Sorry but some newbee advice needed

Hope to be a regular contributor but need some help to start with.


I have previously owned an MG but it was in my teen years and of course relied on my dad. Now in my mid-40s got the fever again and purchase a 1979 MBG for my 47th birthday as a project car. While the vehicle looks good and the electrical system seems to be in tack i have my first ride in the rain last nigh and trouble started. First of all once wet it lost contact with starter, battery who knows but no power and once it was able to dry a bit everything came back to life.

So my first priority is to get it water proof as possible with an MG. I know the windshield while in good shape needs all sealing replaced and while I have a hard top, (Snugtop) I think(HOPE) I have ordered new seals from McGergor. The quote I have from a member on here who owns a shop was 850.00 to replace the windshield seals and I just can't swallow that now.

This is my priority list as of now and would welcome more opinions.

Wind Shield, doors window seal kits
Hardtop Seal Kits (WEATHERPROOF)
Carburator Rebuild or New(slow Fuel Leak)
Heater Blower rebuild just not blowing enough and no inside vent air
Rust issues, floor pans, doors
Interior overhaul

You came to the right place, and welcome aboard!

The first thing you need to be absolutely sure of is the brakes. The gaskets and whatnot break down over time, and it doesn't matter how well your car goes, if it doesn't stop. so, if your car has been sitting for awhile (several years), you should definitely get the brakes checked out well.

Welcome! My first thought would be to get that pesky electrical issue dealt with. Look into a dual SU conversion to replace your Zenith/Stromberg carb. For the heater, if the motor is turning on both speeds, be sure to check that you haven't had mice/rats building homes in the ducts.
Good luck!

Jeff, welcome to the experience!
I would sort the running and mechanical items first. I know its tempting to just want to drive it but like
Bob said, if it doesnt stop........
Tune up, fluids changed, brakes and hydraulics examined. Make a record and establish a baseline.
Determine whats needed, then move on to cosmetics and weatherproofing.
RS

Thanks guys, I have driven it around 80 miles and the break system, transmission seams to be working just great. The fan system does appear to work but not well and i think thinkg I can break that down pretty easily and have have problems in the past with mice nest.

I have ordered the manuals many on electrical and the Haynes?S for repairs but really want to order the the weather stripping while i have the money and time during the winter. The carb is another rising issue because I noticed it does have a small dripping leak and I do not want a fire. Chris, do you have any sources on the "Look into a dual SU conversion to replace your Zenith/Stromberg carb" that may be a good starting point as well.

Thanks to all

I know how to do it, wouldn't know how to explain it bullet proof enough. There may be info in a search of this site. Basically, you want to change out to an intake and exhaust manifolds along with twin SU carbs of whatever flavor floats your boat.

I am a newbee too and so need advice to keep this 1979 MGB LE on the road. I am just guessing but it seems like electrical that gets wet and won't conduct. I'll listen closely to what others tell you. I fixed lamp lights and a leaky heater hose today. No other problems but I need a rebuild. In time. My first priority is a manifold it leaks so the car runs off tune. Congrats on your new purchase.

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to the best source of information on MG's you'll find on the net! That is a great looking MGB you got yourself.

If looking for electrical problems, first thing you'll want is an electrical schematic of your car. Advance Auto Wire has free .pdf files for our MGB's. These are handy to have and I have used them countless times already.

Here is a Direct Link to the .pdf files. Save a copy to your compuer for future reference. You' ll want to pay attention to pages 25 and 32, as that would be for a 1979 MGB.

Again, Welcome and good luck with your MG !

John

Welcome to the ward. Medication time is at 7PM EST.



My sympathies about losing power in the rain. I know that where you live the rains are [color=#0033FF]RAINS[/color]. (I lived in South Florida my whole life until 3 years ago when I woke up in Michigan.) Check all connections at the starter and your battery cables and their connections to the battery. I know that's simple advice but at this hour it's all I can come up with.

Usually they are cheaper than $850, he just didn't want to do it. You can do your windscreens yourself if you have to. Not so hard once you realize that the trick is to exactly (to less than a mm) centre the glass in the rubber and frame before trying to do up the screws. And use a posidrive screwdriver. Philips screw drivers are perfect for rounding out posidrive screwheads. Could have been especially designed to destroy posidrive screws. Also make sure you have all four spacers in place when you put it back on the car.

Welcome, and I'll just add to the encouragement to get that fuel leak fixed immediately. The DPO of my car apparently didn't fix his fuel leak and this was the result:

Welcome to the Madness Jeff,

Were you getting water on your feet as you're driving? If so, the electrical problem could be up under the dash and may need the seals you describe. I've done this job before and it's really not that bad. Two cap screws on each side hold the window side pillars, plus the center rod of the wind screen and it's out. Seals are inexpensive - check mossmotors.com or victoriabritish.com for parts, etc.

Water can come in around a couple of other areas as well - like the wiper arms through the top shroud and the air intake grille to name two.

Your problem could easily be at the battery, distributor, or other ignition related, too. You can easily check and clean up all these connections as has been suggested. Make sure battery fully charged while you're at it.

Good luck - looks like you got a nice ride there...

Well after digging and staring at the car for hours upon hours (Rain Constent) here I do know i have an existing Werner Carb and the motor has 1800 on it so will be looking for a new carb quickly(still would like advice on which Model). I ordered new weather seals for the hardtop and doors today so the investment begins. The fan on the interior of the engine compartment runs well and but there is no flow hardly inside and the vents on the inside have not flow.

I pulled the carpet and as really no suprise there is a lot of rust on the floor panels which you can see through on a few areas. I ran across this on craigslist and may go take a look to see if I can make a better deal http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1430782264.html just don't know yet.

Thanks for all the replies

I'm still a newbie too, but have been there and done that on some things already. Check the plastic tube, up under the dash, that run from the heater box, to the vents. Mine looked more like swiss cheese than tubes, so I too had no air flow, even though heater fan seemed to be working as well as it could. I just rebuilt the whole heater box, etc. Not too bad a job, if you round off the edge of the rubber seal on the bottom of the heater box, (the aft end).
All the seals in the box were bad, so I cannot say that just replace the plastic tubes would have solved the problem or not.

And, "Welcome to the madness."

Jeff. The most likely culprit for total loss of power when it's wet outside as Peter pointed out is the big brown wire going to the starter motor and less likely the battery positive and negative connections.

Usually it's the connection at the starter, because it only acts up when it is raining and you don't want to lie on the wet ground to check it.

It's an MG thing.

Welcome aboard.

These cars are very simple and pretty much anything that can go wrong is easy and relatively cheap to fix.


kelvin

Thanks all, the wife while trying to be patient is growing tired as i stand around more in my detached garage thinking whats next to do. As I have mentioned I have made a good amount of orders so for mostly on weather stripping, lights, covers etc. I did identify my carb as a weber but stil not sure which one yet. I feel so lucky to have all electronics in tact and working but need to get the carb(leak) adjustment correctecd and would prefer to order a new and rebulid the old to have as a backup.

I drove the car around 60 miles today and while not luxury, quite etc... it was a blast. got new washer blades, hoses, filters etc. I just can't wait to enjoy the project. I will try to get some pictures posted of the card to try more so to identify it but probably will just order a new downdraft model and deal with the adjustments when it comes in.