2003-2007

• Jan 25'03 Sat: I finally get around to retorquing Goldie's cylinder head and re-adjusting her valves. I also replace the oil pressure sender which stopped working reliably a few months ago. (Miles on odometer: ~91192).
• Feb 1'03 Sat: I stay up until 5:00am to eliminate some new oil leaks (just required tightening bolts on the tappet covers and oil pan), bending the exhaust pipe away from Goldie's underbody (to stop a growling/vibrating noise), and modify the distributor clamp after rotating the distributor 90 degrees for better accessibility to the clamp bolt. Dial in the timing statically, but can't do it dynamically for fear of waking up the entire neighborhood!
• Feb 2'03 Sun: Goldie officially returns to daily driver status!
• Feb 3'03 Mon: Unfortunately Goldie was running poorly between 1500-2500 RPM on the way to/from the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve with Merry. So this morning I busted out my 1967 Sears Dwell Tachometer ($10 on Ebay!) and found out the culprit: the dwell was 68 degrees, way higher than the spec 60 degrees. I opened up the distributor points, got the dwell down to 59 degrees, and adjusted the timing to 15-16 degrees BTDC at idle... and what a difference! Goldie is smoother, more powerful than she ever was in many, many years!!
• Feb 21'03 Fri: I drain and replace the gear oil in Goldie's rear differential for the very first time under my ownership (~2.25 pints in; before which only about .5 pints came out!) Also, tighten the bolts to the speedometer cable on the tranny, where I suspected a little bit of oil was leaking from. (Miles on odometer: ~91700).
• Mar 2'03 Sun: Some things never change! The day after a successful journey to/from Davis for the Davis 200km Brevet, I take Venus to the airport when Goldie overheats just 2 miles from the terminal. Don't worry though, we made it there ok, and after waiting for an our, I fill up Goldie's radiator and she is back on the road running as well as ever.
• Mar 18'03 Tue: I replace Goldie's radiator and battery cutoff switch with new parts. I also remove the aftermarket fan installed by the PO which had a broken mount which was causing a mysterious klunk everytime I drove over a bump, and also seemed to actually BLOCK air to the radiator since it would only actuate when the water got really hot. In any case, Goldie is running much cooler and solidly now. She's really becoming robust!
• May 10'03 Sat: Goldie returns to MGs at Jack London Square for the first time in several years!
• May 23'03 Fri: With a $20 torch from Orchard Supply Hardware, some soldering material and flux, I learn how to braze! I successfully repair a hairline leak at the neck of Goldie's radiator.
• May 30'03 Fri: Goldie gets new California Kids Advocacy license plates, "because she loves mountain roads, empty roads, and mountain rides..."
• Aug 29'03 Fri: I have to rebraze the radiator neck again. This time, I use a lot more brazing material so hopefully it should last!
• Oct 27'03 Mon: Goldie gets the whole clean, polish, and carnuba wax job. Thanks to Mike Jacobsen for lending me his orbital buffer!
• Oct 30'03 Thu: Oil change and filter. Mileage on odometer: 96926. Also give Goldie's windshield and windows the Rain-X treatment.
• Apr 16'04 Tue: New NGK resistor spark plugs for Goldie. What a difference! Odometer: 98000 est.
• Apr 20'04 Sat: At Laguna Seca, Goldie takes back to the track after several years. With Sharon and the MGOC.
• Jun 28'04 Mon: Similar to the accident in 1996, Goldie and I are rear-ended yet again while just waiting at a red light! This time, the car behind me was rear-ended, which in turn pushed that car into mine. The two cars behind sustained no damage but Goldie did. Oh well, at least this time all the parties involved were easy to work with, and I've already been reimbursed by the insurance companies.
• June 10'05 Fri: Oil and filter change. New NGK V-split spark plugs. Adjusted timing (15 deg. TDC, 60 degrees dwell). Topped off carburetors and tried to synchronize them, not the most successfully. Seemed like carburetor #2 is idling a little fast, permanently. May need a rebuild. Miles on odometer: 99482.
• November 27'05 Sun: Last drive of 2005 until June 2006.
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• June 16'06 Fri: She roars again.
• June 19'06 Mon: Replace faulty spark plug wires with spare (maybe 15-year-old?) ones.
• July 26'06 Wed: Drive 1150 miles from Stockton, CA to Fort Collins, CO.
• July 28'06 Fri: New ignition wires, distributor cap, rotor..
• September 2'06 Sat: New passenger seat handle.
• September 19'06 Tue: Hot tank new cylinder head.
• November 16'06 Thu: Install new cylinder head, new air injection manifold, check valve, valve seals.
• December 16'06 Sat: New air filters, oil change.
• August 3'07 Fri: Install new (used) heater valve. Mileage: 103,558.