Progress Reports
It has been busy out in the shop. We were able to fine tune the '55 Bel Air and have it ready for the Back to the 50's meet in St. Paul. So we took the road race Datsun to Blackhawk Farms Raceway for a track day and had some fun. It hasn't been run for a while and I finally put new tires on. I love tires.
The car was perfect all day.
Apex...
The shop has been busy on the '55 Bel Air. Determining the root cause of the noise and vibration has been working our brains and fingers. We've been making incremental progress with chassis and drivetrain updates. New motor mounts, new transmission, checking the drive shaft evaluating the rear end assembly. We've also rebuilt the front suspension. I believe this really helped the driveability of this nearly 60 year old chassis. The front geometry - and specifically the caster - was set for old time manual steering. When the power steering was added the caster needed to be changed. The aftermarket supports this car well and new tubular control arms can be adjusted for up to 5 degrees of caster. Well since we still wanted the car to drive like a '55 Chevy we opted for a more conservative 2.5 degrees of caster via a set of offset cross shafts with new bushings of course. The Bel Air cruises nicely 70 mph. Its ready to roll.
The Bel Air on the blocks getting the ride heights and suspension geometry reviewed.
It is a great looking car. Orange over cream - almost like a Dreamsicle. Yet it has an annoying "thrumming" sound at speed. Many thing had been done. New tires, balanced and re-balanced. A new driveshaft, different differential, different axles. And yet all the time a continuous beat frequency at freeway speeds. It is pronounced and felt in the seat of your pants while driving and disappears the second you ease up on the gas.
Going over every detail I pretended I had just bought the car and was trying to solve the issue for the first time. Double checked the driveshaft spline and balance - all seemed good here. Pulled the rear end apart and checked the gears, bearings and axles. Pattern looked good, bearings felt fine and the housing wasn't bent. I did notice the pinion angle wasn't where I'd like. I double checked with Inland Empire Driveline. http://www.iedls.com/Education-Zone.asp I had seen a presentation at the Hot Rod and Restoration trade show so I knew they had the driveshaft details.
I even added new motor mounts since the previous 1955 setup originally included a bellhousing mount that had been removed when the TH400 had been installed.
Transmission investigation is next. Stay tuned.
After rescuing the MG and getting it back to life, I knew we had to replace the 30 year old radials to properly evaluate the car. After checking out the MG Boards I knew a 175/70/14 or 185/70/14 would be a decent tire for the car. Well some basic radials on sale were acquired and the vintage 1960's tire machine and bubble balancer were put into service. Good thing the service equipment matches the vintage of the car.
Servicing the wire wheels is more like bicycle wheels then modern car wheels. Spokes, rim tape, tubes, talcum and a bit of finesse was needed to get all the parts in the proper spot. Can't wait to drive it on new tires!
The 1960's vintage Coats manual tire machine helped strip the old tires off. A simply clean up of the wheels and its ready for new tires.
A similar 1960's vintage bubble balancer showed that the wheels weren't too far out of balance requiring only modest weights to keep them true.
All right Sparky - get your spare fuses and clip leads ready. The electrical system in the MG appears to be all original with a few creative additions. Few of the lights worked at all and I wasn't sure I even had brake lights. Time to learn about Lucas electrical systems.
From what I could tell the system under the hood was all original. I found what appears to the under hood main junction box with only two fuses. After probing and testing I found a bundle of loose and unconnected wires. After a few hours sorting the color code and finding the proper connections almost everything worked.
I needed to remove, clean and adjust the brake light switch - it had simply corroded internally. A little emery file and it was brake lights again. Who thought just getting the lights to work would be so much fun...
Headlights, Turn signals, Parking lights and Fog light all on at the same time.
Brake lights, Parking lights and Turn Signals
The 1968 recently found its way into the shop. It has been in storage for the last 20 years still wearing its 1978 Pirelli Radials. Well any car that sits for a long time is going to have issues. I first ran a cylinder leakdown test - with cylinder number two looking a little weak. I filled it the cylinder full of transmission fluid and let it rest gently turning it over by hand. After a few days I spun it over with the starter making a huge mess, but that is what it takes.
Then I needed to sort out the fuel system. The float bowls on the carbs indicated that we have rust is in the fuel system. Its an original looking tank so I suspected with our Ethanol enhanced gas that I might find some surprises. After carefully getting the sending unit out I looked inside and it was clean. So I removed the fuel pump and found the entire inlet side filled with rust. The outside didn't look too bad. The water must have collected in the pump inlet. A used Carter electric pump and a fuel pressure regulator should help this along.
Now with the fuel system cleaned up and fresh motor oil I spent some time cruising the neighborhood feeling out the suspension, gearbox and differential. Overall a sound little car. I ran it hard as I dared on the 30 year old tires and it responded well.
Fuel out of the lines at the carb
Ready for another ride
I found this farmer that had an old Chevy Pickup in the barn. Turns out its been in the barn for 20 years. Old school custom with neato keen pin stripping. 283 SBC and a four speed. What am I going to do with this?
In the past few weeks I have been trying to think about all the things I like about cars. I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to do cars I like, in a style I like with a level of quality that satisfies the goals of the build. Driver, show car, race car.
I've literally made lists of all the cars, designs, and styles I want to build. Its a list.
In the following weeks I came across a 1974 MGB from a friend. I bought the car site unseen. Why? It fit. I've always wanted to own, fix and drive a British roadster. Then I found another. A 1968 MGB this time. In British racing green and a removable hardtop. Seems that when it rains, it pours MGs. Time to get to work.
