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MGB 1977 B with some issues

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
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Got goat-roped into doing some work on a pal's B, electrics had been messed with and a LOT of stuff didn't work. Story goes; the PO allowed some golf-cart technician(?) to have a go at it... ungood!

Got all the wiring sorted so now he's got brake lights, taillamps and signals. And the rat's nest of a wiring loom under-hood now has some order to it.

The windshield had been replaced by some shop that charged the PO $800(!) for the task. They managed to get ONE bolt into the frame, at the passenger side. Otherwise it was 'floating' and only the little center two were holding it down. That shoulda been a lawsuit, IMHO.

Left rear wheel cylinder had a bit of "weep" evidence... on closer inspection someone had been there before me: the clip supposed to hold the thing in place was dangling on the pipe, the bleed screw had been broken off too. Right side Bundy pipe had a crimp (compression) fitting about four inches up from the cylinder! That is getting replaced tomorrow AM. Oh, and that clip was kinda wedged at one of the ears. Cylinder was canted in the hole.

This is again my beef with those who diss British cars. They were usually fine until some ham-fisted bozo got ahold of 'em and bodged every job they did. Most "mechanics" gave the cars absolutely no respect or were outright contemptuous of 'em.
 
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Amen. I spent 5 years undoing 30 years of gas station maintenance on my LBC. Never good.

However...many years ago, I had to do some work on a 1949 Ford half ton panel.
Guy had dropped a used flatmotor in it, locked solid. Seems he had put a 48 and earlier flywheel, which hit the back of the block..solid.
But, got it running, looked it over...didn't stop well at all.
Rear axle, single flex hose....cut off, PENCIL jammed in the body side, hose clamp around it.

Seems he'd lost the diff out somewhere, they dragged a pickup out of a (literally) pigsty, shop slapped it in..braked were shot, wheel cylinders seized solid (see: pigsty) so they just whacked the line.

And he drove it home over the mountains with it that way, and on until the engine needed replacing.
Dave
 
Biggest issue I found with mine from previous "mechanics" is mixed size nuts and bolts. Seems they just used whatever was lying around that would fit through the hole! Oh and someone before me thought "if I use enough washers I can make any bolt work"!
 
labor of love brothers labor of love.
 
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