Project 1974 MGB GT - The Mustard (Mit) Mobility Scooter - 6yrs ownership & the end is potentially nigh!

[SiC]

You've got me worried now!! I was just looking at the videos I took the other month. Apart from depressing me by reminding me the lack of road it's covered (about 20 miles in 3 months), the pressure is around 60psi when cold.

[Video]

 

On the last, fateful, journey, not long before it cut out completely it was pulsing the pressure between 20psi and 40psi odd. So it's about 20 miles since it's dropped from 60psi cold to 50psi cold. Warm seems the same at around 35psi at 800-900rpm idle.

 

In terms of oil on this change, I used 20w-50 Granville Oil (from my local motor factors) and a FRAM filter from Euro Car Parts. Not sure what oil was in originally as the previous owner changed it but the filter I'm pretty sure was from Moss.

 

The compression test was done with the carbs removed. I guess this wouldn't have lowered the pressure in anyway? Tempted to give a compression test another go now the battery is fully charged.

[Guest Hooli]

Different oil will give different pressures even if it's the same grade. I'd make a note of them, ignore it till the end of the summer & see if it's changed.

 

Oh & yeah a low battery will give low compression readings as spinning the engine slower allows more blow-by past the rings. This is true even on a perfect engine.

[PhilA]

That video is about what I'd expect to see, re oil pressure. Looks like it builds up nice and quick and it is hitting the pressure relief and staying there (55 on the gauge).

 

As said above, if the oil pressure rises with engine speed unloaded that's good. If it holds +-2psi at steady high speed (2000rpm+) cruise that's also good.

 

Also, testing compression with the carbs off is fine, but it needs to be spinning over fast

 

Phil

[SiC]

I think the oil pressure is constant when cold. Definitely rises and falls (well used to) when warm.

[busmansholiday]

I honestly wouldn't worry yourself about this. Many, many moons ago, my Hillman started doing odd things with oil pressure. Where it used to be fairly steady it suddenly registered just above fuck all on tickover but was OK at higher revs. Pressure relief valve had stuck. Changed it and it was OK for a few months, then did it again. Yep, new pressure relief valve had failed. Third one was still in engine when some twat drove into it a couple of years and 20thousand miles later.

 

Get it driven, that's what you bought it for isn't it ?

[plasticvandan]

oil pressure is fine,granville poss the cheapest shite you can get so will be less than say millers etc

[Eddie Honda]

a FRAM filter

 

They're wank.

 

I bung Volvo filters on where they'll fit (e.g. Reliants) and Purflux on GS & Honda Jizz (Honda ones made by Purflux). The BMW bike gets a Mahle and anything else I stick a Mann on.

[SiC]

They're wank.

 

I bung Volvo filters on where they'll fit (e.g. Reliants) and Purflux on GS & Honda Jizz (Honda ones made by Purflux). The BMW bike gets a Mahle and anything else I stick a Mann on.

Interesting you should say that. Talking about oil filters on the MGB forums seem to stir up a debate like saying modern cars are crap on here. However FRAM filters are near universally hated.

 

So basically I've managed to buy the cheapest and crappiest oil with a junk filter!

 

I chose FRAM because it was the most expensive, so I assumed better...

 

Not sure whether to get a Mann from ECP for £3.60 odd or whatever this filter is from Moss for £4.12? The Moss filter is the one that was on previously. Filter is a spin-on from the factory, so no trouble in replacing it. Oil I'll keep in there for a hundred miles or so (so a couple of years at my current rate... ). Just use it as something to flush it out. Then I'll replace with something overpriced from Moss.

 

Some oil like this: https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/dynolite-oils/dynolite-engine-oils/dynolite-classic-engine-oils.html

Maybe even 20W-60 to help with the pressure a bit??

[Mr_Bo11ox]

FRAM is perfectly ok, it's just a Tesco middle of the road job. Your MGB sounds like theres nowt wrong with it, if it's not smoky, no funny noises and the oil light stays off it's a good 'un. I seriously wouldn't treat what one of those wobbly old Smiths dials with a capillary tube tells me, with too much seriousness. Even if it was 0psi at hot idle, if the lights staying off you're good to go.

[SiC]

This is why I guess cars moved predominantly to oil lights and ditched the gauges? Too many people worrying about what they're reading, how they're reading and what way they move. No oil light on mine, so I can only stare at the gauge for comfort.

 

I think I'm just paranoid about it breaking again. Breaking in an even bigger way. I've got a day at the weekend to myself which would be a perfect time to take it out. However if I breakdown, I won't have the wife around to recover me... Plus I don't think I could stand it if it cuts out on me again. Especially in an awkward/dangerous spot.

 

Just desperate for the bloody thing to just fricking work as a car. Even it can just for a 1000 miles!

[Tickman]

This is your first 'old' car and you have done loads of decent work to it that many wouldn't have.

You need to try and stop looking for problems as what you consider a problem from driving newer cars could just be the norm on an old car.

 

Tune it enough to get it on the road, carry a fuel can so you don't have to fill the tank up too much because of the leak and don't listen to the knocks and you will start getting the enjoyment out of it that you expected from the start.

 

You need the mindset of turning the 'stereo up' and just driving it.

[richardthestag]

pretty much exactly what Tickman said ^^^

 

Fix the fuel tank leak and use it, have you got roadside recovery? 

 

That is all you need.

 

Plan a day trip on A roads shove a 100 miles on it in a single journey for absolutely no reason other than to enjoy it.

 

get confident with it as a machine. Once you understand it and its foibles you will enjoy it more It is a lot tougher than you think so put that cotton wool duvet away

 

You need to bear in mind that cars from the 1970s were a bit tricky, thats why the Japanese car makers were able to take the market by storm, "what a car that doesnt need the plugs cleaning after 200 miles!"

 

Although the Staaag is one of the more (some might say notorious) fragile cars of the 1970s, I think nothing of driving mine 200 miles in a single journey, never have worried about it aside checking fluids before setting off. Only one FTP and 2 engine rebuilds but other than that routine maintenance once a year as per the maintenance schedule.

 

MGBs by comparison were tough and unbreakable. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just drive it! you will win in the end. You clearly have the skills to drive/maintain this for thousands of miles, its just a question of using and using it till you and it are 'in the zone'.

[Guest Hooli]

This is why I guess cars moved predominantly to oil lights and ditched the gauges? Too many people worrying about what they're reading, how they're reading and what way they move. No oil light on mine, so I can only stare at the gauge for comfort.

 

Funny you say that. When they put the 1500 Triumph lump in the Midget it suffered low oil pressure when hot. The fix? remove the oil gauge

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

I'll add to the 'just drive it - it sounds fine' brigade.

Mine was very very similar to yours and it went for ages without issue...... y downfall was trusting a 'sepcialist' with a clutch job as I was away too much/often.

Once you start tooling around in this and get used to the cart like spring rear end and the wonderful burble from pootling along b-roads. Find a tunnel and blip the throttle as you go through......... makes it all worthwhile I tell ya

 

Thanks too for the detailed write-ups and info...... I'm actually not too* stressed facing rebuilding the SU's on the Rover now..... 

[captain_70s]

Funny you say that. When they put the 1500 Triumph lump in the Midget it suffered low oil pressure when hot. The fix? remove the oil gauge

To be fair if you take the 1500 Triumph lump ober 3.5k on the regular it'll eat it's big end bearings so that might not be the best example!

 

The 1850 used to have an oil light but not gauge, given how unreliable the gauges were (they all functioned, just rarely showed anything accurate) this was probably for the best. Hell, even the oil light sender died leading to it flickering if I was doing under 3000rpm, I just replaced that on the basis it was the cheapest thing to try and the light stopped flickering...

[Mally]

60 cold 50 warm is fine.

Compression is acceptable.

Go and buy a welder, will give you something else to play with.

[Asimo]

That felt pad in the distributor should be full of oil to lubricate the cam, it looks bone dry to me.

 

I know you've done it now, but it is much easier to mount the condensor on the coil. I would mount two side by side, fit them with spade terminals and have a virtually instant repair available for next time it fails, which by all accounts is quite likely these days. (They never were that reliable)

[SiC]

That felt pad in the distributor should be full of oil to lubricate the cam, it looks bone dry to me.

 

Yeah I need to lube it. Oil and can is out in the garage, so I'll do it when I put it back on.

 

Is it oil that goes on or grease? I seem to remember that one of them is supposed to be grease and the shaft pad is oil.

 

I know you've done it now, but it is much easier to mount the condensor on the coil. I would mount two side by side, fit them with spade terminals and have a virtually instant repair available for next time it fails, which by all accounts is quite likely these days. (They never were that reliable)

I did contemplate doing that but there wasn't an easy place to mount the earth tab on the condenser. I also thought about mounting it on the outside of the distributor too but it was only held on by the tab and no support on the body. So I didn't want it breaking.

 

Plus when the original cheapy condenser went it took out the points at the same time too. Hopefully with this super duper Distributor Doctor condenser I shouldn't have it fail again!

[danthecapriman]

I always use a bit of engine oil on the dizzy felt pads, add a drop at every service. Don't go too mad though otherwise it starts getting everywhere inside the dizzy.

[SiC]

It was the owners manual that said about using grease on the cam. Not sure how well it'll wick on the fabric type material.

 

[Guest Hooli]

To be fair if you take the 1500 Triumph lump ober 3.5k on the regular it'll eat it's big end bearings so that might not be the best example!

 

The 1850 used to have an oil light but not gauge, given how unreliable the gauges were (they all functioned, just rarely showed anything accurate) this was probably for the best. Hell, even the oil light sender died leading to it flickering if I was doing under 3000rpm, I just replaced that on the basis it was the cheapest thing to try and the light stopped flickering...

 

I got mine when I was 20, guess how a young bloke drove a sports car? Never had an issue with it because I changed the oil enough & backed off when I felt it getting hot & rattley. Took it halfway around the UK on various trips, never sat below 65 on the motorway which was about 3,750rpm (4,100 at 70, I didn't memorise these & disconnect the speedo for the limited mileage insurance at all...). Damn thing never did below 35mpg either, which was odd as it spent a lot of it's life sideways & the book said 28-30mpg.

[Guest Hooli]

Yeah that.

[Zelandeth]

The other thing you will find is that it's entirely likely that once you get it out and getting some miles under its wheels that you'll find reliability will improve dramatically after a while.

 

The Pug 306 I had a few years back had been in virtual hibernation for a couple of years when I got it, and when pressed into regular service immediately manifested several odd and annoying faults in quick succession.  Including a broken earth strap, in the dark, in the middle of the Scottish countryside.  Once that handful of things was sorted and it was getting some use, getting properly warmed through etc regularly most of the niggles vanished.  There were several creaks, knocks and rattles when I got it that vanished after a few hundred miles.

 

Sitting idle in the driveway I reckon is the worst thing for car reliability there is.

 

Just make sure you've got breakdown cover (AutoAid are about £40 for a full year for you for any vehicle) too as that massively reduces the stress of the "what happens if..." factor.

[mat_the_cat]

I would mount two side by side, fit them with spade terminals and have a virtually instant repair available for next time it fails, which by all accounts is quite likely these days. (They never were that reliable)

 

Not a bad idea given what I keep reading about modern ones! I have to disagree slightly though and say that when I ran points in the Stellar (my only long term ownership of a car with a mechanical ignition system) I only changed the condensor once. I bought it with 85k miles, eventually fitting electronic ignition at 171k miles and only changed it 'just in case' rather than due to a failure. I gapped the points every 6k miles, and changed them every other service; which meant I was fiddling with them 3-4 times a year. Hence the eventual change to Lumenition, which has been reliable for 32k miles now.

[SiC]

The Lumenition kit to me seems hideously overpriced for what it is and I can't justify paying what they ask for it. Basically an optical chopper disc, a photo interrupter and a Ignition amplifier (essentially a transistor in a box). As far as I'm aware, all the timing is still done by the distributor?

 

The 123Ignition replacement electronic distributor isn't much more expensive but that's mappable and doesn't relying on your existing shagged out distributor.

[Zelandeth]

Condensers seem to be one of those things that are utter rubbish - until you suddenly find one that just lasts forever.  Same brand, same part number and all...but that one just keeps going.

 

Some cars seem particularly hard on them too.  My Skoda Rapid in particular used to eat them with sufficient regularity that I used to keep at least one spare with the car at all times.  Never had any trouble with them in either of my Metros or Novas though.

[mat_the_cat]

The Lumenition kit to me seems hideously overpriced for what it is and I can't justify paying what they ask for it. Basically an optical chopper disc, a photo interrupter and a Ignition amplifier (essentially a transistor in a box). As far as I'm aware, all the timing is still done by the distributor?

 

That's correct, and I agree with you regarding pricing - I didn't mean to come across as suggesting this is what you must get! I was just giving my experiences for information. When I bought it in 2001, it was around the £100 mark, so don't know what it is now and there doesn't appear to have been any visual differences over the years!

 

I certainly wasn't aware of any alternatives at the time, apart from a transistor in a box which still relied on the points for a trigger so I just went with it. Part of the appeal was that I could buy the chopper for the original Stellar distributor, then change it for the Rover V8 chopper once I'd done the engine swap (Which took rather longer than planned...) The mappable distributor idea does float my boat so given the same choice back then that's probably what I'd have gone for, assuming it doesn't have any reliability concerns? I've not looked into it so have no clue either way.

[busmansholiday]

Stick with points and a condenser. Check them regularly so you know the gap of by heart and spend the money saved on breakdown cover. Not that you'll ever need it once you've got it as the MG will then run like a dream just to seriously piss you off. Mind you, the moment you cancel the cover it will know !!

[mercedade]

Has this been doing the miles yet?! Just checking in for the scenic photos after a 50 mile thrash.

 

C'mon man - you've done the dirty fingernail business, now show us the fun stuff!