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Don't be tempted to wire in a -ve ground sound system into your ve ground car. Yes I know it can be done but you'll end up with the case of the radio live and live grounds for the speakers, it's a torched car just waiting to happen. Changing to negative earth is so easy and requires minimal wiring changes, just the battery connections. The only complication is the revcounter. Check the archives, the BBS archives at www.mgcars.org.uk or the Lindsey Porter restoration book for details. jeremy.cogman@... 20319... MORE
hmmmm Well as a Brit, I'd say that wasn't a faux pas. Britain is part of Europe, and so therefore classifying British cars as European is technically correct. What would you classify a ferrari as? European or Italian? Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 20252... MORE
Allen Well said Sir! and perfectly correct. Regards Dave (in sunny England) "David Dixon" 20231... MORE
Steve You need to have it checked thoroughly. I'd never buy a Sprite sight unseen - way too risky. It's very very easy indeed to tart these cars up cosmetically to look good, with festering rotten bodywork lurking underneath. I was very thorough when I checked out my Midget before I bought it, and since I've been working on it, it's a lot worse than I expected rust wise. Take what I'm saying with the caveat that my experience of these cars are limited to those in England where many have lived a hard life and been driven in... MORE
1964 Austin Sprite EX racer. Currently registered, roll bar, vintage pop open gas cap, new windshield, new tries, custom fender flares, lowered, sway bars, later model 1275cc motor comes. dual SU carbs, alt convert, new battery, elect igintion, new starter, new starter switch, disk brakes, new exhaust system, just has head gasket, valves adjusted, new dist cap, new hoses, and belts, everything from MOSS motors or england, much much more. It does have the wrong seats, . I am flying out of the country friday night. The car has $8000.00 put into it and I am willing to sell... MORE
Thanks for the encouragement, Willy. I will certainly drop you a line if I decide to buy the car. Kragen can be a pretty lonely place when you are looking for british parts! A long time ago I heard about a network of british car owners that could be contacted for help or advice when traveling far from home. Anyone know anything about that? Does such a network exist for MGs? Steve "mountainunicycle" 20194... MORE
Willy, that's funny! I know what you mean, An asian with a full size chevy, restoring a british car, lots of power tools, I guess I just haven't "found" myself-yet. That reminds me of the time I had a fill-in gig playing a bass guitar with a country band years ago. We were playing La Bamba and the lead singer was so drunk he couldn't finish the song. So here I am singing La Bamba in Spanish in a country band, an oriental. It had to be a Kodak moment. "yucholian" 20193... MORE
It does seem odd to buy a car in Canada from California, doesn't it? I've been checking eBay and Collector Car Trader online, and it's amazing what a dearth of cars there are listed from California. I just wonder if they're easier to sell in warmer climes or something. Don just offered the advice of checking craigslist here in the bay area, so that is a great tip. I am looking for an early 70's mkIII, round wheel arches a bonus, and in the best condition possible. I know, it may be a tall order. The TR6 has taught... MORE
Surprised to hear you are wearing jeans - here in Britain we would only ever wear full tweed sporting suit for driving ;-) After all, its the only way for a gentleman to dress when out and about ! "Tim R." 20170... MORE
Wow, what a great crew! I especially appreciate visualizing velour seats and their lack of friction. I propose a new event at british car meets... The Clydesdale Crunch. All contestants must be over 200lb to participate, and the winner shall be the one who enters a spridget on the driver's side, moves to the passenger side within the confines of the car, and exits passenger side in the shortest time. All this with velour seats and a hardtop. Points deducted for broken bits of trim. At 6'1" and 150lb it sounds like I will not have any problem. Great!... MORE
Tim R. I assume pipe, ascot and proper English dirving cap (of tweed of course!) is part of the appropriate outfit for the "properly dressed" English gentleman? :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 20171... MORE
Brad I missed your posts about the luggage rack but strongly agree. I am in the process of purchasing a new rebuild project which has one which I will be looking to sell. The final haggle will take place tomorrow and so assuming everything goes to plan I will have the rack in the next week or so. Not sure which side of the pond you are I am in the UK. Best regards Dave "David Dixon" 20157... MORE
A UK spec one will have the engine painted black. I think emission control spec engines might have had a different colour rocker cover, but that could just be 1500s. The ancillary components are mostly all black too. The unpainted ones include carbs, alternator, cooling fan, distributor (not 100% sure about the water pump) the gearbox on the wiper motor (this could either be natural or painted silver?) Regards David "David Jacobs" 20067... MORE
Brad... Any way you could UPS the Sunbeam along with the gauge from UK when it gets here? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 20073... MORE
Cleaned up the two running toys, and went to a local "park and gab"session. No registration fee, no dash plaques, and no judging. Just a chance for anyone with any interest to stop, wander in, and talk about cars. Of course, all the kids come running to the Sprites, and I had more than a few parents hang around and chat for a half hour or better. I was sitting down when a guy and his son came up. The son stood by the 68 and dad went off a few steps to snap a photo. I immediately jumped... MORE
get an example of each different size from the car, nip down to your local large Halfords where they have those catalogue/book things (the ones with actual nuts and bolts stuck in, to select from) compare what you've got with the description and mark yours up so you don't forget. Alternatively, measure and check against http://www.squibby.freeserve.co.uk/article_thread_size_chart.htm David "David Jacobs" 20034... MORE
By "re-sprayed" does this mean you are in UK, Tim? Ed "justbrits" 20028... MORE
Ed writes (paraphrased) "No Mk 1" Well....I think when the Mk II came out, the Frogeye automatically reverted "unofficially" to the Mk I! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! :) Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 19983... MORE
Hi, Anthony... The initial Austin-Healey Sprite is referred to as: "Frogeye" in the UK and "over there" where it was born "Bugeye" (BE) in the USA where we adopted it 'cause it was so cute and just loaded with character "Mark 1" by the parts & concours guys, I guess, all over. It IS, a beautiful thing! :) Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 19957... MORE
Oh, come on, guys!! The UK (and I love the place!) is tiny as compared to the US & Texas is our largest state. I used to have to fly down to the American Training Academy in Dallas/Fort Worth from my base at JFK in New York twice a year for recurrent and sim check rides. The trip ususlly takes about 3 hours and I swear we spend the last hour or first hour flying over Texas! The state is absolutely huumungous! Bill B. didn't MAKE it that way. The state and the US existed long before Billy B.... MORE
The English have a word for the suspension as you have found it, Don May........"cobbled"! Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 19950... MORE
Hi guys Spotted this on ebay if anyone needs one, although its not cheap. Nigel http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9908&item=24057 58468&rd=1 "amukdigiphoto" 19909... MORE
Don Im a bit confused here as to exactly which part is worn, possibly due to your teminology being different to mine. First off, I assume the 'swivel pin' you refer to is the Kingpin, and are you saying the bottom of kingpin hole is worn? or the threaded bush part of the Wishbone (the A bracket)? Also the 'swivel pin and bushings are very good with no play in the swivel axel assembly' are you referring to the fact theres no play in the Kingpin/stub axle ? If I understand you correctly - you're saying the hole at... MORE
Yep, it is the kingpin. My first time dealing with front end suspension so I used the terminology from the British factory manual as I am not that familiar with any of the terminology for the front suspension components yet. It's the hole at the bottom of the Kingpin that is worn. Looks like the wise thing to do now is wait until I can afford a major rebuild kit I keep finding more worn components. I have been unsuccessful breaking loose the nut at the end of the wheel bearing spindle inside the hub .... Of course the... MORE
Hi Cap'n Bob, Ref the oil temp. gauge, I actually fitted one back in '67, saw what the oil temperature was doing and fitted an oil cooler, which was the best thing I ever did for the engine! But not good for short journeys. I now have an oil thermostat so the oil temp gauge is a bit redundant. I still keep the gauge though, as early warning of possible problems. As I still have the original dyno rather than alternator, the ammeter was and still is very useful, particularly when I had the extra lights (before they were... MORE