Doug's Journal

2 months ago I was driving my car home from work when the lights started dimming sporadically along with that PVC bouquet. At the time I had never associated that smell with the cause - as I have never had that happen. I discovered a short in the red running lights wire in the license light feed that melted the insulation off all the red wires in the trunk.

So I stripped out the rear harness and replaced all the red wire along with replacing the original tail lights with the LED light kit from Classic Auto LEDs http://www.classicautoleds.com/MGB_Info.html

I have been VERY happy with the results. Much brighter and therefore more visible/safer.

I found one of my tires flat last month, upon closer inspection I realized I had broken a couple of spokes and consequently several others were now loose. So I ordered the spokes from my local guy. After getting them, I tried tightening up the other loose ones and broke 3 more! So now I had to wait again. I found a tube at the local Coker Tire Warehouse. So I finally got everything back together and it looks good. I think it will be fine for a spare.

I had to have the rear spline hubs replaced. Had the job done while I was on vacation. Excellent job done by Rick Rogers at British Steel in Fresno.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy, the left rear axle seal was leaking and fouled the brake shoes. So new seal & shoes we included in the deal. Along with several body adjustments that I just didn't have time to do myself (working too much).

This actually happened on a drive to the Reagan Presidential Library on April 22nd.

We took off from Coalinga Calif heading west on Hwy-198. Turning onto the Coalinga-Parkfield Grade we headed south across some very beautiful secluded countryside. At the transition from Fresno County to Monterey County, the road turned into a nicely graded - but extremely dusty gravel road. We continued on to Parkfield and had a fantastic lunch at the Parkfield Cafe - incredible beef! After lunch we continued south to Hwy-46 taking that to Hwy-33. We headed south from there and making very good time when I gained a new experience.

Tire separation! Headed south on Gasoline Alley (Hwy-33) I heard a loud pop and then a repeated slamming sound in the rear left. After slowing down and pulling off the road, I could see that my tire tread had separated and before detachment, had really beat up the bottom of the rear fender and the paint above the tire. The paint job was only 2-years old, what a bummer! Quick tire change and I was back on the road again. I was leading our caravan and didn't realize until I arrived in Taft that the rest of our caravan had some difficulty with their car (KHartman I'm talking to you). So I gassed up and went to a self-service car wash to get some of the dust off and assess the damage to the car.

After some roadside diagnostics, we were able to get Keith's car moving along to Taft, but it was still not working right. So we parked at the Taft Autozone for additional diagnostics - it was something in the ignition circuit. We were trying to eliminate possibilities and we were wondering about the coil. Keith was going to buy a universal coil at Autozone and try it "Nah!!! Let's just take the coil out of my fully functional car and put it in yours to test it" - so we did. That wasn't the problem - the problem was a bad condenser (wow!). So when reconnecting the coil in my car, the wires were not connected correctly and it fried my electronic ignition module.

This was the end-of-trip for me. At this point, it was 9:30pm so I called a tow truck, and the guys ended up scrubbing the trip as well.

I learned two very valuable lessons on this trip:

1 - Old rubber is dangerous - no matter how much tread is left!!!!
2 - Carry some spare ignition components (cheap AND small)

NOTE: This trip happened May 21st-26th.

For several year I have planned on building another car, this time a V6. I secured a donor 3.4L V6 engine & T5 tranny as well as a later model car to put it in. But I found a completed V6 Project for sale right here on the MG Experience. So I made arrangements to purchase it. The car was originally a California car that had been exported to B.C. Canada - I just had to go and get it. So my buddy Scott (200elcamino) & I flew up to Seattle and then into Canada where we met the seller Paul Mansell (mansep2) and did the deal.

Paul Mansell did a brilliant job on the conversion and we were having a fantastic time driving it down the Pacific Coast. We stayed the first night with another pal of mine on Camano Island, then started our trek home. Second night: Astoria, we pulled in and took off for the Astoria Column. We stayed at the Atomic Motel (it was super cool). The next day we visited the Lewis & Clark exhibits at Fort Clatsop as well as stops at Cannon Beach and Rockaway Beach. I did not expect to see great beaches like these, I always thought Oregon beaches were rocky and mostly inaccessible. The third night: Bandon. This was supposed to be a Coos Bay location, but because trying to make accommodations from a convertible at speed can bring some complications - we ended up at the Shooting Star Motel (dive). The car was experiencing some fuel starvation issues once a day. After a 10-min rest it would be okay. This car has TWO fuel pumps using a swirlpot setup. Because I could not source a HP fuel pump on the road, my only other choice was to replace the LP fuel pump in case it was intermittently failing to fill the swirlpot. So I picked up a low pressure electronic fuel pump from Napa and replaced it in the Motel parking stall. The remainder of the day brought no more fuel delivery problems - Yay!

The next day we intended on stopping by the Jedediah Smith Redwoods, but we totally missed the turnoff. Didn't realize it until we passed Crescent City! Or course we made the obligatory stop at the Trees Of Mystery. The fourth night was in Eureka. The rain came, the top went up. We stopped at the Loleta Cheese Factory for grilled cheese sandwiches, then spent time driving the Avenue of the Giants. The Avenue is a must-see for anyone headed up to northern California. Coming around Clearlake we experienced another fuel starvation prob (rats!). At this point, we were less than a days ride away. Because these problems went away after letting the pump rest for a few minutes, we thought we could make it home. But alas, we experienced 3 more failures before reaching Stockton.

We spent the fifth night in Stockton hoping that an evening of rest would allow us to drive the remaining 2.25 hrs home. But this wasn't to be - the pump failed again only 40min into new day at Turlock. This was now Memorial Day weekend and we decided to call a tow truck. We were home about noon and the car was safely tucked inside the garage.

What an epic drive with a new car.

NOTE: This repair happened June 4-5

After returning home from our epic Pacific Coast drive, I was anxious to get the V6 back on the road. So I ordered a new Walbro fuel pump, it came in WITHOUT the filtering sock, so I had to place a second order. When all the parts came in, I removed the pump from the swirlpot. By the way, this is an awesome swirlpot. It is custom made to fit in the battery holder behind the driver. It is all aluminum construction and I was duly impressed with it's construction.

After removing the pump and comparing the sock to the new one, it was plain to see that this filter had been doing a tremendous job and was probably a bit tired. The original fuel tank had been retained through this conversion and I think that tank was a bit rusty. Paul Mansell had supplied a brand new tank for installation, but hadn't installed it yet.

The gasket was made of thin cork and was coated pretty heavily with silicone sealer. It was compromised during removal. So I made a new gasket and put everything back together. After putting everything back together, the swirlpot was pressurizing and was leaking at the place where the wires enter the mounting bracket.

Unfortunately, the makers of the bracket sell a replacement for about $115! So after monkeying around with this for several hours I decided that I would be installing a new Todd Budde tank as this was always my intention in the planning of my own conversion. This would replace the current 2 fuel pumps to a single OEM-style submersed pump in a new custom tank. So I ordered a new tank from Todd Budde.

Now I'm going to fast forward to Sept 15th. The new tank should have arrived by mid-July. Then mid-August. I have a planned week-long drive. It's the week before my trip and no tank yet!! Frustrating! So I decide to revisit the leaking swirlpot. I remove the pump again and carefully coat the pressure-side of the fitting with silicone. I coat the outside too for good measure. After 24-hours to cure, I buttoned it back up and UGH!!! Still leaking!! This meant I couldn't take the V6 on our trip. I was still able to take my other '73B "Fritz".

It's early October and I still don't have my tank. Todd has experienced some hurdles with his shop and was unable to complete the work on time. I'm just patiently waiting. I've seen photos of his tanks, they are beautiful.

But for the moment, the V6 has been sitting in my garage since I brought her home in May.