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Adventures of Felix's '69 MGB
Stories From The Log Book
Dec 21-23,'98 Mon-Wed:
The Road to San Diego
.
1100 miles for a Christmas with sunshine, an awesome friend, and many smiles.
The Story.
Sep 9,'98 Sun:
Crossin' the Line on Labor Day Weekend.
A tribute to autocrossing, friendly folks, and a true friend.
Part 1,
Part 2.
Oct 3,'97 Thu:
Never Say Never Again.
A story dedicated to hapless souls and hopeless romantics.
Part 1,
Part 2.
Nov 23,'95 Thu:
Keepin' the Faith on Thanksgiving Day.
Part 1,
Part 2.
Milestones for My "Reliable" B
2000-2002
-
Oct 10 '02 Thu:
I change Goldie's oil and filter. Still no oil leaks!
(Miles on odometer: 93000 exactly)
- Jun 28 '02 Fri:
I drive Goldie to work for the first time this year.
- Jun 27 '02 Thu:
Have Kragen check Goldie's battery, and it's good! They fully charge it for me.
- Jun 26 '02 Wed: I replace the stuck oil pressure release valve and she
starts up right away (after I jump the battery) and drive her on the streets for the first
time in 14 months! What a great birthday present! (Miles on odometer: 92212 = 0 miles on engine)
- May 12'02 Sun: Dan Shockey, this year's president of the
MGOC, generously gives me a new oil filter assy to try, but
even unstripped threads the oil filter blows off. Must be a stuck oil pressure release valve...
- May 10'02 Fri: Install the carbs and everything else, prime the engine, and start Goldie up for the very
first time in 1 year and a month!!! Alas, only for a few seconds... then oil started leaking all over the floor due
to the continuously oil filter coming off. Miss showing her at MG's at JLS because of that.
- May 9'02 Thu: I paint the cooling fan, thermostat housing, intake manifold, etc. and install those.
- May 8'02 Wed: Install the cylinder head other ancillary engine components.
- May 7'02 Tue: Install exhaust header.
- May 6'02 Mon: Install the rear transmission mounts and the driveshaft.
- May 5'02 Sun: I install the engine and transmission together (with new clutch!)
- May 4'02 Sat: Clean and partially paint Goldie's engine compartment.
- Apr 23'02 Tue: I paint the
engine the original MGB engine red.
- Apr 19'02 Fri: Woohoo! Engine is done
at the machine shop, and Tori helps pick it up with her truck. Thanks,
Tori!
- Apr 9'02 Tue: Dropped off the radiator
to reweld the side brackets and radiator neck, which had sprung a small
leak a couple of years ago.
- Feb 20'02 Wed: Delivered the engine to
a machine shop just a few blocks away from my house. My goal is
to have the engine rebuilt before the annual MGs at Jack London Square show.
- Feb 17-18'02 Sun-Mon: I finally get around to
pulling Goldie's engine,
which goes without a hitch in less than 2 days of work. Thanks
to Rick Adachi for lending me his engine hoist!
- Dec 21'01 Fri: I have missed my MG a little bit despite having the Z3,
but alas have not done a thing on her since removing the cylinder head in May! Right now she is
a nice museum piece, complete with picnic basket, in the garage of my new home, which we moved
into in July. At least she is staying warm this winter. Well, next year she will be cruisin' the roads
again, I promise!
- May 2'01 Wed: I finally get around to pulling Goldie's cylinder head, and
am alarmed at what I see. The #4 piston had deformed and can no longer create a tight seal in the cylinder,
explaining the lack of compression. This will require a complete engine rebuild, a project
for a later date. In the meantime I begin the process of searching for, and subsequently buying, a house!
- Apr 21'01 Sat: A few miles to the start of the Devil Mountain Double,
Goldie loses all compression in one of the cylinders. Amazingly, after the race she is able to limp the 35 miles back home on 3 cylinders,
though making horrible noises!
- Feb 16'01 Fri: I give Goldie an oil change and a much-needed tune-up... she has far more pickup than before.
Oil change @ odometer reading of 79247; before tune-up dynamic timing was at 7 degrees BTDC; after tune-up
is ~15 BTDC.
- Feb 9'01 Fri: Goldie's no major repair streak ends after 8 or so months... she got a flat tire. Cause unknown;
coworker pointed it out in Lam parking lot.
- Oct 13'00 Fri: Goldie STILL has not needed a single major repair--this is certainly
a record!!! I do sew up a large rip in her tonneau cover today, however.
- Apr 4'00 Sun: Despite still getting the daily driver duties,
Goldie has not needed any work in 2.5 months--probably a new record for her
under my ownership! Alas, I do have to replace the front U-joints today. Yes,
again!!!
- Jan 20'00 Thu: I have successfully replaced the lock cylinder in Goldie's ignition,
and can drive her once again! In addition, I change the air filters and get the "self-cancelling"
feature of the turn signals to work.
- Jan 18'00 Tue: Oh no! During my very first test drive of my
recumbent at 3:00a, I lose my ONLY set of car keys.
I can't drive Goldie today or tomorrow because of this!!!
- Jan 13'00 Thu: I spend most of the night replacing ignition components,
including distributor cap, rotor, points, condensor, spark plugs, and even the ignition coil
(now using a standard voltage Lucas one).
- Jan 9-13'00: Starting woes again. Finally, I diagnose on Thursday that this is because the ignition timing is WAY too advanced;
e.g., ~45 degrees BTDC!!!
- Jan 3-9'00: Goldie actually does an acceptable job transporting 3 people around the East Bay! Woohoo, what
a practical car!
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