A Car Story

This past Saturday, the Austin Healey Club of Oregon stopped by the shop for a tech session.   They asked me to drop the oil pan on a BJ 8 and see how to examine the rod bearings and the main bearings.

We were lucky to have a car that had about 125k actual miles, and had never been rebuilt.  It was very interesting to see the condition of the lower end.  The owner has been diligent about changing oil every year, and to taking very good care of the car in general.

I removed the rod cap from cylinders 2 and 4 , and found that they were in good condition.  There was very little indication of wear and there was no sign of any lash.  I removed the second main bearing cap and this showed much more distinct wear.  The babit was gone across most of the surface of the bearing.  This was more of the condition I expected from the rod bearing.  This was a great illustration of how good of condition a motor can be in if you take the time to take care of it and maintain it properly.

I talked with the cars owner today, and we decided that the best course of action was to replace the rod and main bearings, replace the oil pump gears and the thrust washers.  He doesn’t plan to race the car, or put it under any heavy usage.  Just have a MK III that runs very well and will be dependable for the next several years.

Enjoy the Ride!!!

A very nice couple from Silverton who asked us to restore a TR 4A, found that they needed to add to their Triumph collection and decided to have us restore a large mouth TR 3.   After a long search, the right donor car was found.

The next step was to disassemble what we had and try to determine what we needed

Now comes the hard part of body repair and the start of cleaning and repairing every part that has to go back on the car.

Finally we were able to complete the project and get the car on the road.

As you can see, this is not a conventional TR 3.  It is painted a beautiful dark green with pearl highlights, it has a gorgeous custom made interior.  It has an upgraded engine with a five speed conversion and has a rack and pinion steering system installed.  The car not only looks great but it is a dream to drive.

Thank you so much to the proud owners, they are great people with two great cars.

Enjoy the ride!!!

The first MGA Mark II we started on is getting close to heading out.  Here are some pictures to show the updates:

Yes, I know that this is not  a stock color for an MGA.  You’ll also hate to know that he’s putting a five speed in as well.  But, it does have the original 1622 motor and differential.  It may not be stock, but it is a great looking car and we are very proud of the way it looks and the high quality of the restoration.

Enjoy the ride!!!

I know I write often about the fuel problems we have with our cars.  But it is still the single most common problems to poor performance of the cars we have come to the shop.

It doesn’t seem to help much to flush the fuel system, or even replace most of the major parts, such as the fuel pump, lines or fuel tank.  The ethanol acts like a very strong cleaner that takes everything that is in the fuel system and takes it right to the carbs.

Here are some pictures of a gross valve and a float chamber of a TR 6 that has been running on our local fuel.

The needle assembly on the left is the old unit and the one on the right is the replacement.  The next picture shows the float chamber as we found it after we drained the fuel off.

Yes, that is rust sediment, a lot of rust sediment.  The startling thing is that our customer had a fuel filter in place between the fuel pump and carbs.  The float chamber on the left is the first chamber.  This is one really big problem.  I have always contended that the filter is needed, but this shows that we need to change the filter at least every other fuel tank.

Keep and eye on your system and let us know what you find.

Enjoy the ride!!!

I know it has been awhile.  Now that the weather is changing and it’s raining and cold outside, I have move motivation to update the blog.  Here’s some fnal photo’s of the great little black Mark II Spit that we finish off this summer.

It really turned out great.  It’s black on black on black.  It has chrome wires and some really good looking chrome trim.  It has several serious performance upgrades to the motor and it’s attached to a short throw 5 speed and performance exhaust.

There a few upgrades to the interior and the suspension has been upgraded with fully adjustable shocks on all corners.

Now that it’s done, it not only looks good, but it runs and handles very good.  The owner is very happy and drives it regularly.  Look for it around the Newberg area.

Enjoy the ride!!!

It has been a long and busy summer.  Things have been very busy around the shop, and were are getting cars back on the road as soon as we can.

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog posts.  It wasn’t for lack of things to talk about.  There were several car shows, several resorations have been completed, and of course there was the ABFM.

I will try to get you all updated with what’s been going on and what the winter holds.

Thank you for staying with me and supporting the adage that “every car has a story”.

I feel very bad for the people who put on the Concours d’ Elegance in Forest Grove.  It was suppose to be great weather for a car show.  High clouds, cool temperatures and no rain.  That didn’t work out.   We had prepared four beautiful cars for the show and they weren’t all able to get there due to the weather.

Better luck next year!

Hey, all you fun loving British Car Nuts.  There is a new event that is coming every Saturday.  In downtown Oregon City, they are having “Coffee and Cars on Main Street”.  This strictly a time to get your car out and just have some place to go and see a bunch of other car guys.

I have posted a flier below, you can get the details from there.  This is just a really fun event, and will be worth your time to check it out.

I’d like to say I’ll see you there, but I have to work on Saturday mornings.

Have fun and Enjoy the ride!!!

carsandcoffeeOCflyer

For those of you who attended the 2011 edition of the Car Show in Sherwood, Oregon, you had the chance to see several hundred beautiful cars.  Primarily know as a custom / classic show, the event has been drawing greater numbers of different types of classic cars.  From our standpoint, there were several Triumphs, MG’s, Mini’s, Jaguar and Austin Healey’s.

It is this last group that draws our interest for the post.  A customer of ours took his BJ7 to the show for display.  It was a car we had finished the restoration on a few months ago.  The judges thought enough of the car to award it the first prize winner for pre-1969 import.  It should also be noted that the Austin Healey Club took first place as a group for Best Club Representation.

Here is a picture of our winner.  Congratulations Jerry!!!

The following are a few of the latest cars we have in for sale.  These are customer cars and most of the are at the shop right now.

Here is a picture and brief description.  If you have questions, give me a call.

Here is a ’77 MG Midget .  It runs and drives, and the car is in very good condition. We have serviced and taken care of this car for several years.  The owner drives it regularly and has taken very good care of the car.

They are asking $7K.  I know they will listen to offers.

Here is a 1980 MGB.  This is a great car.  Nothing flashy, very dependable, and is very good condition.  Our customer is moving from the area and needs to sell.

He is asking $3,500.00 that is a very good price for this car.

Here is a great little Spitfire.  We fully restored this car about three years ago, and it has very few miles on it since.  It has a new motor, new overdrive transmission, new interior, new top, new paint, all new suspension and brakes.  This is a very nice Spitfire.

The customer is asking $6,500.00

Here is a ’72 MGB.  This car has been setting for several years.  Our customer is wanting it to go to a good home.  It doesn’t run, and it need a lot of TLC, but it is a chrome bumper car and it would be a great project.  It’s all there.

Our customer is asking $1,900.00 and will listen to offers.

Enjoy the ride!!!