fatbaldbloke Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 FBB : nice interior, very nice... Too kind. It's not an original colour, magnolia and red, but it was all stock from the MG Owners Club in Swavesey. Originally the car was swamp-bottom green with pale mud trim, it wasn't a difficult decision...... Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 I put engine oil (Castrol GTX) in my front dampers. They leaked the oil away to the point that you got an irritating rattle over slight transverse ridges in the road surface. There's a screw/plug in the side and with a long flexy-spout oil can you can top them up in a moment or two. The only other thing I had that used oil as quickly (except in the engine) was the dash pot in the Stromberg (SU copy) carburetter on a Hillman Hunter! I wasn't aware that the Triumph engine was fragile but the lack of synchro on first gear in the BMC powered version was a pain. The first gear took a pounding when changing briskly up from 2nd to 3rd - it was all too easy to clip 1st with cacophonous results! I did notice the indicators were non-standard but didn't connect that with the origins. Mine rusted superficially around the sidelights and headlights. As far as I know it is still running (SBH 721J). Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 Clive, the probable reason your front shocks leaked was because you were using engine oil which had probably perished the rubber seals. Set up correctly the lever arm dampers will give good service. Mine don't leak or rattle and work well. However, a good set of telescopics are better. HM is always catching first when changing from 2nd to 3rd, I do it on rare occasions, The solution is to remove the gear lever, clean the ball and socket, apply fresh grease and re-assemble. Problem is that it will need doing weekly as the grease dries out into a sticky mess. I've even used white grease which is supposed to have a much higher melting point but that does the same. However, I don't have a problem double de-clutching to go from 2nd to 1st, I think the Triumph engine had problems with the valve gear. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 Norman, I seem to recall that the workshop manual said that engine oil was safe to use, but it was a very long time ago... Like you, having learned to drive on a very old car (1947 Morris Ten 'M') double de-clutching became second nature, only the proximity of first to the neutral plane with no baulk rings to stop the clipping. After a while, as a consequence or not I don't know, the first gear became very noisy and I dropped a re-con box in for about £35 I seem to remember. Basically it was a sound car but things did drop off from time to time; the big Nyloc nut on the front inboard wishbone pivot to name but one. Oh and then there's that damned bypass hose... Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 That damned by-pass hose earned me a fortune. We worked out that if you shaved a bit off one end and run the oxy-acetylene torch over the hose it could be put on without removing the water pump. Our bonus was basic pay for all hours charged out so we earned a lot of bonus replacing by pass hoses on mini's and 1100's. I seem to remember we used shock absorber oil which was like hydraulic oil - but, as you say. it was a long time ago. Quote
chris7273 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Posted March 26, 2012 Hi all, We are back after a 350 miles trip and a night in Calais.... A great little car that was well cared for with a nice history file. I drove carefully and didn't push the engine above 3500 rpm to make sure the car would cope with the distance. Very nice to drive. No oil used, no leak, 8 liters/100km (35mpg), ... and my wife likes it ! more than the Westfield I think I just noticed that the nearside rear was a little lower than the right side and the steering could be slightly more accurate. Some investigation needed. And now I have to find the chassis number : this should be cold stamped for our belgian administration, theys don't accept a riveted/welded plate. I know some Midgets (US market) had this number stamped on the chassis rail in front of the right hand seat but it's not always the rule... Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 Chris, if you can't find it ask here:http://www.mgexperience.net/ Sounds like you had a good trip but keeping the revs down to 3500 it must have been a slow one If you need any help just give me a shout but remember my English is better than my French! Quote
chris7273 Posted March 26, 2012 Author Posted March 26, 2012 Thank you for the info and the offer... my frenglish is "ok" ;-) Following the VIn number, it was built after August 1977, so it could benefit from the longer diff (3.7)... During the "long" trip, I did 27 km/h per 1000 rpm in 4th gear... At 3500, I made around 95 km/h (+/- 60 mph) : perfect on B roads (and some highway)... Now I can try to progressively go faster : better to be close to my home if sth breaks down. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 Thank you for the info and the offer... my frenglish is "ok" ;-) Following the VIn number, it was built after August 1977, so it could benefit from the longer diff (3.7)... During the "long" trip, I did 27 km/h per 1000 rpm in 4th gear... At 3500, I made around 95 km/h (+/- 60 mph) : perfect on B roads (and some highway)... Now I can try to progressively go faster : better to be close to my home if sth breaks down. I seem to recall that my 1275cc 1970 Midget had a final drive ratio that gave 16mph/1000rpm in fourth (25.6km/h). Revved its little nuts off at motorway cruising speed! Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 Yes. mine is doing 5500 rpm at 90 mph. It gets tiring after a while. Quote
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