LocostUSA.com

Yeah, know what you mean... When I started planning my build, I considered using engine and driveline bits from Lucretia. I couldn't bear to take her apart, even to build a new race car. Silly, ain't it?

Meanwhile, back at Nick's build log...
Sorry for the hijack.

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

No, that's a great hijack. I have the same problem, taking apart such a classic car. I looked for a donor for a long time, trying to find a total basket case with decent mechanicals, but no luck. I think the local British dismantler has them all. I couldn't even find a wrecked one. Seems like everything out here is either a total restoration job for $10K and up, or a "project" car with a siezed engine, missing parts, and no paperwork.

Overall I'm happy with what I got, especially at the $1K price. The chassis is starting to rust through, so I can justify pulling it apart to save the mechanical bits so they can live on in the heart of another British classic.

Nick, best of luck.
If it's got got rust cancer, don't feel bad about using as a doner. Love how you layed out your seven shape pile of metal.

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Chris White
Locost 7 type 1 power and a rear transaxle
Lotus Elise Sold
ND Club Miata
Nissan Titan Sold
Rubi Wrangler
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13200

The tear down of the donor engine went well, but took much longer than I planned since I apparently have a hard time putting old, crusty parts back on an engine. The cyliner bores were in good shape but the walls were bone dry, so I oiled everything up and pushed the car in gear and pistons went up and down easily. The engine had obviously been rebuilt once. Whoever did it managed to paint the valve springs. Never seen that before.



I don't even like the color. It looks orange. It's probably Ford Red or something. I ordered some M.G. engine paint from Moss Motors, but didn't want to wait for it so I bought some Rustoleum Regal Red instead. It looks better than it does in the picture below, but it's not really factory. At least it's not orange. I might just go ahead and paint the whole engine once I get it out of the car.

Whoever rebuilt the engine didn't do a great job removing the old gaskets. In some cases I found remnants of original gaskets under theirs. They also managed to glue the thermostat housing to the head, but not so well that I wasn't able to remove it with a BFH.



They obviously liked their gasket sealer, as they used it everywhere. I spent half a day scraping mating surfaces with an x-acto blade, including the block deck and head. I also went through a ton of engine cleaner and a can or two of WD-40, and painted a few parts too. Everything went back together okay, all new gaskets, and no gasket sealer. Nothing broke when I torqued it down, which is always a good sign.



I wanted to do more to clean up the engine, but at least I got rid of all those tubes running around the engine bay. Never could've figured out where they all went anyway, and all my old M.G.s seemed to run fine without them. Everything is just about done except for the air cleaners and the metal heater hose, which are still drying. All-in-all I was pretty happy with the shape the engine is in, and I don't think I'll have any trouble starting it once I get a battery that works.

Yo Nick-
You got the ol' MGB lump looking good! I agree with you about that orange... Yuk... Proper MGB engine color is a brick red, like you ordered from Moss. I painted mine black a long time ago. (Actually a friend did, another story...)

The gaskets that I always had trouble with were the ones on the access covers for the lifters, behind the exhaust manifold. (Had to be one that's hard to reach, of course...) And gluing that thermostat cover on with super glue/gasket sealer/epoxy-of-death must have been standard procedure in MG repair shops at some time. They're all that way...

I agree with you about the "vintage" emissions control devices. They seem to be more vacuum drainers and power loss devices than anything else. The only catch (Catch-22?) is, do you need them to pass inspection in Callie-Fornie? I'm never sure how all that works, no matter the state, and especially CA. Save the pieces!!!

Good luck with startin' her up. Video, or we'll never believe you!

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

JD is right, save the pieces. The California DMV process seems complex at the start, but after you go through it a time or two with the info available online, it becomes clear.

Your MGB looks like a '71 or '72 to me, Nick. I had a '72 and the SMOG stuff is minimal in those years. What you need to have on board at the time your Locost goes in for it's SMOG check (and you can't avoid having one) depends on whether you register it by the year of the engine (donor) or the year of the car (your chassis model year). Which of those you use depends on what SPCNS sequence number you have. If you are one of the first 500 SPCNS registrants for any particular year, you get to choose: engine or car.

So, if you have SPCNS sequence number = 500 or less and register it by the car model year, and the car is a replica of a 1963 Lotus 7 (hint, hint), then the required engine SMOG gear is zero because SMOG controls were not required in 1963. Obviously, in the case of a 1963 everything is free and you can put a Roots supercharger with a fuel injection throttle body on top if you want to (not recommended).

You will have to have it SMOG checked by a California BAR approved site where they will note the emissions for state files, but never check your vehicle again. That is, you will essentially be exempt from there on out. Should you end up with sequence number 501 or better, you'll need the SMOG gear from your donor (MGB) to be in place and working at the time it is checked. You will be checked every two years thereafter just like any other car of that engine vintage. It is no longer the case that pre-1976 cars are exempt. You will be required to pass SMOG every two years.

Confused? We all are at the start, but it becomes clear when you read it a couple of times and read about the experiences of others.

Here is the over-all SPCNS process ==> https://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/spcnsreg.htm

Engine/Car SMOG sub-page ==> https://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/spcns.htm

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Really?!?!? WOW! Must be Chinese New Year or something! oh... wait... it is...





JDK

BIG hint. ..... In '63 they still spec'd for a "road draft tube"
But, based on last year in particular, I wouldn't worry about it much as long as you can complete it within the calendar year you get your number.

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"There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one.
For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is ..." Randall Garrett

Thanks, that's great info. I knew pre-75 cars were legally required to have smog gear installed and operational, but I also knew from having owned a couple that they didn't need to be smogged. I didn't realize they'd check when the car is first registered. Lucky for me I'm building a 1963 Lotus 7 replica.

Oldejack, you are a naughty boy. Don't scare him.

Don't worry, Nick, "road draft tube" just means ventilate the crankcase and dump it on the road under the car. That's why the put in Mr. Green at the end. They required that in 1928 too.

Your carbs or intake manifold already have some facility to take crankcase fumes and feed them back into the combustion process. So, you're practically "green" compared to the "road draft tube" setup.


So there! [firmly stomping right foot]

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

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"There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one.
For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is ..." Randall Garrett

So, good news and bad news. The good news is, I got the donor engine back together with the valve cover painted a proper M.G. red. I was able to turn the engine over with the starter and the oil pressure was excellent. The bad news is, the SU fuel pump is a DNF and I don't have any spark at the plugs. Other than that, I'm making good progress.





I've got a new fuel pump on order and I'm looking forward to getting the thing running. I've replaced everything in the ignition system except the coil, which is a pretty good indication of what's wrong with the ignition system.

I probably ran the engine on the starter for all of two minutes, but that was long enough for the car to leave a reminder of its British heritage on the driveway. Fortunately the culprit turned out to be only a loose oil filter.

Hey Nick-
Check both the connections on that coil... (Voice of "bought a coil he didn't need" )

An aftermarket (non-MGB spec) fuel pump will work just fine, but you'll need a pressure regulator at the front end because the SUs like about 3 psi.

She'll crank soon, keep the faith, Baby!

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Did you give the fuel pump a good "RAPPP" with the blunt end of a screwdriver while powered? sSometimes they need a jump start after sitting ahile. Sometimed while running down the road too.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I gave the pump more than a good rap with a screwdriver. I beat it senseless with a large hammer. These fuel pumps are actually supposed to be pretty reliable, and this one could probably be rebuilt by someone who knew what they're doing. I bought a new one.

As for the ignition problem, I guess I'll have to start doing electrical stuff. I'd like to avoid buying a new coil since I just blew a months' worth of Locost budget on a new fuel pump.