Many thanks to all those who helped get my ignition
problems sorted out before the trip. I ended up
putting in a new 1181 LSC which fit okay, and
replacing the battery as well as the primary ground
and the battery cable to the starter. That seemed to
resolve my electrical issues.
We made the trip up to Maine without any mechanical
problems, about 800 miles. The car ran just fine.
The weather was nice, lots of power etc. etc. Ran at
65 mph, at about 2600 rpm, got about 20 mpg. Car
pings quite a bit under hard acceleration, but chocked
that off to the 11 to 1 compression.
While I was in the Central Maine area, I did get to
stop by and visit with Jack and Bob (aka The MG Guys)
and drive one of his V8s. It was very well done.
There were a couple of big differences between his and
mine. The biggest was the addition of the Ford 3.0
rearend. It was much more comfortable than mine at
highway speeds. The other was the advantages of the
modified rear suspension. There wasn't the windup of
the rear springs that my car has when under hard
power. Very smooth, and easy to tell a rookie's first
mechanical project verses the professionals.
Here's where the fun part starts:
I headed out on Saturday morning, without any
problems. Got about 40 miles along and started
noticing white smoke in the cockpit. I limped along
another 10 miles to the next highway exit. The engine
died as soon as I pulled into the gas station off the
exit. Popped the hood, and found a lot of oil on the
engine. My little experience told me this was some
sort of mechanical problem in the engine, which
wouldn't be fixed on the side of the road. So one
call to AAA, and they had the car up on a flat bed.
The car is now at Jack's house awaiting him finishing
a couple of existing projects so he can take a look at
it. It will be at least a month before I can go back
and get it, and that's assuming it's something minor.
But the car is in good hands, and I'm sure it will
leave better than it's ever been. Just a matter of
money :-( Hmmm.........
So, I guess, I'll end up spending a good portion of
the summer sans my baby. Maybe I'll get all those
projects done around the house after all.
Glenn
Who probably shouldn't have tried an engine rebuild
for his first big mechanical project.
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