Tech Tips: Spring 1991

MGB Trans. Mount Bushings
T.L Goodell
Concord, CA

The following is my recommended procedure for installing the two rubber bushings (Moss #280-055) on the 1968-on MGB transmission rear mount.

The smaller of the bushings two flanges is 1 1/4″ in diameter and about 1/4″ thick. The hole through which it must pass is only about 3/4″ in diameter. None of my usual brute force and ignorant approaches (i.e. screw driver poking) were of any help when attempting to install these bushings. In fact, more time was spent chasing them across the garage floor, than in concluding any constructive work.

It dawned on me that the problem was similar to installing the windscreen rubber on a Triumph 2000. So I developed a procedure along that line.

First, secure the yoke in a vise, oriented as shown. Tie off one end of a thin cord, in the direction of one end of the yoke (I used the vise base for this). Loop the cord and pull it up through the yoke hole. Pass the loop about the bushing as shown, and place the edge of the bushing flange into the yoke hole. It helps to oblongate the bushing as you do this, with your free hand.

Initially, you should pull the cords almost parallel to the bushing groove. But, as more of the flange begins to enter the hole, you should change your direction of pull downward, until eventually you’re pulling straight down. In this manner, you will gradually peel the flange circumference through the hole.

A lubricant, like Armour-All, will make things easier and protect the rubber from chafing. Tying off the cord leaves one hand free to manipulate the bushing, and also to change the pull angle of the cords. Obviously, the wiser you arc at choosing your tie-down point, the better this procedure will work.

That’s it. you’re done then! With more time for the important things, like popping open a can of Tennent’s 80-Shilling Ale and toasting the Empire.

Battery Removal Tip
Eugene Kotyk
Grand Portage, MN

Alter skinning my knuckles and bruising the back of my hand in a struggle to remove the two batteries in my pre-75 MGB, I needed some help! Being reluctant to use a terminal gripping strap, as this can seriously damage the battery, (particularly since it takes quite a force to pull out the wedged-in battery), I thought there had to be a better way. Indeed there is!

I took a piece of nylon strapping (about 1 inch wide, less than 1/16 of an inch thick and 33 inches long), wrapped it around the battery so that the ends of the strap are to the top of the battery and the strap sits in the car parallel to the car’s length, and lowered the battery into its compartment.

The ends of the strap can be tied together with string or sewn together, and the loop slipped over the battery. This strap, of course, stays in the car and serves as an excellent handle to make removing the battery infinitely easier without risk of damage.

Increase Your MGA, MGB Blower Motor Power
John Roberts
Collierville, TN

On many cold winter days, I have wished that the blower motor on my MG would run at a higher speed to keep up with the air being sucked out through the many cracks and crevices, in the cockpit.

While replacing the fan, I noticed that the motor ran much faster being connected directly to the brown circuit at the fusebox. I decided to do some voltage and current measurements on the factory wiring harness and found that the original wires are of insufficient size to carry the necessary current to the fan motor. With the motor in operation, voltage fell from 12 volts to 9.7 volts and current was only 2.6 amps. Hooking the motor directly to the brown circuit at the fusebox and bypassing the smaller gauge wires resulted in a voltage drop of only one volt and a higher current supply to the motor of 3.5 amps.

To remedy the problem of the slow running fan motor, I installed a relay (Moss #542-235) in the fan motor circuit, and tapped voltage from the purple (fused) side of the fusebox. I used the same method on the MGA, but tapped fan motor voltage from the brown/green (horn) side of the fusebox.

The relay, along with 12 gauge wire, supplies the motor with the current it needs, without the large voltage drop associated with the smaller wires, and greatly increases the amount of air delivered by the heater.

TR250 Frozen Piston Repair
Speed Mailman
Boone, NC

After parking the TR250 that got me through four years of college, I never intended to wait nine years to put it on the road again. Besides, I was ignorant, so I didn’t drain any fluids or do any of the preventative things I should have done. The car sat on the ground under a shelter enclosed on four sides (including the roof, which only leaked a little). So, things rusted and generally deteriorated.

This winter, ready to get going on the car, I decided to tackle the clutch hydraulics first, while someone smarter (and now richer) than I rebuilt the engine and gearbox. The clutch master cylinder dust boot had ceased to exist, and the piston was rusted into place. I hit it with a hammer. I swore. I despaired. Then I called my mechanically-minded father-in-law who loves nothing more than nursing a problem like this. He suggested hot water.

I put the master cylinder in a saucepan, covered it with water and put it on medium high for about an hour and a half. I never let it boil, but it was close to boiling, with small bubbles forming and rising to the top. When I removed the master cylinder the piston was free!