I've got the engine rebuilt on my '79 B and it's ready for
a reintroduction to the car (hello car, this is your engine,
remember it?). So now I'm prepping the engine compartment
and need some advice. There has been a long-time brake fluid
leak from the master cylinder down onto the engine compartment
paint, which has ruined the paint underneath the MC. The cause
was a simple crossthreading of the plastic switch that screws
into the MC from underneath, which the DPO did nothing about. :-(
So I've decided to repaint the engine compartment.
What's the best way to accomplish this? I'm stripping everything
out that I can (heater, MC, wiring harness/fuses/relays, everything).
But I'm an amatuer when it comes to painting. I have no
equipment or experience. Can I get away with spray paint? (I'll
duck here while the flamers of the group pontificate :-)
I'm looking for practical suggestions on prepping the surface
and getting a decent job done, without investing much $$$ in spray
guns, air compressors, etc (although I will go for one of those
$40 mask/respirators/whatever they're called :-). I don't see
much point in stripping it to bare metal and using primer if I
can get away without doing so, except in the relatively small
area with the brake fluid damage. Should I be wire brushing
this area with a drill and wire brush attachment? You can
probably tell by that question that I don't have much clue
what I'm doing here :-)
I'm not looking for show quality or even close, and I've got no
plans to do anything to the exterior paint for a long while even
though it might eventually need something. The exterior is in
decent enough shape that I'm not ashamed of it, even with the
few dents and scratches that it has.
If someone feels like remailing me the info on matching color
codes (I believe it's done using the VIN number?) that would be
great. Otherwise I can just search back through the list archives
to find the answer, no problem.
BTW - this list has been a great help to me. I probably wouldn't
have been confident enough about pulling out the MC and clutch
cylinder without knowing that I've got the list to use as a resource.
The rest of the engine is just a great little jigsaw puzzle, but some
parts like transmissions and until now, master cylinders, have been
a little intimidating.
Finally, my two cents on the etiquette controversy of last week are
attached below. It's rather long, so press Next now to skip. Respond
to me via direct email if you must, *NOT* to the list, thank you.
I've no intent to keep this discussion going :-)
Thanks,
Joe
------
My $.02 on list netiquette (rather long).
First point -
Jeez, kids, keep your sandbox personality fights in your own
email boxes. As in the phrase "take it offline". That goes for
nearly all the followups too. Should I just start posting this
phrase when I see these little arguments, with no general
list value, erupt?
Second Point -
I've been on the net for about a dozen years, and I've seen a certain
style of list degeneration happen many times. The frequency and length
of postings by a relatively few posters can start to dominate a list for
a period, and will often spill off-topic into personal or other off-topic
disputes (witness Jack vs. Dave). Those involved appeal to the rest of
the list for justification or support for their positions, which just
perpetuates the dispute, while the list suffers in value until the
dispute dies. Lots of time the dispute will *never* die. Just take a
look at the helmet wars on rec.bicycles. Bring that topic up again on
rec.bicyles and they'll kill you! It looks like we've got a similar
problem with Triumph vs. MG and MG/Triumph owner snobbishness postings.
Please, let it die :-(
Suggestions for Defending your honor against public attacks:
As for character assassination, if someone has publicly slammed you,
defamed your character, whatever, and you feel you *must* respond
publicly, try this. Post a two sentence response saying:
"So and so, I think you're wrong. I'll take the matter up with
you via private email."
Simple, effective, and very good to list harmony. You've publicly
stated *everything* that needs to be stated publicly, and you haven't
dragged the rest of the list into a personal disagreement. There's
no $%$@#!%! need to involve the entire list in *your* disagreement!
If you feel personally slighted by someone don't turn it into a flame
war on the list!!!! Don't appeal for endless testimonials from your
list supporters, even though you have them!!! And heaven forbid, if
you want to stick up for someone and show your support, send it via
direct email, for crying out loud!!! (excuse me for getting loud here)
Always keep in mind that there are *many* more folks on the list who
don't really care about personal arguments, character assassinations,
or off-topic flame wars, than there are those who do. Those who will
take your side don't need any convincing, those who won't take your
side, won't, and the rest of the list doesn't give a hoot!!! Any
effort to sway anyone is wasted list discussion and drags down the
quality of the list.
Another observation:
Some folks have a posting style that substitutes quantity for
quality or may seem to. Nonetheless, these folks are usually valued
list contributors, not always to everyone on the list, but to many.
These are often the subjects of personal attacks.
I'd just say that frequency of posting is great, since it truly
reflects a passion about the subject, but let's keep things on-topic
and with useful content. No need to post every opinion you own.
Realize that even though you do know everything about the subject,
people will get tired of you dominating the conversation. And often
folks with that much passion about the subject will write long
postings of their opinions without much really useful content.
Measuring this is entirely subjective, but if you're a heavy poster,
it's often better to err on the side of restraint, and remember that
direct email is often appropriate.
Finally, my take on Triumph vs. MG:
I'll say here that my interest in LBCs I can trace back to a neighbor's
Triumph roadster (maybe a TR3 or TR6, I don't know). This was in
the mid-sixties and I must have been about 7 or 8 years old. I
thought it was the coolest car. When I finally acted on this latent
love for LBCs, at the ripe age of 32, I just happended to buy an MG.
It could just have easily have been a Triumph, or more likely a Datsun
roadster (saw a lot of these in Southern Cal). Not a Fiat though :-)
Anyway, I really am offended by folks slamming Triumphs, if only
because I remember how beautiful I thought my neighbor's TR6 roadster
was, seen through my eight-year old eyes. I wish you'd keep that
opinion off the list, cause it's a pointless slam against a kindred
LBC.
Thanks much for reading this far. Comments welcome. Flames ok too.
Help with the above engine compartment painting questions appreciated
more though :-)
Cheers,
Joe P.
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