 & 9 of Scotland trip.

Acharacle in the Highlands…

Busy and brilliant couple of days spent working on some of Chris’s amazing fleet of MGs.

First up was his TF 160 (in LEF), that had been converted from a 135 with the previous owner.

Head gasket replaced, cambelt service carried out with all other service items, new thermostat and housing, oil cooler bypass, underfloor coolant pipes replaced, soft ride kit fitted, reverse light switch replaced and few other bits and pieces sorted and replaced to get this car fully up to spec as it will be Chris’s daily commute car.

Next up was his MGF 120 mpi (in CMU) for a minor service, hydragas pump and investigation of an oil leak, which was found to be the offside drive-shaft oil seal, this was duly repaired with a new seal. This car came from Graham Underwood and had been very well restored, a really nice example with attention to detail.

Then it was time for work on his Stepspeed (in LEF), both front brake pipes replaced, CVT fluid replaced, wiring to the fan on the radiator and minor service carried out. Should have been replacement of the underfloor pipes on this one too, but guess who forgot to put in an extra set of pipes when stocking up the van for this trip, yes that would be me 🙄 Wouldn’t mind we’ve got a load on stock back at the workshop, so an order duly placed to have a set delivered, but whether they get here before we leave remains to be seen as we’re a bit out on a limb at this location.

What a fantastic location it is too. Absolutely stunning countryside and so peaceful. We’re staying for an extra couple of days to have a rest and take in some local attractions.

What great company Chris and Sam have been, not to mention their feathered friends, who kept a check on what we were doing, especially when there were a few peas on offer! Big thanks to Chris and Sam for their warm welcome and fab hospitality. Chris had made the epic journey to our workshop two years ago with Sam’s TF so it was good to see him again and the rest of his fleet at their home.

So the next couple of days will be spent exploring the area and taking as much as we can while we’re here. Found a great little pod to stay in overlooking Loch Shiel. – https://ift.tt/L8nO9Cr

Day 6 & 7 of Scotland trip.

Westhill and Inverurie near Aberdeen yesterday and heading west today…

Our commute took as short distance from our digs in Durris to Westhill, near Aberdeen for work on David’s TF 160 (in JFV). An absolute pleasure to meet David, and what an interesting life he’s had as a motor sport journalist and commentator, so many interesting stories.

Having owned many different vehicles over the years he thought he would see what these TF 160’s are all about, so just over a year ago he found himself this one.

The cambelt service was due so he asked us to come over next time we were in Scotland to carry it out. Belts, water pump, all filters, plugs and oil all replaced. A very nice example that the previous owner had kept in good order.

We could have happily stayed all day chatting, but had to get on to our next job. I’m sure David will have some fun out in her over the summer months.

From there we went along to Inverurie, where it was great to finally meet Paul. We’d had various conversations over the last couple of years so it was finally good to see him in person and his ‘98 MGF 1.8 mpi (in JRJ).

The cambelt service was due so this was duly carried out for him. Plus Jon eased off a couple of very awkward caliper bolts that wouldn’t come off when Paul was changing all the discs and pads.

Thanks to his lovely daughter for the plate of cakes! Hope to see Paul again next month at the Highlander of he can get there for a day.

After a very good breakfast at our really fab digs this morning we set off in good time to head to our next destination, over on the west. A beautiful scenic drive so far, we’ll be calling into Fort William for our provisions for the next few days. 🏔️

Happy Easter to everyone, hope you’re all having a lovely bank holiday weekend and getting out and about having top down fun. 🌼 – https://ift.tt/fR5T341