Well, the MGB did make the trip! Not without a little work though...
I went home Friday to find that the parts store didn't get my starter in
yet, and the new relay and fuse box I ordered weren't there yet either...So,
I went out to play on Saturday and took some spare relays...Pulled my
original one apart, and found the contacts entirely burned up! I picked a
new relay, wired it up and the car started up! I thought I had the problem
figured out until later that day...When the car was doing the same thing it
had done a week ago...One click from the relay and nothing else. I pulled
this relay apart to find these points fried! After speaking with some
folks, the consensus was that the starter was drawing too much juice and
most likely needed replacing...
I still drove the car, I just kept two or three relays in the trunk for
emergencies, though I never needed to pull them. I opened up the spark plug
gap (I had neglected to do this when I got the sport coil) and the power
increase was amazing! It actually bumped up my idle a few hundred RPMs too,
which I didn't expect - but it was nice. Coincidentally, I noticed a small
rust hole in my front muffler a few weeks ago. It had apparently been the
source of my small backfiring problems, and I wasn't too concerned, as I had
planned to replace the dual mufflers with a single glasspack over Christmas
break anyway...On Sunday, as I was driving, the backfire became louder and
louder until one shift when the damned muffler blew up! I thought someone
was shooting a gun, it was so loud - but when I stopped the car, there was
my front muffler with a three inch blast hole in it. The car runs fine, but
it will backfire blatantly if provoked...
So, thankfully (or not) I got the flu. Some will say it's MOWOG's revenge
for driving with the top up at night. Others (like my mom) will say that
it's mother nature's way of telling me to put the top up when it's colder
than 40 degrees outside! Either way, my illness allowed me to stay with the
MGB until the starter came...Though I can think of better ways to heal
myself than by eating grime while lying on my back, replacing the starter!
Actually, the starter job was pretty simple, and the new relay and fuse box
went in without difficulties. I grabbed some tapes, packed my stuff,
checked the fluids and was ready to go!
The trip would have been more fun if it wasn't for my illness, (Which made
me feel like two hours was five hours of driving) and the hole in the
exhaust. Don't get me wrong, with that hole there, my MG sounds like a V-8.
It sounds NICE. But, keep in mind that it backfires on a hard shift, and
that backfire is right under my seat. The engine noise drowns out ALL music
from the radio, and the backfire even makes the disc player skip! (As I
type, my ears are still ringing). Anyway, the MGB performed beautifully,
with only a slight miss, which I think might be attributed to the ignition
advance and the exhaust leak.
Things got interesting in VA when I stopped to try and eat solid food for
the first time since Saturday. I got in the car to start it, and the
starter ground to a halt. Uh oh... The lights were off, the idiot light
isn't glaring, what's wrong? I popped the hood to see my alternator belt
sagging almost limply around a pulley. The alternator bolt that holds the
tension let loose and stopper charging - and I thought it was odd that my
turn signals were slowing down over time! I tightened it back up with all
my invalid strength, got a jump from a local, and was on my way again - with
no problems all the way home!
Observations:
I had three separate incidents where people in Subaru's VIOLENTLY tailgated
me, even as I sped up to accommodate them. Normally, I slow down or drive
the same speed, but when an Outback comes barreling at you, you move!
Lincoln Navigators are just plain huge. One passed me today on the highway,
and when I looked over at it, all I could see was the top of his tires.
yikes!
Most guys from 18-30 in a pickup truck are strangely irritated by guys passi
ng them in LBC's. Every one I passed made an attempt to pass me again, and
when they did, they'd go back to their former speed of 12mph. I guess
they're just jealous of my charming good looks and beautiful car. *sigh*
The burdens I must face...8-)
The MG handled so well, the drive was almost boring. On turns where I'd
fight to keep my truck between the trenches at 45 mph, the MGB blew through
them at 60 without me even noticing.
Had the MGB up to about 95 mph on, yes, I-95. If I was caught, I was going
to give the old "I saw a sign that says '95', I thought it was the speed
limit." gambit before being hauled off to jail.
Brakes faded after a long while of driving - of course, I'm a bit of a road
warrior and can go 200+ miles without a potty break. It's nice that the MGB
could accommodate me - she got between 24 and 30 mpg on the trip. I'm
impressed, for a four-speed.
Managed to beat the system again. The school gives out parking stickers,
and snowball's chance in you-know-where they're sticking one on MY paint or
chrome. got them to give me one, and I stuck it to one of those magnetic
sheets, and cut it to the same size as the sticker. It sits on my bumper
and looks like the real thing. If somebody steals it? Um, well...
Decided on "Little Miss Magic" as the name for my car. that way, I can
shorten it to "Little Miss" or "Miss Magic" depending on HER moods...BTW,
the name came from a Jimmy Buffett song he wrote for his first daughter when
she was born...Somehow I feel like Miss Magic is my "next of kin."
So, she's here, safe and sound. No other LBC sightings, though I did make
the day for two guys driving down US 1. It was right after the sun went
down and my top was still down (I know, I feel the illness already!) I was
wearing a winter coat, gloves, and a toboggan pulled way down over my ears
while driving...These two fellas in a pickup saw me coming, matched my
speed, and waved and smiled at me. Somehow, I got the feeling that I was
the funniest thing they saw all day...
Enjoy 'em, and remember - it's the little things that make life
worthwhile...
Michael S. Lishego
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/3706/
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