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NW Organization of Spridget Handymen in Transit 3

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I have a few errands to run in the morning, but I'll be out probably a little after noon.

I've got the the trunk lid ready, the sidecurtain screws bagged up. I still have a good later convertible top frame if anyone wants it - let me know and I'll get it ready to go. I also have a good rim like this if anyone wants it:

mg_wheel_after_paint.jpg


The tire is rotted, but the wheel is in pretty good shape.

Again, let me know so that I can throw it on the stack.
 
Hey - if any of the N.O.S.H.I.T. guys are monitoring this, please send me a PM with a Ph. or address for today's gathering. My e-mail is down and I can't get to the directions (saved in an e-mail).

Thanks!
 
So it looks like I'm the first to post, post-event! Weather was perfect; lots of cars showed up and several were worked-on. Rick B pulled and rebuilt his master cylinder; Bill replaced his rear springs and installed a replacement hood latch; Chris Rae's carburetors were tweaked and tweaked again, Ed's Datsun 5-speed replaced his Datusn 4-speed, and he also replaced his left rear wheel bearing. A very productive day overall. There were three Spridgets that had no immediate needs, so they will get some loving care next time.
As the host, I was kept busy fetching tools, facilitating lunch, petting the guest dog and drinking beer. At the end of the evening, I was left with a LOT of leftover food, a moderate amount of leftover beer, some good memories, some dirty dishes, and some new oil spots in my driveway. It was a day well spent.
Thanks to everyone who came over!

Phil

PS: Camera guys! Post some pictures!
 
I am grateful for all the help I received in putting in the 5 speed. The inaugural drive was very promising....
Phil and his family hosted a great NODoody and I am very thankful to have friends like him who are willing to open up their homes to host an event like this.
All the Bill's and all the Chris's were a fantastic crew to work with. I think there was a Jason and a Mike amongst them all, and I brought Robert..a high school friend who seemed to fit right in. He was very grateful to work with them all and learned a lot.

After the initial drive and celebration, every one went on their way. High fives and Chivas toasts. When I went to start the car to drive it home, the starter would not disengage from the flywheel. It would engage the moment I turned the key to the ON position. I could not even pop-start it. I'm thinking that the starter is stuck in the out position. Phil and I tried lightly tapping it with a hammer, but nothing changed. It is one of the aftermarket high-torque starters. Not sure if any of you experienced anything like this. It was a complete bear to get the starter figured out and installed. I would really hate to have to pull it. I welcome your thoughts... thanks everyone for all the great help today. It's one step closer!

Here is the starter:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110421401145&viewitem=
 
Here are some of the pics. I got started taking pictures a little late (engine was already out) since I was so pre-occupied. I had to find someone with clean hands to help shoot. Chris (don't ask which one) was also snapping away, so there should be more forthcoming.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lbc_newbie/sets/72157623947420929/
 
I would also like to thank Phil for his generosity and hospitality.

What a fun afternoon. It was great to finally meet those who I knew previously only through this list, and it was nice to see again those I've met before.

Boy, was I tired after a long day of standing around watching people be productive! :smile: I loved seeing all the little cars ganged up - talk about a British invasion!

Geez, Edward, the car sounded great when you took off on its first run with the new gearbox. I guess there's always some fine tuning to do after a big operation. Hopefully it's easily sorted out.
 
I too would like to thank Phil (and Riley) for a great location and a terrific day!
We found that you could get a lot done in a place that has LOTS of room and equipment.
Chris Rae's carbs definitely could still use some tweeking and maybe a few new pieces but at least it doesn't need oil in the front shocks anymore, looks like it will be a good running machine soon.
Rick B now has brakes that don't dissolve at stoplights anymore,Ed (almost) has a good running 5-speed and BillL has a car that doesn't bottom-out at EVERY speedbump.
Many thanks to whoever brought and prepped the food! It was great! The beer and Chivas was probably good too but if I had tried any of that I don't think that I would have remained conscious for the drive home.
Another successful NODoody- may there be many more!!!
BillM
 
Adding my thanks to Phil and his family for hosting a great party... er - NODoody!!

Phil made everything go smoothly and provided lots of help in tools borrowed (and hopefully returned) and food cooked and beverages kept cool and great car talk!

I have great brakes now!!! It's very nice being able to stop without keeping my hand on the E-brake for 'just in case'.

It was great meeting new folks and getting together with some of the 'old' guys again. Turning a bolt or holding a spring still while some Bill worked on the other end or just watching a couple guys work on my brake MC. It was all good.

Also very nice meeting Chris and his wife and seeing his red MK3 Sprite with the fiberglass tilt forward front!

All in all a great day, now if Ed can sort out that starter it will be nearly perfect!
 
The way to be sure to make it to the next one is to HOST it. What do you need done? Hey, are you gonna make the Vancouver BC show on the 22nd?


I had a great time. Fantastic crew, great food, Great host, Bill M, his usual whirling dervish. Some time, I'll get the parts together, we can drop the gas tank and make my gas gauge work. It's the last thing that hasn't functioned as long as I've owned the car. (Well, it did for the first week) Right now it's essentially ready to drive anywhere... Elkhart Lake, Here I come!!!
 
Great pictures - love the range of T-shirts too.

I don't know a lot about those starters Ed, but, seems to me that it can only be the starter itself or the flywheel. (which sounds obvious but narrows the field) Assuming the starter is new, and therefore OK, I wonder if you just have the starter too close to the ring gear and it had either caught on something or is binding. Is it possible to loosen the bolts, pry the starter a couple thou away from the flywheel, retighten and try again? Hopefully it would also retract as you do it.
 
BillM suggested I take the White/Red wire off the solenoid and touch it to the terminal to start the car. That works, but still does not isolate the problem. The starter seems OK and it disengages correctly once I take the wire away from the terminal. Upon initial inspection, the wiring harness shows no signs of burning or shorts. I'll take the wrap off and inspect it further. It has a new ignition switch in it, and it was a royal pain to put in, so I hope it's not the key switch. That would suck. What are the odds that it would pick this time to fail?!?!
 
Well, I don't know much about electrical problems, except they are a pain, but is it at all possible that this has something to do with the green wires that were giving you problems yesterday?
 
lbc_newbie said:
I'm gonna disconnect the green wires and see if it makes a difference.
Click to expand...

Interesting, let us know how that goes.

Did we change those green wires after your test drive or before?
 
Ed

Since I wasn't there I'm not sure how you hooked the starter up, but I belive most of the high torque starters use an internal solenoid. It sounds like you are still using the standard MG external solenoid from your original starter. Could this be causing your problem?

Here's a link:
https://ferraris.server273.com/solenoid.html
 
That's the way this one is wired up, with the jumper down on the unit itself.
 
Ed, let me get this straight - it's not that the starter jams, it just doesn't disengage? If that is the case, it is the diodes that are part of the EGR from the 1500's pollution stuff. I have removed the diodes themselves and cut the wire and it still does it. So, try this - disconnect the plug to the brake failure sensor. This will be half way down the inner driver's fender and is where the brake lines split front & side and back. There is a white nylon sensor screwed into this - unplug that plug and see what happens.
 
I tried this without any change to the problem. I started the car up by touching the white/red wire to the lug and took if for a spin. It's a thing of beauty! The transmission is flawless. Nice and quiet. I still need to figure out the wiring, or maybe put in a remote start button like BillM suggested. I'll strip the harness this weekend to see if there is a short somewhere. The other bummer is that the speedo doesn't work. BillL and I both know how much fun it is to get to that location and figure out what's wrong. Note to self to check this at any other NODoody when swapping the transmission. I'm totally jazzed at how nice the car is working aside from the two problems. Even the dash gauges are still working! Nice job, BillL! Thanks everyone.

BTW, what was the size of the socket for the hub nut on the rear axle? I need to go buy one. Also, what is the torque setting for that monster? I need to torque it and set the lock-tab before my wheel passes me by on the freeway....yikes! I only used the impact wrench to tighten it. I think it needs a little more?
 
You saw all i did to the wiring, NOTHING, except make it so that you could hook up the two green wires separately so that YOU could trouble shoot it.
 
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