THEOCTAGON
Newsletter of the M.G. Owner’s Club
Club Members and MGBs on the Uvas Loop during the MGOC Tour to Pierce Manifolds. Report starts on page 9. (Photo by Dan Shockey.) May 2002 About The Octagon and MGOC... The M.G. Owner’s Club, formed in 1958, is the Northern California center of the M.G. Car Club, formed in England in 1930. We receive two copies of MGCC’s Safety Fast, available to members on loan from the Corresponding Secretary. The club is also associated with NAMGBR, the North American MGB Register, and NAMGAR, the North American MGA Register. The MGOC holds a business meeting on the second Thursday of each month at an event known as the “Natter and Noggin” in the style of English clubs. The Octagon, our newsletter, is published monthly by the M.G. Owner’s Club. Opinions expressed in The Octagon are not necessarily those of the MGOC, its members, or Board of Directors. DIRECTORY of MGOC OFFICERS for 2002President: Dan Shockey, 408-923-3927, magnut_dan@hotmail.com
Vice President: David Wright, 510-653-3831 Treasurer: Mike Jacobsen,
415-333-9699, MikesMuseum@yahoo.com Secretary: Nina Barton, 510-845-7212, ninaba@mindspring.com Corresponding Secretary: George Steneberg,
510-525-9152, j2george@pacbell.net Membership Development: Doug Paris, 650-349-3778;
Bob Stine, 650-349-5128, RAStine@prodigy.net Octagon Editor:
Felix Wong, 510-226-7721 home, mgoc@felixwong.com Commercial Advertising: Mike Jacobsen,
415-333-9699, MikesMuseum@yahoo.com CLUB ADVISOR PROGRAMFeel free to call these members, who have volunteered
to help with purchase, repair, and restoration of various M.G. models, etc. MGB 1962-74: Felix Wong, 510-226-7721
home, mgoc@felixwong.com MGB 1974½-1980: Ed Adams, 510-483-6821 MGC: Kent
Leach, 510-254-5748 M.G. Midget:
Kingsley Klarer, 707-226-1955 MGA/Coupe/Twin Cam 1955-62: George Steneberg, 510-525-9125 Z-Magnette Saloon 1953-58: Marty Ray, 831-427-2642 home, martyray@eudoramail.com M.G. 1100 Sports Sedan 1962-67: Lora
Lerner, 831-464-3795 T-types:
George Steneberg, 510-525-9125 Pre-war Midgets-Magnas-Magnettes: George Steneberg, 510-525-9125 PA/PB Midget 1934-36: Eric Baker, 510-531-7032 Lucas electrics: Marty Ray, 831-427-2642 home, martyray@eudoramail.com S.U. Carburetters: Marty Ray, 831-427-2642
home, martyray@eudoramail.com Bodywork:
Bill Weissberg, 510-658-4335 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING IN THE OCTAGONDirect all questions
about advertising to Mike Jacobsen at 415-333-9699 or MikesMuseum@yahoo.com. 2002 rates are: monthly (yearly): full pg.
$25 ($240), half page $18 ($175), third page $12 ($120), business card $8
($75). All ads expire on Jan. 1st, and fees for a partial year
will be pro-rated to that date. Deadline for ad materials is the 10th
of the preceding month. The MGOC makes no claims as to the reputation or
quality of work performed by businesses advertising in The Octagon. MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE OCTAGONYour stories, photos, tips, questions, and anything MGOC-related are always welcome in The Octagon! Please make your contributions by the 10th of the month preceding the issue in which you want them to appear. The editor’s address is: Felix Wong, MGOC, 3516 Dickenson, Fremont, CA 94538. Or, you may email contributions to mgoc@felixwong.com. Preferred electronic text formats include ASCII text or any version of Microsoft Word; preferred image formats include TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PICT, and BMP. RECRUITING MEMBERS FOR THE MGOCHave you helped recruit any new members lately? Bob Stine (650-349-5128) is in charge of new member recruitment and can send you flyers. You can cut out this coupon and give it to prospective members YOU’RE INVITED TO JOIN THE MG OWNERS CLUB!! For
a sample copy of our monthly magazine, The
Octagon, and a membership application,
please contact our Registrar: Mike Jacobsen 320
B Monterey Blvd. San
Francisco, CA 94131-3141 415-333-9699 MikesMuseum@yahoo.com MembershipWe are looking forward to seeing everyone at future meetings and events of the MGOC and having your stories, photos, and tips printed in The Octagon! Calendar of EventsMGOC (which is us!) events are in bold type. Abbreviations (if used): CSRG – Classic Sports Racing Group, SSTS – Sorry Safari Touring Society, HMSA – Historic Motor Sports Association, ESCA – Empire Sports Car Association General British Car EventsMay 10-11, 2002 (Fri-Sat)—Lost Drive-In Car Show, San Luis Obispo. Hosted by the Rotary Club of SLO. Cruise Night on Friday. Open to all classes of pre-1970 autos. Email oldwings@charter.net for more details. May 11, 2002 (Sat)—MGs at Jack London Square. See page 8 for more details. May
19, 2002 (Sun)—Dixon British Car Show & Swap Meet, Dixon
Fairgrounds. www.UBSCC.org. June 1-2, 2002 (Sat-Sun)—The 2002 Wine Country Classic, HMSA's big event at Sears Point. June 9, 2002 (Sun)—Hayward British Car Show and Swap Meet at Cal State Hayward. June 14-15, 2002 (Fri-Sat)—NAMGCR gathering in Placerville. The gathering is at the Historic Cary House Hotel on the 14th, then a showing of the cars in the morning of the 15th, followed by an excursion to the nearby town of Coloma for the historic interest. There will be shopping later and then cocktails and a club dinner and meeting in the evening. For more info, contact Tom Balutis at 925-224-7330 (days) or 925-408-1553 (cell). June
22-23, 2002 (Sat-Sun)—Chico British Car Show, Swap Meet and
Rallye. June
23, 2002 (Sun)—Palo Alto Concours featuring Alfa. June 24-28, 2002 (Mon-Fri)—GoF West. Durango, CO. More info: tcox36@aol.com. July 28, 2002 (Sun)— DiCiccio Tour to the Rose Growers & BBQ. August 1-4, 2002 (Thu-Sun)—Rendezvous 21, Club T MG, Lake Quinault Lodge in Washington. September 8, 2002 (Sun)—All British Car Day. El Camino Park in Palo Alto. Featured marque is Austin Healey. September 22, 2002 (Sun)—2002 Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance. At the Ocean Trails Golf Club in Pebble Beach overlooking the ocean. This year's Grand Marshal is legendary Parnelli Jones. Weekend events include a visit to Parnelli's private collection. For more info, contact Cynthia Radom, modar@earthlink.net. October 31-November 2, 2002 (Thu-Sat)—HCT (High Country Tour) in Sedona, Arizona. Includes rally, lodging, car show, meals + more for around $325. Email RacerMoss@sedona.net for more info. From the Presidentby Dan Shockey Greetings, MG Fans! We are into the last week of final preparations for our Big Show at Jack London Square. So many things can not get done until just before the deadline, of course. Many thanks to Mike Jacobsen, Nina Barton, Nancy Shane, George Steneberg and Bob Stine for shouldering this yearís workload. We are excited to have nearly 90 cars pre-registered for the event. We always get lots of on-site registration so this should be a big year (barring rain or something). We got more publicity in the magazines and web sites this year. Despite good and timely effort, I was frustrated still not to get us onto the calendars of a couple of important California magazines (British Car magazine and Moss’s magazine). I have been busy in my spare time rebuilding an MGB-GT for some friends. I don’t do such work often so it has been a learning experience. The engine is all rebuilt and painted (MG maroon), the front suspension rebuilt, and the wiring mostly repaired. There have been ‘creative’ mechanics working on this car in the past. I also had to cut off one of the wire wheels that was rusted to its hub. Another hub had a piece of aluminum pop can over the splines to make for a tight fit. (It was.) I found both u-joints really loose so I am guessing it was an attempt to fix the wrong ‘clunks’. Lots of MG events coming up. Get those cars out, pretty and perfect or not. I enjoy seeing the ‘works in process’ more than the finished ones. The rough ones tell a story. Hope to see you all soon. MinutesMGOC General Meeting, Thursday, April 11 , 2002 Submitted by Nina Barton The Meeting was called to order by President Dan Shockey at approximately 8:20 PM. Members present: Ed Adams, Nina Barton, Tina Huang, Mike Jacobsen, Dan Shockey, George Steneberg, David Wright, and Felix Wong. Treasurer Report (Mike Jacobsen)Healthy balances in checking and savings. Ready for Jack London Square. Registrar Report (Mike Jacobsen)150 Regular Members, 28 Associate Members, 7 corresponding. Our newest member stated that he joined from the internet. Name badges are on order and have been sent back to correct errors. Regalia Report (David Wright)Amended from March - 1 MG Car Club Badge sold. David will order Mugs for JLS. April - will have assortment of Regalia for JLS on display. Check our booth. Secretary Report (Nina Barton)March minutes amended to reflect Club Events, as per Mike Jacobsen. Other amendments as reflected in this months report. Octagon Report (Felix Wong)Amended from March - we are using a new printer recommended by Gene Roberts. Thank you Gene. Online Octagon's for March and April up at http://felixwong.com/mgoc. We are looking into giving people a reduction in annual dues if they get their Octagon via the web rather than a printed copy, as that is a large part of our expenses for the year. Our Bylaws would allow us to do this. Octagon is available in both html and .pdf forms.
EVENTSJack London SquarePosters are printed and available for publicity purposes. Volunteers are needed to staff registration tables and man the booth. Please call Mike or Nina to volunteer. Our phone numbers are in the front of the Octagon. 50 cars are registered so far. Dash plaques are ordered and should arrive next week. Bev and Tom will provide music. JLS will not provide the pipe band this year. Tech Session June 15thEngine suspension, and rust are some of the topics we are considering. Will be at O'Connor Classics. July 28 Rose TourBarbecue and tour of nursery. More info to follow. Annual PicnicAugust 18 at Huddart Park in Woodside, CA. Palo Alto British Car Meet - September 8We are thinking about caravaning to this event again. More info to follow. October - Joint event with Sorry Safari? We need help planning this event. Get in touch with a club officer and help us out! OLD BUSINESSRoster will be available to members who request it. If you wish not to have your address or phone number listed, please contact Mike Jacobsen and let him know. These rosters will not be used for any sales or publicity purposes, but merely as a way for members to be able to contact each other. Next Meeting and NatterWill be held May 9, 2002, at the Englander in San Leandro. We will stuff packets for our Jack London Square show. Look forward to seeing you there. Meeting adjourned at 9:04 PM.
9th Annual MGs at Jack London Square A
Day of MG Automobiles and Music 10AM
until 4PM, Saturday, May 11, 2002 Presented by the MG Owners Club of Northern California Information:
Mike Jacobsen, 415-333-9699 Nina Barton, 510-845-7212 Music by Tom, Bev and Friends. Music and Highland
Dancing by The Prince Charles Junior Pipe and Drum Band. Registration begins
at 8:30 a.m. - Registration form on pages 10-11 - JLS Drive Option
Some
Marin County MG owners are meeting at after 8 AM at the Larkspur Ferry
parking lot for an 8:30 AM departure to Jack London Square. The plan is to use mostly surface streets,
although those who like highways may do so if they wish. All are welcome to join in for the trip. For more
information, or just to let us know how many are interested, please call
Steve Berger (415) 389-8696 or Peter Applegate (415) 383-0700. JLS Volunteers
Needed!
The
Club needs your help to run this year's MGs at Jack London Square show. We
need volunteers in the morning to staff the registration table and direct
parking, in the afternoon to help clean up, and all through the day to answer
questions and sell regalia in the Club booth. Shifts are only two hours long,
so you'll still have plenty of time to see the show. If you can help, please
contact Mike Jacobsen at 415-333-9699 or at MikesMuseum@yahoo.com
to arrange for a job and a shift. Thanks! Pierce Manifolds
Tour – Report
March
16, 2002 (Sat) by
Dan Shockey Despite
the threat of rain and a couple of car problems, we had a really good day on
March 16 to and from Pierce Manifolds in Gilroy. Three MGBs met in Emeryville
and met up with two more MGBs at the south meeting point. Your intrepid
leader was without an MG due to an appropriately cracked (cast iron) head in
his MGB. Nancy and I elected to leave the P-type at home for this windy,
potentially rainy day and caught rides with Bob Wall and Nina Barton. We
motored down some great California back roads from south San Jose to Gilroy.
The Gilroy paper had done an article that week on the “Uvas Loop” that we
traveled. We hardly saw any other traffic and the roads wound through lush
green hills past good fishin’ reservoirs. It is a better route to Gilroy than
101! There
were already several folks at Pierce Manifolds when we arrived. Mike Jacobsen
missed us at the start but beat us there while some folks had come from
Carmel and Monterey. The Pierce family and crew had brought out four of their
own MGs. Two of these were MGBs with the special Pierce products. Mike Pierce
had cookies and sodas for us and gave us a very interesting tour and
presentation. We had lots of questions and learned about the sand casting
process. Pierce’s
very first product was a Weber manifold for the MGB. They have sold 40,000 of
these so far. They are the only makers of aluminum heads for A-series and
B-series (Midget/Mini and MGA/MGB) engines. Mike says every cast-iron MGB
head is either cracked or cracking due to a design fault. They have had no
reports of cracking with their aluminum head design. They also make Ford 1600
heads that have been approved for racing and plan to make other heads. We
were interested to see the 5-speed conversion kits that Pierce markets for
the UK manufacturer. This is a particularly well-designed conversion; a
simple bolt-in with every bolt included. Pierce is the largest distributor of
Weber carbs in the States and has the largest inventory worldwide. They
repair old Weber carbs as well. When
I returned home, I found the latest Grassroots Motorsports magazine (May
issue) had arrived with a large feature on Mike and his primrose yellow MGB
that we saw in Gilroy. This car has the Pierce cross-flow aluminum head and a
new camshaft design (also available from Pierce) to take advantage of the
better breathing. They have measured this street engine at 162 horsepower at
8500 rpm! Imagine shifting your MGB at 8500 rpm! We
worked up an appetite looking and talking at Pierce so headed for our lunch
stop at the Claddagh Irish Pub a couple miles away. Some of the Pierce folks
joined us and the Pub had a nice set-up for us. I had a superb Shepherd’s
Pie, washed down with a rightly-down Black & Tan. We explored some more
of the area back roads on our way back to San Jose and Home. Our
club was the first to make such a visit to Pierce and they enjoyed having us.
Thank you to Mike and everyone at Pierce. We are sending Mike a club grill
badge. Pierce
Crew & Family MGs: The car at the left was featured in Grassroots
Motorsports. (Photo by Dan Shockey.)
MGs
and Crew at the Pu during the Pierce Tour.
(Photo by Dan Shockey.) Tech Tip:
Automatic Brake Bleeding
by
Mike Jacobsen This
is a comparison and contrast of two systems for automatically bleeding
hydraulic systems: the Mityvac, by Prism Enterprises, Inc.; and the
Eezi-bleed, by Gunnison Limited. If you have ever needed to bleed hydraulics
by yourself, you know how awkward it can be. Both of these systems are more
positive for solo work than a simple bleed hose with a check valve in it, and
can be used quickly with good results. And at $40~50, both are also much
cheaper than commercial power bleeders. A Question of
Sucking or Blowing
The
Mityvac works by creating suction at a bleed screw. In use, you connect one
fitting on the Mityvac’s fluid reservoir to the Mityvac itself (a small hand-operated
vacuum pump), and the reservoir’s other fitting to a bleed screw. Next you
open the bleed screw slightly, and fluid is sucked from the master cylinder,
through the hydraulic lines, and into the Mityvac reservoir. When the fluid
runs clear (no bubbles), you tighten that bleed screw and move to the next
bleed screw. The Mityvac reservoir collects the bled fluid, but you need to
ensure that the master cylinder doesn’t run dry. The
Eezi-bleed works by applying pressure at the master cylinder. First you
attach an air line to the Eezi-bleed’s fluid reservoir, and connect the
reservoir to your master cylinder using a special master cylinder cap. Then
you open & close each bleed screw in turn. The Eezi-bleed’s reservoir
keeps the master cylinder full, while you collect the bled fluid in any
convenient container. Pros and Cons
Both
systems work well, but with individual drawbacks and advantages. The
Mityvac’s advantages are that it’s more self-contained than the Eezi-bleed
and is more versatile. The instruction book that comes with the Mityvac is
over a hundred pages, of which hydraulic bleeding takes only two. The rest of
the book lists all the other things you can do with the vacuum pump and a few
attachments. The disadvantages are that it does not include any sort of extra
reservoir for brake fluid – you have to keep your eye on the master
cylinder’s level yourself, and that level can drop quickly with the amount of
fluid that the Mityvac can move. Another disadvantage is that unless your
bleed screws fit very tightly in their holes, you’ll see a constant stream of
small bubbles in the bled fluid, due to air leaking around the bleed screw’s
threads. In practice, this doesn’t affect the Mityvac’s efficiency, but it
can be a nuisance to watch. The instruction book suggests wrapping the bleed
screw threads with Teflon tape to make them seal. I didn’t use any tape, and
just lived with the small bubbles – the hydraulic system still bled properly.
A final problem that I encountered was that none of the bleed screw fittings
provided to connect the reservoir to the bleed screw were the correct size to
fit snugly on the rear brakes of the car I was working on. Six different
fittings are included with the kit, but none matched my application. I ended
up using the closest match and holding it on tightly with one hand while
operating the vacuum pump with the other hand. The
Eezi-bleed was simpler to operate, it included an additional fluid reservoir
so that you could bleed all the brakes on a car without the need to top off
the master cylinder while you worked, and it had no moving parts. (Though in
its defense, the Mityvac pump I used was rebuildable.) One disadvantage was
that an external air pressure source, limited to not more than 20 psi, is
required. I don’t have a compressor, but I met this requirement by pumping up
a small (less than two cubic feet) air tank to 20 psi and using it as the air
source. (The Eezi-bleed directions suggest using a tire for the air supply,
and the air hose comes with a Schrader valve fitting.) For some uses, another
difficulty would be the special master cylinder cap that is required. You
need a cap that seals your master cylinder and that also can accept a fitting
for the air line. The Eezi-bleed is made in England, and comes with a selection
of caps that fit many English cars. Gunnison claims that they can supply caps
for other cars, but if you have a non-English car it will probably be easier
and faster to make an appropriate cap. I made one by getting the correct cap
for my car at a junkyard, filling all vents and holes with silicone, and then
adding the necessary hole for the air line fitting. At least creating the cap
is a one-time operation. Conclusions
In
use, I preferred the Eezi-bleed (after I had made the special master cylinder
cap) because it was easier to use. Once it was connected, I simply had to
move from bleed screw to bleed screw. The Mityvac required reconnecting the
vacuum pump and reservoir at each bleed screw, plus it didn’t have a fitting
for the rear brakes on my car. On the other hand, the Mityvac has many more
uses in diagnostic work. Both systems work as claimed, so if you decide to
acquire one, consider what other uses you may have for it. MG-Judd to
Provide CART Engines
By
Mike Harris, AP Motorsports Writer April
13, 2002 (Sat) Submitted
by Bob Wall LONG
BEACH, Calif. (AP) - MG Rover and Engine Developments Ltd., builder of Judd
racing engines, will jointly provide engines for the CART FedEx Series
starting next year. The
England-based companies formed a technical partnership to produce the new
3.5-liter, non-turbocharged powerplants that will replace the current 2.65,
turbocharged engines used in CART. An
announcement late last season of the new engine rules angered current CART
engine suppliers Ford and Honda, and both announced they would leave the
Champ car series at the end of the 2002 season. It is expected Toyota, which
also supplies engines for CART and will also be in the rival Indy Racing
League in 2003, will continue to compete in CART. CART
executive VP John Lopes said Saturday that Cosworth, a subsidiary of Ford
Motor Co., has committed to provide engines to the series but is still
seeking a technical partner whose name would go on the engines - similar to
the MG-Judd deal. He
added that two other engine companies have indicated they will supply engines
for the Champ car series in 2003. The
new engine announced Saturday will be dubbed MG XPower and, according to John
Judd, managing director of EDL, will power anywhere from four to 10 Champ
cars in 2003. "We
just want to build an engine and go racing," said Judd, whose company
has built Champ car engines in the past and currently is building sports car
engines. A Judd-powered car won the Rolex 24-Hour race in Daytona Beach,
Fla., in February. There
will also be all-new chassis in CART in 2003, and Lopes said an announcement
about manufacturers will probably be made in June although "that
situation is still in flux." MGOC Regalia! Our club has MGOC regalia that is available for purchase by anyone. Below is a sampling of available regalia; more items are listed on the order form on page 17. Please contact David Wright at 510-653-3831 for more information.
Key Fob – $10; Pin – $6.50
v MGOC Regalia v
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