The Devine MG Diaries

Parts car update:

2011-08-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

When you get into restoring an old car, a parts car can be a huge resource. Usually they're beyond restoring for one reason or another, and for that reason can be picked up real cheap! We bought this one for the hood and fenders, but so far we've scabbed the following off of it:

Hood
Fenders
Seats
Seatbelts
Switches
Engine
Wheels

We’ve sold some stuff and between that and the money we saved buying an individual part (new or used) has worked out well for us! We've also sold the seatbelts and I've heard from a guy that has interest in the glass, so I think she'll live on in other cars.

There are some parts we're checking into seeing if they can be restored, like the wheels, but between the engine, fenders and hood, we're doing ok..

Things have a way of cycling around, it seems l live between the music world and car world, right now I’m in orbit around the car world..

CD

MGB Stuff

2011-08-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

So the season is starting to wind down, the last big show is Stowe, VT on the weekend of September 16th. Which should be a good one, over 700 cars last year. We're planning on bringing up the GT and the convertible. The GT is running well, it still needs a grille, and some of the paint work needs some touchup (as it looks like a critter walked along the roof!).

The red convertible won 3rd place at the Larz Anderson park's MG day. There was a bit of confusion, thinking the GT won, but regardless the award hangs in the Devine family. My cousin also won best MGA..well over due! During the raffles, I won $15 of Dunkin Donuts gift cards, and the 50/50 raffle, bringing home a whopping $61! We also sold some parts that we brought! Overall a great day

I sold those silver and black rostyles wheels. I have to say I don't mind doing them but as soon this next set of red & silver ones go south, I'm switching to minilites!

I'll have a post later this week (and I mean it) on the NEXT project

MGB GT Update!

2011-06-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

You may note that a couple of years back, my Dad bought a 1970 MGB GT. It looked a bit rough, but ran really well. So he bought it, and admittedly states that he paid too much for it. So after some tuning and some maintenance it's on the road and he's pretty happy, it needs a paint job though, badly.

So I started in the fall of 2009 taking a class at the local Vocational School. I took the car in, and started to sand off the old paint, thinking that at the least, if we want to get the car painted, we can save some money by doing alot of the grunt work. Every night I dropped off the car, with the statement "I have bad news." Every class I'd uncover some new hell; bondo, rust, dented panels. The worst was the rear quarter panel behind the driver side door. It looked like the hulk punched it. I uncovered it by chiseling off 1 1/2" thick of bondo out of it. It was a super bummer. I'll admit it kind of took the jam out of my doughnut. I felt like I was in over my head, and I was.

So this year Dad decided that he wanted it done. I wasn't looking forward to putting the time in getting this completed, as I knew that it was gonna be a long process, and if I was lucky it would be done in about 6 months or so, If we were lucky.

We stripped a junked MGB GT for a rear quarter panel, and we had bought a parts car, and stripped it for whatever else we could. I knew the metal work was gonna be out of my abilities, and I started to think of finding someone that could do that work, but I was drawing a blank. Good body guys that don't charge an arm and a leg are few and far between these days.

My Red MGB had the infamous "crack of doom" on the driver side door. So I cruised craigslist and all sorts of places trying to find a replacement door. My idea was to refinish this new door, and replace it on my car. My search brought me to Burnett's garage in Wenham; I asked if they had a driver's side MGB door that was in good shape. The guy at Burnetts said, why don't you send it to this guy, and gave me a phone number for a guy that does all their body work. "It'll be cheaper than doing a compete door panel, and he'll have it done in no time at all". Funny thing is, the guy that gets us supplies for auto body class, mentioned the same guy to me awhile back.

So the wheels were turning in my head. So I called the guy and we made an appointment to see him, and mentioned we needed the GT done, and he said he'd do it. We dropped off the car, and every time we went up there, progress was made. We later found out it was in a couple of fender benders, and also was fighting off rust and starting to loose that battle. The body guy said it wasn't easy, and that it was tough task, even for him. All of I sudden I didn't feel bad that I didn't get to do all this work, as it became apparent it was well over my skill set.

My Dad ended up in the hospital during all this going on, and when I went to visit him, the first thing out of his mouth was "did you talk to the paint guy today?"

It's almost 100% complete. It's passed inspection, and has all of its safety stuff sorted out. Just the interior and some small trim items like a grille, British Leyland markers, and mud flaps. But from here on in, it's a car again, and shouldn’t have to be taken off of the road to do any work on it! (Hopefully)

I am however a bit bummed, as when we went to car shows; we did it together, talking on the way down about what's going on, and on the way back about what we saw at the show. Now we'll be taking 2 cars to shows, I'll miss that chit chat on the ride down and back. But we’ll have a lot to talk about when we get to our destination.

Yes It's been awhile

2011-06-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

But now I actually have something to report; Dad's GT is almost done. We're hoping to have it at British Car Day at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline on June 26th. Here's a Pic to tide you over until I give a more detailed report on what it took us to get to where we are now. I know it needs a new grille, but so far Dad can't decide what he wants for one yet!

tracking

2011-01-19T18:47:00.001-08:00

Overdue again - I know..

2011-01-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

Ok I didn't forget this blog, stuff happens. I'm going on vacation this week, and I have some new news on Dad's GT, and our convertable. Some good, some...well you get the idea..anyway in the spirit of MGB GT's here's something I found on the interweb..Not what I'd do to my GT, but to each their own. I don't know if the guy in the pic is the owner, but I can say those pants ARE a bad idea..

Heads up!

2010-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 14, 2010 from 10am – 2pm!

Sponsored by Bay State MGA Club

Car Registration is $20 – Includes two admissions to the museum
Adult spectator admission is only $10 and $5 for children, seniors, and active military and includes admission to the museum. Children under 6 are free!
Breakfast and Lunch Menu will be available on-site from Euro Delights Catering for more information visit www.eurodelights.org.

Micro Mini Car Day @ Larz Anderson Park-Brookline, MA

2010-07-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well since Dad & I didn't got to the Prince Edward Island car show this year we were able to attend, the Micro Mini car day at Larz Anderson park. I never thought I'd attend a car show where our MGB was a "big" car..here are some pics from the event!
Click HERE!

Winner winner, chicken dinner

2010-06-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post pics of my coustin's recently finished 1961 MGA. It took 10 years, and alot of work, but it's finally done. The quality of the (re) build is superb, and is reflected in the fact it won best in show at the British Car Day at Larz Anderson park in Brookline earlier this month.

hopefully I'll have some more pics of it to post later on.

CD

MG iPhone wallpapers

2010-05-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

So I was looking for some MG images the other day, and I googled "MG iPhone Wallpaper" and I find nothing. Bummer. So I thought I'd make some and share them all with you. if you have an Iphone they should work for you. Even better The image comes up between the Time display, and the slide to unlock graphic..If you want to customize them, feel free, I did just black and white ones, but in any Image editing software (MS Paint, Photoshop, etc) you should be able to adjust/change the colors to whatever you want..if you right click and select "view Image" and then right click again, and "save image as" you should be all set. Drop me a line if you have any issues with them..Have fun!

Donor car..1970 MGB GT before and after!

2010-04-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well Dad picked up a 1970 MGB GT from craigslist for $700. We had already cannabalized the hood by the time these pics were taken..The engine is pretty good so we placed an old rusty hood to cover the engine bay until we can remove it.

Here's some pics of before and after we took the front fenders

it's pretty much trashed body wise, as a couple of structural members are very rusted out (one was bondoed) but I have alot of useable parts, so if you need anything drop me a line..

1970 MGB GT progress

2010-03-31T18:19:00.001-07:00

We removed the front bumper for my Dad's MGB GT. we needed to get it off to get the fenders removed (that will come later. I sanded down the front valence as well. I have to say it looks killer with out the front bumper..

we got a parts car this week for $700, hopefully she'll be chock full of goodies, usable goodies, like fenders, hood, switches, seats..

MGA

2010-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

My cousin finally finished his MGA, more pics to come, expect to see it at car shows all around New England.

I'm Back..and I see Red

2010-03-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile, but the cold winter months kind of kill alot of cool car stuff in New England, and if I did any consistent blogging over these winter months it would just be me posting how cold & miserable it is. But I digress..

Like Britney Spears, I did it again. So another set of Rostyles landed in my lap after finishing the last set I did.

To recap, in Sept 2008 I restored a set of Rostyle wheels, in the Factory Silver/Black color scheme. It took a few weeks to do them properly but I got them done. Then on the last night of my Auto Body Class in 2009 I decided to throw a good clear coat on them using the spray booth at school. They came out great, super Glossy! I think I put about 4 coats of clear on them.

So with the season almost upon us I decided that I wanted to have a set in the Silver/Damask Red color to match our 74 MGB convertible. Now I ran into a few problems here and there. So here it goes:

1. I lost my garage space to work in. Since I live in an apartment, and have limited space I could really only work on them during School nights. BUT since the school's media blasting facilities are kind of non existent. I had to do them outside by my uncle's Shop, which was not fun in early January. I did get them done, applying the primer after sandblasting in the 4:30 twilight that happens in the winter months.

2. Since these were going on MY MGB. I took extra steps that I didn't on the last set. I really cleaned out the backsides of these wheels too, getting all the gunk, and rust off of them. Even though they won't be seen, I wanted this to be perfect. So I went over them with a Wire wheel, and got them cleaned out. I ran into problems in getting the Dupli color primer that I used last time, so I used some regular primer to finish them off. It seems to hold up, but I had some incidents while taping them up, that the razor cut through the color to the bare metal. That was kind of a bummer.

3. I think I laid down about 2 cans of silver on them. While painting them I noticed some "fur" that seemed to be paint dust that was kind of "floating" over the surface. So I ended up using a Scotchbrite pad to get them smooth between coats of silver. minor setbacks: one of the wheels falling over when I put it down to open the garage door for one of the guys in my class, and took off a chunk of paint "OH you poor bastard" he says. Great...although he helped me out in finding a place that could get me the color I wanted for my insets.

Sandblasted, primed, and silver coat:

All taped up:

4. Getting the color was kind of interesting. I went to Kwik Auto body supply in Medford, MA and asked them to mix me a Spray can of the PPG color. Just asking for PPG Damask Red isn't gonna do it. Get the Paint code. Thankfully with my handy dandy I phone, I was able to look the color up on the web. Unfortunately The kind of PPG paint I got wasn't that Thick (it was their lower priced "shop-line"), and 2/3 of the way of painting the wheels, I ran out of paint. BUMMER. So I asked the Paint/supply guy to get me some. The price was the same and he got a Dupont version that did the trick. It seemed like the Dupont went on thicker as well.

This is the label for the PPG product:

5. As usual, after doing the inset color, they needed to be re-taped, as they sometimes bleed through all those tight corners, and taping them on one night, painting the next night, kind of messes with the Tape actually sticking among the edges. So you end up having to tape up the red areas, and re-applying a silver coat AGAIN. It seems to be par for the course, if you wanna do them right. Not a real big surprise there, as the last set needed them done in the same fashion. I painted these ones the silver base coat FIRST this time, as opposed to doing them AFTER the colored insets. I can't say which way is better, as it seems like you end up making 2 passes each time.

Color is done:

6. I think I got the equivalent of 3 coats of clear on them. I was sharing the paint booth with one of the guys in class, as he was painting a valance for his 1970 Impala. by the time he was ready for clear, I had the "touch up" coat of silver done, and was in the booth. The clear doesn't seem as thick as the last one, but it seems to "pop" a bit more. I may have the same amount of clear on them, as last time, I don't particularly remember as it was the last class of the previous semester. The spray booth has only 1 working air line in the booth, so we had to share the air hose.

Applying clear coat:

Completed (I had to post this pic, as the Iphone doesn't have a flash)

Regardless they are done, and hopefully they'll be on the Red MGB within a few weeks!

AGAIN I still have a few more Rostyles to do, and with the better weather hopefully coming upon us I'll do these a little bit each week, this time they'll be the traditional Silver/Black color scheme. If anyone needs a set of refurbished Rostyles, drop me a line..

I promise to post some more stuff, as the driving season is coming up there will be some cool car stuff happening, such as shows, and other events!

It's Been Awhile..

2009-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

So I know it's been awhile since I posted last, but I've been busy. Dad's GT is coming along, although we've hit a few snags.

1. Both front fenders need work. The driver side fender is kind of messed up in the front. Apparently some front end damage happened, and was repaired via bondo. The passenger side fender needs work on the top and the bottom. so now It's time for new fenders.

2. Rocker panels. I sanded about a 1/2" of bondo off of them, and discovered that they're all caved in, as well as welded to the fenders..

and the final issue is the driver side rear quarter. apparently this car was hit at some point on this side, I'm guessing. I chiseled about an inch of bondo off of it..great..Thankfully we have access to some quarter panels, but it was a bummer to see all this damage.

Here's a couple of pics:

My last Autobody class is tonight, and we're giving the GT a rest, I'll be applying a nice thick clear coat on those Rostyles that I did last year.

Oh yeah and I'll be signing up for this class again next semister..and so will my father.

I'd really like to get this car in proper order, It's a good runner, and while she looks kind of nasty these days. I know she'll look good when it's all done. It took 5 years to get the red one completed. So I shouldn't be surprized that this one is gonna take awhile..

anyway....Well that's about it at the moment. I promise to post more MG related stuff soon!

Latah
CD

Class

2009-10-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I decided with 3 MGB's in the Devine stable, Taking an auto body class might be a good idea. The red convertible has alot of newish scars that I'd like to take care of, and Let's face it, Dad's GT is a bit in the "worse for wear" column, and the blue car isn't all so much blue, as a two tone rust/blue. So I signed up for auto body at the Wakefield Vocational High School. I've found out it's basically not a "class" per se. more like you pay for the opportunity to use their shop and tools, and get pointers when you need them. Not bad, not what I expected, but I'm sure between all the TV car shows and the plethora of books, and just being around cars, the actual theory on doing this is pretty readily available.

So The teacher said, bring in a project and we'll start working on it..Great. Well I didn't want to start on the Red car (she's still on the road) and the blue one is well, problem #1 is missing a set of keys. So I asked Dad, hey can I borrow the GT and I'll start sanding it down? So I brought the car in to class, and it gets a little attention. I spent most of the night sanding down the hood. I got about 95% of it done. I need to do the sides and some more of the front where there is some copious amounts of bondo. But not bad for a first effort which was basically 3 hours of work. If I can keep this up I could possibly have the entire car sanded down by the end of the course!

The other good thing is it shows you what tools you may actually need for this. I've found DA Orbital sanders from $30-$100 not too shabby! As well as some die grinders (both Pneumatic) for pretty cheap. It helps if you have access to a good compressor (as we do).

Here's the before and after pics: (click on them for the whole image)

The New "To Do" List

2009-10-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

Well Summer's over, well we didn't really have one here in Boston this year-but I digress, and as I'm trying to cram in as much seat time in the MGB, more projects have reared their head, and hopefully I'll reporting on them in the weeks to come. Classic motorsports recently did a great article on Garages/workshops, and I'm hoping to get mine organized to tackle some of the projects I have lined up this winter!

On the Red MGB:

Brakes-We've had the car on the road since July of 2005 and they're just now kind of feeling spongy. I think we have 25k on them or so, I think New pads (at the least) are definitely in order.

Lights-the old wiring harness has gotten cracked and brittle, and you have to do some Jiggling to get them to work right (thankfully I'm not usually on the road after dark)

Rear springs-They're probably original, and very sagging. The nose of the car is starting to point skyward. Hitting some potholes and bumps has me nervous about tearing the muffler off! I've had a few close calls this year!

Steering-There's some bushing/mount that has seemingly decayed. I hate hitting potholes.

Wheels, the red rostyles need some work. I wasn't happy with the paint when they were finished, and 4 years on the road has them looking a little worn anyway.

Passenger side exterior door pull-I think it's broken-the button protrudes a bit.

Steering wheel-I like the one we have, but due to buying an inferior one from the now defunct "proper MG" company, it's well cracked and worn. Thankfully the place we keep our car in the wintertime, was a woodshop at one point. I may just replace it, and have the other one as a spare. The 77 MGB my cousin gave me, has a VERY nice Motolita wheel, that may end up in the red car.

Fan & lighting switch-both look pretty shabby. The trim on the old Engine warning light bezel is well worn too.

Interior, one of the interior panels, due to the moisture we got this past year, came loose. hopefully an easy fix.

Roll bar cover-Something to at least make it look more presentable, repeated raising of the Top has worn it out a bit.

Some Good floor mats.

A good waxing/polishing-I really only washed the car 2x this season (mother nature however did a pretty good job) and only 2 wax jobs. Before she goes away, I'm planning on giving her the once over.

Now I'm taking a class in Auto body this fall at the local vocational high school, and Hopefully it'll help with a few of the dings and scrapes we've earned over the years too. The rear valence needs some attention, as well as the driver side door (crack of doom) and the trunk lid has some new scratches (possibly from a critter that didn't realize that wax is tough to get traction on).

Dad's 1970 MGB GT

Well she needs a paint job. more on that later

Passenger side exterior door pull-I think it's broken-the button protrudes a bit.

Speedometer/Tachometer-I bet the cable snapped.

Doors need work, a bit creaky here and there.

Seats-She needs her seats rebuilt. I'm afraid after the seats are re done, Dad will be sitting a bit higher, and we'll have to change the steering wheel, due to the wheel hitting the driver's legs. We had this problem when we re did the red car's seats.

Seatbelts-I think a lap belt like we have in the Red car would be nice.

Interior-She needs some rugs and some floor mats.

Tires and Tubes-Although I'm trying to get my Dad to convert it to bolt on wheels. I'd love to be able to find a set of the earlier pressed wheels that he likes.

Now in the parts pile:

an entire front end- from an mgb GT, I'd like to clean it up, and use it for my 77 MGB possibly.

We have 2 engines, one complete, one is missing a head.

15 individual Rostyle wheels. I foresee a repeat of last year's project, only on a larger scale.

A few sets of SU carbs, I think I have 3 spare sets of SU HIF's

Oh yeah I have a 1977 MGB rubber bumper car too, and she needs an engine and some body work (and probably alot more when I really dig into it) But the red & Green cars have priority. Besides I'm still dreaming up Ideas for it. I'm thinking of keeping it blue, and possibly re doing the striping that adorns the lower section (without the MGB lettering, or possibly a variation on it.

I think I'll have enough to keep me busy this winter! I may have a few things for sale as the work progresses, so if anyone is interested in anything (or needs something) I may be able to help you!

Nothing technical, just interesting..

2009-08-12T09:20:00.001-07:00

Just something I found using google image search:

Forget Atkins-Carbs are good, even SU's

2009-08-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Dad & I went to MacKay's to rebuild 2 sets of SU (HIF) carbs. My cousin gave me them, and I figured, It would be a good project to tackle. Our Red MGB needed new carbs at the end of last august, and we put off dealing with them until now. The plan was to rebuild these 2 sets, on the bench (so to speak) then replace the one's we're running on the convertible and GT, with these newly rebuilt carbs. THEN (are you still following me) rebuild the old sets and either keep them as spares, or sell them. The rebuild kits are about $100 for a pair of SU's, all new gaskets, jets, needles & butterflies. I figure rebuilding 4 sets would be about $400, and if we sell 2 sets of rebuilt ones for $200 a piece, we'll still be ahead of the game, breaking even cost wise, and now having 2 new sets of rebuilt carbs on our MG's.

Tearing them down wasn't that hard. There's not alot to them, but being gentle is always a good idea. Cleaning is the next priority. We used a wire wheel to clean up alot of the hard, caked on stuff, as well as alot of brake fluid cleaner. Rebuilding is pretty easy. The hardest problem was resetting the floats. The first set was pretty easy overall. The second set however, was more interesting. Opening up the bowls, the smell was horrible, it reminded me of an old wood shop, and the insides were caked with varnish, which was a bear to get off the surfaces. We finished 1 of the second set before Mackay closed his shop on Saturday afternoon. The second set wasn't as nice as the first set, but I think they'll do. A dremel with a wire wheel would have been nice to get into some of the more intricate areas of the casting.

A few days later we installed them on the red MGB. They went on easily. In prep for our Canada trip, we did some valve adjustments, and put a new rotor in (by advance distributors). The carbs set up nicely, and within a couple of minutes, the car was running real smooth. It's idling alot lower (around 900 rpm) and alot smoother. As I'm finding out it's never just changing or adjusting one component on these cars, it's always adjusting 3 or 4 of them that really makes the difference. The car ran really well to and from Canada. They run like junk while cold, but when they get up to operating temp, they smooth out.

The Carbs that came off of the Red car seem a bit better than the second set we rebuilt. I figure we'll rebuild them, and put those on Dad's GT. The "varnished" ones, when finally completed, will probably find a home on my Blue MGB at some point in the near future.

PEI, Car shows, and what have you..

2009-08-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well here's the 2009 PEI trip report, and then some.
On Thursday morning I headed over to my Dad's around 9:00 or so. I had to stop off at the bank to withdraw some money, and After hitting some traffic on 128 (suprise) I hit more traffic when I decided that back roads would be better (great minds think alike).We packed up the car, checked everything out, and hit the road. Dad had to drop off his work truck for some repairs, and after that we were off.

Pit stop #1: Brits Bits in Rye, NH. always some cool eye candy up there. It looks like they've straightened up a bit in the back area, as things don't tend to seem as strewn about, as they have in past trips up there. The bad economy is hitting them hard too, lots of things marked down, and Sam said that they were really tight, offering 10 cents on the dollar on any used part. After picking up 2 oil filters for Dad's 1970 MGB GT, we were on the road again.

Pit stop #2: Freeport, Maine. We stopped off at the LL Bean store for some possible shopping, Alas they did not have the shirts Dad likes,they're more of a Fall Item. after a quick bite, we were back on the highway. The sun came out after Freeport and we made our way up the ever exciting (sense the sarcasm?) Maine Turnpike. We really pushed it, gas wise, getting off at rt 6 to refill, when we had 280 miles on the trip odometer. From there on it was RT6 to Vanceboro. The road to Vanceboro gets really crappy about 20 miles from the border, all patched in, and small hills. If it was paved, it might be fun, but the filled in Pot holes and the cracked pavement keep that from happening. We crossed the border, and passed through Mcadam, over to the town of Harvey, New Brunswick. We were staying at Dad's friend's Trailer up at Lake Oromocto. we headed into town to get some grub, the one place in town was closing (it was 8:00 after all!) so we went to the town pub for some chow. Dad's friend, Bob, gave a less than stellar report of the Pub's food, so we decided, that how can you screw up a burger and some fries? it wasn't bad, and fairly cheap. After we ate we headed back to the trailer. the sun was starting to set, and it was now 9:00. after not being able to figure out how to hook up the trailer's power, we gave up and settled into bed. The trailer was a bit musty, and some mosquitoes snuck in, most met their demise by my hand, one leaving a dime sized splotch of blood on my t shirt. The next day we got up, brushed our teeth with some water we had in our cooler, and grabbed some breakfast in town. These trips always remind me of how a big breakfast makes a big difference. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, sausage, coffee and juice really fills you up. We hit the road and made a run for the Island. New Brunswick is kind of dull (no offense, I'm sure there's lots to do, it's just rt 2 and 15 of the trans canadian highway doesn't seem to run through any of the cool stuff that would be there, or it's just out of sight of the
highway).

We crossed the bridge, and headed to Charloettetown, checking into our hotel. The Econo lodge is pretty good place. Right outside the city, gas station/store across the street, Tim Hortons near by, and on a nice easy road that goes into town. After cleaning ourselves up a bit, We headed to check out the site of the car show, and it was pretty busy with people setting up the tent and a few other things. Carl Jay gave us a call and we met up with him and his wife. we headed out of town, dealing with the busy stop and go traffic of Charloettetown's Friday evening commute. This was my 4th trip to the island, and I remember most of the roads, from the route numbers, and land marks. (an intersection with a house that has a big stone at the end of the drive way, a house with a tractor wheel on the lawn with a flower bed, you get the idea) We made it to The Bentley's farm just on my memory. OK, I missed the driveway by 10 feet, heading to another house, but I've only been here 4 times, give me a break..

We were pretty early pulling in, Carl Got excited seeing all the cars pull in. they get more cars at the Friday night meet and greet, than we do at some car shows down here! The rain really picked up by now, and as I got out of the car I stated rather loudly: "I wanted a British car show, not British weather!"

The rain didn't Dampen (pun intended) our spirits, as we chatted with some old friends and some new ones. Around 8:00 we were soaked, and we headed back to the hotel. Even in the good weather, we usually depart the meet and greet around 8:30 or so.

It rained all night, and the next morning we awoke to drizzle. The contentintal breakfast at the hotel must have been for a small contitent, as it was pretty weak. We cleaned out the inside of the car, as the great almighty gave us plenty of water to wash the PEI mud off of our tires. after grabbing a cup of real coffee, at Tim Hortons (which I have to say is my fave cup of coffee), We pulled into the show field (which was getting muddy by now), and found a slot right next to Carl. It was wet, but the weather report stated that it was supposed to get better as the day went on. It did thankfully.

This year it was no longer "British car days across the bridge", it had now changed to the "PEI international motoring festival". It encouraged cars of all shapes, sizes and marques. i'd say that the British cars held onto 90% of the attendees, and most of the other 10% were interesting enough to keep the attention of the spectators. Porsche, some old Caddy's, and a couple of well done mustangs really got some attention. we chatted all day, making several rounds and again, catching up with old friends and making some new ones along the way. The Canadian Military had a couple of vehicles there, and everyone was really willing and interested in talking shop, from tanks and jeeps to planes, and all sorts of war stories. The rain stopped around 11:00, and everyone was out with chamois, and detailing spray, a few even dropped their tops. by 2:00 the sun was coming out, and it definetely brought up everyone's spirits. the rain and overcast-ness of the early morning brought alot of foot traffic down to the park, since it was certainly not a beach day. OverallI'd say the had over 200 cars there.

We stayed for the $30 steak dinner (good but not worth $30, in my opinion) and the Beatles tribute band "Abbey Road" (they had the sound, and the look of the beatles for the most part, even without some of the really authentic touches, such as Vox amps, and Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitars. the sun was still up at 8:00 (thanks to PEI's higher Latitude) and we decided to hit some of the roads for a ride. the rain really cooled things off, and with the sun setting, it got cold fast. so we headed back to the hotel. the next day it was bright and shiny, we went over to Sherwood to check out the diner that we went to last year, only to find that it was razed for a drug store and a Tim Hortons that was being built. (PEI really needs another Tim Hortons) we checked out of the hotel, as we didn't know if we were going to stay another night on the island, or just head home.we went back to the field, and reclaimed our old spot, right next to Carl. Some new cars showed up, a rat rod, and a Cobra Kit car, among others. they began an awards ceremony, which was kind of a mess, as they wanted the winners to drive their car up to the awards area.We left around 2:00 and went for a drive up the middle of the island, through Cymbria, Rustico, and Cavendish.After heading back to Charloettetown we grabbed some chow at Hunters ale house (I highly suggest their beerbattered fish and chips) and then headed to the bridge. we did some souvineur shopping, and then crossed the bridge around 4:00 or so. I took a wrong turn, and ended up heading straight through Moncton, but it seemed to only be a small detour.The ride back was fine until 7:00 when the rain started (Again) and we hit a mess of fog and rain just outside of St. John (I declined another night at the trailer) we crossed over the bridge at St Stevens and ended upat a motel that would have made Alfred Hitchock proud. we hit the bed, and slept like babies. the next AM we grabbed some chow at a road house on RT9. Around Bangor, the sun decided to come out, so we dropped the top, and sped home.we pulled into Woburn around 4:00, and after unpacking the car, I hopped in the Honda, and drove Dad over to pick up his work truck. I was home by 5:00, and was greeted at the Door by Kelly.

overall the trip was cool, I think the weather killed alot of the enthusiam for the whole weekend. The show has the potential to be a fun event, it just needs a little tweaking. I missed the Sunday afternoon ride and Lunch. Usually that was really fun driving all over the island, and with that missing, and the weather being 50% crappy, I felt we missed out on alot of the coolness of the trip, bombing around on those roads, through the farmland.

But all in all, a good trip. Heck a bad trip is better than a good day at work!

One plus side to the PEI car show tho. If you go to a British car show down around here (Boston area) the MGA guys sometimes look down on the MGB owners. The MG people don't talk to the Triumph people, The new cars get dissed, and the old ones get praised. It's all very clique-ey, and kind of "you're not in the cool club" type thing..it's even worse when you go to a Cruise night, and we're the only British car. The hot rodders, and rat rods say "what the hell you'd bring that thing here". Up in PEI, everyone's just happy to be there..We all use the same gas, we all love our cars, and we all hate rain and rust. There are exceptions to the rude owners too, one guy that had a 46 ford, gave me a tip on how to free up a seized engine: pour brake fluid into the spark plug holes for a week or so, then drain it all out, refill it with oil, and put a bit of mystery oil into each cylinder. replace the plugs, and crank the engine over my hand, it should free up any stuck cylinders..the old hot rodders know every trick in the book.

This Sunday, Kelly & I went to The Italian Car day at Larz Anderson park. When we were first dating, we really didn't have alot of money to spare, and I suggested, hey lets go down to the car show, it'll be cheap entertainment for a lil bit, and it's a fun ride down there. We took our empty bottles and cans, cashed them in, grabbed a quick lunch at the Border cafe, and then headed to the show. We had about $5 a piece on us. I forgot that they raised the prices to $10 a piece. The guy actually let us in for the kid's price-$5 a piece. It was a fun day to just walk around in the summer weather.

we've went back this year, and it was just as fun, and kind of interesting to see some cars that you don't see every day, but seeing 20 Ferrari's lined up kind of desentised me. but the 250 Lusso was really nice..

all in all, I always have a good time at a car show, regardless of the cars. I always see something new, and it makes me think, wow how cool would it be to have one of those..

PEI 2009

2009-07-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from this year's 2009 PEI trip. I'll have an actual trip report later on this week, as I Just got home and boy are my arms tired..Overall a good trip, weather could have been better, but that's par for the course these days..Click on the pic for more!

Another new addition to the family..

2009-06-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well my VERY generous cousin GAVE me his late model MGB. My Aunt asked me a month or so ago if I wanted to buy it, I said I'd love to but i have no $ for it. With my cousin Steve knee deep in 2 MGA's he says he won't have time to take care of it, and my Aunt wants it out of the driveway, so he gave it to me! It's a late 70's model with rubber bumpers and Minilite wheels. It's in rough shape, it needs rockers, doglegs, and possibly new fenders and the engine is questionable. But it's FREE. I'm hoping to get it out of his driveway next week, and into the garage to further assess the situation. It may just end up being a parts car. Ideally I'd like to get it running over this winter, and use it next summer/spring as my daily driver. THEN perhaps go nuts on it..Sebring bumper kit, V8 engine/5speed, shaved door handles/trim. My head's swimming just thinking about it!. This pic is it's best side. I'll keep you posted as to it's progress/situation!

British Car Day @ Larz Anderson Park

2009-06-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

Other than being a bit cluttered as to the groupings of cars the show was great! The main lawn was full, and the cars spilled over to the lower lawn as the day Progressed. Dad & I got there around 10:00, and we didn't finish our first round of walking around until noon! We got to chat with tons of people, some old friends, and some new ones. I commented that when we first started attending these shows we didn't know that many people, and this year it seemed we were chatting with someone every few feet!

Steve Mackay did really well, the TR3, MGA Deluxe, and Car "the great" Thompson's Austin Healey each won best in their respective classes. Although if your familiar with his work it shouldn't be THAT big of a suprise!

One guy pulled up in his car (also a 1974 MGB) and commented on how he loved that I didn't put the chrome overriders on my car, nor the side mirrors. It was cool to see someone pick up on those little things. As the day wound down, we were shooting the crap with so many people we didn't leave the park until 3:30!

Overall a great day.

Here's some pics from the show!

Down To The Wire

2009-06-02T09:32:00.001-07:00

My Dad's 1970 MGB GT is pretty cool. It's a fun car, solid and for some reason it runs like a bat out of hell. It's got enough torque that I think I could give the import "drifters" a run for their money with a bit of practice (Dad's been able to pitch it sideways going UP a hill). I think all that power has a downside though, It's beaten up the splines on his wire wheels.

Back in the Day my dad mentioned that he didn't like the wire wheels, and his friends that had them also had a love/hate relationship with them. They look great and very classy, but hard to keep straight and it's hard to put faith in one big nut holding a wheel, rather than a series of lug nuts.

Dad mentioned that one day he almost didn't make it home on day this past month, as one wheel hub seemed to slip all over the place. So after pulling the hub off of his GT we took it (and it's wheel) over to MacKay's Garage. The Hub was deemed ok, the wheel however, is pretty much garbage. So we replaced the hub, and used the spare wheel (remember when you got a car with a REAL spare tire?). No problems there.

However it kind of makes a point. Dad wants this as a semi daily driver, and situations like this kind of kills some reliability points. The long term solution will be to swap the wire wheel hubs with conventional ones. Kind of a bummer, as I like the wire wheels. But thankfully it's not all a loss. We have access to 8 hubs for ro style wheels, as well as a complete set of recently painted Ro style wheels! The only think he'll need to purchase new is some tires!

Oh yeah and if anyone is in the greater Boston area this Sunday June 7th, British Car Day at Larz Anderson park!

www.mot.org

See you there!

MGB GT Update..

2009-05-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Not alot going on this week MG wise, other than having dreams of the top down, and having traffic conditions like the beginning of "vanilla Sky". But we've done alot of work on my Dad's 1970 MGBGT as of late. Here's the rundown:

1. New Alternator.
2. New Battery
3. SERIOUS Valve Adjustments
4. Carb adjustments
5. New electric fuel pump
6. New points and condenser
7. New Plugs and Wires

overall this small list has really made the difference!

Dad Said that one day after a ride, he came home for about 10 minutes, went back out to the car, tried to start it up, and no go! I think it's the thermostat (it's one thing we haven't Replaced). However I took a ride with him this past Saturday, and I really romped on it via back roads and some highway miles. Overall it's a cool ride, albeit she's definitely looking on the rough side. Dad's debating a Maaco Paint job.

For his B-day I got Dad some battery boxes and some wiper blades and other detail items. This weekend he's off to Cape Cod, and I'm hoping to "borrow" the car and install those items!

I think we'll change the thermostat before the first show over at Larz Anderson and we'll be all set!

Out of the Garage, and on the road!

2009-05-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

The Weather's getting better, and the weekend hours spent puttering around in the garage are slowly being replaced with time in the cockpit of the MGB. The past month is a perfect example.

April was pretty busy weekend wise. for the Patriots day weekend we decided to take that Friday off and turn it into an extra long weekend.

Friday morning I went over to Dad's and picked up the MG. Its still early in the season, so switching between the honda and the MG is a lil odd. Pedal resistance, steering, transmission is at the other end of the spectrum form what I've been used to. I dropped the top, after finding that the Tonneau cover that we picked up from Gene won't fit with the Roll bar. Bummer, anyone need a Tonneau cover? I put the old cover on to cover the convertable top, and headed home. By the time I got back. Kelly was almost ready to go, so I jumped in the shower, and after cleaning myself off, we hit the road.

We headed up to Gloucester, and had a nice drive up there. we took a spin around the island and then over to the Cape Ann Brewery, to fill up a growler with their double IPA (9%ABV) we had a couple of beers there, and some snax, and then headed home, taking the scenic route. on the way out we passed by of all things this:

We stopped to look at it, and the owner came out to chat for a bit, he then took us for a lil tour of his garages, which contained a Fiat 500 and 3 motorcyles: a Jawa, Ducati, and an all State. the really interesting thing was a rebuilt Lamborghini Diablo that he had a chevy 350 in it!!

you never know what you'll see in your MGB..

We took the long way home, heading down the coast. Wes stopped off in Salem to refill the growler we had from them with Blueberry ale.As we neared RT 1 we called in some take out from Sake. We Settled into a nice evening of beer and sushi.

Saturday AM I headed over to Dad's to trouble shoot his fuel pump problem on his MGB GT. I was able to find out the electrical connections to the fuel pump were junk and need to be replaced. I suggested to even have the fuel pump replaced. during this process, I ended up taking a bath in about 6 gallon of gas, destroying a pair of jeans in the process.

Sunday was supposed to be a crappy day, but turned out to be ok. Unfortunately Kelly & I were well past spent and needed some relax time, so after lunch at the Border Cafe we took a lil ride, and then headed home.

Monday weather wise was supposed to be nice, but turned out to be a bit chilly. I spent the AM doing some small errands, and throughout the day I picked up 2 pairs of Jeans to replace the gas soaked ones, and another pair I noticed had rips on the seams. Both pairs were at least 6 years old and pretty worn.

Friday after work I went to Dad's to pick up the MGB right after work. it felt so good to feel some warmth!

Saturday I headed over to Mackays to tackle the Fuel Pump problem with Dad's MGB GT. we fixed that and by 10:00AM I was on my way. Interestingly enough, there were 3 MGBGT's there that day, Paul's red one from Gloucester, Mackay's Purple one, and Dad's Green one.
I'm planning on "borrowing" Dad's GT this week for a bit. Taking that car into Boston isn't that bad, it's so scratched up that parking it in town isn't an issue.

Later on Kelly & I took a nice drive up to North Andover to see if the farmstand was open yet? Alas, it wasn't. Bummer, we'll have to wait a few more weeks for fresh pickles!

We left and decided to head out west. Taking back roads the entire time we went out to Littleton, and then worked our way back. It was only a few hours, but the previous week, and an afternoon out in the sun kind of wore us out a bit, and we were home by 6:00 or so.

I'm hoping to spend the next month or so getting a few things on Dad's MGB GT all set up, and dialing in some stuff on the red B.

The driving season is upon us!

2009 Calendar of events

2009-04-06T09:21:00.001-07:00

2009 Calendar

With the good weather ALMOST upon us, the calendar is starting to fill up with all sorts of automotive gathering goodness. For those of you in the New England area, here's some of the happenings:

April 25: BAMG Drive To Riley's (rain date May 16)

June 7: British Car Day at Larz Anderson Museum, Brookline, MA
A very cool day, usually has great turnout, and a huge variety of cars from McLaren F1's to rusty MG's

June 13: Faneuil Hall Show #1
(not a show you can Drive your car to, but one anyone can attend for free, its an invite only event for the cars)

July 12: Bay State Antique Auto Club Annual Show, Endicott Estate, Dedham MA

July 18: Faneuil Hall Show #2
(not a show you can Drive your car to, but one anyone can attend for free, its an invite only event for the cars)

July 24-26: Prince Edward Island show
it's now called the PEI International Motoring Festival, it's been shortened a bit from what it used to be, but should be interesting, plus the roads in PEI are fun, ocean on one side, rolling hills on the other!

August 15: MG/Rover Day at Larz Anderson Museum, Brookline, MA
if you have a MG or rover you should attend. Last year attendance was so low, they're thinking of cancelling it or merging it with another car day. It's on a Saturday so tell your wife that you'll mow the lawn when you get home.

August 29: Faneuil Hall Show #3
(not a show you can Drive your car to, but one anyone can attend for free, its an invite only event for the cars)

September 5-6: Falmouth Dream Cruise By The Sea, Cape Cod

September 13: 28th Annual British Motorcar Gathering and Picnic, CT Triumph Register, Manchester, CT

September 18-20: British Invasion, Stowe, VT
This is supposed to be a real big bash, I'm thinking of going this year myself

October 2-4: British Legends Weekend, Cape Cod

October 10: BAMG Edaville Car Show
Usually it's the last show of the year, but it's always a blast, and a really cool location. Stuff for the kids, and usually lots of arts and crafts stuff for the wives to check out.

Cruise Nights:
The following events aren't officially sanctioned, but I have to say if you like cool cars I highly suggest stopping by one of these in your travels for a bit.

Every Sunday: Schoolhouse Ice-cream from 2pm-whenever
http://www.schoolhouseicecream.com/cruisenights.html

Every Saturday: 3 to 8 p.m. Cruise Night at Riley's Roast Beef, 911 Edgell Road, Framingham

Every Wednesday after 5:00, Cruise Night at Bill & Bob's Roast Beef, Woburn MA

If anyone in the New England area knows of one I missed (or got wrong) drop me an email!

Overdue Post - Rostyle Wheel Restoration

2009-03-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

I know I promised a big news worthy post for ya, but I got a bit sidetracked. but here it is:

It's been a long trip but, I completed my latest project:

Restoring a set of Ro style wheels. When I was in the process of restoring my MGB a few years back, my cousin gave me a set (4) Ro style wheels. I sand blasted them and had the normally black painted inset area, painted red to match the color of our MGB.

I didn't mask them all that well, and was kind of bummed at how they came out. So when I put the newly painted rims (wrapped in Pirelli P400's) on the car, I ended up with a set of ro styles left over. They have sat in my Dad's basement in the "I'll get to this someday" pile. Well someday finally happened back at the end of October of 2008.

The basic Idea was to re condition these wheels, in the traditional Black/Silver MG style, have them done with new center caps, Wheel trim, Lug nuts, Valve Stem caps, and a set of nice tires.

I've seen kits for rostyle painting, from pre cut tape templates to clear plastic masks. I've heard the plastic masks don't work all that well. If you can find the precut tape templates, they help out a bit, Saving time, but painters tape will do the trick nicely, It'll just take a bit longer.

I picked up a sandblasting gun from Sears, and a 100 lb bag of black beauty sand. Ok a few problems:

1. Do NOT store sandblasting media in a damp place of any kind. Even though we had it under a tarp, and still it got wet from some rain that we had, and I ended up with a bag of black mud. This basically turned the first day into a loss. The place we get our media from is only open Monday-Friday 9:00Am-5:00Pm. Kind of hard for folks that want to do this work on the weekends. It makes you have to plan ahead. I had taken a personal day at work one day, and picking up a bag of this sand was on my to do list. The remaining bags My Dad bought. Thankfully his work enables him to be on the road, and picking up sand wasn't as big a deal for him as it would be for me.

2. When using a sandblasting gun. Use a hose clamp on the gun end to connect the line. I found out after a few abortive attempts that I wasn’t getting enough vacuum to suck the sand up, but when I got the gun real close to the item to be sandblasted, the hose would blow off. Hmm, So I found an old hose clamp on the floor of the garage, put it on there and it held it on enough to finally work. It took about 2 hours to get everything finally going and doing the actual work. It took about an hour to do a wheel, basically because after 20 minutes or so of sandblasting, I was covered in the black sand that gets into EVERY orifice, even if covered. I didn't have a sandblasting booth, so I was doing this outside. You have to take a small break every now and then and wipe the grit out of every place. even with goggles I had grit in my eyes. The first Saturday, We got 4 of the rims 90% done, and then ran out of black beauty. Bummer. If we had a sandblasting booth/box, it wouldn't be that bad we would have been able to recycle some of the media.

So we started with these:

So the following Saturday we tackled them again. Amazingly enough with the damp and cold fall weather the unfinished metal stayed pretty clean in between weekends. I blasted the remaining one, and I gave the remaining 4 some extra attention and blasted the finished ones again.

1 of the wheels had some gunk built up on the backside. I tried the sandblaster, but the residue was so soft and thick that the sand just got embedded in it, or just bounced off. I used the knife blade on my leatherman and was able to cut it out, it was so thick, it was like peeling an orange! Dad ended up getting a wire wheel brush, and he attached it to his drill, and was able to get the caked on goo all out.

after finishing the front of the wheels, I made sure to do the edge of the rims (inner and outer) to make sure I'll get proper seating when the tires get installed. I also blasted the inside areas that have cut outs, such as the vent holes, and the lug nut holes. it seems like if any rust would get through, it would be through those areas.

I gave them a quick blast of just clean air, and then placed them on the floor of the garage, and then started to prime them. I don't recall using a primer on the last set. It was a kit I got from some MG mail order place that isn't in business anymore, so I can't reference it. I remember using a silver/grey coat, and then running out, and using a can of rustoleum to put a coat over that, hence why the silver on my red set of rims tend to "sparkle" a bit more.

I figured I'd rather use a more "common" set of paints for this project. I've heard good things about duplicolor, so I figure I'd give them a shot. I used their Primer (DAP1690) which is self etching. 1 thing that's was kind of a bummer. It's green, I felt like I was painting Jeep parts in WWII. The primer was good, it went on real easy and dried very quickly.

The following week I was out of commission due to working my real job, so the next Saturday I headed back to the shop, armed with 2 cans of Duplicolor's flat black. I set the wheels up and put down several coats. it dries pretty quickly which is nice, and over the next couple of hours I emptied out the 2 cans completely.The flat black looks dull by itself, I'm not use to seeing the rims in that state, but it's a step better than the primer's green hue. I also hit the backside with a good coat of paint as well, just to keep anything from rusting away. It wasn't alot of work, and it was nice to be home by 2:00, and not covered in grease or black sand.
I probably could have taped up the wheels that weekend, and painted silver on them, but I figured I'd wait and let this color cure before I put on another one, to make sure there's no cracking.

The next weekend I taped up the insets of the wheels, and then began to spray the silver paint. Taping sucks, it's very detailed kind of work, and can be tough to do, the important thing is take your time. I used 2 different sizes of painters tape, 1 roll was about 1/2" wide, and another was 2" wide. I basically followed the edges with the thin tape, then used the wide tape to fill in the big gaps.

Due to the fact the day I taped up the wheels was a wet & rainy day, a few taped areas came undone a bit during the application of the silver coats of paint, I lifted up the tape (after several light coats of silver) to realize that some of the black sections had some silver overspray. Bummer. I also noticed some bad tape lines here and there, Mild Bummers. So I taped up the offending areas and re applied another coat of black. Thankfully I had a set of precut templates left over from the last set of wheels. After applying the black touch up coat, I taped them up again, and re applied a coat of silver to finish off the bad tape lines. I have to say taking this extra re-taping & painting touch up step, made a HUGE difference. an extra step, but well worth it!

After the color, and the touchups I sprayed clearcoat on all the wheels for protection & Gloss

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the results. Not bad for a job done in a garage with some pretty basic tools and some spray cans. All in all, it was an interesting process. I do have a few suggestions though, and they could be applied to any project.

1. Prep everything ahead of time, Tools, Supplies, etc. Make sure you have at least 2x the amount of any supplies you think you'll need. You're better off having left over's, than run out.
2. Keep your work area as clean as possible.
3. Take your time. Rome wasn't built in a day! Plan on spending 2x the time you think it would take to do. Stuff comes up, there are extra runs to the store (see note #1), tools needed, etc.
4. Be prepared to re do or fix anything that you may mess up, or doesn't turn out the way you expected.

One thing I probably would have done differently, would be to get a thin pin striping type tape, and use that for my initial masking, it would be easier to apply and use as a base to go over with the larger tape.

Supplies:
Sandblasting Gun - Sears $29.95
Black Beauty Sand - $17.00 A bag (2 used, 1-useless)
Primer - $14.95 (2 cans)
Black Paint - $14.95 (2 cans)
Silver Paint- $14.95 (2 cans)
Clear coat paint - $14.95 (2 cans)
Razor Blades
Painters tape

So all in all to do 5 wheels cost about $150 total. I've seen reconditioned Rostyle wheels go for over $100 a wheel, so it's still pretty cost effective to do this.

And to complete the package, I'm planning on the following:
From Moss Motors:
MG wheel insets
chrome trim rings
Chrome MG Lugnuts
MG valve stem caps

From Tirerack.com:
Pirelli p4000 tires

Ok here's the time rundown:

Saturday #1 wet sand, lack of tools, running around, no luck. Waste of a weekend.

Saturday #2 slow start, but completed 90% of Sandblasting project. Ran out of Black beauty. I also Scored a set of SU HIF carbs (I'll report on that later)

Saturday #3 completed sandblasting, primed wheels. Sandblasted and carb manifold and air cleaners. Primed the air cleaners

Saturday #4 no dice-had to work

Saturday #5 Applied flat black paint

Saturday #6 taped up wheels-applied silver coat and over the following week applied several other coats of silver

Saturday #7 Touch up session-well worth it!

Saturday #8 clear coating, Saturday, Sunday & Monday.

I wanted to make this a weekend project, not something that would keep me busy every night after work. Now none of these days were very long, I think the longest day was 6 hours or so, with the shortest being 2. Since I had to travel about 20 minutes to the garage where I'm working on this, it took a bit longer. If I was doing this at home I'd probably would have been done in half the time.

I have access to a couple of other sets of wheels, and I think I'll be doing those as well, even if just to have a set to sell at a later date. My dad & I just completed rough semi portable sandblasting booth. I'll keep you all posted to see how it all works out.

Oh and don't worry I have plans for those red rostyle wheels!

anyway that's bout it, I promise, now with the driving season upon us, I'll have more posts (and they'll be alot more frequent)

Latah
CD

Something from the past

2008-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't put any substantial posts up here as of late, But be warned: I've got a huge post coming after xmas! In the meantime: Here's some MG Nostalga for ya:

Stretch it out!

2008-12-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

Maybe if you had a couple of junky MGB's you could cobble one of these together:

Good Winter Car?

2008-12-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

As Found on the web:

Might be good for those cold New England winters, being a 4x4 and all.

The shirt off of my back!

2008-11-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

In some other news, In case you haven’t heard, I'm selling some MG T-shirts, the MG Logo in white, on a Gildan T-shirt. They're in Forrest Green and Maroon. I'm down to my last 7 so, if you want one drop me an email. I accept paypal, and any other form of certified money transaction. The cost is $10 a shirt and $4.00 for shipping and handling.

Due to rising costs, the next run will be going up $1 a shirt. I'm trying to keep costs low, as I can't justify buying a T-shirt that's more than $15.00, let alone selling one that'll be that expensive. But the costs of the shirts have gone up. The next run I'll be doing more colors, and if anyone has any suggestions/requests for colors, please drop me a line at devine10 (at) Comcast.net

5 in Green - Size XL
1 in Green - Size Large

1 in Red - Size L

as soon as these go, I'll take a poll and see what people are interested in, I may take Pre orders (no deposit) if you're looking for different sizes & colors.

The red & Green shirts seem to have been a big hit, however I'm always open to suggestions, right now I'm leaning to do a run of long sleeves t-shirts in Black, with the same MG logo (in the same location) in the front, in white.

I'm hoping to get my order in before thanksgiving, that way I can ship out any order for the holidays without any shipping stress.

thanks again for your business
Chris Devine
devine10 (at) comcast.net

Star Car

2008-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well It's not hard to argue, that when you become a celebrity, you'll no likely have some extra $, usually for high end items, clothes, jewelry, homes and cars. When it comes to high end wheels, it's not that uncommon to see stars driving Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, or Aston Martin. So I have to say when someone that can afford such luxurious and rare cars, it sparks off interest when they choose something that is NOT on the exotic ride radar. Sharon Stone's MGB Is a good example: It's at the Imperial Palace's car collection in Las Vegas:

My Dad went to Las Vegas last month and stayed at the Imperial Palace. They have a Car Museum on their 6th floor, and it's worth checking out. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but when Dad goes, I usually get a full report of any changes when he returns. He mentioned that they had a Rubber bumper B, but couldn't recall who owned it.

For more cars at the Imperial Palace: http://autocollections.com/

I Love A Parade

2008-10-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

In not-really-mg-news-Sunday October 26th was the annual Lions Club Halloween day parade in Woburn. For the 3rd year in a row, I asked to drive in the parade, in case any of the older guys walking wanted to take a rest. The weather was fantastic, and so was the crowd. In the staging area each year, it's like a mini car show. A couple of notable rides included:

1964 Hearse

AC Cobra (I don't know it it's a Kit or not-I'm guessing yes)

and aside from my lil B, another lil B:

Click on the pic for more images:

Carver 2008 Report

2008-10-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the final (for me anyway) British car show of the season,The British Car Day @ Edaville Railroad in Carver. I got up early and headed to Dad's and we made the trek down there. The weather was great, sunny with a cool breeze. OK I'll admit it, there is always a breeze when the top is down. This show is usually a pretty good one, and this year was no exception. Lots of cool cars, and a really good turnout (77 cars), I did pretty good on the raffles, with an MG tuning book, a MG/Rover desk set, and a $50 gift certificate to MacKay's garage! I spent $20 on the raffles, and $20 for the show, so it all kind of evens out

Here's some pics (click on the pic)

Car Show Alert

2008-10-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

It's the last one of the season!
Be there or be square!

New Addition To The Family

2008-10-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dad pulled the trigger on this today..

I've driven it, and I have to say it's a pretty sweet ride..Expect a more detailed report in the future.

Weather

2008-09-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Due to the weather being crummy, this weekends Buzzard's bay car show is postponed..bummer

Some More MG stuff

2008-09-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry there hasn't been much news lately. My band's been a lil busy, the weather hasn't been all that agreeable, and domestic stuff has gotten in the way. I don't think I've had any seat time in my B since Labor day weekend. I'm hoping to get quality time in this weekend tho.

So MG is finally back, in one way or another. The new Marque stands for "Modern Gentleman" not "Morris Garages". Also it looks like they won't be hitting North American shores anytime soon either. The new MG is pretty much the same as the last ones that rolled off the line, but I'm hoping they don't follow past trends and not change the car for 18 years.

I prefer their older ad:

In other Classic Car stuff, I renewed my (and my Dad's) subscription to Classic Motorsports Magazine. I highly recommend it to anyone that's into cool older cars (not just British ones) My only complaint is that it's bi-monthly, not monthly. Their webpage is pretty cool, as well as their forum.

Awhile back I got up early Saturday morning and headed to Wakefield tire to see if they could spin a set of MGB wheels I had in my dad's basement. They're the original ones from the MGB and they're pretty grungy. I was afraid to do any restoration work on them, and then find out that they're eggshaped. Thankfully they're ok. 1 pair will have to be specified for the rear tho, as the guy said he wouldn't feel comfortable having those in the front, in case of any steering issues.

the rain held off on this particular Saturday just enough for Dad & I to take a trip up to Milton, NH to take a peek at 3 MG's in varying condition up there. One of my Dad's Co-workers lives up there and told him about the Cars she saw on the side of the road, and we decided a road trip would be a fun thing. So we headed up there. Ironically the last time our MGB was up that way, it was on the back of a trailer, coming back from the paint shop in Berwick, Maine. We got up there to find 3 cars

1-1970 MGB $12000-A bit steep if you ask me

2-1976 MGB $7600-Interesting price, 76 for 76?

3-1973 MGB $2000-Rusty.

The cars were kind of a wash, but the owner seems to have his own machine shop in his garage. If there's a part they don't make any more, he makes it himself. He seems like a nice guy, a true car person, it doesn't matter what make or model, Cool is cool. He's doing over a 1959 MGA in his garage, as well as a 1953 TD that's sitting under a tarp in his yard. He also commented that he liked our "buggy" as he called it.

After making his aquaintance, and chatting for a bit, we headed over to Dad's co worker's house. It was a really nice place up on a lake. I bet it's a bit expensive to live up there, as their neighbour has a Bmw Z-8 in the driveway, a fairly new Ferrari Spyder in the garage, oh and his girlfriends BMW Z3-M3 is also a nice touch. We chatted with Dad's friends for a couple of hours, and on the ride home Dad mentioned that he'd like to stop by Brits bits to take a look at their inventory. I hated to tell him that they were closed by now, as it was 6:15. He was really surprised at how fast the day slipped by.

The next Saturday was the MG/Rover day at Larz Anderson. It was quite depressing. The day started out cloudy & overcast, but the sun came out just as we started driving down Brookline Avenue. I prepared myself properly this time, and decided, regardless of the weather I'm wearing shorts. Good thing that I did too, as it turned out to be a real hot day! The depressing part though: 33 cars. It seems as though the Museum basically "demoted" the show from Sunday to Saturdays, because it's not as a good money maker as some other shows, over the past few years they claimed that it's declined in attendance steadily. Well in 2005 it was ok on a Sunday, and on 2006 they canceled it, citing the fact the rain the night before made it too wet, and Sunday morning at 8:00am it was still raining, so they canceled it, and the sun came out around 10:00 to make it a high of 90. in 2007 they (supposedly the Bay state MGA club) moved it from Sunday, citing the weather on Saturdays have been historically better, and I missed it, due to my own scheduling (we were driving home from the Starks, Maine gig) But I heard that they had about 40 cars. At the end of this years show, they asked if we thought the reason for the weak draw was because of it not being on the usual Sunday morning. I said I bet that's half the reason. Saturdays a lot of guys that have families get stuck with a "honey do" list, or go away for the day, some have to work, and some guys are usually working on their cars! Next year MG day may get combined with Triumph day. The really dry turnout is also the reason I don't have any photos from the event other than this one:

I don't know why it actually was a crappy turnout, and it's sad as, the first show I brought my finished MG to was this event. And I remember more than 60 cars being there. Partially I could blame any perceived snobbery from the MGA folks towards the MGB folks. I'll admit it, the MGA is a classic car, and it's far more elegant than an MGB. But my MGB has side windows, interior door panels, and a 5 main bearing crank with a rear main seal. The usual MGA guy will look down on an MGB, It's a bit more modern, but at 30+ MPH driving down the street no one cares, they just point and look, and ask what it is or what year it is. So yeah maybe some elitist behavior may be to blame. Dad may benefit from this "corksniffery" as he's got a line on a British racing green 1970 MGB GT from an MGA guy for a very reasonable price. Hopefully I'll have more to report on that later on.

Car Show alert! - September 26, 27 & 28, 2008

2008-09-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

British Legends Weekend 2008 Buzzards Bay, Bridge Park
September 26, 27 & 28, 2008

for more info:
http://www.capecodbritishcarclub.org/

and for what it's worth, I plan on being there..

You have to start somewhere

2008-09-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

and this is where we did in November 2001:

and in November of 2005:

I figured this would be a good place to start with this blog.
Latah
CD