Winter tips

Just a couple of simple things:

1. Anti Freeze should be renewed every three years. It's not the anti freeze content that suffers with time, but the corrosion inhibiter side of it. Also Anti Freeze should be diluted with water (distilled is best), to a ratio of up to 60% A/F to Water. Any more than 60% and the Anti Freeze looses it's ability to protect against freezing. Regular replacement will help keep the radiator and cooling system free from a build up of sludge and sediment.

2. Salt is an issue we face at this time of year, it's highly corrosive properties are a killer of cars so some measures can be taken to help prevent this. Make sure that when you wash you car throughout the winter,
you pay particular attention to washing underneath the car and behind all the wheel arches. Salt WILL get everywhere, so thorough washing and rinsing should help.
Whilst on the subject of washing cars, do NOT use washing up liquid as a soap. it has a high salt content which in normal use acts as a water softener.
Also to protect against the winter, it is often a good idea to wipe all the chromework with an oil soaked cloth, this will help protect both the chrome and the parent metal (Chrome plate is porous).

Mark Boldry

Removing a Seized Drain/Level Plug

Many years ago when I was only 14, I was extremely lucky to have an old gentleman live down the road from my parents. He was a motoring enthusiast and repaired many vehicles in his large workshop behind his house. His favourite was his Frogeye that he had purchased new and it was how I had got to meet him and subsequently spent many hours in that workshop learning how vehicles operated and how to repair and maintain them. Thanks George where ever you are, sadly George died many many years ago, but every time I use one of the skills that he gave me I always give him a thought.

Why do they make these flippin drain and level plugs on back axles, with a square hole in them that we are somehow supposed to fit a specialist tool into and turn to remove? With our classic cars that sometimes have been stood for years without use and even some in daily use, we get plenty of these plugs that refuse to come out. George showed me how to remove such things with little fuss.

Find a short bolt that will fit inside the square hole and simply weld it to the stuck plug. The heat from welding will break the seal of the plug, then with the bolt welded to the plug you have a ready made hexagon available to fit a socket and bar to permit a positive turn on the plug which will come out easily. When you repace the plug you can pop down your plumbers merchants and buy a couple of 3/8th plugs with an external square that will be easier to remove next time. Alternatively reuse the original that is now fitted with a hexagon.

Today we have MIG welders that are very detailed and easy to use, poor old George all those years ago only had an arc welder that needed careful use to weld the bolt into the plug but somehow he always managed it. Although with a MIG many other broken studs and other items can be removed by the same treatment.

Here are a couple of photos of one I did earlier. I know this axle is out of the car but it is easy to do in situ.

              

Robert Welch

Exhaust systems

 The exhaust systems on Midgets and Sprites fitted with the standard manifold arrangement often suffer from leaks at the joint where the downpipe meets it. This is usually caused due to the fact that at some stage in  the cars life the lower mounting strap has been lost, broken or even just not been connected. This strap supports the exhaust system from sideways loading and if not fitted will enable the flange to work loose. The strap assembly consists of three main items. Gearbox bracket (GEX 7153), Strap (GEX 7154) and Clamp (GEX 7072) and should be fitted to all cars except 1500 models.
 

Batteries

Batteries on all cars not just old ones, do NOT like to be stored without some activity, doing so will shorten their life considerably. If your car is laid up for the winter, it is a good idea to keep the battery on a automatic trickle charge. There are plenty on the market at about £40.00, ( the cost of a battery). Also if you have removed your battery for the winter, do NOT store it on a cold (particularly concrete) floor, somehow it seems to kill batteries. Always store it on a piece of wood or thick cardboard.
 

Lighting systems

 It is getting very evident in these modern days of motoring that lighting systems are getting better and better (in most cases). as a consequence our little cars lights, particularly the rears seem to be getting relatively worse in comparison. I would strongly suggest that perhaps once a year you remove the rear lenses and clean them is a mild soap and water solution paying particular attention to the inside of the lens. Whilst you are doing this, be sure that all reflective material is in it's correct place and all bulbs are in good working order. You can do the same with the front lenses too (except the headlamps). Be seen!

FRONT HUBS

Front Hub Nuts. The nut that holds the front hub and bearing assembly to the stub axle should be tight and secured in place with a split pin. Two cars that I have worked on today have had potential problems. The first had NO split pins through the castle nut and therefore both were very loose. This of course could have had dire consequences, the second, whilst locked with a split pin, was loose. This shows the importance of the pin! So, when working on the front hubs, tighten the hub nut tight and then lock with a new split pin.

Front hub oil seals (or grease in this case) are out of the way, and not easy to inspect. The only time you are aware that they have failed is when trouble sets in. The seal's job is to keep the wheel bearing grease within the hub and not all over the brakes and suspension. However, they do have another function, albeit a lesser one. That is to keep debris and moisture OUT of the bearings. Once a seal is failing, it will carry out neither of these duties and bearing failure is inevitable one way or another. A case in point is our own Midget, used a lot last season for many events with NO known problem to the wheel bearings. Collecting the car from a 2 month lay up it was noticed that there was a VERY noisy osf wheel bearing. On stripping the hub assembly and removing the bearings it was found that the inner bearing, (the one closest to the seal) had failed due to rust! At some stage moisture had emulsified with the grease and whist in storage had corroded the bearing. So, with that thought in mind, perhaps an annual check of front and rear hub bearing seals and re greasing the bearings, MAY prevent an unnecessary break down.

FRONT BRAKES

We tend to do fewer miles in our Spridgets than we do
in our daily car (in most cases), and with servicing
intervals on modern cars now in excess of 12000 miles,
the Spridgets may get neglected and as such the front
brakes will suffer.

In recent weeks I have looked at and advised a few
about brakes. It appears to be the general opinion
that the front brakes on Spridgets are less than good
and various upgrades are considered. Before you go
down that route, please consider this. The Disc brake
set up on a Midget or Sprite is, when maintained
correctly, perfectly adequate for the car. Next time
you have the car on axle stands with the front wheels
off, take a look at the front brakes, NO, not just a
casual glance, take the pads out, are they free in the
calliper to move? do the pistons move freely? I have
to say that most that I look at DON'T. With a little
care, all can be freed up and once re-assembled, will
work well. Another point to check, are the discs
themselves in good order? a full braking surface on
both sides of each disc, not too thin and running
true. These are just things that will make you feel
that these cars are not safe to drive, or perhaps not
safe for your spouse or son or daughter to drive.
Check em out... It makes sense!

SU CARB QUICK FIX ?

We have recently comprehensively re-commissioned an MG YA. The engine received a full rebuild to near standard spec, carb overhauled with new spindle etc, and the distributor received similar treatment. So, one would expect the engine to be as sweet as a nut, but not so, much as I tried to set it up, I could not get an even idle, it would either race or cut out , sometimes it was OK. Timing was spot on and everything else was perfect. It appeared it was Father having all the problems and I was experiencing just a few, so I was getting frustrated with him, suggesting strongly that it was down to 'driver error' and nothing else. This morning, the usual problems, it would not start, when it did, it would not idle. I thought enough is enough and thought I should go back to basics. On checking that the piston was moving in the carb (SU H2) I was amazed to find it was sticking, this I thought was due to perhaps the jet having moved after I centralized it and set about looking further at this. This is when I discovered the cause of all our troubles.... The piston damper was slightly bent. This was in turn NOT allowing the piston in the carb to move freely as it should. With the damper straightened, and the carb re-set, the little XPAG ran as sweetly as ever.

Ok, not Spridget related, but the same trouble may one day effect an SU fitted to a Midget or Sprite. It took me an age to find the trouble, I hope with this information, it would take someone else a lot less time.....

Mark.