Neil Clark

Beautifully upholstered Josef

Sorry, I wasn't stating it accurately. It didn't seem to be happy after stopping at relatively steep uphill traffic lights, junctions etc. I'll run it for a good while today around here and see how that goes. Yes, I've got / found a lot of the Weber info thanks. Will the original specification engine timing setting be affected by the Weber? We're in my zero knowledge area here.

Could it be that the carb is a bit gummed up? Other than when I had got the car re-assembled and pottered along our road a couple of times, the carb has just sat for nearly 4 years now since the original accident and never been under load in that time. The guy who helped today suggested I run it for at least a few hours before I do anything, and not in stop start traffic if poss. i filled it with Shell V Power this afternoon.

Thank you - makes sense and after thinking about the drive a bit more and learning more I've put a note in the technical forum. Pulling away from uphill traffic lights or after being stationary wasn't easy.

When I went out on a test drive after the MOT with about 3 gallons (15 litres) in the tank, the car really struggled to catch when pulling away from uphill traffic lights. No problem really on flat ground. It was suggested to me that the Weber really needs an electric fuel pump anyway. The Weber is inherited with the car and I've no idea if it was correctly specced but it does have the Moss manifold and a K&N filter. I've topped the tank up to half full, but it still does it. Does anyone have a view on this?

Boom Boom! Got the MOT today. I know I don't need it but I like it for my own reassurance. And the timing is re-set and the Weber adjusted to the recommended settings. Now the challenge is getting the running right. It's very stumbly (if that's a word) when cold and I suspect that the mechanical fuel pump may not be up to the Weber's hunger under acceleration. I'll run around for a hour or two tomorrow then go back to my mate with the timing devices etc.

What is the club's Parts Dept "USP" or Unique Selling Proposition? I can't see it. I'm not involved at the TSSC but have run several non-automotive businesses with parts and serious on-line operations selling to retailers / wholesalers and industry. The commercial side is not easy to change or grow without full time expert input. It's not simply the software package. I found that in the UK and abroad that if we let the IT people alone design the customer facing system it was inevitably a disaster. You need money and more to be fully independent. Been there, done that and got the T shirts. But beyond that, when the TSSC parts competitors of Rimmers / Moss etc etc want every order going (for competitors is what they are) and set their own prices it leaves precious little room for the club to discount to members and earn enough to justify the club parts dept existence. And I don't suppose that the club volume is anything like, or could easily approach, the volumes ordered and held by the other vendors in order to get the club cost price down low enough of sourcing direct. I know a couple of suppliers of MG parts and they get orders in the hundreds of units from Rimmers / Moss etc. The MG Owners Club is massive, worldwide and highly successful as a parts operation but it's not a members club. It's a brilliant, privately owned business calling itself a club, with very big parts operations, a pretty good magazine, a busy and enthusiastic technical forum (like the TSSC one) and a full car rebuilding and servicing operation in Cambridgeshire and easily competing with Rimmers / Moss etc etc. "Members", who pay about £50 / year get zero discount on parts, which ticks me off still. The original 100 year old MG Car Club, huge as it is, doesn't do parts. So I suspect that the potential range of unique parts that could be sourced sold and discounted is small. Even Canley Classics has now cut back staffing levels dramatically on the retail /mail order parts side, finding it far easier selling bulk to Rimmers / Moss etc. To make a parts operation slick, growing, profitable and still satisfy members who want to see a discount benefit if buying via the club will be a pretty hard row to hoe.

Thanks Dick. I've ordered the smallest pack

Well, I've got a lot of friends in Cheltenham and Sandringham Peter so I suppose..................

Bought it - thanks Colin. Do you know where I can buy those little plastic tags that you pictured above?

Hmmm. I need to research this glue!

I must admit that that part of the loom is pretty heavy with all the lighting wires, bullet connectors etc. I've not had much luck with double sided tapes before and would be delighted if there is a brand that could hold it all up.

Thank you. Either tabs and clips have clearly been there. All that remain are rough patches of metal. I think I need to drill out those patches and rivet P clips or similar that I can release if I want to get to the wiring in future.

Is there a recommended fixing to hold the wiring loom above the grille? There is nothing visible on mine where clearly the loom ran originally. Thanks

I have to say that the inner surface and the edges of the bonnet on this car are in superb condition.

Thanks, very reassuring - I think I've done that fairly thoroughly with a new column rubber etc as well as around the tunnel. There were a few unusual holes on the bulkhead as well so I simply plugged those with grommets or nuts and bolts.

Was the true purpose of the original tunnel insulation for noise or heat or both? I don't mind the noise in the car, it's rather good, but it did seem warm in the cockpit recently.

Martyn - is that a typo for PLB 89 B? I don't think PL889B would be issued in the UK.

It certainly does stay cool Dan with the early radiator. Rarely ventures much past cold on the gauge. The electric fan I've fitted seems superfluous.

Peter it's a revelation reading your Mk2 handbook. It's a workshop manual and Moss parts catalogue all in one! I bought a new car last month and in three thickish handbooks for car, entertainment, navigation and so there is nothing so helpful for the home mechanic. Incidentally, the dashboard illustration in this book suggests it would be a painted surround as your car. As Dan says, many minor upgrades. The engine bay with different radiator to the Mk1 is interesting.

Mine's a painted finish around the dash. Was this a deluxe finish?

That makes sense. The one that was in when I dismantled the car was poorly, in places distorted and trimmed by an inch or so on the corners up at the bulkhead end and sealed with mastic so I discarded it and can't compare them. The new one is a bit taller as well as being "fatter" but it does fit and seal well at the bulkhead. It has a "flange" all the way round and the seal strip is supposed to go within that. The shape doesn't really match the floor panels either, which are standard. It needed a lot of forcing to get into shape.

Interesting Colin. I had hoped that that would be the case when i bought the kit. I imagine that the new tunnel is universal. It may be that the floor holes to secure it and which I inherited from the previous owner / builder are incorrectly placed. But also the new tunnel incorporates the trinket tray on the the rear part and that gets in the way of the dash support frame. I had to file the inner sides of the dash support frame, which is original, to get it to sit on and bridge the tunnel and then cut back the trinket tray and remake it.

I second and third the view that the full seal kit with keyhole plates is a complete waste. The sealing strip material that is included with it was actually the best solution for my new tunnel. The new tunnels we can get don't quite fit the early cars without butchery. After several false starts with the heavy rubber version from one supplier and trying several other materials it worked the easiest of all. If the club will sell you the strip on its own that might work. Preserve your tunnel and hopefully the insulation. And I wish you unskinned knuckles getting it back in!

Sorry Badwolf - duplicated your message!