The following Tech articles are the creations of Mike McPhail. They were originally written for the members of the car clubs Mike is active with: the Gulf Coast Austin-Healey Club and the Hill Country Triumph Club. With thanks to the two clubs and to Mike, the articles are available here (with more to come!). These tech tips…
“Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” Ben Franklin may not have owned an MG, but he was wise enough to leave that advice for MG owners. Recently I took bits of my MG engine to a machine shop to be examined, ground, bored, and otherwise refreshed, and I realized…
A few years ago I sold my beloved Austin-Healey 100 in order to continue my quest to own as many interesting old British sports cars as possible. I wanted my next car to be a good all-arounder. I like to tour, autocross, and just tool around or take the wife out to dinner on a…
While doing the body off restoration on my TR 250 I needed some way of rolling the body over and not dent my new rocker panels. Not having a lot of room in a two car garage and working alone most of the time, it needed to be easy to handle by one person. My…
From Motor Trend — October 1961 Author unknown This latest variation of the sports car pioneer reemphasizes all of the factors that have made it a best seller. In the jargon of the advertising trade, MG has created for itself a “favorable public image.” Favorable in this sense means that the MG is automatically recognized…
So you are starting to hear rumblings, crunches and other unfamiliar noises from under the transmission tunnel that are now getting louder than all the other noises in the car. Turning up the radio doesn’t help anymore. It’s seems to be getting a bit more difficult to get into some or all the gears. Once…
I recently installed a cigarette lighter in my 1960 big Healey, in preparation for a trip that would need my Garmin and cellphone charger. I used the large hole where the windshield washer hand pump used to go (I had replaced that with an electric pump and pushbutton switch). Then it fortunately occurred to me…
Maybe after this we can get that little car down off the jack stands…maybe. I think last time we gave up on the back brakes and it’s time to move forward and rebuild the front calipers. Remove the front wheels to gain access to the disk brake calipers. Afflicted with CRS? Do one side at…
It took three “Pint Projects”: Rear Brake Disassembly Rear Brake Reassembly Front Caliper Rebuild …but now all four wheels have as-new brakes! Not so fast. What about the other stuff? Brake boosters may need some attention, and a brand new one will almost certainly improve braking. Some styles of booster can be rebuilt at home,…
Whew! Let’s do something a little bit less ambitious this time. How about a new fuel pump? Of course, you don’t just replace the pump for the hell of it. The obvious scenario is that the damn thing won’t pee a drop, so you swap it for a new one and bada-bing, it’s a done…
