How many SOLers have named cars? Some of ours are named, others just
sort of referred to. My fiancee's 79 Midget is lovingly called "Biscuit"
(guess what color the interior is), while my 68 MGB is simply known as
"race car". Me mum had a Renault Dauphine name "Funky Winkerbean", and
my Renault R-10 is "Louis".
We've only had the Midget for a few months, and have run it very little,
due to most effort being turned to the front suspension. It idled rough,
and I kept blabbering that it sounded like a dead miss. We went through
the whole routine, plugs, carb rebuild, dist cap, etc., checking to see
how much each little thing helped. The carb was dreadfully rich. Well,
it began to run better, but still that miss. So we pulled the rocker cover,
and I adjusted the valves. The PO had the #1 exhaust valve so tight that
it wasn't closing all the way. Bloody unbelievable. New gasket, cover
back on, fired it up--it spat soot and then ran like a champ. It ought
to be on the street soon, but we've still got brakes to replace.
I have a theory concerning the leaking and "consumption" of oil that
plague LBCs. I think that oil loss is directly related to the bizarre
problems that LBCs have. It seems (and we are currently lab testing this),
that gremlins live off of oil. Case in point: during WWII, Army aviators
had mysterious problems with aircraft, which became associated with gremlins.
The aircraft of that time period leaked oil (ever looked at a B-17 engine?).
The gremlins fed off of the oil, and caused problems. After the war, these
gremlins, which were of course in England, moved into the various factories
which our beloved toys were made in.
My street car's cylinder head had an external crack that ran under the valve
cover, hence the water in my upper oil. The cylinder head has been repaired
and returned to its block, and is running leak free. Now I have to fix a
leaky brake cylinder. (And I'm waiting on an idle jet--note that is singular
one was in stock, the other back ordered)
We are planning on replacing the sills on our '58 Jagaur MKI this spring.
any advice before we hack the old ones off? I'm terrified of incurring
body sag/flex/damage.
I hope everyone had a good time over the holidays! (Our house is filled
with shining new parts for the race car, Biscuit, and the Bugeye)
-Keith (Only slightly crazy, but heavily considering running around
at a Britcar event with an octagonal shield screaming "Once
more unto the breach dear friends, once more!")
remember what me mum always says: "Look for the Union Jack when you
buy a car"
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