Kyle, carry a spare condenser as there has been a lot of hinky ones produced. Get a rotor that doesn’t have a rivet. They often crack and allow the spark from the coil to the distributor to go straight through the rotor to the shaft of the distributor. Spare points and the tools to fit them is a good idea. SUs don’t “flood” unless there is a float problem. If you pump the “gas” it just wiggles the throttle shafts. (25 years experience wrenching on British cars, ASE triple Master, etc. etc.) Enjoy! ... View more

I get that the article is about headlights that are stationary and have moving covers but I still have to remind the Miata owners that their cars are admitted copies of the incredible styling of the Lotus Elan. IF the article was about movable headlights I would be reminded of my days with an Elan in the garage and my girlfriends OhPile parked out front. Poorly repaired crash damage resulted in the headlights on that piece of €#£#! left in the up position. My poor Elan had about 4 tubes of silicone smeared on the front frame crossmember that Chapman used for the vacuum tank. WOT at night saw those headlights rotating back to the park position. Still the most exhilarating car I ever drove on the street. Better than the Ferraris, Thunderbolts and street legal Can Am cars. But going through the Jack  in the Box drive thru in a Mc Claren is something I’ll never forget..... ... View more

Seeing that pile of rust reminded me of the “just too good to throw away” piece of Triumph rust sitting on the side of my house. A third member for a Triumph waiting for somebody to need it.  ... View more

I had the opportunity to visit this museum after a trip to Brooklands, Gaydon and Beaulieau. This museum topped them all! I was hoping for a bookstore too but no soap. I got to see my second Gordon Keeble. But the most memorable event of my tour was a huge puddle of oil. Yep it was an MG that was providing the leak that made me feel right at home. This museum is a definite must see. Almost as good as the Sclumph collection in France which is my number 1. ... View more

I feel your pain! I recently cleaned out a 30 year collection of parts that a friend of mine accumulated while he was a British car mechanic. Sorting through hundreds of SU carburetor needles taxed my 60 year old eyes. In addition the passing of a car club member brought more treasure. A few club members came by to pick through the hoard. Stashing the stuff by the side of my house for future generations is futile. I’m afraid when I’m gone it will be 1-800 Junk. Sad ... View more

What goes around comes around. Driving various cheap MG T types in high school I had enough. I sold my TC and TD and after paying off the Bank of Mom I used the proceeds to buy this TR4. My annual trip north to Oregon turned to disaster on July 4th. Coming back to my brothers house I managed to roll his custom ex phone company van. The big rear tires and air shocks coupled with the required small steering wheel produced too much correction during oversteer on the logging road. Too make amends I gave my brother my beloved Triumph. It served as his daily driver for years then resides in the field in front of his house. Decades later he decided it would never run again. He gave it back.  Trailering it back to California I was stopped and inspected at the agriculture station. Gravity had won and the trunk floor and contents were spread on trailer. Watching the young inspector walking back to talk to me I saw him shacking his head. “You sure have a lot of work to do”. Unfortunately he waved me through.      Rat rod? Rat home!  Classic rust racing stripe.  Recent home building under the bonnet  And it’s all there! ... View more

Oh hell, on Saturday night after they opened the pits and the kids would come down from the stands for autographs we were hairy chested hero race car drivers. Relax and let us have our fantasy. ... View more

AMC? Used to see them in the rear view mirror of the Saabs we raced in Baja back when real sedans used to tackle the 500 and the 1000. ... View more

Things have improved since Hank the Duece dumped allot of the history into the pool at Fairlane.  The article had no pictures of Broncos out making Jeep trails. ... View more

I agree! Don’t move here. Too many people enjoying this near perfect climate and gorgeous beaches. Tourists go home but leave your daughters. Locals only. ... View more

I have seen some scary rebuilds on salvage vehicles. Welding on modern unibodied vehicles isn’t something for driveway mechanics. That didn’t stop my ex father in law from brazing together totals and hiding the wrecks under a new paint job. If these cars ever experience another accident they will fall apart at the inferior welds. Ask a professional about the proper welding techniques required on today’s cars. A visual inspection of welds by a hobbyist doesn’t cut it. Scares me that these wrecks are on public roads! Don’t EVER buy one! ... View more

I meant watch this! ... View more

Great tool for the professional A/C tech but I’m a bit scared when I think about Bubba hooking up his cars A/C to his oxy/acetalyne outfit. Adds a whole new dimension to A/C suicide kit. Last thing he said was “hey ya’ll what this!” ... View more

Second row vertical, nailed it: 1. VW Beetles I was a salesman at a VW dealer, last year of the US Beetle. Sad. 2. Fairlane Got in trouble for test driving a Thunderbolt off the sales lot. Chirped the tires when I did the 3-4 shift at over a hundred. 3. Pinto Had one briefly as a company car. Yuk! 4. CK Chevy, I used to borrow one to tow my race car trailer. 5. Goat, As a newly licensed driver I traveled cross country with my best friends parents in the GTO convertible that they took over the payments on for their oldest son. No speed limits in Nevada in those days. When they were napping I was doing over a hundred. ... View more

My 2 cents: Have the car inspected by a mechanic that is familiar with the make. Buy a book! There are good buyers guides for some vehicles. Be patient: there will always be more cars than you have money. Check out the Hargarty price tool.  Sleep on it. Fools rush in. It costs more to fix than you think. ... View more

Did a motor for my buddy’s Bronco. 351 with 3 2 barrels! Did a 4 wheel drive burn out on a freshly paved black top road....left 4 2 inch deep tire marks for a couple yards! This Bronco made Jeep trails. ... View more

I used to sell parts to the guys building fake Ferraris in El Cajon. A little gun battle ended the business. A story in itself. ... View more

OK I’ve been sucked in. I dug out my factory manual for the 76 Midget. The factory ran a hose from the breather in the valve cover (oil separator inside) to a tee fitting which ran to the charcoal canister for the evap system and a restricted fitting on the Zenith/Stromberg carb. The fitting tapped into the carb in front of the butterfly. We call that ported vacuum. Do not under any circumstance tap into manifold vacuum! You’ll be sucking oil into the carb. So run the vent hose from your catch can down the side of the motor so it extends below the motor. The airstream under the car will produce a slight vacuum to vent your crankcase like old cars used to do. The Bernoulli effect.  ... View more

PS Fuel hose doesn’t work well for emission hose. Fuel line is used for pressure not vacuum. Get emission hose for your breather set up. When the motor starts “pumping oil” from too much blow by.....sell the car. ... View more

That’s not an SU that’s a Zenith. The motor in your Midget is a 1500 Triumph Spitfire. British Leyland opted to squeeze that motor in the Midget rather than trying to make the A series motors meet emission standards. The authors suggestions won’t do you much good as there are no rapper inspection covers with breathers. The open venting of your motor should work fine unless you have a state emissions test. The deposits on your plugs are probably oil or carbon from a mixture that’s too rich. I have no experience with your combination but most carb conversions are pretty lean out of the box. My advice: just run it. ... View more

the shriek of a finely tuned Formula One.....like the sound of a pair of ripped panties! ... View more

Necker knob, Brodie knob...... ... View more

Those Spidgets are the MOST fun to drive. Never had one.......hmmm? Maybe it’s what I need to round out my fleet. ... View more

Reminded me of my departed Uncles 59. The first car I ever laid a wrench on. Uncle Wally wasn’t good about maintenance. My first exposure to to sludge was watching the mechanic pull the heads on that V8. Had a student that had one, drove it cross country to North Carolina. He ended up selling it to his boss who spotted it in the parking lot outside the shop. Dale Earnhardt was the last owner of the car and it was featured in a spot during a NASCAR cup race. ... View more

Love the Loti (plural for Lotus). My life regrets include the sale of my Elan. I knew I would die if I kept it. My tastes are for more moderate British cars. 5 in all, 4 MGs and a TR4. My current project is my 1952 MG TDC. Sometimes called a Mk2. It’s the competition version of the common TD. Dual fuel pumps, bigger carbs, larger valves and higher compression. Taller rear gearing and double shocks. Still a slug by today’s standards but compared to Detroit’s products in those years it’s quick and offers incredible handling and rack and pinion steering. This car has a Hollywood history being once owned by Darren Mc Gavin. Best known as the dad in Christmas Story, “you’ll shoot your eye out kid”  MG produced only about 1500 of the Mk 2s. Some of the improvements found there way to the TF.  Front suspension by Alec Issigonis best known as the designer of the Mini. The unusual Andrex friction shocks utilize wooden discs. Those blue ty wraps got to go.  I’ll have back on the road this week. ... View more

Just did a quick check. Vibrate Software. Used to be able to get a one day trial but no longer. The software is $400. A few good shops have it. ... View more

I used to teach this stuff. NVH noise vibration and harshness. Lots of high tech stuff. Chassis ear: multiple pick ups that could be placed on various parts with a seven channel switch box to send the noises to head phones, vibration analyzer with little computer: enter pulley sizes, gear ratios, tire sizes etc. great tool! “Vibrate” software...amazing computer program. And my favorite: lawn mower tachometer. Place on a component or even a window. Tune to maximum wiggle and read the frequency or rpm. Most guys hate this stuff but I had a graduate that specialized in this stuff: 80k a year. Said he never got dirty working on cars. ... View more

In one of the pictures the hook of the tie down was pointed up in the eye of the axle strap. If something came loose that tie down would fall right out of the axle strap. Always envision what would happen if something came loose and arrange the tie downs and axle straps so that they can’t fall out if things get slack in them. ... View more

Among my racing memorabilia is photo of Stirling Moss standing next to me in front of a MGA I was crewing on at a vintage event in Palm Springs. He was very gracious to pose with us lowly low budget guys. Perhaps because the car was British but I believe he would have stood in front of Subaru 360 if it was a race car. Now for the trivia question: what was the fastest car he ever drove? (clue in my story) ... View more

Wow! Twice the Lightning strikes! First as a written feature and now a picture of the most beautiful pick up ever made. ... View more

I was blown away by the second generation Lightning when I saw one in the Ford booth at the LA auto show. In 2004 when they stopped production I knew I had to act fast. Searching the local Ford stores I found the last red one.......mine! Still have it. I love my truck. Very few problems other than the chrome peeling off the door handles and a blown spark plug at about 85,000 miles. My fault I should have changed them sooner. Great truck! ... View more

Reading the story of your travails with your little Cozzy brought back memories of the overhaul I did on my 66 Elan. Like you I had a bit of a struggle shimming the valves after my head came back from the machine shop. The previous wrench  had solved the problem of not having the right shim. I found pieces of feeler gauge used for shims. Luckily I had a Ferrari mechanic pal who had most of the shims I needed and a tool to grind shims to the needed thickness. Finally sold my little rocket ship after doing a 360 in the rain on a crowded freeway. I knew I would kill myself in that car. Still miss it..... ... View more

Didn’t Honda race these bikes in Baja? They got caught switching bikes in the middle of the race one year by a guy who spotted one bike had hand guards and the other didn’t. Tech officials went question the rider after the race and the rider wouldn’t come out of his motel room. The joke used to be: how many bikes will Honda use to win this year? I always admired the tough guys that could fly through the wilds of Baja on those XRs. I just sat in the passenger seat of a class 6 sedan watching the back markers struggle to the finish. Leaving tracks on the course and I could see where the rider went down and got back up to struggle on. Balls! ... View more