Metalwork seems to be the theme these days at the shop. Chip has been cutting out swiss-cheese floorpans on this MGB in preparation for welding in new ones. Take a look…
Once the passenger’s side was out…
Soon, we’ll weld the new ones in and get them painted.
Here is a clean Spitfire that seemed to have some brake problems. In reality, it had some adjustment problems. The driver’s side rear brake drum was dragging, causing someone out there to shake his head muttering, “No way in *&%$ my kid’s first car will be British.” Channeling Batman, “Not so fast, Joker.”
Take a gander at this brake drum below. If the web guy (me) was worth anything, you’d actually be gandering at the square-headed adjustment screw on the back, but I didn’t take a picture of it. So, on the back side of this drum is the adjustment. Screw it one way and it moves the shoes towards the drum, the other way and it moves them towards the center of the axle and away from the drum. Real simple. Well, this one was adjusted too tight. Which makes one wonder who did that, because they don’t adjust themselves. No matter, Dean fixed it like he normally does. Problem solved so easily it hardly qualified as a problem. It was really pretty simple, like the cars tend to be themselves. When I think they’re not, I point at something and have Dean or Chip explain it, I say “Oh”, and then we’re back to simple.
Here at UK Motorsports, we make owning an old British car an almost reasonable proposition.
Pictured above is the TR3 that will receive the motor Dean’s been rebuilding. He’ll also be doing some cosmetic work to the frame and checking out the transmission. Last I checked, the crank was not back from being turned yet. Once that gets back, Dean can screw the motor back together. It’s also receiving a new wiring harness. Then, it should be good to go for another 50 years.
It’s my pleasure to introduce the new shop mascot, Zeus. He lightens the mood at the shop, and will likely prove protective of the projects. Good dog.
For background on this car, see these posts (One, two, and three).
Here is our transplant patient in process.
Observing the decrepit hunk of steel that previously formed the nearby TR4A’s rear frame, any thought I entertained of learning rusty metal resurrection yielded to Harry Callahan’s advice, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Some of us lack the constitution for such carnage, so we pay Dr. Chip to do it, which he does seemingly absent the least bit of queasiness. He detailed the operation for me while I grunted and aggressively furrowed my brow to convince him I understood whatever he was saying. I suppressed the urge to inquire about the Johnson Rod and blinker fluid.
The weak frame portion that was removed.
This one came to us after sitting until it couldn’t shake the habit. It was unnaturally flexible, which allowed Chip and Dean to teach me how to check for frame rot by watching for them to look at each other with the “One Eyebrow Raised” universal British Car Mechanic signal for “This Car Has Frame Problems”. After walking among the ruins on the shop floor, I marvel at people who do this stuff and need to lie down for a moment.
Current view underneath the TR4A
Despite the problems, I like the car, which could be a bumper sticker on the back of every British Car. I once believed I valued Function Over Form, not realizing I was lying to myself. Function Over Form disciples don’t drive British cars, the style and charm being the only idiosyncrasy untouched by progress. It relieves me that the owner of this car found it in his heart and wallet to put it right, grisly surgery and all. Like most anyone who stumbles on this website, I look forward to seeing it drive away under its own power.
Clean is so nice. This is a real clean TR6 that the owner dropped off for carburetor adjustment. Chip is quite handy with the air and jets, so he’ll get it right and return it to the owner.
We get quite a few inquiries on carb work and yes, generally we can handle it. Call and ask specifically if you need some work done. Having your carbs and/or ignition sorted can do wonders for drivability.
This late model MGB came in for an exhaust leak and minor carb work. Chip worked on getting a good seal between the downpipe and the catalytic converter. There is also a rubber doughnut in there that wasn’t sealing all that well, which led to a sound that wasn’t appropriately British. Chip also installed new throttle shafts in the carbs. The owner is toying with the idea of a respray, and we hope to see it when it’s complete.
We got an SU carb in recently to rebuild, as it was malfunctioning and flooding. Chip dismantled it and discovered one float was full of gasoline rather than air. That’s abnormal. It apparently seeped through the solder joint on the float. Chip made sure a new float was included along with a new needle and seat.
This TVR came in on a tow truck and wouldn’t run. Turns out it was a victim of a cheap replacement distributor rotor. We’ve spoken of these before (see this blog post). If you find one on your car, go ahead and get a new one, as they are problem children. This particular rotor didn’t have very good tolerances either, so it got loose enough to hit the contacts in the rotor cap. With a new rotor and cap, the car started and ran very well, thank you very much.
A gentleman sent us this motor to rebuild from his TR3.
Dean has it apart and is checking it over to see what can be re-used. One thing that won’t be re-used are the pistons and rings, as they are toast. The top ring on every piston was broken in at least one place. An example is below.
Everything is apart now and the parts order will happen shortly.