Here’s a time-saving and cheap idea that is sure to help out any British car owner when working in his/her garage. Simply save an egg carton and use it as a separator/part holder to hold small parts and keep them organized. There is no cheaper container with as many compartments! Also I use a soft-bristled…
Are you having trouble installing your new seat diaphragm to an assembled seat? Try this: modify a large (preferably old) screwdriver by cutting a slot in the blade to accept the diaphragm hook. This is then used to force the side hooks into place. On my TR6, it was preferable to turn the front and back…
When my ’68 Jaguar XKE needed a new clock battery, which is a small mercury cell 1.5 volt, I was informed that the EPA had banned the sale and disposal of mercury cells in California! Determined to have a working clock in the Jag, I modified the circuit, grind two pieces of insulated wire, approximately…
I enjoy getting your newsletter very much and when it arrives I devour it cover to cover! I especially enjoy the Tech Tips and Under the Bonnet features and get a lot of useful information from them. Owning a 1976 MG Midget can be quite a challenge at times! Recently every 50 miles or so,…
From Moss Motoring 1985 OVERHEATING? Just a couple of things I figured out the hard way. First of all, on overheating. If the heater is on when the engine is running hot, and the condition of the heater valve is at all questionable, it is not advisable to turn off the valve. As long as…
Overdrive Faults Ken Gillanders Temple City. CA Fully 90% of overdrive problems that are not electrical faults are traceable to either the gear oil level being too low, or an improper adjustment of the solenoid, so we’ll skip these and concentrates on the others. An overdrive that fails to engage can sometime be traced to…
A lady took her car into a large garage for a minor tune-up. She was informed that one of the spark plugs had stripped the threads in the head. The garage installed a Heli-coil and four new plugs. The charge? $12 for four plugs and $4 for the insert, plus of course, $170 for labor!…
I bought my 1980 MGB a year ago from a very honest guy who was open to showing me all the problems as well as the good points of the car. He informed me that all of the light bulbs had been tested and replaced, but the turn signals still didn’t work! After buying the…
My tip concerns the removal of stuck pistons from brake cylinders. Air pressure usually works, but then you spend the rest of the afternoon looking for the parts on the floor! I have taken some old brake line nuts and drilled them out then tapped them to take grease fittings. Now, with a grease gun,…
Leaking or blown head gaskets are a common problem with British sports cars engines – particularly with BMC A-series (Spridget) and B-series (MGAs and MGBs). The problem arises from many different causes, such as the mating surfaces of the cylinder head and block being warped, the cylinder head studs stretching, or the gradual deterioration of…
