Hi Dave,
This may be more then you were looking for, but what the
hell. Here we go.
Lets see, It was the best of times it was the worst of
times, ( famous quote for this book)
Last year I had a great time, I was installing bomb
detectors throughout the whole United States and south pacific islands. On
my way back from the south pacific I was lucky enough to do an install
somewhat near Ada Michigan.
I had been searching all over at every stop for a good
set of MGA fenders for my current project. I have heard many accounts about
John Twist from a friend that had grown up near the area and always spoke in
beaming praise of the man and his shop and practices.
I have had a lot of practice and first hand knowledge of
the mechanics mgb mostly from being a poor college student, falling in love
with complete wrecks therefore rending me useless to make a good assessment
of the car and paying to much, When younger I had a high opinion of myself.
I could fix anything. Sometimes the lesson learned is that there are limits
in some areas of knowledge or ability.
I was a little intimated to tell you the truth of meeting
Mr.Twist finally but I drove out to his place of business and tried to see
if there were any fenders forsale whilst seeing what this guy was all about.
Ive met a lot of pompius so and sos in my time man, and I
hate to see that kind coming. I was
sort of expecting to get that typical treatment not knowing if I was
the next christian to enter the lyons den.
I told him why I was out in Michigan and he told me that I
was going to have a hard time finding decent fenders for the A that weren't
going to need some attention. ( He was right )He then mentioned that there
was a seminar opening available and that he could squeeze me in. I took him
up on it. I was there for the weekend anyway.
My first impression of John twist was that he was a very
practical guy. I liked him
very much after about a half an hour of meeting him. I dont like to judge a
book by the cover, Its the contents that matter. We talked of a mutual
friend Max Fulton.
John seemed to me an honest working man trying to make a
living at what he loves to do . I'm used to that kind of personality. He was
straight foreword and unpretentious. In other words if you get a chance to
cultivate a friendship with the guy professionally or personally you will be
a lucky man because you have met a stand up guy. His sons were working part
time at the shop with him. It was fun to see the Dad side of John trying to
let his teenage son repair a mechanical apparatus as he himself had to
standby grit his teeth and try to hold back as any father would do whilst
fighting off the impulse to rip the part out of the boys hand and do it
himself. It reminded me of my early experiences working at my godfathers
garage. Man we could really get the old man to blow his top some days. We
were all young once and needed time to learn.
Carl Hiedlman (eclectic motor works) and John gave a very
educated seminar speaking on many subjects of tuning a B series engine. They
discussed options pricing improvements. Carl has compiled a very impressive
list of dyno curve data, carburetion systems(old and new) Very informative
and cutting edge including new crossflow technology and supercharging. What
he didn't have he was trying to obtain.
Carl, a very nice gentleman surprisingly young, talented knowledgeable. He
was currently engaged on an ambitious retoration of an mga. Id keep my eye
on this guy he has a lot going on.
I thought we would be hanging around one car and drinking
a few beers and trying to out story each other. You know, my car is faster
than yours yada yada. That are favorite past time up here at the Boston Area
MG Club. (Just kidding) Little did I know I just entered MG bootcamp!( Just
Kidding)
The seminar was conducted much like a college course. Carl
and John gave their all to
supply many technical answers, very willing to share their expertise to
anyone who inquired.
I think the quote of the day was "There are no stupid questions accept the
one you don't ask"
Frankly the amount of information was overwhelming I wasn't
expecting for the professionalism and amount of detail that was supplied. It
was all to benefit the customer. If you really want to know how your car
works and correct procedures and adjustments you have just entered mg Mecca
in the USA.
I know there's others out there with great reputations like
Lawrie Alexander that run great shops and to all of you I do not mean to
detract, for we need all of these knowledgeable shops and people to help us
keepem on the road. I'm only making comment on an mgers travel experience.
I had a lot of MG myth in the mechanics department debunked.
In some cases
when it comes to mechanics on these cars real knowledgeable people have been
taken in on
some unbelievable fairy tales. I myself was told that the 67 mgb block is
superior to all the others because of special metallurgy processing. I know
gullible, that's me sometimes. Twist gave me a good logical answer
and was very kind in his explanation. Hell they could have told me some
blocks were cast at midnight by keebler elves that were naked eating onions
and at sometime I might have went for it. If that would have made my car go
better maybe I would have tried it myself.
Many of the other people at the seminar had brought
transmission, distributors etc,etc...
John had them disassemble an item and show how to detect the offending areas
and correct the areas that required rebuild.
I had never seen one of Twists books before, when I pawed
through his book I couldn't have been more surprised at the wealth of
information he had compiled It took me 10 years to learn what I looked at in
ten minutes of his technical manual. ( His tech manual is a must have in my
opinion) Its a little dated but very informative.
Well Sorry for the novel, but if you get a chance get out there and
meet those guys you will be happy you did, or at least you can form your own
opinion. I thought I knew a lot and they were still able to teach me a few
tricks. Not that I'm not still learning. I love the list I'm so glad this
exists. Just a few days ago I got some great info about thrust washer
tolerances for my 1622 engine.
I just reread all this, I'm going to start a critics column somewhere.
Anyway enjoy your trip
Steve D
Boston area mg club
> Does anyone have first hand experience with the technical seminars at
> University Motors held every February? I have given serious thought to
> taking my son and attending. Particularly, the MGB gearbox rebuild come to
> mind. Its just wishful thinking right now but I'd like to get a better
feel
> for the logistics and total costs first.
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