Bits and Pieces

A bit of everything in this issue!

Stone-guards for the TF

A few months back I had an enquiry about these. I’m not sure how I stumbled across the Monaro Motors advert from page 297 of Australian Motor Sport of September, 1955 (I’ve not reproduced the whole advert, just the heading) but I’ve extracted one of the parts advertised (the stone-guards).

Monaro Motors were well known in the early 1950s for tuning equipment for MGs and Morris Minors. There are still TFs around, sporting the stone-guards. I’m not sure if these are Monaro items or if they have been obtained elsewhere. Here are a couple of photos:

Both cars are in Australia, although I understand that the red one started out life in New Zealand.

Thomson’s of Wimbledon

Continuing with the history theme, Björn-Eric Lindh has sent me his complete file of correspondence with Bill Thomson. Bill ran the well respected MG spares business at Kingston Road, Wimbledon. LONDON SW19. The earliest letter in the file is dated 19th February, 1963 (from Stockholm) and Bill replied on 23rd February so the postal system must have been pretty good in those days!

Text of the letter as follows:

Dear Sir,

Many thanks for your letter, I am not printing a price list this year as I have not been able to really lay down firm prices, but a line to us will always have a quote by return post. Below are the prices of the parts you mention:

Map reading lamps 11/6 complete with bulb
Petrol pumps for TC 35/0 exchange Wire from 8d per yard, depends on size
Door locks £1.14.10 each
Door handle 11/10 each
Catch plate complete 17/8

We also have a fair selection of second-hand parts but as a rule they go fairly quickly, however let me know and I will see what I can do for you.

Yours faithfully, W. F. THOMSON.

Just for clarification, the price of the exchange petrol pump (35/0) was £1.15.0 shillings when we had ‘proper’ money, pre-decimalisation. This now translates to £1.75, which is nearly US $3.

More ‘bargains’ will appear in future issues.

A ‘Cuckoo’ in the nest

YB owner, Mick Bath has, what he thinks is an original tool kit which he keeps in the spare wheel compartment of ‘Sabrina’ his XPAG saloon. The ‘cuckoo’ in the nest is the spanner with serial number SK1219Z. Anybody know what it is? Definitely not T-Type or Y – my guess is that it could be from a Mini (pre-BMW); the square end is for the square headed adjusters and the other end is to undo the bleed nipple.

TD/TF Engine Stabiliser Bushes

Subaru part number 13271AA071 is said to be inexpensive with hard rubber & cupped washer and better than after-market offerings.

Oil Catchment Trays

Since the article in the August issue of TTT 2, David Pelham has been sending his oil drip trays to buyers in several countries.

He has just had another batch manufactured so has plenty of stock to meet orders.

William Howard e-mailed David from Germany to say that when he fitted the drip tray he noticed that the split pin was missing (one of the functions of the split pin is to make sure that the drainage hole does not become blocked).

To save the time involved in removing the sump to fit another split pin, William hit on the idea of using two nails, bending them and inserting the cranked end one at a time through the drainage hole and then fixing the two together with a screw connector from an electrical terminal block.

The photo below illustrates the solution:

Oil catchment trays can be ordered from David Pelham dapelham(at)btinternet.com (substitute @ for at).

Motor Insurance

Since publication of the article in the August issue I’ve been contacted by quite a few owners. Most of these are changing their provider and those who have already changed have given me details of what they saved.

David Pelham changed the Insurance of his YA, YT and MGB from Footman James to Hagerty in March of this year. He paid £348.58 to Footman James for the period 6/3/2011 to 5/3/2012. The renewal notice was for the following year i.e. 2012/ 2013 was £427.02 and increase of 22.5%! He obtained a quote from Hagerty, who already insure his wife’s RV8 and they came back with a price of £245.66 – a discount of 42.5% to the Footman James renewal. The policies are not exactly identical but sufficiently similar to consider a direct comparison.

Jerry Birkbeck too has moved to Hagerty after a life time with Footman James. He said that he wouldn’t have changed but for the fact that his premium was upped from £208 for his YT and MGA (then valued at £14.5k each) to £361 (with the values increased to £20k each). In comparison Hagerty offered an excellent deal at £225 for the pair and including his three daughters (32/31 and 28).

On contacting FJ to tell them why he had changed he was told that they would refer it `up’!

It seems that owners of at least one more marque are voting with their feet; a letter from a Jaguar owner in the September issue of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ magazine complains of a 50% increase in his renewal (to £656) which resulted in him moving his business to Peter James at a lower premium of £511.

New Suppliers added to the Suppliers List

H & H Ignition Solutions specialise in distributor overhauls. They are based in Brierley Hill, West Midlands and I have received good reports about them (quick turnaround and reasonable charges) – website is http://www.h-h-ignitionsolutions.co.uk Telephone number is 01384 261500.

Chris Wallis will overhaul your starter or dynamo for you. He’s at 39 School Lane, Chellaston, DERBY DE73 6TF. Telephone: 01332 703630. In the words of one of our subscribers Chris “Does an excellent job”.

Raj Patel of Recon and Return specialises in shock absorber reconditioning. Services include lever arm and link arm re-bushing. Re-bushing is notoriously difficult (actually, well nigh impossible) so why not let an expert do it for you? Raj is at 39a Avenue Road Extension, LEICESTER LE2 3EP. Telephone 0116 244 8103. In the words of one of our subscribers “Raj is a good guy”.

Recon and Return replaces the entry for Stevson Motors after our attention was drawn to comments about the poor quality of repairs undertaken by this company.

Curd Brothers of 28, Colebrook Industrial Estate, Longfield Road, North Farm, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent TN2 3DG Tel: 01892 542680 repaired two of David Pelham’s dynamos a C39 PV2 (with Tacho) and a C39 PV (no Tacho) (see picture) and a starter motor. David said that their charges were extremely reasonable and they did a first class job. They also repair Regulator Boxes and Wiper Motors.

One of David Pelham’s repaired dynamos.

Decal for Lucas ignition/lighting switch

Ton Schreurs is offering these decals for sale. Price is as follows:

€9,= shipping costs € 1,= £7, = shipping costs £ 1,= $11,= shipping costs $ 1,= (Dollars is US$)

You can contact Ton at his e-mail address: ton.schreurs(at)worldonline.nl {please substitute @ for (at)}.

E.P. Services – Water Pump Reconditioning

I’ve just had my water pump reconditioned by E.P. Services of Wolverhampton. Excellent service and I now have an ‘as new’ pump with a lifetime guarantee, all for £65 plus VAT.

I asked the company to take some photos of each stage of the operation and I’ll use these as the basis for an article in the December issue.

E.P. Services are in the suppliers’ list on the website. E-mail [email protected] web address http://www.ep-services.co.uk Telephone: 01902 452914.

Research Project to study the combustion process of modern fuels in older engines

One of our subscribers, Dr Paul Ireland, has agreed with Manchester University to run a 4th year MEng project to study the combustion process of modern fuels in older engines. It is intended that the project will begin later this academic year, probably in October under the guidance of Professor Yates and Senior Lecturer Robert Prosser. The goal of the project will be to study the effects of ignition timing, mixture and fuel types on the combustion process, using an XPAG engine which has been loaned for the duration of the project. Hopefully the outcome will be a complete map of the performance characteristics under a wide range of engine speeds and loads, which may point to why some engines run well on modern fuels whilst others suffer from problems such as overheating. It is hoped that the project will yield a package of achievable modifications which may help to mitigate some of the problems people report.

Manchester University will provide the facilities and carry most of the cost of this project but it will be necessary to raise a small amount of funding to help students purchase any additional equipment they might need. Already the MG Octagon Car Club has pledged £400, subject to Board approval and Totally T-Type 2 magazine £500. Various individuals have also offered to pledge another £600, but so far this has been declined as it is felt that organisations which represent a large number of members may prefer to contribute first. The MG Car Club has been approached and it is hoped that the Club will at least equal or exceed the contribution promised by the much smaller Octagon Car Club.

Leaf Springs for TC

The eight (8) pairs of rears have all been received by those who ordered them. The price was £100 per spring plus VAT, plus carriage. The spring maker has told me that any future orders will be more expensive as he had not allowed for the Silentbloc bushes!

I have firmed up an earlier enquiry about front springs for the TC. These would have the larger 5/8” front ‘eye’ to allow for the insertion of a 1/16” SAE 660 bronze bush. The cost per spring would be not more than £100 plus VAT plus carriage. The bushes would be provided separately and the customer would be responsible for getting them pressed in and reamed. I will e-mail all those who initially expressed an interest by the end of September. Delivery is said to be “two months” so realistically, we are looking at end of November or early December.

Large Rear Shackle Bushes for the TC

The problem mentioned in the last issue (bush too short) has now been rectified and I have just approved some sample bushes so that the initial order of 100 (enough for 25 cars) can be produced. I expect these to be available by the end of September.

The part number is 0145 and the cost per bush is £3.00 plus a voluntary donation of £1.00 per bush to TTT 2 funds, so effectively £4 per bush.

To put this into perspective, the price per bush charged by a major supplier is £11.20 per bush – yes, eleven pounds twenty pence!

Interleaf pads on TD/TF (and Y) rear springs

Following discussion with Barrie Jones, TD/TF Technical Specialist for the MGCC ‘T’ Register, I am in the process of ordering a batch of these interleaf pads to be made from Nylatron. The use of this material should solve the wear problem associated with the standard issue.

The price per pad is not yet fixed, but will include a donation to TTT 2 funds; delivery is hoped for by the end of October.

Priming the XPAG Oil Pump (A Tip from Dieter Wagner)

“Every time if I have filled an empty sump with new oil I open the connection from the pump to the oil filter and put there a small funnel. Then I fill oil in the funnel and turn the engine backwards with a ratchet handle and a 28mm nut on the crank. This way I pump about 0.25 litres of oil in the pump and the pipe down the sump. This is easier than pushing the car backwards.”

The TC OWNERS CLUB

The TC Owners Club is now in its 51st year, having celebrated its 50th Anniversary on 1st June, 2011. To mark this milestone a number of events were held, including an informal meeting hosted by the Club’s President (Michael Sherrell) at his home on the night of Wednesday 1st June 2011, exactly fifty years to the day. This was followed up by a formal dinner a few nights later at which the Club’s book titled “The First Thousand Meetings of the TC Owners Club A Forty Year History” was launched. I felt privileged to receive a copy of this 287 page book kindly sent by Mike Sherrell. Mike also sent a DVD of the Club’s competitive scene in the 1960s (converted from 16mm film). If anybody is interested in acquiring a copy please contact me jj(at)octagon.fsbusiness.co.uk