Once again the Valentines did an outstanding job!
They even know how to hold off the rain in PennsylRAINia until AFTER the
rally :)
I was lucky enough to NOT get the broken axle award because I didn't
have any breakdowns on the rally. But.......
I left NJ with my Sprite, PIECES was driven by my daughter, and my son
and his new bride took the Austin A40.
So 3 LBCs and our first snag was a very serious oil leak with major
smoke on PIECES about 15 miles from home. I told my daughter to just get
off the Parkway, get oil, and go home.
She made it about 6 miles from home and called a friend with a trailer
because PIECES died.
On I go, stop to pay the Asbury toll and notice a weird noise in my
Sprite. Sort of a popping back thru the carb. But it's running OK and I
proceed with the trip.
Next the A40 has ignition troubles in Allentown, PA. A quick dizzy swap
fixed that.
I tried to figure out what was wrong with my Sprite at the rally meeting
place only to give up and rally it with it's funky noise and lack of power.
Back home (no problems on the return trip) I popped the head on my
Sprite to see if I burned a valve or piston. Nope. Just a blown head
gasket. I can't believe it ran that good with a 1/4" gap between #2 and
#3 cyls. At least it was an easy fix.
PIECES still runs and has 65 psi of oil pressure and no knocks.
Turns out it died on the way home because it had an ignition problem.
Low tension wire broke off the coil.
Chink made terminal connector failed. Some chink is gonna get it from me
and I don't care if he made the chinese junk or not, next chink that
crosses my sight is crab bait! Make that ALL the chinks that cross my
path. Usless breed of crap makers might make good crab bait. Can't do
anything else WAF.
But other than 3 LBCs with minor problems, I had a good time.
Did I mention my Healey tractor is dead too? Water pump decided to give
out after 40 years.
So 4 out of 4 LBCs all dead within a week.
Many of these fine automobiles are now for sale. All will run, drive,
and stop the day you buy it. That's a promise. No guaranty once you get
around the corner.
--
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
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