Helo all,
I subscribed to the list about a week ago and have found it quite helpfull. I
reciently aquired an Brooklands Green 1980 MGB from my younger brother. I fell
in love with it some 5 years ago, when I drove it down from my grandfathers
house in Dayton, Ohio to where my brother lived in Atlanta. He was to recieve
the car since he was the only one in my family without a vehicle. He was also
only 15 years old and could not drive yet, which is why I got to drive it down
for him (hated giving up those keys). Needless to say, he did not appreciate
what he had, and complained about the vehicle constantly. That was until this
past June when he got his dream car...a Honda Accord (no joke!)from my father,
in exchange for the MG. Neither of my parents drive standards anymore, and the
only reason I could think that they would want it was that my mother has always
regretted selling her '64 some 30 years ago!
Well, I found out when I recieved a call from them to come pick it up if I
wanted it. Looks like those times that I sat and worked on it while my brother
watched TV paid off. My mother knew that I loved the car, and since she was
not going to drive it, this way it would stay in the family. There was only
one catch, the MG needed some small repairs :)
There were two problems which needd to be taken care of right away.
First, the radiator had developed a small leak and needed to be rebuilt.
Second, a power drain had developed after my brother replaced the stock radio
with a CD head unit, 200 watt amp, and 10"bazooka tube sub woffer(the Overdrive
had gone out at the same time).
I have had the radiator problem fixed, and the electrical system gone through.
No drain was found, that is until the radio was connected. With the radio in,
there is enough drain to kill the battery overnight. The solution thus far has
been for me to go w/o a raido, but I would like to install a stock unit. Has
anyone run in to a problem like this? Maybe it is a problem with that
individual head unit. The overdrive still is not working. The British car shop
said that it was in the wiring, and estimated about $200 to fix it.
The only other problems with the car are two small spots of rust. The first
spot of rust is by the drivers door, just above where the top slides on. It is
about 3/4" in diameter and is slight surface rust. The second spot worries me
more. It is in the middle of the passenger door. The paint here is beginning to
bubble, looks like it was filled in but not fixed. It is a spot about 1/2" in
diameter and seems to go have gone completely through (I cant tell for sure due
to the filler) The paint is starting to bubble slightly around the filler.
I am almost afraid to look at what is behind it.
Other than these problems. the car seems to be running fine. I have driven it
almost 1,000 miles since I picked it up on the 22nd of July.
The car was only run three pf four times in the past year (due to the
electrical drain) and thus far I have changed the oil and greased the kingpins.
Is there anything else I should look for since it hadn't been driven much the
last year?
One thing of note is that I do not have a garage, and so it will remain
outside in all weather. It is my daily driver, but I would like to get a good
cover for it. Any suggestions on types?
Thanks,
Erich Bruning
'69 Norton Commando 750 'S'
'80 MGB
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