Library: What's a DPO?

What's a DPO???

If you own an MG or for that matter any one of the various LBC marques, then there is a very good chance that you have one or more of these "DPOs". Is it a part or a collection of parts on your car that you haven't been able to identify and maybe always wondered what it was and what it does? Is it one of those funny little terms that the Brits use from time to time to make you listen a little closer?

If your first answer was "Democratic Party of Oregon" then you might be a politician. Or, if you said "Days Payable Outstanding" then chances are that you're a bean counter. You might have said "Why that's easy, that stands for "Direct Public Offering". This guy is a stock broker. How about "Delta Phi Omega"? Your probably a southern Florida college sorority student.

Okay, okay... I'm finally ready to let you off the hook. It stands for "Dumb Previous Owner". As I said, it's something that most of us have and we probably think of him or her from time to time when we are having to correct something they did to our car in it's previous life. You've probably used a few expressions to describe this guy, too, most of which are not printable. I'll bet terms like "What was this guy thinking?" or "What is this thing?" are often heard in the garage when trying to sort something out.

As an example of what I'm talking about, I found this interesting letter from a frustrated LBC owner and decided to share it with you:

Dear DPO,

Finally pulled the motor/tranny from the "B" I bought from you. Really strange that the darn thing didn't just jump right out onto the pavement. Why? Well, first off the motor mounts need more than 2 bolts each in them, and you should try to use lock washers in the future, preferably new.

Add to that, the tranny to block bolts...count the holes....2 starter bolts and 3 long bolts just isn't a good thing! Well, at least you used lock washers on two of these.

And what's with the thin threaded rod from the block to the tranny cross-member...if you are going to make a "Stayrod" at least make it from something solid...and fill in all the cross-member bolt holes...

Good to see you at least filled all the bolt holes and used lock washers on the drive(prop)shaft.

Have a good day, and thanks for letting me take this car away from you saving it from an early death.

BTW...since is it so thickly covered in grease and gunk...without using a pressure washer, what do you recommend using to clean the engine and tranny?

Sincerely, Me

I'm sure there are many of you that have your own "DPO" stories and this is an excellent place to share them. Some can be very funny and some sorta sad. But one thing is certain, this is a good place to learn from the experiences of others and hopefully avoid becoming a future "DPO" yourself.