656 miles

So here are a few things that have gotten fixed or adjusted in the last 156 miles. This is the new convertible top header seal that I just installed. The old one looked okay but wouldn't stay in place in the slot it should fit in. This one took ten minutes to install, all good.

I had the usual speedo problems, it was bouncy and noisy. I tried the washers on the drive cable to no avail. The fix that solved both problems was a drop of oil on the input drive gear shaft, one on each side of the gear, done. No more noise, and the needle only moves 2-3 MPH now instead of 10-15.

184 degrees F at thermostat.

184 degrees equals exactly N for normal on the temp gauge, my work is done here! This correction was the result of installing the new solid state gauge power regulator or "stabilizer". At the same time I also flushed the coolant system that was just running just water wetter. The system has proven to be tight and it is now filled with 50/50 distilled water and Prestone antifreeze and a new thermostat gasket. The fuel gauge could still use a little tweaking, but it is getting closer to reality. Also note the stuck oil pressure gauge. After some MGEXP research I found that the needle can hang up on the internal metal part that has "oil" printed on it. There is a small rubber bushing separating the layers of the indicator, they get squished over time and cause a hung needle. I was able to take it apart and unsquish the rubber bushings a bit and then take care not to over tighten the gauge when reinstalling it. Yes, that sounds easier than it is in reality, it really sucks getting that gauge out and back in the dash.

So here is the story of the exhaust. I had been fighting what I thought was a leak that sounded like a whistle. I put on this really nice BMW clamp and it was still making the noise. I rewelded the pipe at a better angle but it still made the noise. I cut out the center resonator and threw it in the garbage because when you knocked on it it sounded like a bell rather than a well dampened resonator, like the rear one on the car. So here is the final result. The car has the original stock header, the down pipe was bent and replaced with the stainless part seen here which required the nice BMW clamp because you can't weld stainless to mild steel. Then we have a straight pipe to the rear mounted muffler, all painted with high temp paint to look real nice.  It sounds great, a nice, mild grumble under load and very quiet when cruising.

Finally we have the chrome trim strips installed. I had a couple of paint touch ups to do before I put them on.

Here we are after its first cars and coffee event at Langley AFB. It was well received which made me happy. Now if the weather ever cools down it would be nice to drive with the top down again.

500 Miles

 

What we have here is 500 miles on the reset odometer. 502 miles actually, on the rebuilt engine and refreshed transmission and rear end. I am happy to report it was trouble free with only minor things to address. I started the break in with just a drivers seat and no interior and between driving 40 miles every few days I have managed to install all the remaining parts. Among the fixes, I had to bleed the brakes, fix a wire on the blinkers, and add sound dampening to the fuel pump.

Among other things addressed, the front grill, bumper and even a license plate!

The door trim was looking a little tired, but a few coats of Dupli Color vinyl and fabric specialty coating has them looking fresh!

The shifter had a bit of squeak. Easy fix, add a little Teflon grease and it is good as new!

Next it was time to change the fluids, engine first. It also got a new filter housing, the old one was starting to strip.

Transmission next.

And finally the differential.

The plugs in the diff got replaced too with new hex plugs, the square ones just suck.

Here are the new parts.

Remember when oil was one or two dollars per quart? Yeah, not anymore. $5.99 a quart for conventional oil!

Spark plugs checked.

They look better than I even hoped!

Here is the setup I used to fill the transmission. My chrome bumper MGB transmission is filled from the top through the dipstick hole. AutoZone sells this pump for $10.99. Worth every penny, took five minutes to put in the 2.8 quarts of oil with no mess, in the car anyway. You sill have to clean up the pump. That is all I have to share for today. This means mechanically the restoration is done. I am really pleased that I got 500 miles with no issues with the drive train. Next I am going to see if I can get the exhaust to be a little quieter, and get the fuel and temp gauges to read closer to reality. And then there is still some paint correction to do, almost there though.