Insurance
We were recently contacted by a TTT 2 subscriber who felt that he was not being treated fairly by his insurer. He had recently renewed his cover for an off road policy at a premium of £246, which was set to increase to £368 when he advised the insurer that he wanted to up the value of his TF to £40,000.
As his car was virtually ready for the road, we advised him to contact Hagerty International Insurance who gave him a quote of £157 for his requested £40,000 valuation and a mileage limit of 1,000 – he ‘signed up on the dot’. Furthermore we pointed out to him that the 14 day ‘cooling off period’ takes effect from the date the policy is renewed (not, as he thought, from the date he had paid – which was earlier). The upshot was that he received a refund of most of the premium he had paid.
Looking after your leaf springs
I recently purchased new rear leaf springs for my PB and decided that before fitting them I would give them the treatment recommended by Eric Worpe. Eric has, in the past, supplied me with a ready to use paste of graphite powder and silicone grease, but I thought it was time I started to do things for myself.
The graphite powder and silicone grease used to make up the horrible gooey paste shown in the picture were obtained from the Internet. The silicone grease was £4.50 for a 70 gm tube with free delivery and the graphite powder cost around £8 plus delivery for 500 gm. I’ve probably got enough graphite powder to mix up and ‘treat’ several pairs of leaf springs!
Although it’s not the most pleasant of jobs to do, I feel it is well worth the effort, because the graphite lubricates the springs, whilst the silicon grease prevents water washing away the graphite mixture.
Eric also told me about a product called Fertan.
I bought a 500 ml bottle from the Internet for around £25 including delivery. Not cheap, but it has a virtually unlimited shelf life. I used it (you brush it on) to protect the leafs of the new leaf springs. It destroys any rust and leaves a nice black finish – almost as though you had painted the surfaces black. You can then apply the mixture of graphite powder and silicone grease to each spring leaf.
101 uses for a TC
Collecting sheep nuts from the local agricultural merchants.
Cars for sale/wanted & Parts for sale/wanted
A reminder that our website www.ttypes.org has a lively ‘For Sale’ and ‘Wanted’ section with new adverts, particularly parts adverts, appearing on an almost daily basis. Also useful for scouring eBay auctions for MG cars & parts is the website mgauctionwatch www.mgauctionwatch.com
TTACT TAGS
TTACT TAGS (Tag Today, Avoid Cursing Tomorrow) is a new product which has recently come onto the market. The tags allow you to label the wiring loom, cables and brake pipes of your vehicle on disassembly so that it connects back together at the end of the rebuild quickly and without expensive errors. For further information, please go to www.clementandboggis.co.uk
Necessity is the mother of invention
The following is from Tim Parrott who is part way through a rebuild of his TA.
“I have spent 3 evenings trying to remove the oil pump that was well jammed.
On the third night, I sat and looked at the problem again and Ian Linton’s advice that the tube was sticking came to the fore. I had achieved a 5mm gap with a hammer, flat metal plates and a chisel. I then used some 6mm bolts with very flat nuts and washers to lift the pump. Once I have done this and run out of length, I put a bigger 8mm set in. I removed the pump with spanners rather than a hammer.
This is a picture of the second set. The washers on the left are to protect the block face and are too small to let the 8mm bolt pass through.”
And finally ………….I’m sorry that this issue is at least a week late, I’ll try to catch up so that the next issue comes out on time – Ed.
Why bother making a mixture of silicone and graphite when you can use
Molykote G-N Assembly Paste by Dow Corning. It is 50/50 mix of oil and MoS2.
If you want a similar product with silicone oil try Molykote 77 Part Assembly Paste for higher temperatures. This is not and advert for Dow Corning or Molykote.
Molykote G-N is oil based so would emulsify when exposed to water.
Molycote 77 is expensive at £18 for 75 grams as compared with about £6 for a similar quantity if you mixed it yourself and one would also be able to obtain a higher graphite concentration.
However, if you wish to spend three times as much for a branded version, it’s your choice.
About 25years ago when I worked in the treatments departments for a large aerospace company we used a product called Molycote which we used on certain components as an anti-friction/anti-corrosion coating.It was dark grey in colour almost black and was applied with a spray gun after thinning with Toluene just like paint. It was left to air dry and then baked in an oven for an hour. I still have a tin of the stuff and this article has set me thinking about using it on some TC springs i am in the process of rebuilding.I will keep you posted on the results.
An aerosol product like Molykote 321 Dry Film Lube is MoS2 (not graphite!) and a resin binder to hold the Moly in place until it is burnished in by mechanical action.
Much cleaner to use than G-N Paste, 77 or a homemade mixture.-SRB