Hello! And question about distributors...

Hello everyone! Thought I'd join up here and hopefully learn a few things :) I have a red 1979 MGB roadster that my dad and I have owned since 2002, not sure how many owners came before us, but I'm pretty sure at this point we've replaced most of whatever any of them might have done to the car.

Body and paint is a little rough-looking, but solid. Biggest issues there are from a few years ago when some numbnut in a Chrysler rear-ended me... (I look at it as the MG won that battle, though; since the Chrysler was utterly destroyed and all I needed was new tail lights, license plate frame, fuel cap, trunk lid, and exhaust). Other than looking a little scruffy here and there, it's in reasonable shape. Currently doesn't want to run, which is why I'm here.

At the moment my dad owns the car, and he pretty much hates it's guts. So, I'm looking to buy it off him soon and put some love into it. As it sits, the only real modifications to the engine are a Weber DGV carb and a Delco 60A alternator (which was a MASSIVE improvement, by the way). The problems we're having currently are that A.) it won't start, and B.) if you can get it to start, it runs like crap; if you adjust the timing to 35 degrees BTC, it runs better. For a while. The not starting issue is new, for one reason or another I haven't had a chance to do much with it over the summer, so it's been sitting for about 3-4 months until I replaced a seized-up caliper a couple weeks ago. Now, even with a brand-new fully charged battery, it cranks slow, like it isn't getting enough juice. My thought there is that perhaps the starter (which is, by the way, the third one that's been in the car since we bought it) is starting to die. Any thoughts there?

As for the other issue, we've been through the engine top to bottom a dozen times trying to sort this one. Carb is brand new and set up properly, fuel pump is brand new and is getting plenty of fuel to the carb, vaccuum is good, compression is good, valve movement is good, plugs are good, wires are good. At this point it's looking to me like the distributor may have issues. It came with an electronic distro with a Crane Cams external controller, and I feel like that's all probably just a bunch of extra stuff that can break (and probably has). I'd like to convert it to a points distributor, been looking at using a Lucas 45D4. So, any thoughts on the problem? And, any thoughts on converting to the 45D4?

Thanks, and have a good one!

From whom are you getting starters. Right off the bat I would assume the cheapest at the local corner parts store. There are several discussions about the quality of rebuilt units but my guess is you are getting supplied with a very cheaply done rebuild from Mexico.

Be sure all the cable connections are clean...including the ground strap from the bell houseing to frame.

The Weber is the cheapest fix for the bad ZS OEM. They are known to be a bit problematic until or unless set up correctly...good luck but again plenty of discussions in the archives. I'd suggest a dual SU is a better system.

The 45D is a good solution as well...the earlier unit maybe better. I'll pm resident expert Jeff who rebuilds many LBC dizzys.

Dad bought the starter motors we've used, I'd have to ask him to be sure but I know he either got them from BritTek or from Victoria British, so I assume they were re-man units, but I wouldn't know from where. Probably going to fool with the starter a bit today, see if it's a connection. What it does is the first time you try to crank it, it'll crank at about a normal speed, but won't start because (obviously) the engine is cold. So adjust choke, try again, and now it cranks a little slow and sluggish. Third try it's slower still. Let it sit for at least 10-15 mins, try again, and it starts off with a little enthusiasm again, and you end up repeating the process.

Welcome to the madness David! I think Robert may have nailed the starter issue.
You are probably on the right track with the distributor being the problem with
the engine running. Lots of info here and many MG experts.

Heres a link to the Crane Ignition that may help:

Crane Ignition

Funny story; my B has an older Crane XR700 in it. Any known issues which might confirm my suspicions?

If it turns out the starter needs to be replaced for sure, any recommendations on a decent one?

Also, thanks for the responses and the welcome, guys! I've been around ze German Euro car scene for a while; started off with a 1997 Audi A4 2.8 quattro, now my daily driver is a 1990 BMW 525i. Definitely liked the Audi better for a lot of reasons, but a friend of mine wrecked it (long story) and so now I drive the BMW/douchemobile. :D The MG was my first car though, back in high school (though I drove a 1987 Ford Taurus MT5 during the winter, which was a surprisingly fun ride) I look forward to meeting yet more car nuts!

You are descirbing a classical case of oxidized or insulated terminals. ALL the major leads need to be checked and cleaned and don't forget the ground from the tranny to the body...bell housing to frame.

Also KNOW the battery is fully charged. It REALLY sounds like a major load of resistance...as in bad connections.

Checked connections, found that the old negative battery terminal clamp had deformed and buggered to the point that it was not *quite* tight enough, replaced and now the starter cranks beautifully. Huzzah!

UNFORTUNATELY, it still wouldn't turn over; so we checked for spark, and sure enough, nothing at all. So I'm assuming, following the other apparently ignition-related issues I described already, the distributor control has completely failed (Plugs are good, wires are good, coil is brand new).

The good news is, now that we know (pretty much) what the problem is, and having already checked everything else and found it to be in good order, once this particular matter is sorted the car should be running beautifully. Until something else breaks, as it inevitably will. Since, as we all know, British Leyland workers spent more time on strike than on the job. ;)

If you are going to replace the distributor by all means contact Jeff Schlemmer!!
http://www.advanceddistributors.com/

He is a regular poster here and is a great person to deal with.