2017 Tinker Day

Even with a slight chance of light showers in the forecast, we had a much better than average turn-out of BMC members experiencing minor car issues.  Hamer, Blitz, Tom Densmore, Russell, David, Dan & nephew Rod, Andy, Terry, Pam, Bill, Doc Peden, Tommy Potts, and Brett & Barbie were in attendance.

When we arrived shortly after 8:00, Hamer was giving his MGA 1600’s battery an electron infusion.

Tom Densmore was checking on a “Triumph Clunk” under his TR4A IRS.  We checked the prop shaft U-joints and wheel hub splines.  Andy had been through this on his TR6 and was well versed in things to check.  The consensus was that “they all do that” and when it gets worse, it will be easier to locate the source of the clunk.  Check out Tom’s ad for the TR4A IRS in the For Sale section.

Dan was there to see if we could find out why his tach had stopped working.  David discovered that during the course of a Pertronix conversion, the tach lead had been misplaced.  Following the reconnect and a couple of percussive maintenance taps on the tach glass, its back in business.

Terry’s MGB had a noisy tappet.  He proceeded to adjust the valve lash on all eight of the valves.  During the adjustments, he discovered stripped threads on one of the rocker arm studs.  Running a die over the distorted threads fixed the problem — for now.  A replacement is no doubt on order by now.  Terry explained the Weber mod that MGA Guru, Barney Gaylord, performed on his recent visit here.

Pam was making a to-do list for her MGBGT’s spring preventative maintenance schedule.  Nothing urgent.  One of the horns had not been working, but cured itself on the way to the shop.  Pam also described some brake vibration, but it’s just an annoyance until the B has to go back to the shop for other work.

Brett & Barbie had driven up for us to check on a timing advance issue that kept their MGB (previously owned by Terry Daugherty) from going over 50 MPH.  David quickly spotted the loose distributor.  A position adjustment  by ear of the distributor and a couple of turns on the clamp bolt did the trick.

Bill had brought a new cluster of gauges on his TR3A’s instrument panel for some free advice on how to wire the upgraded gauges. Done and done.

To fix our collective stomach growls, we adjourned to the Pike Road “No Way Jose’s“.

Special thanks to Hamer for opening his shop for us and providing tools for us to tinker.

Russell

[PHOTOS]