Howdy!
Just returned from a very LBC-oriented week in the U.K....
Went over for family stuff - inlaw's 50th anniversary - so, having done the
tourist thing in the south before, left most of my time for part hunting etc.
Monday, went to Moss Europe in Richmond. They have a very good catalog of ST
parts for MGBs, many not seen over here. Squandered extensively.
Tuesday, went to Brown and Gammons in Baldock. These guys are good and have some
performance stuff not available at Moss. Squandered some more. Was reassured
by Malcome Gammons that my cam was appropriate for the aluminum head/Webers I
run. He uses the same head/Osselli cam and dynos out 110 at the rear wheels of
his street vehicle. Their attitude is refreshing relative to Corporate Moss.
Wednesday, went garage visiting in a Lotus Turbo Esprit. My friend took me
around to see some of the amazingly well-prepared Rolls Royces, MGs, and Jaguars
of his buddies in Kent. The Lotus went well but seems so wide for the narrow
roads.
Thursday, went back to Moss Europe. Supposedly to return the previously supplied
Addco sway bar bushings (Addco=junk in my experience, these looked to be more
of the same) but took the opportunity to squander some more.
The weak pound provided another way to justify stocking up on parts. Had a hell
of a full carry-on bag full of parts on the flight back. Got about $100 bucks
back on VAT at the airport. Got surprisingly little interest from security
checks considering how suspicous the load must look on X-ray.
Re: driving over there... had no problems. Only one minor scrub of the offside
wheel against the curb. Left hand shifting was much smoother than last time.
The only pain was the turn indicators - I kept turning on the wipers to
indicate a turn. The roads are narrow and fast. I have never been able to figure
out why cars are allowed to park in the middle of the road, turning a 2 lane
road into a 1.25 lane road. Especially since the sidewalk is empty and is wider
than those in the States. Makes for alot of games of chicken with the oncoming
traffic. Road signage is a joke. No concept of N,S,W,E etc, only obscure towns
that are in the general direction. Or opposite direction. Or if a possible road
leads to a possible road which may eventually take you in the direction of the
city. These aren't the larger cities, and the city indicated changes randomly
as you go. The only road I saw indicating the direction as north was the M25,
which is the major ring road around London. In which case either direction
eventually takes you north. Certainly makes one learn the geography. I'm
convinced that the signs changed to confuse invading Germans have never been
changed back.
Now that I have all these parts stocked up, I have no excuse for delaying the
jobs of fitting them. One of the first is the adjustable cam sprocket. I want
to try a -2 or -3 deg change. Any tips for setting this correctly?
John Sanders
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