Well, as promised, I'll give you a rundown of my MG-filled spring
break...
How bad can things be when you start out on a beautiful Saturday
with the top down, and you're headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway? A
few noises worried me, but my oil pressure stayed constant
throughout the trip. As my navigator Joe and I approached our
jumping-on point for the parkway, we decided to get a little gas and
food. What odd looks we got when we pulled into a Subway with the
top down! A guy even commented about the "great convertible" parked
on the gravel lot! Temps were in the 50's, but it was sunny and we
were dressed warm as we finally got onto the parkway...We started
motoring down the glorious roads, when suddenly "Road Closed"
greeted us...
So, we hopped on a backroad until we found the end of the closed
area. We started swinging through the turns and up and down the
hills when I figured out why the parkway was closed in the one
spot - there was some unmelted snow still covering spots of the
road. No problem, I slowed to 40 mph and took the road hazard in
stride. It must have been funny to see two guys in an MGB with PA
tags blowing past those North Carolina-plated SUV's that were
*inching* through the slush at 15 mph!
The glorious trip continued, with Joe and I stopping at several
scenic overlooks to pose with the MG and just enjoy nature. The
parkway is truly a religious experience. There's no way to really
describe the feeling of peace and tranquility that such a wonderful
road provides for the MG driving soul.
Of course, this peace is only present when the road is clear...But
when a slowpoke gets in the way, there's nothing left to do but shag
'em! I hung on a squirrelly mustang's tail for a few miles before I
blew past him on a straight. The look on his face was priceless.
You could almost hear him say, "I paid $25k for this car, and an MG
outhandles me?!?"
I managed to hold my speed between 60 and 70 for most of the parkway
trails. Once again, there's nothing like communing with nature at
70+ through a sweeping bend! (Of course, the presence of a good
friend is a plus!)
We left the parkway, but not before posing for pictures next to a
sign that read "Mayberry Creek." (Us crazy Andy Griffith fans!) We
pulled into Joe's fiancée's place in Chatham, VA at about 8 p.m..
The journey took us 8 hours, but we were smiling and windburned,
having made the whole trip top-down.
Two days later, we headed north on rt.. 220. I heeded all warnings
to watch myself in Boone's Mill (thanks for the tip!)
Unfortunately, Monday was not a ragtop day. The snow started when
we were somewhere in VA, and got progressively worse as we made our
way into PA. Picking up 30 in the mountains was a little rough, but
we made it to my home without any problem - another 10 hours driven.
We spent one day in the garage, just playing with the MG. She got a
new fuel hose, a new heater hose, the K&N's were cleaned, and I
changed the plugs. The plugs were an interesting mix. Cylinders
two and three showed signs of running rich, while no's 1&4 showed a
good, clean burn. Oh well, I'd rather be rich than burn a hole in
my pistons.
On Wednesday, we took the MG to Gettysburg. Joe is a big Civil War
buff, and being from the south, he wanted to see the battlefield
that ended the Confederate's chances of being an independent nation.
I was looking forward to the trip, but only from an educational
point of view. I figured I'd a get a few good lesson ideas for
teaching.
I was wrong. The battlefield was amazing. I was really drawn in by
how much stayed the same since the time of the battle. We were the
only people there, so we could take our time walking around Little
Round Top, Devil's Den and the like. Yes, the MG even shows up in a
picture of the battlefield that saw the first day's fighting. A
memory that I'm sure we'll always treasure is a picture of my friend
and I standing where Pickett's charge took place. North meets south
again, but on friendlier terms.
On our way back through the mountains, it began to snow. Being from
the south, Joe was excited, and he told me to tell him when it got
bad. When other vehicles started sliding off the roads towards us,
I told him that it wad bad. A word to travelers - if you're ever in
a snowstorm in PA, don't drive the turnpike. We had about eight
inches of snow when I got on it, and guess how many snow trucks we
saw? Right, zero.
Either way, we made the trip home safely. Once we were back in
Latrobe, I let Joe try his hand at driving in the snow in a school
parking lot. Very funny!
The next two days involved intense work on the MGB. I got my seat
and panel kit from Moss, and we began the transformation...I won't
go into details unless anyone has questions, but the seat job is
best done with two people. The car looks amazing, but as others
have said, the new foams make the car uncomfortable! When I get
around to it, I'm going to try to take the adjusting rails off the
seats and bolt the seats directly to the floors, a la NASCAR style.
I didn't want to cut the foams down any, but I need to do
something...
Anyway, the MGB is enjoying a break in PA right now, sadly enough.
No, nothing broke, and I didn't wreck. I got a great deal on a 2.2
T1 engine for my Plymouth, so the truck is needed for hauling
duties. I miss the car already. In fact, when we were driving
back, we got hit with another snowstorm, and the truck did lousy -
worse than anything I've ever driven.
Right now, my Dad is using the MGB for his work. I'm afraid he'll
try to 'fix' something that isn't really broken, but I'm hoping he
won't see the need to. Of course, I did get a call yesterday asking
me how I turn on the radio...
Anyway, it was a great trip. Little Miss has new interior, though I
am sad to report that I've decided to do something pretty drastic.
When I was home, I tried to adjust the doors, again, with no
success. I measured the distance between the 'A' and 'B' posts in
my car, and found them to be wider at the bottom...No, the car's
rockers are good, it's just that the DPO didn't brace the posts when
he replaced the rockers. And so, it's with a heavy heart that I've
decided to have the body on my '77 welded and painted, to be used
eventually. Little Miss' body will be parted out, but all the
goodies like engine and interior will be transferred over to the
'77. Of course, this whole project is over a year away from
starting...There's a lot of good driving time left!
Enjoy 'em, and the pics will be up on my website as soon as Wal-Mart
develops them!
Michael S. Lishego
http://www.mgb.bc.ca/virtualgarage/
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