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The Car Thread ... !
- Thread starter D.T.
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‘Caravana’ discussion cont.....
I mentioned I think about a year ago that I was talking to an associate at a dealership, where he said the future of car buying is online and ultimately it will put some dealerships in a crippled position for sales. I’ve never used Carvana, but my neighbor just bought his daughter a new-er Sonata tonight (I believe it was an 18’). Had it delivered with zero fees, No insertion/commission fees and they allow the customer to even ‘pre-screen’ the car by driving it before the delivery service leaves to ensure everything is operable, with a return period. (The freakin car even had balloons on it when they pulled in the driveway, which I think is kind of gimmicky, but a nice touch for a teenager.)
I know car sales were on fire in early stages of the pandemic back in May, but more and more, I’m seeing people purchasing online from sites like Carvana and have it delivered direct to your door without having to deal the dealership. I honestly think in the next five years, dealerships in some aspects (other than exotics, sports cars, anything speciality) will become extinct. I think this really is the future of car-buying, even when I smirked at it when I bought my Charger two years ago.
I think it’s also worth noting, that one of the reasons he used Carvana, was he didn’t have to deal with the ‘smugness’ that dealerships tend to carry with them, which ultimately I think the detracts business. And as much as I think every dealership varies, unfortunately I suspect that is a trend that will turn people away to buying from the competition, which is transitioning to online services.
I mentioned I think about a year ago that I was talking to an associate at a dealership, where he said the future of car buying is online and ultimately it will put some dealerships in a crippled position for sales. I’ve never used Carvana, but my neighbor just bought his daughter a new-er Sonata tonight (I believe it was an 18’). Had it delivered with zero fees, No insertion/commission fees and they allow the customer to even ‘pre-screen’ the car by driving it before the delivery service leaves to ensure everything is operable, with a return period. (The freakin car even had balloons on it when they pulled in the driveway, which I think is kind of gimmicky, but a nice touch for a teenager.)
I know car sales were on fire in early stages of the pandemic back in May, but more and more, I’m seeing people purchasing online from sites like Carvana and have it delivered direct to your door without having to deal the dealership. I honestly think in the next five years, dealerships in some aspects (other than exotics, sports cars, anything speciality) will become extinct. I think this really is the future of car-buying, even when I smirked at it when I bought my Charger two years ago.
I think it’s also worth noting, that one of the reasons he used Carvana, was he didn’t have to deal with the ‘smugness’ that dealerships tend to carry with them, which ultimately I think the detracts business. And as much as I think every dealership varies, unfortunately I suspect that is a trend that will turn people away to buying from the competition, which is transitioning to online services.
Made it!
More tomorrow, but it actually was pretty uneventful. Need to get it dialed in a bit more, but it really didn't miss a beat all 300 miles other than some annoying things that need to be tweaked.
Also, I'm sorry I waited 5 years for overdrive. It's SOOO worth it. Without, it's 4000 rpms at 70mph in 4th. OD on drops it to 3200rpms. Doesn't sound small, but the difference to your ears and how smooth the car is is dramatic.
Just bought this this morning. Picking it up next Friday.
Nice. Enjoy.Just bought this this morning. Picking it up next Friday.
And here is our latest toy 
OMFG it’s awesome.
OMFG it’s awesome.
Looks nice!
Sharp AF. 😁 Enjoy!
Tided the garage today and actually got Mrs AFB car in there! I can’t remember the last time I had a car in a garage.
Car wash tomorrow weather permitting.Hehehe my job for tomorrow as well.
So, a bit of info on the MG now that it's back.
As I said, I had a few teething pains getting back from the shop. I had to set a whole bunch right once it was home. The front carb was telling me it was WAY lean(piston lift test for anyone out there who knows SUs), but once I made it richer the idle was screaming. By screaming I mean 1500-2000. That was with the idle screws all the way off. I figured a vacuum leak or some other issue, but didn't have time to chase it. It also was reluctant to settle down when letting off the gas. Still, though, I tinkered with it and called it "good enough" and decided I was okay to make the drive. Fortunately I made it.
BTW, it left the shop with the rear carb dashpot with engine oil(what I prefer) and the front with ATF. He did TELL me that fortunately, and I could feel it when I was rushing to tune the carbs. I tend to like heavier oil in them, but if nothing else they both should have the same thing. I get down the road and I'm feeling a consistent misfire/hesitation at 3-4K rpms. It felt like what I've experienced in the past as piston bounce, so at our gas "pit stop" among other things I dropped some 20W-50 in the front carb, mixed it up, and called it a day. The misfire mostly went away.
I drove it around town a while yesterday and tweaked some things, but still wasn't super happy, and that idle was NUTS.
I took a closer look and the linkages were also put together in a stupid, nutty way so I couldn't even mess with them and suspect that was part of the issue with the idle, and particularly with it not being willing to drop since the way they were on it they're not as free to move as normal(also I'm missing a spring that is not 100% necessary, but I always put on since I feel like it helps snap the throttles shut, but unfortunately I don't have any spares now-on the next order of piddly little parts). BTW, the quick and dirty "spray carb cleaner on everything" test didn't show any vacuum leaks. BTW, I definitely had gone too far on the rich side, since when I put my hand in the exhaust stream it came out covered in carbon flecks.
So, last night, the carbs came off and I at least arranged the linkages "correctly." I ran out of time so the carbs are on, but I still need to just get the linkages set up. I'm going to do a set-up from scratch with setting the mixture to "default"(screw the jets all the way in, then screw the adjusting nut out two turns), then set the idle with the throttle linkage disconnected, get it synchronized correctly, and hope to goodness it idles at a respectable speed.
In all of that, though, I overlooked the first rule of tuning, which is ignition before carbs. I didn't have my timing light when working the other day, and since it was running I figured "good enough." Now that I have one, I'm going to get rid of the iridium "pointy" plugs the shop put in and replace them with good old fashioned NGK copper core plugs gapped at 40 thou(I'm running a high energy ignition system that can handle that size gap-the book spec is 25 thou but I've never run lower than 30). Then, it's on to set the timing "correctly", which is easy with a good dial back light(which I have). Rather than messing with base timing, I was taught that MGs overall run best at 32º BTDC max mechanical advance(vac disconnected), so you just set your dialback light to 32º, rev the engine up enough for the timing mark on the balancer to stop moving, then tweak the distributor position until you have the TDC marks aligned at high RPMs. Simple, fast, and the car runs great.
So, to do list hopefully for today or tomorrow:
1. Get carbs close enough to right that the car should run
2. Pop the valve cover and set the valve lash
3. Set the timing
4. Mess with the carbs to get them synced, then dial in the mixture and hopefully have a reasonable idle.
5. Put a few more miles on it, then probably change the oil. I want the brake-in leftovers out.
The overdrive is often sluggish to engage, so after consulting with the OD expert, I need to check and make sure the transmission is actually properly filled with oil and that it has engine oil rather than gear oil in it. While I'm there, I should change the screen on the O/D unit, which I don't know why I didn't do while the transmission was out of the car. The gear stick is vibrating far more than I ever remember it doing, so I need to make sure all the shims, springs, etc are in place properly(IIRC, a cracked nylon bushing, which is common, at the end of the stick will do that, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't notice or just left the bushing out completely). The bushing theory might actually make since as it's been throwing me off as the 3-4 shift seems to need a little bit of a rightward nudge, while on every other MG I've ever driven it's a straight pull back. Having it not shift as you expect is a bit worrying when you're merging onto the interstate, for example. Oh, BTW, the speedometer died. It "wiggled" a bit sometimes, so I suspect-and hope-a broken cable, which isn't a huge deal to replace. I've had them brake when I wasn't careful with routing and bent them too sharply. The O/D switch ended up being the unused map light switch on the dash, but I'd really like to fix the map light. They couldn't get the wiper stalk switch(which is what I told them to use, and was put there exactly for it even if the car didn't have O/D) to work, but I can sort that out.
Also, my rear wheel cylinders have decided to get weepy, so I have a set on order. I was dealing with spongy brakes the whole way home, and the M/C was low when I picked it up. I've managed to get them mostly bled, but the weepy cylinders are a constant problem. Once they get in, I'll toss in new cylinders. The shoes are good enough that I can't bring myself to replace them.
In these dual brake circuit cars(68 on US market), there's to me a stupid little device called the PDWA, or "pressure differential warning actuator." Basically, it's an "H" union with a little shuttle valve between the two different brake lines out of the M/C(front and rear are on separate circuits). When the shuttle valve moves, it lights up a light on the dashboard to tell you that you've lost pressure in one of the lines. That would be a decent idea except for the fact that your foot will tell you that's happened far faster than a light will. Furthermore, the seals leak and allow "crosstalk" between the two brake circuits, which kind of defeats the purpose of having separate ones. I noticed in all of this that mine was leaking right out the top of the actuator switch, which is common. A kind fellow on the MG forum is sending me, for the cost of shipping, a block where he's gone in and internally soldered off the the union between the two lines, so the stupid switch is gone for good and will never leak again. Most folks just plug it with a bolt, but that still lets the cross-talk happen.
Not going to lie that it's a bit annoying to pay a shop almost $4K and have to do this much yourself, but it's worth it for the fact that I have it back and it's all things I can handle myself.
Final build sheet on the engine:
Bore 30 over, grind crank 10-10
Fit later style lighter connecting rods with 30 over shallow dish pistons(6cc)
Fit ported and polished factory "Big Valve" head with measured 37cc combustion chambers. Final C/R, calculated, is 9.6:1
Delta D9 street performance cam
Not measured, but should make 110hp at the flywheel, a nice step up from the stock 85hp or so.
As I said, I had a few teething pains getting back from the shop. I had to set a whole bunch right once it was home. The front carb was telling me it was WAY lean(piston lift test for anyone out there who knows SUs), but once I made it richer the idle was screaming. By screaming I mean 1500-2000. That was with the idle screws all the way off. I figured a vacuum leak or some other issue, but didn't have time to chase it. It also was reluctant to settle down when letting off the gas. Still, though, I tinkered with it and called it "good enough" and decided I was okay to make the drive. Fortunately I made it.
BTW, it left the shop with the rear carb dashpot with engine oil(what I prefer) and the front with ATF. He did TELL me that fortunately, and I could feel it when I was rushing to tune the carbs. I tend to like heavier oil in them, but if nothing else they both should have the same thing. I get down the road and I'm feeling a consistent misfire/hesitation at 3-4K rpms. It felt like what I've experienced in the past as piston bounce, so at our gas "pit stop" among other things I dropped some 20W-50 in the front carb, mixed it up, and called it a day. The misfire mostly went away.
I drove it around town a while yesterday and tweaked some things, but still wasn't super happy, and that idle was NUTS.
I took a closer look and the linkages were also put together in a stupid, nutty way so I couldn't even mess with them and suspect that was part of the issue with the idle, and particularly with it not being willing to drop since the way they were on it they're not as free to move as normal(also I'm missing a spring that is not 100% necessary, but I always put on since I feel like it helps snap the throttles shut, but unfortunately I don't have any spares now-on the next order of piddly little parts). BTW, the quick and dirty "spray carb cleaner on everything" test didn't show any vacuum leaks. BTW, I definitely had gone too far on the rich side, since when I put my hand in the exhaust stream it came out covered in carbon flecks.
So, last night, the carbs came off and I at least arranged the linkages "correctly." I ran out of time so the carbs are on, but I still need to just get the linkages set up. I'm going to do a set-up from scratch with setting the mixture to "default"(screw the jets all the way in, then screw the adjusting nut out two turns), then set the idle with the throttle linkage disconnected, get it synchronized correctly, and hope to goodness it idles at a respectable speed.
In all of that, though, I overlooked the first rule of tuning, which is ignition before carbs. I didn't have my timing light when working the other day, and since it was running I figured "good enough." Now that I have one, I'm going to get rid of the iridium "pointy" plugs the shop put in and replace them with good old fashioned NGK copper core plugs gapped at 40 thou(I'm running a high energy ignition system that can handle that size gap-the book spec is 25 thou but I've never run lower than 30). Then, it's on to set the timing "correctly", which is easy with a good dial back light(which I have). Rather than messing with base timing, I was taught that MGs overall run best at 32º BTDC max mechanical advance(vac disconnected), so you just set your dialback light to 32º, rev the engine up enough for the timing mark on the balancer to stop moving, then tweak the distributor position until you have the TDC marks aligned at high RPMs. Simple, fast, and the car runs great.
So, to do list hopefully for today or tomorrow:
1. Get carbs close enough to right that the car should run
2. Pop the valve cover and set the valve lash
3. Set the timing
4. Mess with the carbs to get them synced, then dial in the mixture and hopefully have a reasonable idle.
5. Put a few more miles on it, then probably change the oil. I want the brake-in leftovers out.
The overdrive is often sluggish to engage, so after consulting with the OD expert, I need to check and make sure the transmission is actually properly filled with oil and that it has engine oil rather than gear oil in it. While I'm there, I should change the screen on the O/D unit, which I don't know why I didn't do while the transmission was out of the car. The gear stick is vibrating far more than I ever remember it doing, so I need to make sure all the shims, springs, etc are in place properly(IIRC, a cracked nylon bushing, which is common, at the end of the stick will do that, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't notice or just left the bushing out completely). The bushing theory might actually make since as it's been throwing me off as the 3-4 shift seems to need a little bit of a rightward nudge, while on every other MG I've ever driven it's a straight pull back. Having it not shift as you expect is a bit worrying when you're merging onto the interstate, for example. Oh, BTW, the speedometer died. It "wiggled" a bit sometimes, so I suspect-and hope-a broken cable, which isn't a huge deal to replace. I've had them brake when I wasn't careful with routing and bent them too sharply. The O/D switch ended up being the unused map light switch on the dash, but I'd really like to fix the map light. They couldn't get the wiper stalk switch(which is what I told them to use, and was put there exactly for it even if the car didn't have O/D) to work, but I can sort that out.
Also, my rear wheel cylinders have decided to get weepy, so I have a set on order. I was dealing with spongy brakes the whole way home, and the M/C was low when I picked it up. I've managed to get them mostly bled, but the weepy cylinders are a constant problem. Once they get in, I'll toss in new cylinders. The shoes are good enough that I can't bring myself to replace them.
In these dual brake circuit cars(68 on US market), there's to me a stupid little device called the PDWA, or "pressure differential warning actuator." Basically, it's an "H" union with a little shuttle valve between the two different brake lines out of the M/C(front and rear are on separate circuits). When the shuttle valve moves, it lights up a light on the dashboard to tell you that you've lost pressure in one of the lines. That would be a decent idea except for the fact that your foot will tell you that's happened far faster than a light will. Furthermore, the seals leak and allow "crosstalk" between the two brake circuits, which kind of defeats the purpose of having separate ones. I noticed in all of this that mine was leaking right out the top of the actuator switch, which is common. A kind fellow on the MG forum is sending me, for the cost of shipping, a block where he's gone in and internally soldered off the the union between the two lines, so the stupid switch is gone for good and will never leak again. Most folks just plug it with a bolt, but that still lets the cross-talk happen.
Not going to lie that it's a bit annoying to pay a shop almost $4K and have to do this much yourself, but it's worth it for the fact that I have it back and it's all things I can handle myself.
Final build sheet on the engine:
Bore 30 over, grind crank 10-10
Fit later style lighter connecting rods with 30 over shallow dish pistons(6cc)
Fit ported and polished factory "Big Valve" head with measured 37cc combustion chambers. Final C/R, calculated, is 9.6:1
Delta D9 street performance cam
Not measured, but should make 110hp at the flywheel, a nice step up from the stock 85hp or so.
I can imagine dropping that much $$$ and not having it all running correct is frustrating. But sounds like you can get it sorted.
While you're right that it is disappointing having to rectify so much yourself, at least you can do it (and honestly seem to know better than the shop how to do it).
Glad you have it back, though!
I got my carb linkages together and in some semblance of how they should be. I also reset the carb mixture to its default setting, which on an HS4 type carburetor is two turns of the adjustment nut down from the highest jet height. Right now I have the throttle linkage slack between the two so I can balance the carbs, but I'm having a terrible time getting a steady idle-and by steady I mean it will drop down to nearly dying(measured ~300rpms) and then shoot up to ~4K or so. I really need to get the timing set. As best as I can tell, at max advance it's well past 32º, but it won't stay steady long enough for me to get to actually set it. I really need to find some white out so I can make a mark that's easy to see on the top side of the crank pulley-why they thought putting the timing marks such that you had to climb under the car to see them, I will never know.
BTW, I bought a fancy digital combined dial-back light and tach. It's super handy to measure engine speed while also setting timing.
So, second thing-I'm again pondering wheels.
Right now, I have RoStyles. These are a pressed steel disk wheel, but I absolutely love them and they look "right" to me on the car
(not my car, and I don't have the chrome trim ring, plus my spokes are matte silver)
The issue is, those are 14", and the selection of sporty 14" tires in the right diameter is abysmal. There's some decent options in 185/70R14. That's the correct diameter, although it's a bit wider than the car was really designed to run and the steering effort is heavier than it should be plus it's not as "lively." This is the only size I know. You can drop down to a 175/70, but that throws the speedometer off.
There's also another problem in RoStyles in that it can be hard to find someone to balance them(they're lug centric, not hub centric. They're simple to balance if you have a pin adapter, but a lot of shops either don't have it or can't be bothered to use it).
Going to 15" opens up a LOT of options.
First of all, RoStyle wheels in 15" exist. They were used on American cars also, and early Mustangs share the 4x4.5 bolt pattern. In fact, some hunting on the issue actually lead me to Mustang owners talking about buying MGB wheels for an original look! The issue is that the offset is very different(I'm told), so most any tire will rub. Otherwise, they might be perfect.
There are bunches of alloy wheel options available, but I'm not wild about any of them. One I'm sort of mixed on is the Minilite style wheel, which is a style contemporary to the car and not actually out of the realm of period modification. I just can't warm up to them, at least not on chrome bumpers
One option I'm weighing, and I'm still neutral on this, is to use either a steel MGA wheel or a TR6 wheel. Both of these are 15" in the correct bolt pattern. They're kind of a generic steel wheel, although usually matte silver. That style wheel isn't totally out of place on an MGB, as a 14" version was used on early cars. I'm not sure how I feel about the overall look, though. MGA, TR6, and MGB with this style wheel
I should mention in the above that the MGA wheel isn't 100% identical to what I'd be fitting. The one above is actually a special wheel used on the MGA Twin Cam and MGA Deluxe-it's a Dunlop center lock steel wheel, but also has 4 lugs(no lugnuts) to help transmit torque. There is an otherwise identical looking(without the knock-off) MGA wheel that is held on by conventional lug nuts.
The MGA and TR6 wheels differ in being 4" and 6" respectively. 4" is really tight-tighter than a 4.5" MGB wire wheel-and would lock me into only using very skinny tires. 155/80R15 is actually somewhat common, though. A set of MGA steel wheels can be had for $150, and the TR6 wheels are about that much each.
There's also the "go for broke" option. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want wire wheels. Nothing looks quite as right on classic sports car to my eye, but I also know of plenty of folks who hurry to ditch them since they can have a lot of side-to-side flex. There's even a center-lock Minilite clone that I've known folks to use as a quick and dirty wire replacement.
Fitting wire wheels is not a small task. The front is easy-ish since you just bolt the splined hubs to the face of the brake rotor with lugnuts. The hubs are big enough, though, that to play nicely with the rear drums and keep the front and rear axles at the same spacing, you really need a wire wheel axle, which is about 2" total narrower. I can source one without any trouble, and fitting it isn't a huge job. Since these are live axle leaf spring cars, you unbolt the driveshaft, undo the rear brake flex hose, the handbrake cable, the rebound straps, and the 4 bolts holding it to each leaf spring. All manual MGBs use the same differential ratio(which means basically every one of them in the US) so there's no worry there.
This can get expensive, though, since hubs are really considered a wear item. The splines can get misshapen, and eventually won't engage the wheels properly. Naturally that's a very, very dangerous situation. For that reason, the standard advice is to not try to salvage hubs or wheels, but rather to fit new of both during a conversion(especially since a worn hub on a good wheel will wear out the wheel, or vice-versa).
A standard MGB wire is 14"x4.5" and is 60 spokes. It's a nice looking wheel and nicely matched to the car
Once again, there are two off-the-shelf 15" options.
The easy one to find is the MGA wheel, which is 15"x4" and 48 spokes
That brings me back to the same problem of needing narrow tires. I'm also a bit concerned about how a 48 spoke wheel will hold up with the more powerful and heavier MGB.
So, enter the "extreme" option, so to speak, of a 72 spoke MGC Wire Wheel, which are 15"x5". These wouldn't come inexpensively, though, at close to $500 each. Still, though, I think they would look amazing. The MGC wheels also have the nice touch of being tubeless, where AFAIK the MGA and MGB wires must have tubes. Tubes make for an extra annoyance on wire wheels since you need a good quality rubber wrap around the wheel-otherwise the ends of each of the wires are bunches of tiny spikes ready to munch a hole in your tube.
To my eyes, though, the MGC wheels are easily the best option. I just don't know if I want to spend the money on them.
BTW, I bought a fancy digital combined dial-back light and tach. It's super handy to measure engine speed while also setting timing.
So, second thing-I'm again pondering wheels.
Right now, I have RoStyles. These are a pressed steel disk wheel, but I absolutely love them and they look "right" to me on the car
(not my car, and I don't have the chrome trim ring, plus my spokes are matte silver)
The issue is, those are 14", and the selection of sporty 14" tires in the right diameter is abysmal. There's some decent options in 185/70R14. That's the correct diameter, although it's a bit wider than the car was really designed to run and the steering effort is heavier than it should be plus it's not as "lively." This is the only size I know. You can drop down to a 175/70, but that throws the speedometer off.
There's also another problem in RoStyles in that it can be hard to find someone to balance them(they're lug centric, not hub centric. They're simple to balance if you have a pin adapter, but a lot of shops either don't have it or can't be bothered to use it).
Going to 15" opens up a LOT of options.
First of all, RoStyle wheels in 15" exist. They were used on American cars also, and early Mustangs share the 4x4.5 bolt pattern. In fact, some hunting on the issue actually lead me to Mustang owners talking about buying MGB wheels for an original look! The issue is that the offset is very different(I'm told), so most any tire will rub. Otherwise, they might be perfect.
There are bunches of alloy wheel options available, but I'm not wild about any of them. One I'm sort of mixed on is the Minilite style wheel, which is a style contemporary to the car and not actually out of the realm of period modification. I just can't warm up to them, at least not on chrome bumpers
One option I'm weighing, and I'm still neutral on this, is to use either a steel MGA wheel or a TR6 wheel. Both of these are 15" in the correct bolt pattern. They're kind of a generic steel wheel, although usually matte silver. That style wheel isn't totally out of place on an MGB, as a 14" version was used on early cars. I'm not sure how I feel about the overall look, though. MGA, TR6, and MGB with this style wheel
I should mention in the above that the MGA wheel isn't 100% identical to what I'd be fitting. The one above is actually a special wheel used on the MGA Twin Cam and MGA Deluxe-it's a Dunlop center lock steel wheel, but also has 4 lugs(no lugnuts) to help transmit torque. There is an otherwise identical looking(without the knock-off) MGA wheel that is held on by conventional lug nuts.
The MGA and TR6 wheels differ in being 4" and 6" respectively. 4" is really tight-tighter than a 4.5" MGB wire wheel-and would lock me into only using very skinny tires. 155/80R15 is actually somewhat common, though. A set of MGA steel wheels can be had for $150, and the TR6 wheels are about that much each.
There's also the "go for broke" option. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want wire wheels. Nothing looks quite as right on classic sports car to my eye, but I also know of plenty of folks who hurry to ditch them since they can have a lot of side-to-side flex. There's even a center-lock Minilite clone that I've known folks to use as a quick and dirty wire replacement.
Fitting wire wheels is not a small task. The front is easy-ish since you just bolt the splined hubs to the face of the brake rotor with lugnuts. The hubs are big enough, though, that to play nicely with the rear drums and keep the front and rear axles at the same spacing, you really need a wire wheel axle, which is about 2" total narrower. I can source one without any trouble, and fitting it isn't a huge job. Since these are live axle leaf spring cars, you unbolt the driveshaft, undo the rear brake flex hose, the handbrake cable, the rebound straps, and the 4 bolts holding it to each leaf spring. All manual MGBs use the same differential ratio(which means basically every one of them in the US) so there's no worry there.
This can get expensive, though, since hubs are really considered a wear item. The splines can get misshapen, and eventually won't engage the wheels properly. Naturally that's a very, very dangerous situation. For that reason, the standard advice is to not try to salvage hubs or wheels, but rather to fit new of both during a conversion(especially since a worn hub on a good wheel will wear out the wheel, or vice-versa).
A standard MGB wire is 14"x4.5" and is 60 spokes. It's a nice looking wheel and nicely matched to the car
Once again, there are two off-the-shelf 15" options.
The easy one to find is the MGA wheel, which is 15"x4" and 48 spokes
That brings me back to the same problem of needing narrow tires. I'm also a bit concerned about how a 48 spoke wheel will hold up with the more powerful and heavier MGB.
So, enter the "extreme" option, so to speak, of a 72 spoke MGC Wire Wheel, which are 15"x5". These wouldn't come inexpensively, though, at close to $500 each. Still, though, I think they would look amazing. The MGC wheels also have the nice touch of being tubeless, where AFAIK the MGA and MGB wires must have tubes. Tubes make for an extra annoyance on wire wheels since you need a good quality rubber wrap around the wheel-otherwise the ends of each of the wires are bunches of tiny spikes ready to munch a hole in your tube.
To my eyes, though, the MGC wheels are easily the best option. I just don't know if I want to spend the money on them.
Definitely RoStyles or (real) wire ones. And I'm surprised they can't do the lug centric balancing. I would try and find a really good shop that is properly trained in hunter equipment for alignment and tracking and try them for balancing as well. I tend to drive a little to go to one near me and the guys working there truly know their stuff and don't just follow computer screens. And they can do all wheels for balancing as well.
I'm not overly familiar with the MGB engine but as you said yourself; get the timing right first, the carb is for the right mixture/emissions, but isn't there an idle control valve as well on an MG engine? But as you say the engine can be nearly dying. My daughter's Golf GTI MK2 did that, as emissions and timing were fine I started looking at the vacuum system and traced it back to a split in the oil breather valve. I would just get the carb set up to spec and look at that area.
I'm not overly familiar with the MGB engine but as you said yourself; get the timing right first, the carb is for the right mixture/emissions, but isn't there an idle control valve as well on an MG engine? But as you say the engine can be nearly dying. My daughter's Golf GTI MK2 did that, as emissions and timing were fine I started looking at the vacuum system and traced it back to a split in the oil breather valve. I would just get the carb set up to spec and look at that area.
Wire wheels for me are the way to go. Bugger to clean though.
I think for now the RoStyles are staying-I just wish that there was a viable 15" option.
The carbs do have an idle adjustment, and it's about as simple as it can be. It's just a screw on the carb body that prevents the butterflies from closing all the way. The issue is that, when tuning for the drive home, it was idling at 2K with the screws all the way off. I can't find a vacuum leak, which would be the normal cause of that.
I THINK the racing idle was from the linkages being so badly set up. Normally, you "balance" the two carbs at idle by slackening the linkage so that each carb is completely independent, the getting the airflow through them the same at idle. I've in the past used a flowmeter, but I find that the Unisyn type disrupts the airflow too much for a reliable reading. Consequently, I use a long piece of hose to listen to the airflow through the throat-doing that, I can get them nearly as close as with a properly used flow meter. In any case, I think my racing idle before was because they hadn't been properly synchronized, and I could see that even at idle one of the disks was held open.
I know timing is "close enough" now for it to run, even though to really dial it in, yes the timing is a higher priority. I need to do some intelligent messing with the carbs to get it at least idling stably so I can accurately measure the timing. Granted the simple and obvious thing to do also to get the timing in the ballpark is to set it statically, which I've not done in a while but is dead simple to do. 10º BTDC is the static value. Along those same lines, though, I need to get a paint pen or some white out, since the timing mark on the balancer is really difficult to see(I use to have it painted). I took the shop a nice tape and pointer set up that's on the top-side of the balancer, but somewhere or another along the way the tape fell off. The pointer is still there, though, so I can easily just spin the engine to TDC and put a mark inline with the pointer and can operate the throttle while shooting the light at it.
I'm going now shortly to shop for a heater, since my garage is unheated and uninsulated, and that limits my willingness to spend a long time working on it with sub-freezing temperatures outside.
What does (B)TDC translate to? I know the technical part of that, I just can’t figure out the words it abbreviates.
(In German TDC would be oberer Totpunkt, and the B means „before“ I‘d say)
(In German TDC would be oberer Totpunkt, and the B means „before“ I‘d say)
I can relate to a cold garage! But are you sure it’s not for your beloved MG? Good luck with the carbs.
Well, back with a 23,000 BTU Kerosene heater. I turned it on for about an hour and it doesn't exactly get the garage toasty but it's more than comfortable enough to work in. Of course I don't think it would keep up(unless you were right next to it) with the door open, as if running the car, but at least it's sort of comfortable. The other side of any combustion heater, though, is that they throw out a lot of moisture.
Another contender has risen to the top-they're 14" but are alloy, hub centric, and factory. I'm seriously thinking about tossing a set of 80 LE wheels on it
Also, with my heater and now new tubes in the ancient fluorescent light fixture out in the garage, I'm really set!
Also, with my heater and now new tubes in the ancient fluorescent light fixture out in the garage, I'm really set!