A GT for GT

Early June 2023 I was contacted by a local owner looking for some help with the electrics on his 1978 MGB GT. His initials are 'GT' so very apt. He's owned the car for three years, he was able to drive it home but apart from one subsequent trip when moving home has not used since as there were several changes he wanted to make.

A PO had replaced the rubber bumpers with fibre-glass mouldings front and rear with after-market LED headlights that included indicators as well as pilot lights at the front. The front includes positions for separate circular indicator units which he had bought and wanted to fit as well as a mesh grille. He had also bought standard halogen headlamp units and wanted help in wiring everything up. The indicators were fine and would probably be more visible from the side than standard MGB indicators, and he did the work necessary to mount them.

Unfortunately he had bought the wrong headlights as there are two depths of reflector and only the shallower one fits the MGB bowl, so had to get two more - unfortunately specifying a quantity of 2 not realising they were supplied in pairs! He now has six headlights surplus to requirements. He had also bought two headlight sub-harnesses but these were completely incompatible with the harness despite supposedly being MGB items (complained to Moss who said they would speak to their supplier) so we ended up using the originals modified to take the different pilot light bulb holder. Some cleaning up of bullets and new connectors, and he had working headlights and indicators - or so we thought as I had tested them with the hazard switch and not the indicator switch.

They did not work from the indicator switch and gave some puzzling test results which turned out to be because there was a fault on the switch as well as the flasher unit! It needed a new switch which had it's own problems when being mounted, but at least all the lights now worked. He also bought an after-market steering wheel which has its own complications as indicator cancelling is done from the wheel itself on 77 and later and not from a peg or cam on the column shaft as earlier. More work needed on both.

Other changes were that because the push-buttons on the ends of the stalks didn't work on either a PO had installed a separate switch for each. He was happier with those as they avoid inadvertent operation when using the stalks for other functions, but now he has a new indicator/headlight/horn switch it sounds the horn as well, so that needed the earth wire to be cut.

The door locks didn't work - well at least they did but with a screwdriver so two new ones purchased, which was annoying as he had already purchased a hatch lock so now the doors and hatch have different keys. The existing locks used the original spring-clip retainer (so I pointed him to the improved version) and they proved a right fiddle to remove. The passenger side was worst as the 'legs' on the clip were flush with the body of the lock and I couldn't get anything under them to prise it off, so had to punch it out with a hammer and drift. Distorted the immediate area a bit but easily corrected with the same hammer and the drift used as a dolly.

While the ignition had been on I noticed that the BRAKE and FASTEN SEAT BELT warning lights weren't working as they should. Turns out one isn't working at all and the other bulb is behind the wrong legend so the brake system lights the seat belt lamp, except that the handbrake switch doesn't work at all. Puzzling that out I realised what was lighting the seat belt warning was actually the brake imbalance switch on the master cylinder, so that will need investigation. However with a plastic switch screwed into a metal casting, care is needed not to snap the switch, it didn't want to turn with moderate force so I left it alone.

As part of that I had got the driver's seat out - he is keen to install Miata seats anyway - and that was a right struggle. Seat wouldn't slide so I had to use spanners under the frame at the rear - and found they were 1/2" bolts instead of 7/16" and have to be done with an open-ended instead of a ring - not that I had my ratchet rings with me anyway. Turning those and getting nowhere led me to realise there were double-nuts under the floor instead of the original welded originals, for some reason 1/2" against the floor pan and 9/16" on top of those, on the same bolt! With the seat out as well as multiple holes possibly positioning the seat differently at various times there was also some rot and splitting in the area which will need plating.

While messing with the door locks I noticed the felt pads for the drop-glass regulator were missing (which fit onto the spikes shown here) were missing so Geoff ordered those with some other stuff. When they arrived (to me as deliveries are problematical at his house) I noticed there was only one felt pad. He said he only specified a quantity of one as there were two shown in the detailed image of the item! Another complaint to Moss who said they would change the web page and sent me one FOC. However on the next visit to the car I realised the driver's door didn't have the platform to take the felt pad as it is a replacement door! Probably explains why the platform is available as a separate item, but never mind the pad can be glued to the base of the door under the rear corner instead of a couple of inches further forward. Incidentally neither Geoff nor I are getting despatch or expected delivery info, I suspect because he is ordering them and his address is registered with them but he is giving me as a delivery address.

September:
With the driver's door lock on Geoff can now look at fitting his door cards. His door seals are really hard, the door has to be slammed to close it, and pushing the door release button it springs open several inches. That's without the cards, and with them in position the door won't even close! I suspect that's because the seals are closing onto the cards, instead of the cards just butting-up to the sides of the seal when the door is closed. Maybe some scope for moving the cards on the doors, but looking closely with the seals off it is evident that the seal flange is too close at the top of the door, so that was 'relieved'.

October: First visit for about a month as Geoff was away for part of the time and I was at another. Things rearranged in the garage to give more room to the passenger side as well as maintain access to the driver's - passenger seat removed and the floor that side is sound. Geoff wanted pictures of the underside so went to get it up on ramps and axle stands - but it wouldn't fire up. Geoff said he hadn't heard the fuel pump ticking, I'd fitted fuses to that and the OD on a previous visit to so checked that and OK. As an RB the electrical end of the pump is in the boot, loads of stuff on the load space floor but I could lift it just enough to see that I would have to remove the metal cover over the pump, so have to get all the stuff off the cover to lift it right up. Dropped it back down and "tick-tick-tick ..." so that was easy! However subsequently it turned out the pump is a Hardi electronic, which in theory shouldn't fail to operate like that. Geoff had been working on the gear-knob and its OD manual switch - found out why the knob was loose and wouldn't tighten ... no locking ring inside the knob! Took the lever sub-harness off and the insulation was badly chafed showing bare conductors - a good example of why fuses should be fitted to this system at least. He'd dropped the wiring down the side of the gearbox but with him using my grabbers from above and me guiding him from below got that back. One of the wires in the gearbox sub-harness was too short to lift up above the tunnel so we had to remove the cover plate - and that took half the time I was there. Two of the screws just wouldn't shift - tried using an impact hammer but the central nut detached from the tunnel, and that and the other one had to be cut off. The side one will have to be drilled and tapped for a new screw, and I'll make up a low-profile nut set into a plate that I can pop-rivet under the tunnel for the front one, clearance to the gearbox is very tight, maybe not enough for a rivnut/nutsert. What with sundry messing about and cups of tea that was it for the afternoon, left Geoff to carry on with the driver's side floor chipping the insulation off prior to repair, drill the cut-off screw on the tunnel and clean up the bullets on the gearbox sub-harness, one of which I'll have to replace anyway next time as it's hanging by a couple of strands.

November:
Visit primarily to replace the dislodged tunnel nut for the access plate and connect the OD wiring, but testing the circuit before putting anything back showed the gearbox switch wasn't closing. It had worked three years ago when Geoff bought the car, but he hasn't used it since so a good example of why these cars need to be driven. Had to drop the gearbox cross-member to get at the switch, which fortunately came out easy enough. Only closing when the plunger is pushed right in, far further than the gearbox can, it started working again but was erratic so not worth putting it back, and one needs to be ordered. Not worth putting the gearbox cross-member back because of that but I didn't want the bolts to get lost so did partially refit. Two problems with that - the engine restraint rod had been tightened up too much pulling the cross-member out of line with the holes and it had to be levered back, and the passenger side captive threaded plate had slid out of position (not so captive) and had to be fished back, and even then the bolts aren't pointed so had to be in exactly the right position to pick up as well as levering the cross-member into position. Geoff had been chiselling the floor insulation away from the driver's side but was unable to reach right forwards where it starts going up the toe-board, I was able to get the rest out so he can now start repairing.

Fitted (after testing) the new OD gearbox switch, but with both original shims fitted it only closed when the lever was pulled towards the driver, so removed the thinner of the two fibre shims and after that OK. Fitted the gear-lever knob and connected its sub-harness to both the gearbox sub-harness and switch, but the cap with the switch wouldn't stay down on top of the knob. There is a recess round the top of the knob and supposed to be a flange on the cap to engage with it, only a very slight flange on one side and none on the other where it was popping up, so new cap needed. This is partly to do with the wires coming up to one side of the middle of the switch, but their straight connectors push up onto connection tabs at one end of the switch i.e. not directly above, so that will need looking at. Fitted the repair plate and nut to the underside of the tunnel for the removable panel, and the panel, and bolted the cross-member back up - hopefully the last time that will need to come down.

We had decided to patch the holes at the front of the floor with aluminium sheet - loads available left over from the building of a Lola kit-car - bonded to the floor with Araldite. Made a card template in two sections (Cardboard Aided Design ...) for the floor as well as up the sill and on the top for strength. Cut out a piece of ally to do the whole thing in one go with tin-snips, then with cold-chisel and hammer to mark the bends, and pliers and vice to bend and shape, in under an hour we had a piece that was a pretty good fit before we ran out of time.

Next visit a new gear lever cap needed some filing round the switch opening, and it seems thicker so when the switch screws were tightened the switch was very difficult to operate. I thought it might need some tiny spacers between switch and cap on the screws but being self-tappers in plastic they are fairly stiff so just slackening them was enough. This cap does clip onto the knob (without the wires and switch attached so far), not with a very positive action, so may need some narrow strips of double-sided 'Sellotape' on the overlap. Finished shaping the floor repair panel where it fits round the internal sill. Should be ready to fine-tune into the corners and angles and fit next week when the Tiger Seal arrives, and will be pop-riveted in strategic areas to hold it down while it sets. Fitted the passenger-side door lock, with the after-market fitting-kit.

December:. Cold-snap in early December delays things but one visit made to fine-tune the repair panel and drill the holes for the pop-rivets, then another to actually install it as I didn't want to have to rush bonding and riveting. That leaves Geoff to install the insulation panels, then Christmas and New Year get in the way so that's it for this year.

January 2024: Mid-week weather has been unsuitable for Geoff to be hanging about effectively outside for three or four hours at a time so I've not been over. However he has been able to spend the odd hour out there and over a couple of weeks has got the cabin floor insulation, carpet and driver's seat installed. I said that's enough to take it for a test drive and he said he has restarted the insurance and is about to take it off SORN, so hopefully any day now I will be round there again as a support vehicle!

In the meantime he has fitted the passenger seat:

Seat covers originally had the dreaded 'hog' rings, which are preferable with covers that have a lighter 'skirt' material as otherwise the original spring-clips are visible with the seats installed. But being black (the 'skirts' ...) Geoff opted to refit his original covers with the earlier arrangement.

Hopefully the last week in Jan will see a window of suitable weather for me to go over for the first time this year to finish off the gear lever. The passenger drop-glass mechanism needs to be removed and everything checked as despite correcting the rear channel it's still stiff and the handle broke - I had a useable spare but don't want to break that as well!

Early Feb: Weather and other events again holding us up for the rest of Jan. First job was to get the OD manual switch fitted to the gear lever along with the gaiters and trim ring, Geoff having fitted the centre cubby/arm-rest in the meantime. New cap not a success. There is supposed to be a rib round the top of the knob and a recess round the inside of the cap so it just clips on, but one or other, or both is just not man enough to hold the cap down. This is a new cap as the markings were damaged on the old one and that was held down with tape, but this is no better. It would be OK if the wires came up the middle of the lever straight to the switch, but they take a dog-leg forwards inside the knob then up to the switch and those bends are trying to straighten themselves out which tilts the switch up. Pondering, may use heat or adhesive to hold them at the right angles, but that would make it tricky getting the wires through the gaiter and knob unless fitted from the top.

Time for a start so fluids checked - needed some in the thermostat cover filler plug and the expansion tank was empty. Engine didn't take much so it wasn't as if it had all drained out. I wondered if the thermostat being closed would trap air in the engine if it didn't have a bleed hole. Looking at the clutch the plastic reservoir was so close to the bulkhead whoever fitted it had cut a section of the cap away, and it has to be lifted up and pressed back down to add fluid! I know V8 plastic masters have that problem and the reservoir has to be turned round on the cylinder, with a bit of additional work, but I've never heard that with the 4-cylinder. Checking the parts afterwards it is the V8 master! Odd, as it is twice the price of the 4-cylinder plastic reservoir, and with the smaller bore I'd have expected to notice it as a low biting point but it felt absolutely normal. 4-cylinder metal are available again but at three times the price of plastic, V8 metal still not available.

We hadn't run it since October, and it hadn't run in anger for at least a couple of years. No prior charging so cranking was a bit slow, but didn't take much and it fired up on all four! Checking with Geoff afterwards he said the last time he had put any fuel in was February 2020, i.e. four years ago, which puts claims of fuel 'going off' into perspective. Good oil pressure. Kept it running at a fast idle while I felt the thermostat housing and the top of the rad, both warmed up at the same rate so I suspect either the stat is stuck open or there isn't one, but at least no air-locks. Temp gauge started creeping up so that is OK as well. Got each back wheel up in turn to spin it with the engine and check the handbrake and footbrake and both stopped both wheels so that is all good. When the rad had got pretty warm it was time to get it out and run it up and down the drive. Geoff said for me to do it but I insisted he did. Son-in-Law said he had alerted the fire and ambulance services and they were on their way ... The family came out taking pictures and video while Geoff took it up to the gate, turned round then down to the field, and back again:

Then my turn! It feels really good pulling away, sports exhaust sounds really purposeful. I'd checked the brakes with the engine off and the pedal barely went down and was really hard, so no air and handbrake adjustment seems OK, but with the engine running it sinks quite a long way with the bigger (?) servo on the dual system. A bit disconcerting initially compared to mine and the A-Class, but it had no difficulty stopping the car. One thing I did notice under firm braking was that the right front dipped more than the left, I initially wondered about a stuck caliper but that would have pulled to one and subsequent bouncing points to the damper. A couple of trips up and down for me as well then back in the garage and off for a cup of tea and a good long chat about all sorts of non-MG stuff. Geoff commented that even with the smaller steering wheel the steering hadn't been as heavy as he feared, and I certainly noticed that as well. But what I also noticed was how many turns it needed to get from lock to lock when doing a 3-point turn! Clausager says 77 and later had a rack with a 'lower ratio' and a smaller wheel from the factory. I think he means 'lower-geared' i.e. a higher ratio as a lower ratio would make it heavier, for the same reason we are exhorted to use a lower gear when descending hills. The pre-77 MGB has 2.7 turns lock to lock and the 77 and later (not all RB as claimed in some quarters) had 3.5 turns. Doesn't seem much in numbers but it is in practice.

Next trip the heater valve cable is too short so will have to be replaced, have a good look at the brake and clutch hoses, discs, pads, and all sorts of stuff under the car, before a safety check at the local MOT place.

Mid Feb: We had been discussing options for the gear knob cap if we finally gave up on getting it fit snugly and stay in place, but I had a couple of further ideas. To 'recap' (ho ho) - the cap was very loose on the knob moving back and fore and side to side when provoked so the ridge on the cap was nowhere near engaging with the recess on the knob. I had tried very thin double-sided tape wrapped round which held it down but then it just popped up again, same with Blu-tak. This time I wrapped a sliver (not 'slither' ...) of insulation tape round the front edge but it was still loose, so wrapped another layer this time all the way round. That was noticeably better but still a bit loose, so wrapped another layer round and this time it was held in position - to the point of needing to be levered off! Also I realised that having been left in position but angled up on one edge for week the wires had adopted the required dog-leg shape to get from the central hole up the gear lever to the switch connections, which means there is less force trying to push the cap off anyway. So added a third layer of tape in one section for luck, made the connections, pressed the cap down and it now feels really secure. Lets hope the electrical connections are still sound ...

Changing the heater cable was relatively easy. Looked to be too much of a fiddle getting at the sheath and inner clamps on the control through the radio slot while in-situ, so I opted to remove it. The nuts on the 77 and later console are deeply recessed, needing a box spanner or a deep socket, neither of which I had. But a standard 3/8" drive socket fitted the nut, protruding from the console by about 5mm, can't get an extension bar in because the control spindle is poking out, but I can get a large pair of mole grips on and that undoes the nut, and I can fish the control out through the radio slot. Disconnect the existing cable from the valve, tape the new one to it, feed/pull it through from the cabin, and connect that end to the control. Turn the control to OFF, close the valve, feed the inner and outer through, clamp the outer then the inner. Turn the control to HOT ... and I'm gobsmacked to see the valve move from effectively fully closed to fully open. Turn it to off expecting to see it noticeably short of being off ... but it is off! So full movement, something I've never seen on Bee, I know others have the same situation and I've never heard of anyone else having full travel.

Next is another go at the passenger drop-glass which is really stiff when closing through the upper half. Remove the channel, glass and regulator, the latter for cleaning and lubricating, and have another go at tweaking the channel now I have the glass out and can test-fit it to the glass in various positions. Replace it, and of course what took five minutes to get out takes half-an hour to put back! Whilst the regulator is now operating freely the glass is either tight in the lower half if I push the channel towards it, or if I ease it back it's easier but then jams solid 2/3rds the way up, I think because the glass is coming out of the channel. Stop there for the afternoon pending further thought. Thinking it all through, the rear channel was badly buckled when Geoff got the car and the glass was coming out of the front channel. I tried to straighten it as best I could, but I think that whilst the sides are supposed to be curved to accommodate the shape of the glass, the back needs to be straight, and that could be difficult. Fortunately new ones are not that expensive at £18, and Geoff opts to take that route.

Feb 3: Fired up again like a good-un to get the back on ramps, then the front on stands. Engine oil and filter changed - straight-forward although Geoff's 'metal strap with handle' filter removal tool has a very limited 'throw' of only a few degrees and limited pressure, it came free but only just. Chain or strap type using a socket wrench and long extension from above far easier. Gearbox oil checked - low, but I had forgotten to take the filler tube I keep for Vee so that will have to wait for next time. Axle had the original level plug but that came undone easer than expected with the tool I had made before replacing mine with the hex socket type - now ordered by Geoff.

Greasing the front suspension was a bit of a challenge as the first grease gun had an air-lock somewhere we couldn't shift. 2nd one uses a hose to connect which is easier in some respects but needs three hands unless you can position the body of the gun so that the hose goes square onto the nipple, and stays there. Middle nipple one side came off as soon as I started to pump - thought the nipple had broken off but just uscrewed, it must have only been hanging on 'by a thread'. They all took a few pumps before grease started coming out of the usual places.

With the wheels off the discs seem unworn, just surface rust from lack of use, and the pads new. Caliper new on at least one side, and one of the swivel axles. A-arm and ARB bushes seem sound, brake hoses (plus rear) obviously recent. Rocking the front wheels side to side there is what sounds like the same knocking I had on Bee when the MOT place said it was inner rack joints - more noticeable on the driver's side than the passengers, which turned out to be the rack damper. As Bee was like that for two or more MOTs and it was only advisory that can be left. Other than that suspension and steering all seem good.

Exhaust centre mounting missing altogether - ordered, but as I was checking that from the passenger side I couldn't see the front mount and didn't think to check from the driver's side - being checked for me.

Passenger drop-glass rear channel not arrived yet so still pending - in the meantime Geoff accepted and completed a 'Mission Impossible' challenge of removing the channel from the door and the liner from the channel, and refitted the driver's door card as first time round it didn't fit round the internal handle correctly.

Feb 4:

Just a flying visit to drop off some parts, too cold and wet to do any work this week. Console and gaiter trim-ring fitted after finally getting the gear-knob cap to stay down. The chrome screws in the satin-black trim ring don't look 'right', but seem to have been that way from the factory. As you can see still wrestling with the passenger drop-glass issues caused by the rear channel. Door closing still problematic - more bashing of seal flanges at the top of the quarterlights this time.

For the front exhaust mount the gearbox bracket is present - it also supplies the attachment point for the restraint bar to the removable cross-member, and the strap that leads to the exhaust, but no clip to the pipe. The strap is bent back which makes me think the down pipes are perhaps not in the right place, but as it isn't knocking or blowing I'll leave it alone and modify the strap as required when fitting the pipe clip.

March:

A few days later Geoff has transferred the 'felt' liner over from the old channel to the new, fitted it and got the passenger window operating as it should for the first time in four years, and fitted the liner and handles. Next visit was to fit the exhaust front and middle supports - more difficult than expected. It has a non-standard exhaust with tubular manifold and down-pipes welded to the Y-piece and first length of pipe. The position of the pipes by the front mount was too far away for the standard strap to reach from the bell-housing bracket so a new one had to be made - fortunately we had a spare middle hanger U-bracket in the fitting kit as there was one welded to the pipe on the car. That was flattened out, cut down by about an inch and a suitable hole drilled. The next problem was the pipe clip - which had to be opened out to fit over the pipe - no joints to dismantle to slide it on but I wouldn't have done that anyway. They are pretty thick, the two downpipes were virtually touching and it has to go between them, but levering them made just enough room. Then had to use a long bolt to pull the open ends back together, but they would spring apart a bit when that was removed and I think the pipes are probably a bit bigger as well, so I had to use a longer bolt than normal in any case. Middle hanger not quite so bad, this time the pipe was too close to the centre of the car, and the welded U-strap a little bit further aft than ideal. But filed the mounting holes to the body into arcs so it can be angled across towards the pipe, and the U-straps angled to meet the hanger.

Next job was to top up the gearbox using my new Sealey syringe - much easier than messing about with tubes and funnels from above, and replace the standard axle level plug with the later type with the hex socket instead of the tapered square socket. Annoyingly there was a small patch of oil under the engine, possibly over-spill from changing the oil and filter, we shall have to see.

Had planned to spray the underside of the floor repair with Finnegan's/Hammerite Underbody Seal but my seven-year-old aerosol can didn't want to play ball. Rechecked OD solenoid current as I omitted to do that after finally getting the cap to stay down and before Geoff finished off the centre-console, gaiter and trim ring but it was fine. Cranked a bit slow last visit so Geoff had had it on charge, wasn't sure if it was working as the indication showed 'maintenance' and not 'charging', but it was sparking so definitely doing something, so in theory fully charged. Still cranked a bit slowly - a shade under 10v at the fusebox so should be good enough, and fired up easily enough. On another visit I'll check the volt-drops in the cranking circuit, but it has a secondary earth strap from the engine to the body so that part at least should be OK. Checked the charging voltage in case that was part of the cause as we have run it recently for a good half-hour or so. Seemed a bit low at 13.2v off-load, but only dropped to 13.1v with headlights, brake lights, heater fan and hazards all turned on so probably OK. HRW didn't seem to add any load so perhaps not working, job for another day.

Just the battery clamp to fit, inspect the rear brakes but both footbrake and handbrake seems to hold well and the wheels rotate freely when released, and turn the heater fan switch the right way up!

March 2: Another small puddle of oil on the floor, immediately under the sump plug which was tight. Very annoying, I know people go on about re-annealing coper washers or replacing them, but in 55 years and multiple cars I have never had one drip before. Doing either of those is not really a goer without another plug to do a rapid switch-over and hope not too much oil is lost for the mess more than anything else, but slackening a few turns and wrapping some PTFE tape round is worth a try.

Applied Hammerite Underbody Seal to the floor repair, edges of castle rails and similar. The rest of the underside is so good it's surprising that one corner of the floor had gone like it had, maybe hit a rock years ago and left.

Rear wheels and drums off - drum screws needed a bit of 'encouragement' to get started - always leave them half a turn loose as it's the wheel nuts that hold the drum on and the screws in. Shoes, wheel cylinder, drums, and even the springs, retainers and back-plates look brand-new, and adjusted correctly.

Went to fit the battery clamp but the rods Geoff had bought with the clamp kit are way too long for the battery fitted, so will need to be threaded further down and excess trimmed off. But then mine on the V8 were too short for the battery I have and I had to get round that, so I'm going to try swapping them with Geoff's. His battery is the wrong 'gender', with the +ve post towards the front of the car both posts should be on the tunnel side but his are on the outboard side where the clamp strip should go. That would put the strip very close to the posts so will have to look at an alternative arrangement.

Wondering about the slow cranking last time (when it was quite cold, better when warmer today) with what seemed to be a fully charged battery I checked the volt-drops in the cranking circuit. +ve side good at about 1.25v, but the earth side was losing more than 3v, and this is with a secondary earth strap between the alternator mount and body. Breaking it down it's losing most of that between the battery cable and it's crimped through-hole terminal where it is bolted to the body. A new-looking cable so that will have to be replaced, no point trying to remake the crimp without special tools. The battery post clamp is also the wrong one being a +ve clamp in the smaller -ve post, but Geoff has a new spare -ve so that will go on the new cable.

Had another look at the cant rail covers - side rails are pre-formed plastic as well.

Turned the heater fan switch the right way up as that was bugging me. That needs the fresh-air vents to be removed, and I discovered the three multi-way plugs that connect the dash harness to the main harness are between the left-hand vent and the glovebox so easily accessible with the vents removed and even from under the UK dash. Annoyingly the switches are difficult to get back in with the side connections for night-time illumination attached, and they get pulled off when the switch is pulled out of the front. Because this dash has it's own sub-harness it was built up on the bench so everything fitted from the back. As I say, annoying.

March 3: Battery cables: There was some confusion about the earth cable I was intending to replace that had to wait until this visit to be investigated further, when all was revealed. I had assumed that the cut-off switch was in the 12v cable but it was in the earth cable - which explains why the volt-drop in the 12v cable was so low! Measured the earth volt-drops at each of the six connection points between the battery post and the body, and the highest was between the post clamp and the switch at 1v which turned out to be loose clamp screws. But as above it was the wrong clamp being a +ve which didn't fit the smaller -ve post correctly, Geoff had a new -ve so swapped them over and that volt-drop went down to zero. Next highest was from one side of the switch to the other at 0.7v - a new switch so not much we can do about that without replacing it for one that might be the same. After that the connection to the body was 0.6v - removed that and it was shiny metal with dielectric grease so again not much to be done, so replaced. At least the overall volt-drop was now down to 2v, and engine cranking noticeably faster.

Battery clamp:
Quite a small battery and not much overlap between the base and the cradle struts, with loads of movement available side to side and fore and aft, so I felt additional support was needed. Hunted around Geoff's shed and found a strip of aluminium angle about 3mm thick, 2" on one side and 1" on the other, length perfect to be cut in half and laid across the front and back edges - long side under the battery. This battery is the 'wrong' gender in that with the posts on one long side with the clamp in the usual place pulling the battery to the tunnel wall the clamp plate would be very close to the posts, which I didn't like. With the cut-off switch in the earth cable there was no option to turn the battery the other way round without replacing the whole of the 12v cable from battery to starter, so I opted to fit the clamp to the other side pulling it towards the outside of the car - fortunately it seems to be the norm to have both sets of holes for the clamp bars in the cradle base. I'd already added a couple of inches of thread to one clamp rod, which was enough when offered up, so Geoff threaded the other one, then shortened them by about an inch as they were too long and fouled the tunnel wall - could have cut more off to make fitting easier. The clamp bar was also too long so cut a good inch off that and drilled a new hole, with Geoff cleaning up all the cut edges while I was messing with other stuff. Then the fiddle fitting it all in a restricted space. At least the small battery (and new support plates) could be pushed one way then the other to get the hooks on the rods in the holes, then the supports pushed back which kept the rods in place. With a big battery you have the opposite problem in that the hooks have to be fitted into the cradle holes before the battery is lowered into place - and hope they stay there. Battery centralised, nuts fitted and tightened - job done!

I made up two short wires for the single number-plate light mounted on the rear valance, which connected to the rear harness in one of the two original positions - another job done.

When the original bumper had been replaced by the plastic valance the earth wires had been left unconnected, so I put them under the hatch latch staple bolts. That might explain why there are a couple of odd earth wires by the fuel pump - one from a screw into the rear bulkhead shelf just dangling, and another coming in though a hole in the bulkhead beside the pump. With the cover pulled to one side - only one screw fitted, the other one seized so will have to be drilled out, it's apparent it's a Hardi pump, so electronic, but still needed a thump before it would start working after a couple of years of non-use! It does explain why the vent tube can be seen dangling behind the battery cradle. Also a massive screw sticking up through the bulkhead shelf, so things under there will have to be investigated next time with the car up in the air.

Going up and down the drive in early Feb I noticed one of the reversing lights wasn't working, so had taken a spare bulb with me. Fitted that - battery on, ignition on, into reverse ... and no light. Not only that none on the other side either that had been working! Turned the parking lights on and they are working. A bit later on I tried them again and they were both working, then a bit later on again neither working again. This time I had my meter in the engine compartment and checked there was 12v going on the green into the gearbox harness, but nothing coming out on the green/brown. So that will have to wait until the next visit to get the car up in the air and have a look at the switch from below - easier to get at than the OD switch - as I don't want to remove the centre console again unless I really have to.

April: After never having a sump plug drip after an oil change on multiple cars over 55 years without ever replacing or re-annealing one the copper washer, Geoff's does just that. Checked it was tight but still dripped, so we decided to undo it a few turns and wrap some PTFE tape round it. It was only when I had loosened it that I realised how ragged and thin the copper washer was - didn't notice that when it was out and I cleaned it before refitting, so it will have to be replaced but that is a long way down the road ... so to speak. It was only researching the washers that I discovered they are all crush-washers now, which this one obviously is, so must be replaced each time. If it still drips we may have to consider a new plug and washer and a quick change.

As above the reversing lights sometimes worked and sometimes didn't, bridging the wires in the engine compartment they came on, so underneath to the switch, fortunately plenty of space compared to the overdrive switch. Connectors were on but the lights flickered as I waggled one of the connections. Pulled both off and the switch spades were obviously tarnished, but seconds with a pair of channel lock pliers had the switch slackened enough to be unscrewed by hand and passed over to Geoff for cleaning while I pinched up the connectors on the wires a bit. Replacing the switch was a pain! It goes in at an angle, you have to get the switch exactly square to the hole for it to start but can't see the hole, and with my hand up there I couldn't see what I was doing anyway. Eventually it went in - and it was only then I realised the fibre washer was missing. But screwed it in to check that there was a reliable connection now before taking it out. Hunted all round for the washer and not finding it, then pondering how to come up with a replacement. With the switch fully in the lights were on all the time, and backing it off until they went out came to about 1.5 to 2 turns, so the washer need to be equivalent to about one pitch of thread. Went to refit it with a metal washer (could result in oil drips) and spotted the original washer on the floor! Then the same fiddle refitting it, being sure the washer stayed in place this time. With it in tight pushing the lever across into the reverse plane the lights came on, then slowly moving it back towards the 1/2 plane they went off about half-way, so spot on.

Then the fuel pump! The wiring was very iffy as above, with what looked like an unused earth wire coming from under a screw on the rear bulkhead shelf, as well as another through the bulkhead from I know not where, and during some work the connector had come off that anyway, and the 12v wire with loads of insulation tape wrapped round it. I suspect the one off the shelf gave a poor earth, hence the other one, so I removed it. Originally with an SU the earth wire would connect to the body of the pump on the other side of the bulkhead, only the 12v wire being in the spare wheel area, but this is a Hardi with both connections at the end cap. The 12v wire was a right mess having been joined part-way, and loads of insulating tape wrapped round from there to where it exits the large grommet in the shelf with the rest of the rear harness. Added to that only one half of the cover had been unscrewed and it had been bent back buckling it, the other screw was stuck fast and Geoff had to drill that out. There is also a massive self-tapper sticking up through the shelf, so I need to see that from underneath, as well as inspect the hoses and clamps. Also I noticed when turning on the ignition this time instead of a few rapid clicks then slowing and stopping in a couple of seconds this only slowed very gradually, and never actually stopped. I've read reports of this happening to others, and put it down to dodgy pumps. However literally the day before this cropped up on the MGOC forum with someone saying the outlet port has to point straight up - reason not given. But then I recall another complaint about these pumps that if that is done the banjo bolt is pressed against the body somewhere! So yet something else to look at.

Underneath the mystery earth wire is actually the original for the SU pump, which on the face of it would give a good earth ... but Neither of the earthing wires on the back panel were connected to the body as the original number-plate has been replaced by a stickon with a single light to one side, when normally the wires would be under number-plate bolts. So how the pump and the working reversing light were getting earths is a bit of a mystery. Nevertheless the earth wires fit neatly under the hatch latch staple bolts - removing just one at a time so as not to lose the adjustment.

The mystery self-tapper is holding a metal strap to the underside, which looks like it might have been used to support a previous pump. Bent out of the way and doing nothing, removing it would be the tidy option but that would have left yet another hole in the shelf to be blocked off, and there are enough already so I leave it there for Geoff to cut off the excess on top of the shelf.

Looking at the pump both ports are angled downwards - the outlet port facing straight down, whereas on the SU the output has to be above the inlet, and Hardi instructions indicate it should be facing up. The way the banjos have been bolted up I can't just rotate the pump body as there is not enough enough spare in the inlet hose and the outlet would foul the bulkhead, so both banjo bolts have to be slackened. I can slacken those just enough to rotate them with only a little seepage, I would prefer to get the pump out altogether so I could tighten them while holding the body firmly instead of being in the spongy grommet, but slackening the hoses gets fuel running back from the carbs so I decide to tighten them in-situ, which needs Geoff leaning into the load space trying to grip the small amount of body they sticks in there while I tighten. If I positioned the output port pointing upwards the banjo bolt would be up against the underside of the shelf, but like the SU I think it only needs to be in the upper half and above the inlet for air inside the pump to naturally flow towards the outlet and be pumped out with the fuel, so I angle it upwards which puts the inlet pointing straight down. Turning on the ignition just a couple of clicks now, but there is a tiny seep from the outlet banjo so lean on it a bit more and get a little bit more movement. After that just one click, and no seepage - so far so good.

All that I had to do directly under the pump as it is sandwiched between the tank and the axle, normally I keep my head to one side to avoid stuff falling onto me. But as well as having to spit bits out of my mouth at one point my biggest spanner slips out of my hand and hits me in the mouth. Fortunately I had my mouth closed at that point otherwise I might have been spitting bits of teeth. Geoff asked "Was it an Across Face spanner?" As it happens it was a Whitworth as my AF sockets don't fit the banjo bolts! At least the tank looks brand-new and coated with something, new tank sender as well.

Then the wiring! The second earth wire coming through the bulkhead is the original from the harness which is good and can stay, but needs a new spade connector since the old one pulled off very easily. Started cutting the insulation tape off the 12v wire and found it burnt for several inches - this is the fifth MGB I have worked on with that fault hence strongly recommending it is fused in the engine compartment, and that is one of the first things I did on Geoff's car together with the OD circuit which is another essential with the gear-lever manual switch which Geoff's has. The other thing is that where the wire exits the rear harness right by the grommet in the shelf we can see the insulation has parted and is showing copper strands, so any repair will have to go forwards past that. We ponder whether to pull some extra harness up into the load space and repair it there, or pull it down and repair in from underneath. There is a cable clamp under the shelf but whilst I can turn and turn the nut and the clamp gets loose, the nut never comes off to release the harness! Trying to go the other way one of the two clamps in the spare wheel space really doesn't want to move as it goes through to the underside so has corroded. Eventually that does come out, but having got the grommet out of the shelf into the load space we would have to push several inches of harness down through it, and a new 12v wire, and that is as much of a struggle as everything else. Eventually we decide to replace the wire altogether as given the heat damage we can see it might extend for several inches or more forwards. Next question is whether to run it under the car with the rear harness, but that means messing with all the clips, so I opt to run it through the cabin. Still not happy with running a single wire like that - I'd prefer it had a protecting sleeve, browsing what wires are available I come across braided for older classics where the braiding is over modern PVC then varnished, so that will give an extra layer of protection. 8.5A will be fine given continuous current is 7 amps, it's only pulsed briefly and intermittently in use, and is now fused. Next routing - along the off-side as that is where the pump is, and the grommet for the dash harness into the engine compartment, which leaves whether to run along where the sill joins the floor under those carpets, or on top of the sill adjacent to the door seal under that carpet, or under the carpet to the centre console then up behind it and across behind the dash to the harness grommet in the bulkhead - to be decided.

It's interesting to note that the closer we get to driving the car on the road, and doing now what should be final bits, these posts have been getting longer!

April 2: A previous visit looking at another car and this the next work on Geoff's car both show no drips from the sump plug - albeit engine not been run.

The main thrust of this visit was to run a new 12v feed to he pump as the existing one was in a right state from what looks like a previous short-circuit. Despite the small number of cars I have worked on most of them have experienced the same thing which was why I fitted fuses to Geoff's fuel pump and OD circuits as one of the first jobs. Bare strands where it exits the grommet in the bulkhead shelf, and melted insulation wrapped in insulation tape further down:

I had pondered letting a new section from further back in the rear harness, but any work would needed to have been done under the car, releasing clamps in the boot and underneath and pulling the harness down out of the boot which would be a lot of work when it needed to go back again without further damage, and I had no idea how far back the damage extended. So a new wire, but what and where?

I didn't fancy releasing all the clips from front to back, or running a single wire in underneath and preferred to do it inside. It would be easy to drill through the vertical panel above the bulkhead shelf, in the corner by the existing harness, then run it under the arch carpet across the top of the battery shelf, under the B-post trim panel down to the sill, then against the angle along the sill where the edge of the carpet sits under the door seal, up under the footwell trip panel then forward and through the large grommet where the main harness passes through into the engine compartment, then forward and down to the existing fuse by the mass of bullet connectors where the main, rear and gearbox harness all join, discarding the existing white wire in the rear harness.

More protection than underneath, but still only a single wire - a critical one, albeit fused in case of damage. Browsing various wire products I came across this from Autosparks which is modern PVC wire with a braided cotton and varnished covering. Intended to replicate older wiring on cars older than the MGB the varnished braided cotton will give an extra layer or protection. I'm grommeting the hole at the rear and it's easier to poke a hole in the blind grommet, push the end of the wire through then fit the grommet in the hole that fit the grommet first, as trying to push the wire through then pushes the cotton braiding back. My modern wire strippers don't work on it but my 50 year-old GPO ones neatly strip off both the cotton and the PVC in one go, ready for soldering a crimped spade at the pump end and and a crimped (with my new crimp tool) bullet at the fuse end. The final job is to slacken the nuts holding the spades on the end of the Hardi pump - breaking the security paint - to point them downwards, as with the pump now in the correct orientation the spades are uppermost and foul the top of the metal cover:

Switch on, three quick clicks which is better than the extended chattering from incorrect orientation of last time, then only a very occasional click just like an SU while I check underneath round the banjos and hose connections for any seeping - of which there is none. Job done! At least, I'm now wondering if I should put some sleeving over the wire to give even more protection against abrasion and impact from stuff beside the spare wheel, like a jack or tool-box ...

As recounted at the beginning of March briefly switching on the HRW didn't reduce the battery voltage as I would expect so probably not working, and having a quick look at the wiring at the back the 12v feed wire and connections looked OK ... but the earth wire was just dangling by the near-side rear light with its through-hole terminal taped up. First test was to check for voltage on that earth wire with it turned on but not connected to check continuity right through the circuit. I have voltage, but not a full 12v which is odd, when there is a full 12v on the 12v feed wire bullet connector by the off-side rear light. Unscrew the top 'Dotloc' special nut holding the rear light in which is where the HRW earth wire is supposed to go - it's a bit stiff but it comes off, put the wire terminal on the stud and fasten the nut - still tight but it clamps the connector. Checking voltage now shows 12v on the right-hand side, and on the connector pad on the glass, but nothing on the left-hand side. Time to check current and resistance, but the Dotloc nut is now stuck fast. The stud is a bit chewed and bent which I hadn't noticed before, so I cut the wire and crimp and solder a new through-hole terminal ready to go on the lower outboard stud - which has a plain nut and washer instead of a Dotloc. Set the meter up for 10 amps and switch on - nothing. Gradually turn the meter down until I finally get a reading of just a quarter of a milli-amp - which explains why I was seeing a lower voltage on the unconnected earth wire than the 12v wire, when in theory I should have seen either 12v on both, or zero volts if there was a break in the circuit somewhere. I'm using an analogue meter, had I used a digital I would have seen 12v on both as a digital meter takes much less current when displaying voltage than an analogue. The circuit through the screen is very very high resistance - many tens of thousands of ohms, so even the very small current needed to move an analogue meter needle was enough to 'lose' some voltage in the screen. Testing the pads on the glass shows that the fault lies between them, not in the wiring to and from the glass, so not much we can do short of taking the rear screen out which Geoff is not willing to do - at least at this stage.

Still some time left so have a quick look at the dash switches which need sorting out as they are not in the correct order and not all the wires reach as that should. But that needs the dash air vents to come out, and we haven't got enough time for that. Glancing though the radio aperture I notice that the heater air direction cable is not connected to the control. Stranded inner, which they all seem to be when you would expect a solid like the water valve, it doesn't move in the sheath so that will need to be looked at. The connection to the heater flap can only be seen through the footwell vent, but even with one's head in the footwell the pedals on an RHD obstruct the view and access, so maybe they will have to come out, or maybe the heater will have to come out altogether. The top screw on the heater comes undone easily but the three round the bottom don't move with moderate force short of slipping out of the heads and damaging the slots, so a job for PlusGas. The pedal cover screws are equally likely to be stuck. All a job for the next visit.

April 3:
No visit for a couple of weeks to progress the heater but we have another sub-project on the go. Geoff has a particular problem in that his seat has to be all the way back - in fact further than normal with the stop blocks at the back of the runner removed - in order to get into the car, but then it's a bit of a stretch to get the clutch pedal down far enough to avoid grinding the gears when selecting reverse, and continually sliding the seat back and fore is not easy for him either. He joked about pedal blocks that you would put on a kid's bike till they had 'grown into it', but it planted a seed.

April 4:
Heater: Took the footwell cowl off and could get a couple of fingers to where the cable connects to the flap but couldn't really move it. Stuck half-way at the moment so air-flow is part to the screen and part to the footwell. Got the clutch pedal off after more of a fiddle than the earlier pedal box would be, but to get the brake pedal out you would have to unbolt the servo and master cylinder from the pedal box, which needs the whole shebang to come out of the car. That would impact on the brake hydraulics - there is the potential to leave the clutch master 'hanging' on the pipe, but we didn't want to go that far. The only other alternative is to remove the heater, but as copious PlusGas hasn't done anything for the screws in the shelf they would probably need drilling and retapping, and as the air flow is half and half and winter driving isn't going to be a big thing, we decided to leave it alone.

With the clutch pedal out were were able to drill that and the spacer blocks for both pedals on the bench. The brake pedal had to be drilled in-situ, which was a bit awkward reaching in from outside but not as bad as I was expecting. Annoyingly the screws had gone to Barnstaple or some such so hadn't arrived and we couldn't finish that off. So with a bit of tatting around and chatting quite an easy half-day.

May 1:
Pedal blocks fitted - Geoff can now get full clutch pedal travel with the seat right back with comfort.

Clutch pedal spring fitted, need to get one for the brake pedal as that has always been missing.

The carb overflow pipes were loose, just taped up to each other and the fuel pipe with the rear one not even attached. The support loop was on the mechanical fuel pump blanking plate rear bolt as it should be, I tried slotting the pipes in but couldn't get both in so undid that bolt. In hindsight I should have just backed the bolt right off to allow the clip to open up a bit as trying to get it all back together and the bolt started was a fiddle. But all in place now.

Geoff is dealing with some rust under the screen seal at the bottom and asked about getting the arms off so they are out of the way. By folding the arm back then tilting that end of the cup towards the screen all four of mine then just lift off, but Geoff's having been on donkey's years were a tight fit to the spindle. Put a bit of PlusGas on and after a bit used a flat-blade screwdriver between the step on the spindle and the underside of the arm cup and wiggled the arm and bit by bit the driver's came off. That wasn't working with the passenger's, I wondered if a forked-type trim removal tool would help, and pushing that into the gap it popped straight off! By this time I have noticed there are no gaskets between the spindle covers and the body. The nuts can be a real pig to get off and can need cutting carefully down the side of the spindle. But more PlusGas, and a ring-spanner on the nuts gets a little movement. Rather than simply unscrewing I turn the nut back and fore till they move easily, then bit by bit undo them more, and gradually they both come free. I leave them on pending receipt of gaskets.

May 2: although it took until the 31st to fit a visit in. Delivered a load of bits that had arrived during the month one of which was the brake pedal return spring which had always been missing, and a five-minute job to fit.

While doing that I noticed the courtesy light wasn't working and I was sure it had been before, nor from the dash switch. Suspected the bulb so went round to the passenger side as it's easier to get at being right-handed - and it worked. Removed the door switch and the wire was detached, but visible though the hole. Hooked it with a bit of stiff wire and fished it out with needle-nosed pliers, and realised the socket for the bullet on the switch had corroded and broken off so that will mean a new switch. Dash switch for another day,

Many years ago in a forum discussion on brake servos even though the remote one on the single-circuit system adds very little assistance and was optional anyway, someone stated that cars with the dual-circuit servo were undrivable without. I accepted it at the time, but always wondered just what they were like without, so with the previous jobs only having taken a few minutes it was time to try it. First was to try it with the servo and remind myself not having driven it since February - wheels locked pretty easily and the pedal didn't seem to sink as much as it had before. Hose came of the inlet manifold easily - I didn't want to risk breaking the plastic fitting on the servo itself, and plugged the one-way valve with a screw and tape. Fired up, emptied the servo with a few presses of the pedal and it gets a bit higher and harder. Bowled off down the drive, pressed the pedal, and I could still lock the wheels with what seemed like hardly any more pressure than before. Hose back on, pedal down, start the engine and the pedal sinks a little as it should. Another surge up the drive and again very little difference detected between with and without - so that theory is debunked. Drive my V8 (single circuit with servo) up and down as well as a comparison and very little difference with that, except my pedal is a little higher.

Geoff had removed the locking strip in the front screen rubber to tackle some rust on the scuttle panel. I'd brought round the fitting tool with the wheel, but for whatever reason it doesn't have the spreader to open up the slot ahead of the wheel (probably because they were sitting in the bottom of the box ...) and wasn't working with the old rubber seal being quite hard. One edge pushed in quite easily, then a plastic trim clip remover seemed to work easing the other side in bit by bit on a short trial section, although leaving it for Geoff he used a similar implement to fit the remainder.

Looking forward to getting it on the road in the next few days!

June: Still waiting to get it on the road - for our two availabilities and the weather to coincide. Dropped off deliveries of a courtesy light door switch and front screen bright trim, both of which Geoff is going to have a go at himself. Brief chat about fitting a voltmeter in the plastic (alternative to the original metal one) radio blanking panel as regards the best way of cutting the hole.

Main job was to help his son-in-law fit a replacement radiator to his Lola T70. Electric fans with a sensor pushed into the top hose, but no rubber sleeve for the capillary tube to sit in and SIL wasn't aware of one when removing the faulty rad, so we had to fit the hoses without. The filler and expansion tank is in the back with the engine, the radiator (at the front of course) has a bleed screw on top by the hose port, so we jacked that front corner up a bit to aid filling and bleeding. Even though he has a very low-profile jack it only just fits under the space frame at the corner by the A-arms and even then needs to in at an angle with the wheels turned. He didn't know the capacity of the system so we had to make up a solution of one part concentrate to three parts water instead of my preferred method of putting in the appropriate amount of concentrate for a dry system, then topping up with water so what is already left in the system (which would normally be 'old' coolant) wouldn't dilute the new.

Jacked down, started the engine with the pressure cap off to keep an eye on the level, and despite two clamps on the top hose with the capillary (SIL didn't know why two there but only one at the bottom), it started dripping without any pressure, or even flow as the thermostat would still have been closed. Tried tightening the clamps a bit more using a ratchet handle and the screw on one of them snapped inside the clip! Can't leave it dripping even with one clamp. I've looked for the proper slotted sleeves before and had no luck (subsequently found Kenlowe KLM2213 but most showing it as not available), and even then it would be a couple of days before one arrived, the only other thing I cold think of was self-amalgamating tape which isn't the sort of thing you find everywhere. SIL said he would go the the local village car spares place to get new clamps and ask about the tape - and he came back with them! Another win for Dorridge Auto who in the past were able to supply off the shelf the correct indicator flasher unit for another pal's TR4 (different to the equivalent MGB which was what had been fitted), as well as some high ZDDP oil for me that no one else locally had. While he was away I was wondering how we were going to get the broken clamp off, but noticed the outer part had been dislodged a bit, picked at it with a finger nail and it came free! With both clamps removed we knew we were going to lose some of the coolant when removing the hose, but it was long enough to angle up to above coolant level so not much came out then, or when refitting.

This tape doesn't stick to anything when you are fitting it until you can get an overlap, then it's stuck! Only thin so two turns under where both clips would be. Hose pushed on - a bit of a snug fit, in hindsight probably just the overlap would have been best with the capillary sitting on that. Tightening the clamps the second one broke - don't use ratchet handles to tighten them, only the screwdriver handle! Fortunately the replacement clamp was in a pack of two so unscrewed that all the way and fitted it round the hose as I didn't want to remove the hose again. Topped up again, ran the engine and this time no drips. That's all SIL has time for as boring stuff like 'work' was calling, so left him to run it fully up to temp and check for leaks and fan function etc. when he can.

June 2: First 'five-minute job' was to fit the driver's door courtesy light switch - which took a bit longer as there were some issues with it that I won't go in to!

Next the front screen trim! Considering I had done the back on Vee and the front twice, mostly on my own and with very little difficulty, this was the worst job I think I have ever had to do on an MGB.

June 3: Local circumstances finally come together for the first trial foray on a lovely day, with me travelling behind just in case! Geoff's first drive in about four years, on our return I asked "How was it?" and got the response "Absolutely bloody wonderful!".

July: For similar reasons to needing the pedal blocks Geoff would feel more comfortable with a rear-view camera in addition to the standard mirrors to give a deeper as well as wider view, to protect the ducks and cats! My Mercedes A-Class would be undriveable without the built-in camera as rear visibility is so poor, and pulling out of junctions I have to be square-on or very nearly so as the left rear quarter is particularly bad. But I digress. There are plenty around, and as it is a bit of an unknown quantity he got a cheap one from eBay just in case.

It has the option of camera wired to the screen with a suitable additional lead, but came with a wifi system that allows the camera to be powered directly from the reversing lights at the rear of the car and the screen powered separately from the front. Hooked both up to a temporary power supply and it works, complete with (fixed) guide lines on the screen. The wires are incredibly flimsy and need tails to connect to the car's wiring, but by turning the joins back on themselves with double heat-shrink, then more heat-shrink over the two tails plus the sheath of the camera wires should be physically strong enough. The wifi module is in in line with the camera but the screen and its wifi module have separate cables so at that end three wires have to be joined together to make each connection.

Next job was to fiddle the camera cable and wifi up the C-pillar, Geoff had screwed the trim in place as the original push-clips weren't holding it flat, which made it easier to remove a couple of those and ease it back to reveal a hole at the top large enough to get the wifi unit through then above the rear cant rail so completely out of sight. I did wonder whether being up there would screen the wifi signal, but time will tell.

Connections to the reversing lights is a bit of a fiddle as the harness has a 2-pin plug which goes directly onto the lamp unit, no spades or bullets to tap into. As I need both 12v and earth I decide to cut both wires between exiting the harness and the plug for the off-side lamp and use Wago 3-way connectors to reconnect the two original wires plus add the third. It's possible to twist two of the wires together and so use a 2-way, but easier with a 3-way despite being slightly bigger. That end connected up, ignition on, reverse selected, and the lights come on as does the tell-tale on the wifi unit.

At the camera end plenty of options for picking up 12v and earth, originally Geoff had said he could use a manual switch to turn it on as he didn't want me grovelling around under the car at the reversing light switch again but I said that wouldn't be needed as there is a bullet connection in the engine compartment where the gearbox harness joins the rear harness, although that would need a wire to pass through from the cabin. In the end I forgot all that and just hooked it up to ignition and earth behind the dash, ignition on, reverse selected and lo and behold we have a view from the (as yet unmounted) camera. It was only then I realised the screen only comes on when the camera is receiving power, not when only the screen is powered, so no need to run a wire into the engine compartment!

The screen has dash-mount and windscreen sucker options, we ponder both in various positions, and settle for the lower right-hand corner of the windscreen for the sucker option as being the most suitable, which has the additional benefit of being easy for the wiring.

First thought for the camera was on a flat part of the tailgate frame but that is angled too low. However sliding it back a bit so that it is partly on the frame and partly on the rubber surround for the glass looks just right, which only needs a small alloy plate the width of the camera mount and twice as deep, with a suitable bend, and that is left to Geoff to fabricate. Strong double-sided sticky tape (Sellotape Sticky Fixers Outdoor) as used for my high-level reversing light should be man enough to keep it there.

After that we had some more tinker-time so I took the plugs out to check them after the run last week. Insulators look OK but the side electrodes (three-electrode Accuspark so that is probably what the ignition module is) are a bit sooty, but after only eight miles in four years with a number of starts just for manouvering in the previous four years not that surprising. They are all pretty-much the same which is good. Getting the leads back on was a faff! The leads are cable-tied together in a bunch making it difficult to see which lead went to which cap position, but the leads were different lengths which should have made it easier, and I was pretty sure No.1 had been top right as it should be. But when I started trying to fit them based on that some of the leads were too long and others - No.4 in particular, barely long enough and pressing against the heater valve. After an abortive start I decided to confirm the rotor position, which was as I thought, so it was just the confusion of the cable-tie and lead lengths that was the problem. The distributor is already 90 degrees clockwise of where it should be so the vacuum capsule is pointing to the right instead of up, which puts the cap clips top and bottom instead of on the sides which is a lot more convenient for removing the cap. So at another visit I will correct that, and sort the leads out so the lengths are more convenient.

July 2: Geoff had installed the screen and camera which just left tucking the cables up behind the dash cable-tied to the anti scuttle-shake bar. The high contrast between the upper and lower halves is because the car was in a garage with the camera looking out through the door:

USB socket can be fitted in the other half of the radio blanking panel to the voltmeter, which is of the one-piece plastic type with a moulded MG logo. I removed the panel, and the meter from the panel to avoid damage, and left Geoff to cut the hole in his own time.

Next job was to rotate the distributor to its correct position with the vacuum capsule pointing up and not to the right, which with the 45D4 puts the cap clips on the sides and much easier to get at. Should just be a case of slackening the clamp, rotating the distributor 90 degrees anti-clockwise, then moving the HT leads one position clockwise - easier said than done. First was to measure the timing which has to be done dynamically as this type of electronic module doesn't have the option of static timing - 30 degrees at 1000rpm and 40 at 2000 rpm - more than I was expecting until I realised being a 78 it had the inlet manifold as a source. Not that I needed to but done for interest, I disconnected the pipe and plugged the manifold port and now it was 15 at 1000 and 25 at 2000.

The clamping plate was a surprise as it only had one 'ear', i.e. only one screw to the block. Probably just as well as the other one would have been below the vacuum capsule! It also has the benefit that only the clamp screw has to be slackened, with the two-eared type one of the clamp to block screws often has to be slackened as well to fully release the clamp. The clamp screw was 5/16" AF instead of 7/16" as on the two-eared - fortunately I had a spanner. It was underneath the distributor pointing at the firewall, again not the easiest position but again had it been on top it would have been under the vacuum capsule. Slackened that and the distributor didn't want to move by hand, but fortunately did tapping with a long drift and medium hammer, the further it went round the easier it got until it could be turned by hand until it looked to be in the right position. With the capsule pointing up I can get the cap off as the clips are now on the sides instead of top and bottom, and moved the leads round. Refitted but not tightened yet.

Went for a start but it didn't want to go, and in fact sounded like a flat battery with the starter almost stalling. At first I thought I had the leads in the wrong order but double checked and they were correct. Then I realised it was over-advanced and by so much so that it was firing and stalling the starter, but not on all cylinders which was odd. Took the cap off again, turned the crank to TDC on the pulley and as it happened the rotor was pointing to top right as it should, and I could tell that the cap contact was quite a bit advanced than that so turned the distributor some more. Cap back on and now it starts, recheck the timing and slightly more than 30 at 1000 so turned it a bit more to get to that, and checked it was 40 at 2000, and tightened the clamp bolt.

The rest of the time was trying to puzzle out the immobiliser on the Lola, which last time out at a filling station had gone 'dead' with no ignition, fuel pump or crank but lights were OK so not a dead battery. A new one had been obtained but contains about a dozen wires, all bar one black, which didn't help with where they all went. They may have numbers printed on them, and Geoff had found a diagram on line, but no written explanation (in English?) so that had to be put on the back burner pending more investigation and pondering. The existing immobiliser will have been installed with some if not all the wires cut back, so unless the printed numbers go all along the wires there will be no chance of replacing one for one and we will have to suss out the function of the positions in the harness they go to in order to work out which of the new wires goes where!

July 3: Just a few minutes spent on the GT this time with most being spent on Lola. Geoff had fitted the USB socket into the radio blanking strip (having previously fitted a voltmeter) so I wired them up and clipped them back into the centre console:

'Fortunately' Lola remained 'dead' which makes electrical faults much easier to locate. I sussed out the existing immobiliser connections and that was making it's connections in preparation for a start, so the problem was in the car's wiring somewhere and in preparation Steve had removed the nose section, front bulkhead, steering wheel and doors in preparation for pulling the dashboard forwards. Dozens of screws on that, and while the top pulled forwards about an inch the bottom wouldn't budge either side - because it was popriveted, and in an area that would have been difficult enough to fit, impossible to remove, so we will have to grovel around underneath and behind the dashboard. Steve had been able to get a link to the build manuals, one of which was the electrical system. Basically a one-page physical layout of the harness with each tail to a component having a code letter, and subsequent pages having tables for each component with the wire colours and terminal numbers, plus a layout of the fuse and relay board which will make life an awful lot easier. There was a relay clicking as the ignition was turned on and off, so something was happening, and that was probably one or both of the ignition relays. Up behind the dash so not easy to get at, and I couldn't feel which relay it was, but even if I had I wouldn't have been able to do much about it. But two screws and the relay and fuse block drops down into the footwell ... and unfortunately it is a completely different layout to that in the build manual! Nevertheless I could now feel which relay it was, and attempting to unplug it to test it all the ignition circuits suddenly burst into life - as fortunately the ignition switch had been left on! Got to be something round there. Got the relay out with the cover coming off in the process so that really ought to be replaced - and it's not that relay that is clicking but the one next to it, and the cover comes off that as well so two replacements. Having trouble locating replacements online so on the off-chance Steve went up to Dorridge Auto and unbelievably they have some in stock, just like the self-amalgamating tape for the Lola radiator! That is the most amazing place.

Then looking at the colours of the wires on the back of the panel I realised they are the two ignition relays, with the purple 'live' wire being linked from one to the other. However it's not jumpered from one relay socket terminal to the other but using a dreaded Scotchlok connector. Bad enough but the additional wire is a very small gauge so the metal link is probably not making a very good connection, and this fault was intermittent for a while before it packed up altogether. I could cut the main wire and fit a Wago branching connector but that would leave the main wire shorter than all the others in the harness and I was concerned about it getting pulled, so I removed the Scotchlok anyway but pinched together the legs of the link to make a better connection to the thin wire and refitted it. Subsequently I noticed the fan wire had pulled out of its 'chocolate block' connector, too short to follow the harness and was proving a right fiddle to get back in the connector, so we did fit a Wago there. If the problem reoccurs the ignition relay Scotchlok will have to be replaced with a Wago and that wire taken out of the intermittent tape wraps of the harness to take a short-cut. Then it was a case of putting the doors, front bulkhead and nose section back on - none of which needed to be removed to get at the fusebox! Tested at each stage of the 'rebuild' and all good, so now just need a series of daily tests to confirm, before risking an outing!

August: 'Last' (until the next ...) job - the choke control. It's bugged me for over a year (can't believe it has been that long since I started messing with Geoff's car) that the choke control outer was loose on the dash and the inner had the twist the wrong way so it was always trying to unlock itself - not that it ever did in the few times we have started and run the engine. Looking at the carbs the end of the inner had all the strands together and only one mark on it where it had been clamped so I suspect it was a new cable shortly before Geoff got it. First thing was to correct the twist and as soon as I slackened the trunnion and pulled the cable there was a 'twang' as if something was unwinding and the incorrect bias had gone - I suspect the installer had deliberately put a twist in it ... but the wrong way. For this cable at least the inner needs to be turned anti-clockwise (as you look end-on at the cut end) to position the dash end correctly, but that tends to unwind the twist that is in the inner so if you go too far it will expand the inner inside the outer and risk making it stiff. If you think about it, it only needs a quarter-turn at most - nothing more, and I reconnected it. On HSs you need to lift the arm on the interconnecting shaft a certain amount against return springs to get it into the right starting position so that 1/2" of movement at the dash moves the cam on the carbs through the fast-idle portion just to the beginning of the enrichment portion. My V8 HIFs are the same and have an engraved line on the cam to denote that point, but I couldn't see one on these carbs so just took out any slack and the trunnion clamped on to the same position of the inner as before.

Next the the dash control.

I could just get two fingers up the narrow gap between the dash panel and the centre console and turn the nut to get it up against the back of the dash panel, but of course no tighter than that so as soon as you use the control it comes loose again. What makes things worse is that the bottom edge of the dash is turned back under where the nut is, so you can't get a spanner straight up onto it! Casting around in Geoff's garage and my mind for something that might get to the nut, I reckoned that a 'convoluted' spanner with two or three bends right by the jaws might just get purchase on the nut. Geoff found a spanner that he thinks was for a bicycle that he has never used and has no use for, jaws look like about the right size, so may make a suitable donor. But pretty thick and needing several whacks in a vice with a lump hammer to make bends, so I made a pattern out of a strip of alloy first that I could bend easily, and also trim the width of the jaws to the right size - not having a choke cable handy to measure the nut. That didn't take long to get to the point where I could turn the nut, but not tighten it of course, and the jaws were 3/4" AF. The donor spanner is fractionally smaller than that so ideal. Back and fore between the vice and the car bending and rebending the spanner until I could get the jaws against the nut, then back and fore some more filing the jaws until they would just go on the nut ... and success! From just finger tight I was able to move the nut several flats and it's tight!

So now it's 'finished' - in terms of Hunt's seventh rule of classic car ownership!