West Reynolds, owner of ‘Kermit’ featured on the front cover of the last issue, sent me the following article which he wrote some time ago for the MG Car Club of Western Australia. As well as his TC, West also owns a MGC and this is where he got the idea to fit the expansion tank. I’m not sure about fitment to a TF due to space constraints.
“With the MG TC you unscrew the radiator cap, fill up with nice clean water, go for a run, stop and a puddle of water from the overflow pipe appears. Hence, before the next run you do the same thing all over again.
With an expansion tank, as on the MGC, I use distilled water, a good inhibitor and perhaps once a week check; now I do the same for the TC. The other plus is that it stops corrosion (the water pump in the MGC is 10 years old) with a six monthly flush out.
Look around car accessory places for a smallish plastic bottle, having a normal ‘snap top’ cap and the spout on the side. I couldn’t find one but made do with a connection hole at the bottom.
The big problem is finding a suitable space and without boring more holes in the engine bay. I used a soft bendable metal bracket and with numerous fittings came up with one which bolted on to the ‘stay’ bar at the back. I am a great advocate of a tube of rubber lubricant for all rubbers, so with the tubing onto the overflow pipe you can get it a fair way on and no clamp is required. Run it along past the steering box and onto the bottom of the bottle, again a good snug fit and no clamp.
With the engine cold, having flushed the radiator out, rubber lubricant to the hoses, fill the radiator, screw the cap firmly on, checking that the rubber ‘O’ ring is good; add about one third of the water to the bottle and mark the level.
Now, all you have to do is to go on a run until the engine is hot, check for leaks and again mark the water level on the bottle.
Of course, all that remains to be done is to check (when cold) that the water has been drawn back up and the ‘cold mark’ is the same as when you filled it up”.
Ed’s note: West also sent me the following ditty:
The MG TC and the Son
Why did you buy a TC Dad?
Why was the Commodore sold?
Why is it open and cold Dad?
Why is it just so old?
Why is the roof made of rag Dad?
Why won’t it keep out the rain?
Why so many draughts Dad?
We’re not stopping for petrol again?
Why is there no seat in the back Dad?
Why are my feet in the air?
Why can’t I sit in the front Dad?
It’s really just not very fair!
What is that noise underneath Dad?
Why does the engine vibrate?
Why does the exhaust blow smoke Dad?
Mum says the car’s out of date
Why can’t we go any faster Dad?
Why can’t we keep up the pace?
Why is that Subaru smiling Dad?
Please don’t give it a race!
Why were the wheels made of wire Dad?
Why is there rust in the sill?
Why do all the girls look at you Dad?
?????!!!!!?????!!!!!
Wow! Please leave me the TC in your will!
Two views of the overflow bottle
