Post on 07-Oct-2020
Vintage Viewpoint
The Newsletter of the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago
Vol. 51, No. 2 February 2017
The Open Cockpit By Bob Lee, President
“Work” continues…
I received my re-manufactured radiator; it looks
good but did not have the brass Morris top tank
plate or the brass patent plate on the fins. I de-
soldered the two plates from my radiator, polished
them and then attached them with some JB Weld. I
believe this is called “over” restoring.
The rear axle “U” bolts were re-visited and are now
very tight. The rubber spring pads are five years
old and are now in a very squished state
I filled the gearbox with oil and shortly afterward
read that the GL5 rated oil is the wrong thing to use.
Almost all the gear oil around today is GL5 which
works well for steel gears because it has 50% more
sulfur and phosphorous additives than GL4 oil. The
higher additive level creates a strong sacrificial
coating which is actually stronger than the surface
of brass or other soft metal. The result is when the
sacrificial coating peels off the gears it removes a
few microns of the yellow metal. I do not want that
happening to the synchronizers in my gear box.
I found Moss carries Millers GL4 80W-90 oil 225-
305 and Amsoil has heavy duty Manual
Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube 75W-90 GL4
oil. Ray Costa is using 85W-140 Royal Purple Max
gear oil; it has a GL5 rating but specifically states it
will not harm the yellow metal.
When I removed the oil sump, there was a little bit
of black sludge on the bottom and the oil screen had
a quarter sized film of burgundy paint in one spot. I
cleaned the sump with de-greaser, then sprayed the
inside with brake clean and finally wiped it down
with alcohol. When I painted the inside with
Glyptal there were a few spots that formed – my
thinking from oil saturated into the porous
aluminum, maybe you can spot them in the
electronic photo. The paint was more even after the
second coat and I put a third coat on just the bottom.
The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 8,
beginning at 8:00 p.m., at the Pizza Joynt, 39 W. North Avenue, Northlake, Illinois.
Members' Dinner Saturday, March 25
Great Escape More information inside
I bought an 8MM – 1.0 bolt at the hardware store
and used a cut off wheel to make a slot in the
threads. Running it into the timing chain cover and
sump holes, especially the blind ones, helped clean
out crud.
Talking to Jeff Powell I found that he discovered
the two rear cork seals he purchased from Moss
were different lengths and too wide for the bearing
cap groove. The notch at each end is large enough
to accommodate the original style cork sump gasket
but leaves a gap with the current thinner cardboard
gasket sets. Checking with a Moss tech expert, Jeff
was told the seals meet specifications and
essentially use a copious amount of RTV. I
checked the one that I purchased – very similar –
too wide and with big notches. I contacted Jeff
Zorn at LBC and he is trying to investigate/resolve
it; I sent him some measurements and photos. Jeff
is ordering some seals to check, however, he is
probably being referred to the same tech support
expert.
My new water pump was coming from Doug Pelton
(From the Frame Up) so I added a cork seal to the
order. The photo shows the seal from FTFU on top
and the Moss seal on the bottom. The new FTFU
seal tapers from wide to very wide.
I am thinking the quality control inspector at the
manufacturer has been on the job since the 1950s,
has poor eyesight, and frequently forgets his
glasses.
Using a valve cover gasket for material, I made a
seal for myself that has smaller notches. It fits
snugly into the groove. Mine is slightly longer and
I am contemplating trimming just a little off each
end, the thinking being if it is getting pushed
upward by the sump, maybe a little expansion room
is required and the original length specification is
correct.
Not sure about this idea? I will be piddling around
for a while and am interested in the thoughts of
others. I am looking forward to some good info on
the rear cork seal. Come to our February 8th
meeting and give me some guidance.
Minutes of the January 11, 2017 Meeting of the
Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago
The meeting was called to order by President Bob Lee at
8.00 PM. Twelve members were present.
The Minutes of the December 14, 2016 meeting were
approved with one correction. Win Gould noted that he
will need help with his MG in February and not March,
as published in the Vintage Viewpoint.
Reports:
Treasury – Ric Maitzen – Ric was not present. He is
preparing and end-of-year treasurer’s summary for next
month. Membership – Greg Hoeft (presented by Bob Lee) –
We have 36 paid and three permanent members so far
for 2017. There were 65 members at the end of 2016.
Starting this year, the printed version of the newsletter is
only being mailed to those members who indicated that
they want a printed copy on their membership forms.
All members will receive the newsletter by email. The
website will contain a “full resolution” version of the
newsletter for downloading. Currently 17 members are
email only. Regalia – Lou Louchios – Not present. Driving Events – Reinout was not present. Next event
is the march 19 Swap Meet. Old Business:
Don Ross reported that the Founders Dinner is
scheduled for March 25 at The Great Escape. Drinks
will start at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30. The per person cost
is $27.00 if 40 members attend. After discussion, two
motions were made. The first was to ask members to
pay the full $27. The motion failed. The second
motion was for members to pay $25 and the club to pick
up the difference. This motion passed. Next year Don
will investigate a luncheon instead of an evening dinner. Rick Rausch is recording total “T” mileage for
2016, so please send your total mileage to Rick NOW. New Business
People can download a lubrication chart for
TD/TF MGs at www.plandegraissage.org. It takes
some effort to print this out. This is virtually the same
lubrication chart as is found in the owner’s manual. Following the fictional piece in the January
newsletter, Glenn Grossklags brought in a reprint from a
magazine of a Chevrolet V8-powered snow blower.
This unit can be seen in action on YouTube. Brian Dubin brought an early 1950s Coca Cola
ad featuring an MG. Jake Snyder, a friend of Win Gould’s, donated
MG notepads for members to take home. Robert Weinstein wanted to know if the club can
make the roster available on the web for downloading.
No one else thought this was a good idea. Gerry Risner reported that Jerry Cihak had an
eventful New Year’s event. Jerry and his family (eight
people) were trapped in the elevator of a tall downtown
building. They had to be fished out in harnesses by the
fire department and brought to the roof of a second
elevator car. They were then transferred to a third
elevator car. This was voted not the best way to spend
New Year’s Eve. Jerry then flew to Ft. Lauderdale just
in time to be in the airport when a shooter killed five
tourists. Luckily, Jerry was not in the line of fire.
Technical Topics
Bob Weinstein brought along a box of spare bits
for his TF that came with the car. Members helped him
identify the parts. Doug Clarke brought the 1992 Moss cut-out of
an MG TC. Could we get some for the GOF? Ray
Costa will investigate. Ray Costa asked for thoughts about making up a
logo for our GOF XXXIX, preliminarily called “MGs by
the Lake.” Doug Clarke had a suggestion. Ray will try
to find someone to draw it up. Win Gould needs help on February 11 and 12 to
remove the engine and gear box from his 1964 MGB V8
to replace leaking seals. This will be done at Steve
Skegg’s, in Downers Grove. If necessary, the job will
need additional help to be completed the following
weekend. Program:
Don Ross provided a video of Jay Leno fitting
disk brakes to a V8-powered TD. This brake conversion
is now available commercially. The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 PM. - Ray Costa, Secretary
2018 GOF Central January Update Ray Costa, GOF 2018 Chairman
The VMGCC is hosting the 39th GOF Central June
26 through June 30, 2018. There are a few things
that need to be done during the next few months. It
is traditional for the club hosting the upcoming
year's event to make a presentation at the
concluding banquet of the current year's event. The
38th GOF Central will be in Akron, Ohio, July 11
throught15 this year. You can visit the website at
http://gofcentral.com/next-gof.html.
I brought up the issue of a new logo for our 2018
GOF at the January VMGCC club meeting. A
suggestion from Doug Clarke was offered that I
thought was quite good. I took the idea home and
drew up a rough approximation of what a logo
could look like. It depicted a hand and arm rising
out of the lake holding a Wittworth spanner with an
MG badge in the jaws. I also cajoled my son-in-law
into doing the final art work for free. I circulated
the draft and, to put it politely, it was not well
received. Later I found out why. Neither Doug nor
I had attended the 2003 GOF Central, where the
theme was something like King Arthur and his
Round Table. My draft of a logo with a hand
coming out of the lake holding a spanner is a
reference to King Arthur receiving Excalibur from
the Lady of the Lake. Well it appears that has been
done, so we can't do it again, right?
Jerry Cihak suggested using the same logo that we
have used several times in the past when the
VMGCC hosted the GOF Central. It's a front view
of a TC surrounded by a black octagon with the
proper wording in the border. It's a good looking
logo. So, at the VMGCC meeting on February 8 I
will be seeking answers to some questions:
1) What shall be the theme of the 39th GOF, or
should we even bother with a theme?
2) Should we use the same tried-and-true logo or
forge a new one? Remember that the British motor
industry was conservative in that way.
Once these things are decided we can proceed. I
will be happy to put together a basic PowerPoint
display for the presentation at the 2017 GOF unless
somebody has the skills to do a more creative job.
If you are not planning on attending the next
meeting, and want to get your two cents in, contact
me at rlincoln314159@gmail.com.
Bonnet Struts or How I Learned To Live With a Bifurcated Bonnet Larry Carlson, former VMGCC member and past president
Upon acquiring stewardship of MR TOAD 13 years
ago I immediately discovered that having a bonnet
that is divisible by two can make working inside the
engine bay exponentially more difficult than a
modern pop-up bonnet.
Yes, being able to fold half the bonnet onto the
other (closed) half allows for easy access to the
bottom of the engine bay. This design was adopted,
in one form or another, by almost every car maker
in the world prior to World War II. It is, however, a
dubious distinction, sort of like being the World’s
Tallest Midget. It comes with problems.
Folding the bonnet puts undue stress on the center
piece of chrome and quite often leads to the center
strip coming loose from its chrome holder, either at
the radiator end or the cowling end, or both.
Scratching the paint job on either side of the bonnet
is another. This is particularly nasty since the
bonnet is generally the first part of the car that
people notice. And people do not forget it, sort of
like seeing a person with a third eye. Nothing else
about the car can make up for such a defect. This is
all child’s play compared to the real problem: How
to prop up half of the bonnet in order to work on the
engine. Neither your wife, nor your girlfriend, nor
your grandson, nor your dog will be willing to hold
up half of the bonnet while you run down an
electrical problem, cursing Lucas in three different
languages.
.A common solution is to place a holder on the
engine stay-bar and put a piece of rubber on the end
of the corner of the bonnet. This was the set-up
when I acquired MR TOAD. It works well enough
as long as you need not work on the radiator, the top
hose, an original oil bath air cleaner, the valve
cover, put in fresh oil, take a tool in or out of the
tool box, get to the battery terminals, and a whole
host of projects too numerous to list because it hurts
my brain.
Doug Pelton, owner of From the Frame Up, has
devised a really nice solution to this problem. He
starts with two struts, one for each half, then adds a
small curved piece of aluminum under one of the
bulkhead bolts.
Screw the strut into the aluminum and put the
rubber ball at the other end into the round piece on
the inside of the bonnet lock, and the problem is
solved.
Open both halves at once!! Holy smokes! Now we
can get to everything in the whole darn engine bay.
Author’s note: the little piece of aluminum is
threaded. When I could not stuff the strut through
the hole I reached for my Dremel and I made it fit. I
wound up calling Doug and getting another piece. I
made a mistake. I remember the last time I made a
mistake: it was 1995, and……you do not want to
know.
Over the past 13 years I have seen between 7 and
11 homemade bonnet struts. Most of them involve
blocks of wood and various lengths of a 2x4. Some
are clever and some are cumbersome; none of them
approach the elegance and ease-of-use of Doug
Pelton’s invention. At $47.00 for the pair it is
money well spent. Safety Fast!
A post card From Karel An MG 'Auto'
Biography of History
.
A card from the Black Swan Hotel in
Helmsley, Yorkshire, with an MG
+ZA in the foreground.
Note from Reinout:
Based on the MG ZA, the photo must
be from around the late 1950s. I
checked Google street view and, as
you can see, the cars parked in front
of the hotel have changed: Jaguar,
Peugeot, and a Land Rover. But the
hotel and adjacent buildings are
exactly the same (except for the vine
of the facade). That’s England! Why
would you tear down a century old,
perfectly good, building for a new,
perfectly good, building, right?
Membership Application and Renewal Dues and registration: $25.00 per year
Make your check payable to: Vintage MG Car Club
Mail your payment to: Ric Maitzen, VMGCC Treasurer
2881 Fredric Court
Northbrook, IL 60062
Include the following with your dues. We will use this information to update our membership directory
Name:___________________________________ Spouse or Partner:_______________________________________
Address:___________________________________________ Email: _______________________________________
City, State and Zip:________________________________________________________________________________
Home Phone:_________________________________ Cell Phone: ____________________________________
Send me the newsletter only by email: ____________
Please list your MGs, including Model and Year: Send me a hard copy of the newsletter: ____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ OCT2016
The 2017 VMGCC Charter Members' Dinner Saturday, March 25
Join us for a GREAT time with GREAT people at the
NAME(S) _________________________________________________ Phone ____________________
Please mail your check by March 17th made out to the VMGCC @ $25 PER PERSON to:
Ric Maitzen
2881 Fredric Court
Northbrook, IL 60062
9540 Irving Park Road, Schiller Park, IL 60176 www.greatescaperestaurant.com
(Additional parking is available in a public lot 300 ft.
east of the restaurant)
Cocktail Hour (Cash Bar) 5:30–6:30
Buffet Dinner starts at 6:30
Price per Person (Includes Tax & Tip) – $25
The Great Buffet will include
Sirloin of Beef, Lemon Chicken and
Baked Mostaccioli Marinara
Vintage MG Car Club
c/o Editor 1814 Illinois Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
First Class Mail
Officers and Directors – 2017
President: Bob Lee; Vice President: Don Ross; Secretary: Ray Costa; Treasurer: Ric Maitzen; Board of Directors: Jerry Cihak, Brian Dubin, Win Gould
Newsletter: Greg Hoeft- Editor Website: www.vintagemgchicago.com
Email Contact: editor@vintagemgchicago.com
Upcoming Events:
February 2017
8 – VMGCC Meeting, Pizza Joynt, Northlake, IL, 8 p.m
14 - Natter'n'Noggin at Roundheads Pizza Pub
20 - CMGC Annual Business Meeting, Mack's Golden Pheasant, Elmhurst, IL
March 2017
14 Natter 'n Noggin, Finn McCool's, Schaumburg IL 7:00 p.m.
15 VMGCC Meeting, Pizza Joint, Northlake, IL 8:00 p.m.
19 Swap Meet & Autojumble, DuPage County Fairgrounds 8:00 a.m.
20 CMGC Meeting, Mack's Golden Pheasant, Elmhurst IL 8:00 p.m.
25 VMGCC Charter Members' Dinner 5:30p.m.
2017 Dues are now due!
Check the mailing label on this issue of The Vintage Viewpoint.
If the year printed at the top shows 2016, your dues are due.