I wrote this a few days ago as a personal email and thought I'd put it here as well minus some of the personal stuff.

My op. was done at 11am, Mon. and the first recollection I have after that was Tues morning. Most of the tubes and 'yucky' stuff had already been removed before I was fully aware and for that I'm grateful. They got me up Tuesday afternoon and I was sitting in a chair when Sharon came to see me that afternoon.
Apparently I looked pretty good much to Sharon's relief. (We both still have a mental image of how bad Father looked after his second op. and I was very worried that Sharon could be confronted by that again).
They kicked me out of ICU early 'cause they needed the bed Tuesday evening and they took me up to a ward which looked pretty deserted, stuck me in a double room by myself and a nurse stayed with me all that night. Not really necessary, but apparently I'm paying for 2 nights in ICU so they still had to give me intensive care, it just wasn't in the ICU ward.
Next day, I became part of the normal recovery patients even though all the other heart patients were on the floor above me.
During the day Air Ambulance paramedics brought in a guy from Dubbo who'd had a incident at home and they realised that he needed to be down here for his treatment. His name, Robert (Bob) Browne, late sixties and he failed his angiogram the next day so they kept him in for his triple bypass on Tuesday (yesterday). He's got a fairly rare clotting issue as well that complicates his op. Anyway as it turns out it was extremely good to have someone to talk to as the recovery days get mind-numbingly boring and I think he appreciated seeing first hand what the recovery would be like.
I have to say that all in all it was nowhere near as bad, physically, as I had imagined. There's a bit of emotional stuff that I'm having to deal with but it is manageable.
Sharon came and saw me each afternoon and the care I got was faultless from the nurses and staff at StVP.
Got one visit from Farnsworth (the surgeon) but Thorburn saw me most days. There were a few issues with my BSLs so Thorburn got an Endocrinologist, Dr Weissberger, to monitor those and he changed my medication a little so I'm back on track there now. The whole thing has been an appetite killer and so far I lost about 5kgs.
Had visits from Physio people as well and I was walking up and down the corridor a few times a day, in fact most nights I got up and went for a walk at about 3am as well. Found it hard to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time.
They were also monitoring my lung capacity and I had Xrays every couple of days to make sure that there was no fluid developing or remaining there as well. Because of the pain, your breathing tends to be shallow and the lungs can shrink and become filled with fluid with all the complications that come with that. But, I'm OK there.
Thorburn saw me Sat morning and said that he thought I'd be fine to go home but we should wait to get the ok from Farnsworth. Farnsworth usually came in Sunday arvo. so I was thinking that I'd be home Monday.
Next day, I'm up, showered and sitting waiting for Farnsworth and the nurses are talking about Farnsworth coming in and one of them says "I'll just go and ring him and see if I can find out when". Well, she comes back and says "can't get him, but I just remembered that he's in London for 2 weeks so I rang Thorburn and you're good to go".
Great news! Getting bored stupid in here! Rang Sharon told her and to cut short was home about 6pm Sunday.
Good to be home!
Away from home almost exactly 1 week and now, as I sit here it's been 9 days from the op.
Went down to Terrigal yesterday had a walk around and had lunch next to the beach. Great day, can certainly get used to that and will probably do something similar today.
All in all, life's pretty good!

Not sure if this is an appropriate topic for here but it sort-of feels right for me, away from the hubbub of the main forums and gives me the illusion of a little solitude where I can express my thoughts about this.
First a little background.
I suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, I'm a little over weight and in my profession as a school teacher I'm not as active as I perhaps should be.
I regularly visit my GP and have a reasonably healthy diet - I just eat too much. I've never smoked and I would class myself as a social drinker, red wine mainly. I suppose it is fair to say that in my youth, during my twenties my alcohol consumption was significantly higher. I've never indulged in illicit drugs and am very rarely sick.
End of last year my GP suggested a PSA test in addition to my regular blood tests just because it seemed worthwhile given my age and general health.
Well, it came back positive, elevated enough to require further investigation. So, he sent me off for another test which also was positive.
My GP is new to me and this practice so we chose a Urology specialist at random and I rang to make an appointment.
In the course of the phone conversation the receptionist noted that the appointment couldn't be made for some time so could I send the referral and the PSA results to the specialist. This I did and she contacted me back the next day advising that the Dr suggested booking straight in for a prostate biopsy.
I had this at St Vincents in Sydney on the 7th of March. Dr Stricker rang me 2 days later saying I had a tumor and asking to see me the next Monday.
Sharon and I went down to see him and he confirmed that I had a non aggressive cancer of the prostate but it was very advanced. The 'wait and see' option had passed and the most viable option was a 'radical prostatectomy' - surgical removal of the prostate.
During the discussion he asked, routinely of my family health history and I mentioned my fathers cardiac issues. He had had 2 major heart ops before his death in 1990. Strikers comment was 'well you'd better have a stress test just to make sure everything is ok with you'.
Well I had that and the attending Doctor stopped the test after 6 mins because of what the ECG was showing.
I was starting to feel a bit puffed and had some slight discomfort but nothing that alarmed me and I felt that I could have continued for longer.
He sat me down and asked some questions about what I was feeling and asked also about my family history - a recurring theme! My GP's surgery was just next door and I said I'd intended to leave there and go and make an appointment to see the Dr after the stress test.
Well, here's where things started to move quickly. He copied the result there and then and sent me off. As I walked in to the office the receptionist was on the phone and I heard her say "he's just walked in" she reached over to me taking the papers from me and motioned for me to sit down. She continued to talk glancing furtively towards me and then hung up.
She told me the Dr would be right with me and then the stress test Doctor came in the door, acknowledged me and gave some more documents to the receptionist both casting glances to me. A few more hushed words and he waved to me and left.
The receptionist added the document to the Doctors tray and checked that I was OK. Well, apart from 'shitting' myself, yeah I'm fine.
I was sitting just around the corner from the Doctors rooms door so when he came out his back was to me. He went to his tray picked up the papers, looked at them for a moment then whirled around to see where I was. He rushed over and said 'I'll be right with you' and raced off to his office. He was straight back and asked me in.
As I walked in I quipped 'let's save some time here and just shoot me now!' His response was not immediate which lead me to think he actually considered it before saying 'No, it's not that bad!' After some discussion on what may be wrong with me we went the next step which was seeing a Cardiologist.
At this stage things were being organised by others and I was feeling like I was being dragged along for the ride.
A local Cardiologist was contacted and an appointment was arranged for the Wednesday the following week. About 2 days later I got a phone call from Stricker, the Urologist. He'd got the report from the stress test and expressed the view that the heart issue has to be dealt with before the prostate. He also made mention that it was important that the cardiologist be made aware of the impending prostrate operation so the appropriate treatment could be followed. That concerned me a bit so I asked him if he could document the issues and send them to me and I would take that along to the Cardiologist.
Sharon and I had arranged a week away with friends the next week and I was adamant that I wasn't going to muck that up. So we went off for our holiday and tried to forget about it.
Fast forward a week and we turn up at the Cardiologists. He had the results of the stress test and explained to me what was likely. Gave me a resting ECG which was all good but he mentioned the strong possibility of the problem not being solved with a stent or two but the more likely solution being bypass surgery because of my diabetes. This scared the crap out of me and especially Sharon.
He put a request for an angiogram into the local hospitals system and had a blood test done.
We left there a bit shell shocked and went home to wait for the hospital to contact us. I've taken a months sick leave so I don't have to worry about school.
In the cold light of day when we'd had time to think we came to the conclusion that we didn't want to start something up here with my heart so I contacted Dr Strickers office and asked for a Cardiologist recommendation in the same hospital.
His receptionist came back with Dr Thorburn as the go to guy, a personal friend of Stricker. I rang his office and as it was now the day before Good Friday, I left a message with my name and phone number.
Forward to Wednesday and Dr Thorburns receptionist rang me in the morning and we arranged to meet with Thorburn the next day. Wow!
That night I got in the mail the date for the angiogram at Gosford - 13th of May - over a fortnight away. We met with Thorburn the next day, Thursday. He did the same things as the first Cardiologist and said similar things but I did think he was a little more thorough. An angiogram was also the next step and he arranged it for the next day, Friday with another Cardiologist, Dr Paul Roy! Things are really moving fast now! I rang the local cardiologist and the local hospital and cancelled those proceedings so now I was dealing solely with St Vincents.
The angiogram was done in the afternoon and I had to stay overnight. Unfortunately my worse fears were realised as it was obvious that the issue with my heart was not going to be fixed with a stent or two and it was apparent that the way forward was bypass surgery. Both Dr Roy and then later Dr Thorburn spoke to me about the bad news but assured me that it was fixable.
Saturday, and Dr Thorburn came to see me in hospital. He went through with me again the options I had - more likely the options I didn't have. At that time I was feeling a little overwhelmed and I said to Dr Thorburn "hang on, lets take a step backwards. What if I do nothing?" His reply left me in no doubt. "Well, you will most certainly have a heart attack and because you appear not to be symptomatic, its likely you won't know you're having it and you'll very likely damage your heart. Right now your heart is good, best to fix this while that is still the case."
So that's that! Dr Thorburn tried to contact his preference for the surgery, Dr Alan Farnsworth there and then but it being Saturday afternoon he was unable to. So he suggested for me to go home and ring him Monday afternoon.
Monday morning and I went into school to finalise the change over of my classes. When I got back. David told me that I missed a phone call from Dr Farnsworths receptionist. I rang her back and she was checking with me if the following Monday was ok for the operation and suggested I ring Thorburn to get some information about the surgery - Farnsworth was not available but he would see me the day before the surgery. Admission Sunday, 2pm, for Monday surgery. I did that, then spent the rest of the day sleeping as I was mentally exhausted. The next day, Tuesday, I got a phone call from Dr Farnsworths receptionist. I should have rung her back the previous day but forgot. She wanted to know whether I wanted to meet with Dr Farnsworth on Friday. I told her no, because I was of the opinion that Sharon had reached saturation point. She then told me of the pre-admission clinic the next day and I told her I would attend that and ask Sharon and David if they wanted to be involved also. When Sharon and David got home I asked them if they wanted to attend the pre admission clinic, I understand if they don't, but I think it's important that I do. They declined and I went down on the train by myself.
They went through all my history again and spent a lot of time going through what I should expect before and after the operation. A huge amount of information but reassuring that the organisation is very thorough. They weighed me, measured me, took another blood sample and did a chest x-ray ready for the operation and I was home at about 4 pm.
Well, that's where I'm at.
Today I went and got a flu vax and spoke briefly with my GP. He was very interested in what I'd been told - apparently he has spent time at a Cardiac unit in England before coming out here so he has had some experience with these issues and has some interest in what goes on above his duties as my GP.
4 more sleeps then my life changes forever!

Been a long time since a post here and there are a few little issues and fixes that will probably not be documented. However, this one I'm a bit chuffed about.

I've been looking, asking, deliberating and generally stalling on the front shock issue for some time now - not sure whether I've actually documented it here but to cut a long story short, I've always had one dodgy shock. Front drivers leaked like a sieve, filled it again once, but just leaked out again. So that shock was ineffectual with the associated stability issues that come with it.

Basically I'm too stingy to bite the bullet to get new ones.

I'd been checking out all the ones that come up on EBay but they always went for stupid money.

An ambiguously worded auction came up recently and I was watching but was going away when it was due so just for the heck of it I threw a bid of $50 dollars at it and it jumped from $19 to $31. Oh well, that's that I thought. Blow me down when I came home 4 days later, I'd won it at $31. Wow!

I think most people thought it was for one shock with bent arms - the ad was ambiguous, IMO.

Anyway, drove to Windsor and picked them up - another good EBay deal.

They were nice and dry and looked good, a little rusty but very good value and I was happy. I didn't feel too guilty about taking them off the guy. He's selling lots of stuff and he's getting some good and some bad sales, I was just one of the bad ones for him. Swings and roundabouts.

Gave them a cleanup, used a primer on the steel bits after wire brushing them and had a go at straightening the arms on the bent one (the other was perfect).

It looked like it had been in an accident or slammed a curb and the kingpin assembly had been twisted back at the bottom. Anyway, my vise opened just enough to hold the axle lengthwise and with a large shifter and a pipe on the handle the arms were straightened carefully taking measurements from the good one and it came back easily.

Deliberated whether to change the oil but I checked out their motion as per the manual and tightened up the screws on the inspection plate and because the gaskets were dry and they moved just as they should, I decided to leave sleeping dogs lie.

Put one on last wednesday and following the manual it was easy and went well.

Makes a big difference to the driving and over bumps and it feels the same as the other one with the bounce test.

May change the other one out as well, just to have the pair but at this stage it's all good.

I'll hang on to the dud one, I'm sure it's fine for an exchange if someone else wants it.

This issue had been bugging me for some time and after posting on the forum and getting mixed opinions thought a parallel approach was the way to go.

The issue is to do with a new pressure switch failing slowly and requiring more and more foot pressure on the brakes before the brake lights show - a situation that was becoming more dangerous as it continues.

Someone was going to rear-end me eventually.

Decided to do away with the pressure switch on the hydraulic line and put a simple push switch on the pedal. Saw a example of one on the pedal in the footwell but decided to try and do one on the pedal box in the engine bay.

As it turns out some later cars have this system. The manual showed a schematic that indicated I should be able to drill a hole and weld a nut onto the pedal box to be activated by the pedal arm directly behind the master cylinder.

I called into Repco and after a bit of explaining about what I was trying to do they gave me a choice of 2 switches from an early Commodore and I chose the one which had a metal body. It was longer than it needed to be but the thread went all the way so I was happy that I would be able to adapt it somehow.

These photos pretty well show the sequence of events even though I forgot to take some during the fabricating and welding stages.

Picture before modification.


Whoops, didn't plan that.
Bought the switch first and it's too big to put where I want to.


Still too big.
With the cover off it's obvious that it won't fit here.


Maybe...
If I can mount it like this it will work.


Where to drill?
How do I determine where to drill?


Is this pointing to the spot?
Set up a line to hit the pedal at the right angle.


Those little magnets come in handy
Line up the top edge of the rule to hit the right spot.


Looks good
"Lookin' down the barrell"


'X' Marks the spot
Put the cover back and sight down the rule.


Looks about right
Mark the spot with a cross


Now where's my drill
Set up to drill 10mm


Checked and painted
Welded the nut in place checked to make sure it worked, (Forget to take photos) and paint


Finished modification
Works a treat! Best thing is that no wiring modification is required.


Another view. You can see the old switch down below. I just left it there disconnected.


Brake lights come on now when I touch the brake pedal. I can show brake lights without applying the brakes if I want to now.

Have been using the MGB quite a bit and I'm due for its first 'pink slip'.

I drive it to school most days and apart from developing a few more rattles and the gearbox whining a bit more, it starts well and goes well.

I haven't got to the new gearbox yet but I've been making a few enquires about trying to find someone who can check it out for me before I swap it over. Without much success, I might add, although I've not given it a good go yet.

We took the MG on a 'overnighter' last Easter to the Hunter and across to Port Stephens for a few days without incident, but other than that, not much to report. I did dig out the hood and frames and have been using that on and off for the last month or two and although it is pretty 'ratty', it does make the MG a little more liveable on cold winter mornings.

Anyway enough of that - now the parking lights.

I did these with some generic lights that I cut down last year but they were not a success and I had been thinking of using some of the LEDs that I had bought some time age to see if I could improve them.
Well, to cut a long story short, it was very successful.
The result is excellent. Very bright and with the lens diffusers on you can see them quite well from the side.

The LEDs have the resister attached already and I made a little aluminium clip to hold the LED in place. The resistor and the extra wire is simply looped up into the space under the LED that was previously occupied by the light globe.

Been a while since I've posted here.
Christmas and New Year have come and gone and I've been using the B as much as I can.
It's done about 800mls and apart from some serious rattles and some intermittent gauge workings it's running well.
BIG learning curve to drive smoothly and I'm not sure if it's me being spoilt by new cars with power steering and brakes or it is just a difficult car to drive.
David pestered me about driving it now he has his full license and I let him have a go the other day.
All in all he did ok but I think he now realises how difficult the actual driving bit is. He needs lots more practice and I hope the gearbox can take the punishment.

Which brings me to this:


It's a Mk1 gearbox WITH overdrive.
I won't go into how I came by it but although it looks a little rough now I'm hoping that I can eventually install it.
Hopefully after Davids gear changes have improved.