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PostPosted: April 11, 2021, 1:11 pm 
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Thanks for the offer Steve. After sitting in the newly freshened seats, I think I'll forgo the visors. I'll probably be running most of the time. My sight line is higher than it was before. With the hood up, it leaves less windshield to block with visors anyway. You know me, I like something over my head to block the sun. Even with the top down, my MGA visors never had the right location to be of much use. A baseball cap worked better.

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 7:22 pm 
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I finished up the main part of differential work yesterday, mostly. I drained the diff, removed the spider gears, and replaced the brass and fiber thrust washers while giving everything a once over, then cleaned and painted the cover. I still have to reconnect the brake cyls, adjust the brakes and fill the diff. That last part was an education. With what do I fill it with? Supposedly, I am to use GL-4 rated gear oil. The GL-5 is reported to destroy any copper based metal (copper, brass and bronze for example). I read a lot of posts and sites with all kinds of opinions. Of course, it is the internet, What else would I expect? After a bit of research, I found that there are additives that give GL-5 it's "superior" rating. One of them, Sulphur, is the bad guy. However many companies use a type of Sulphur that is not "active". The active stuff is active towards copper. There is an ASTM 130 standard that actually measures the amount of effect that a chemical has on copper. The cheap Valvoline Heavy Duty 80/90 stuff has a very good rating, 1b. 1b is the 2nd best rating and considered to be acceptable for use with copper materials. To be clear, not all GL-5 rated gear oils perform this good. Supposedly all GL-4 is acceptable. I have the Valvoline stuff on the shelf, so I'll use it.

I received the last of my clutch hydraulic parts today. Tomorrow should be good weather to work in the driveway.

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PostPosted: April 15, 2021, 6:29 am 
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Location: Green Bay, WI
What did you buy for hydraulic clutch parts? Slave I assume?

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PostPosted: April 15, 2021, 8:06 am 
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I bought a slave for sure, then decided to replace the master and the flex line to the slave. If you don't already know about suppliers, there is a little company across the lake from you in Michigan. Little British Car Company. lbcarco.com. The guy there used to show up at all the car shows. He no longer does that but still operates his business, usually ~15% off Moss parts. Even when Moss has a sale he sells below Moss. He also has some other parts Moss doesn't. Of course there are many others out there too. British Parts Northwest, Northwest Imports, and others not including the Moss distributors.

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

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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PostPosted: April 15, 2021, 8:20 am 
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Location: Wilson, NY
Two thumbs up for Jeff Zorn at www.lbcarco.com. Use Moss part numbers to search and order, always discounted from Moss’s prices; good service, communication and looks out for his customers. Bonus is the loyalty points you get and the small treat (Walkers shortbread) in every shipment.
Eric

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PostPosted: April 15, 2021, 12:43 pm 
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rx7locost wrote:
I bought a slave for sure, then decided to replace the master and the flex line to the slave. If you don't already know about suppliers, there is a little company across the lake from you in Michigan. Little British Car Company. lbcarco.com. The guy there used to show up at all the car shows. He no longer does that but still operates his business, usually ~15% off Moss parts. Even when Moss has a sale he sells below Moss. He also has some other parts Moss doesn't. Of course there are many others out there too. British Parts Northwest, Northwest Imports, and others not including the Moss distributors.

That’s cool, I’ll check them out. No this is a new one, thanks Chuck!!

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PostPosted: April 18, 2021, 8:39 am 
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Brake line reconnected. Check. Diff all closed up and filled. Check. New Clutch master and Slave installed and bled. Check! Now, while finishing up all of this work, I decided to run it and recharge the battery. It started once or twice just fine. The next time, the moment when I turned the key, the car went dead, as in a dead battery.? WTF? there was no indication of a weak battery the other couple of times. It cranked easily and started up just fine. I suspected a bad connection at the battery. Out comes the DMM to check the battery posts, the battery terminals and the actual wire coming out of the terminals. All read 12.7V, a good reading. Then went up to the front and checked the feed to the fuse block. 0.12V! Check around for a good ground. No change. Now on this car, the wire from the rear battery up to the front runs from the battery directly from the battery to the starter solenoid, then another few wires from there up to the fuse block and other unfused circuits. Yeah, the headlights are unfused and some other circuits too!. Next I crawl under the car and check the connection to the battery solenoid. Again, no real voltage and everything there was good 'n tight. I can't believe that the battery cable had burned up. So I checked the wire from one end to the other, everything looked good. I removed the battery terminals again, cleaned them completely along with the battery terminals and reassembled once again, this time with dielectric grease. Still not the answer! Then I went to check the battery ground again. I checked the wire from the battery terminal all the way (about 9 inches) to and including the that crimped terminal. All was good. Then I checked the actual chassis/body. NADA! In spite of a very tight 5/16 bolt and nut securing this terminal to the body, the electrical connection was bad! I had finally found the culprit. Remove it all, remove the paint under the terminal, wire wheel the wire terminal, reassemble this time with a 5/16" star lock washer.

I still need to do a test drive to check the rear brake balance. This car does not have self adjusting brakes. It was then time for dinner. More to come.

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

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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PostPosted: April 18, 2021, 9:23 am 
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Location: Green Bay, WI
Wow you are moving right along. Sounds awesome. Did you rewire the car? Sounds like you kept some OEM in place.

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PostPosted: April 18, 2021, 11:08 am 
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Steve, I should have been more clear. This work was on my '79 convertible, not my GT which, sadly, has been neglected as of late. Trying to get it ready for a ~1,200 mile weekend trip in a month, The Midwest Gathering. I'm not sure I will have enough time to gain the confidence in driving it that distance to make that trip. Once that is over, I have some sadly deferred home projects to attend to. Then, and only then, will I get back to the GT.

The convertible, salvaging parts from the derelict MGB down the street, waiting for parts, and some yardwork has delayed my work on the GT.

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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

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


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PostPosted: April 18, 2021, 5:48 pm 
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Ah. I wish I could make that trip. We got put back a week on painting the 7 so next week it will have color. That would be a fun trip too. What does the turn out look like?

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PostPosted: April 19, 2021, 2:05 pm 
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rx7locost wrote:
Steve, I should have been more clear. This work was on my '79 convertible, not my GT which, sadly, has been neglected as of late. Trying to get it ready for a ~1,200 mile weekend trip in a month, The Midwest Gathering. I'm not sure I will have enough time to gain the confidence in driving it that distance to make that trip. Once that is over, I have some sadly deferred home projects to attend to. Then, and only then, will I get back to the GT.

The convertible, salvaging parts from the derelict MGB down the street, waiting for parts, and some yardwork has delayed my work on the GT.


No one asked, but I say do it*!! That's where the best stories come from, when you're out of your comfort zone :)

*I'm in the same boat.. trying to prep a car for a trip I know it's not ready for.. I'm going to make some small sacrifice to the fabrication gods and do it anyway.. I'm so sick of Covid and being a home body that I'm taking a road trip with or without the damn car :lol:

--ccrunner

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PostPosted: April 19, 2021, 3:20 pm 
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CC, I hear you. Been there a few times. My 1st Gathering I had maybe 150 miles on the build before I put about the same miles over the weekend. I also restored my MGA and again, had maybe a couple hundred miles before a 1k mile trip. This car...... I didn't build. It isn't totally refreshed. And not built by me. It is just being brought up to roadworthy condition. I keep finding little things to be addressed. I haven't dismissed the thought just yet. Although driveway work time is closing fast. We're supposed to get a couple inches of snow tomorrow! :ack:

I did make my reservations for the Midwest Gathering today, so there is that!

The test drive yesterday showed a bit of movement left and right during accel and decel, and some movement to the right during braking ( not pulling the steering wheel. My experience tells me to look at the U-bolts attaching the rear end to the leaf springs. I checked them today and while the rubber pads are quite compressed, I could still get a full turn on them. Time for another test drive, maybe on Thursday when it will be warm and dry. Stay tuned, the clock is ticking......

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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


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PostPosted: April 19, 2021, 3:39 pm 
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rx7locost wrote:
We're supposed to get a couple inches of snow tomorrow!
I got nothing smarta$$ to say about that........we're supposed to get some here in Sunny Alberta too :BH:

rx7locost wrote:
My experience tells me to look at the U-bolts attaching the rear end to the leaf springs. I checked them today and while the rubber pads are quite compressed, I could still get a full turn on them.
A rear brake dragging or out of adjustment will show the same symptoms, unlike a front brake issue where the steering wheel will let you know.

Hope you have a great time on the Gathering trip, take lots of pics, because I........well you know the story :cheers:

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PostPosted: April 20, 2021, 10:48 am 
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Thanks Perry. I always thought the drift when braking but no pull on the steering wheel was a rear wheel problem. Maybe it is different with positive or negative scrub radius vs zero? I am not a suspension guru. I do know that drift right and left in RWD can be caused by the loose U bolts. I had that happen on my MGA.

Maybe it is time to rebuild the front end?

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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


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PostPosted: April 20, 2021, 1:40 pm 
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Undoubtedly it's the U-bolts being slightly loose, but I would also inspect the main leaf of the springs. A broken spring was a common issue with customers cars that came through the shop I worked at. I used to not give it much concern, but then it happed to me in my first GT. It's quite an odd feeling having the car go one way under acceleration and the other under braking. The worst part about replacing the broken spring was having to cut the front eye bolt out as it had seized to the metalastic bushing.


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