Re: request by Scott Conti for details of the MG convention.
I haven't the details, but it probably is at the MG Museum in Westminster
VT, I say, VT. The museum is owned by the same gentleman who owns
the T-series parts company Abingdon Spares across the Connecticut River in
Walpole NH. There is an enormous difference between NH (lot of signs
and scrub brush) and VT (idyllic). The museum alone is well worth seeing if
you are an MG enthusiast or just a lover of LBC's; it is a sizable if not very
well restored collection, supposedly the largest private MG collection
extant. Bring your unresolved MG questions; there is a largish but
haphazardly maintained collection of books and literature.
Re: request by Jeffrey Samuelson for recommendation for speedo repair.
After an ill-advised attempt to fix my bugeye speedometer myself, I sent
it to Nisonger Instrument Repair. They are in NY. I don't have the
address, but they advertise in the services section of Hemmings. The
speedometer was returned very quickly, works perfectly, and looks good.
As I recall, they charge a flat $80 or so and completely overhaul a
Spridget speedometer regardless of what's wrong, which did not bother me
because I had really trashed mine. I suggest checking your rear axle
ratio and sending that info to them with the speedo. I understand that
speedometers for Spridgets are different for different axle ratios; they
may be able to calibrate it to work if they know they need to, or at least
they can warn you if the speedo head is wrong for the axle. Which axle
ratio a speedo head is for is coded in little numbers on the dial face; I
do not know the code. The rear axle ratio is probably stamped on the
front of the "pumpkin" casting, and consists of a fraction such as "9/38"
(4:22 to 1). I believe it is on the top, to make it easy to read :-). It
will take some looking, but it will almost surely be there and it is more
reliable than counting driveshaft revolutions. You cannot count on the
car having the same ratio that was advertised for it. Nisonger also
refurbishes other LBC gauges, and the work I've seen looks very good.
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