Charlie Adams' Journal

Just completed replacing the head this evening, and so far I'm pleased. This work was needed because my original head developed a crack on the number 3 combustion chamber. Thanks to John Tokar for supplying me with the correct head for my 1622 engine. First indications are that the rebuilt head has turned out well. The car started on the fourth turnover. I quickly realized I had not replaced the temperature sensor--fortunately I had tape over the hole in the head so little coolant was lost. I also had to tighten the water outlet bolts to stop a coolant seep. There is a slight gasoline seep from the banjo union of the rear carb--I'll tighten that tomorrow. Took the car out for a short drive and I am pleased with the performance. It seems to have at least as much power as before and perhaps a little more. Oil pressure is 50 lbs at idle and 60 lbs running with water temperature holding at 160 degrees. Fairly smooth idle at 1000 rpm which I will turn down to 800 rpm. I also plan to add extensions on the fuel overflow tubes and do a compression test tomorrow. If the weather holds up, I'll also replace the broken speedometer cable and perform the test needed for recalibrating my speedometer.

After getting the car restarted with the early MGB head, I noticed that there is relatively limited flow of oil to the rocker assembly. I will have to make some inquiries to see if that condition is as expected or requires some additional work.

I also finished replacing the speedometer cable. Before putting the new cable in, I enlarged the hole in the transmission tunnel by about 3/8 inch at the top to provide more clearance for the cable. This will help ensure the cable runs straight for the first 4 inches before turning forward. I also plan to add a support under the cable where it enters the footwell to ensure that if the cable is stepped on where it passes through the transmission tunnel and enters the footwell it will not be stretched away from the transmission. The lack of underlying support may have lead to the separation of the cable sheath from its end piece where it enters the transmission.

The installation of the new cable was initially impossible with the use cheap snap ring pliers. When I applied a good pair of snap ring pliers, the snap ring went into place within seconds. Its so good to work with good tools!

I also sent the speedometer to Nisonger Instruments for recalibration. Thanks to Alana for helping me perform the "push" test to develop data for the recalibration. I'm expecting the recalibrated speedometer back within a month. Also, inside the speedometer case, the milage at December 1983 was a little over 55,991, and a Palo Alto Instrument Service lable was pasted on the speedometer case. When I purchased the car the odometer registered 56,264, so only 273 miles appears to have been covered in 27 years.

Last fall, the clutch pedal had started to catch about 1 inch from the top. In this position I could hear a slight a whirring noise and when I lifted the clutch pedal with my foot, it would snap to full return and the whirring noise would stop. So, the throw-out bearing was riding on the pressure plate until the pedal was lifted.

After getting the engine running again last month, it was time to investigate this clutch pedal catch. I started by removing the clevis pin at the end of the master cylinder rod and pushed to pedal to test its smoothness. Without the pin in place, the clutch pedal operated smoothly throughout its full range of travel. I was relieved that it appeared I might not need to fully dissemble the pedal assembly. I then inspected the hole in the master cylinder push rod fork, the hole at the top of the clutch pedal arm and the clevis pin. The clevis pin was quite rough, so I polished it on the wire wheel till smooth again, gave it a dab of grease and reassembled it. That was the fix! The clutch pedal now is smooth throughout its travel with no catch at the top.

I've got my hands into several projects today.

This morning I reset the timing with my new Craftsman timing light which worked like a charm. I adjusted the timing at 950 rpm idle from about 22 degrees to 17 degrees BTDC. Then I used a stick to hold the rpm at 3000 and found the timing advanced to about 26 degrees. I'll leave it there till I have a chance to take it for a spin. Rain here in DC, so today is not the day.

My speedometer arrived from Nisonger today. Hooray! It looks so nice and now I'll be able to know how fast I'm going. The 5 speed transmission had thrown off the speedometer substantially. To get it reset, I did a test in the driveway, counting the revolutions of the speedometer cable as the car covered 52' 9.5", as Nisonger requests.
I also noted that the inside of the speedometer case was marked 55,991 in Dec. 1983 by Palo Alto Speedometer.

Also, I instlled a felt cushion to the hood in the hopes of improving the cooling. I added a little felt to the Moss felt cushion to accomodate the curve in the hood. Finally, I'm adding Dynamat in the trunk to try to quiet down the exhaust system noise.

I thought this would be a good day to begin the restoration of my 62 from New Mexico via Manassas VA. Its been in my garage since 2009 gathering a little more dust. I've tinkered with it some and found lights, horn, and turn signals working. After soaking the cylinders the engine spins nicely and makes plenty of compression. No doubt it will run but I suspect it may smoke after sitting since 1980. Its mostly complete and has very little rust.

On the 4th, I started to pull the interior. The following day, my friend Butch Smith and I continued to work the interior. We were both surprised when the floor board bolts on the driver side turned out, although some had been broken off in the frame rails years earlier. I've continued to work on it a little on each of the following days but I've been slowed by a strained a knuckle on my right hand, no doubt due to disuse. I may see a doc to ask about a restoration.

I'm planning to jot some notes here about my progress from time to time.

Last week I made up a welding cart for my bargain welder. Carl Heideman of Eclectic Motorworks got me started on this...he suggested this project during his MGA body restoration seminar last winter. I used metal from a disgarded garden stand which I found at the nearby Lorton dump along with a couple pieces of sheet metal. Keith Kallapos, a friend in my local NAMGAR club donated the wheels. It was a satisfying project that cost me nothing.

My welder is a Lincoln 140HD which I bought off craigslist. Worked like a charm.