This “Under the Bonnet” is a potpourri of short topics suggested by our customers, and selected to be of interest to the novice home mechanic. IGNITION POINTS You have just finished installing a new set of points, but can’t get the engine to start. Before allowing panic to set in, check the order of assembly…
Bronze Valve Guides We have enjoyed owning a 1959 MGA 1500 fixed head coupe for more than 30 years. We have been able to keep the car in good condition during that time, thanks to an adequate supply of parts from Moss Motors. I recently had the valves ground, and had the old steel valve…
As I entered the intersection of Fulton and Fuller on my way to work this morning in my wife’s 1973 MGB/GT, my eyes were inexplicably drawn to the odometer. Why I should have glanced at the numbers, which at that moment were tolling to the next thousand, I do not know. But today, here in…
In my technical services corner one problem keeps cropping up with renewed fervor; sagging IRS Triumph rear springs. Wc thought a technical recap would help, and since I REALLY like these squatty-tailed monsters, I volunteered to write this column! An array of problems results from worn and sagging springs. Mismatched or upside down trailing arm brackets can…
A little known architect of the Standard Triumph Company in the fifties and sixties was Stuart Peck. Post war most of his career was spent at Mulliners the famous coach builders in Birningham, England. Stuart’s first major job was to produce a full size drawing for the Triumph 1800 razor-edged saloon that would eventually be…
One of the most daunting tasks a new MGA owner can face is the yearly ritual of erecting the hood or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, “putting up the top”. Many misconceptions have arisen about this operation, and one automotive magazine even went so far as to describe a new sports…
At various times during the manufacture of the cars called Austin-Healey, both big and little ones, the factory’ made available removable fiberglass hardtops for most models. There probably aren’t rarer original options available today that can dramatically change the looks of your favorite model the way one of these hardtops can. What was a roadster or…
Dear Howard, I guess that five trips to Italy in as many years to cover the Mille Miglia retrospective qualifies YT as a “junkie”. I admit having become an addict. Our report to you on last years trip touched on a number of British marques that we came across in our travels through Italy. This…
