Well, I finally found the engine miss I've been looking for. The #2 cylinder is significantly lower compression and it failed the leak down test.

What's frustrating is that the shop where I take it for engine maintenance rebuilt the head and carburetor, replaced the ignition, exhaust manifold and several other items in September trying to fix the miss. They told me the car was fixed, but when I picked it up I felt the miss. It was running better so I kept it for a few weeks so I could work on other restoration items on my list.

When I took the car back to the shop, they said that I have a bad cylinder/rings and they recommended a complete lower end overhaul. I wonder why they didn't find that in September. They told me that generally low compression was why they did the valve job. The complete engine overhaul cost is much more than I paid for the car originally!

I don't have a good option. The car is not worth much without a good running engine, so I am going to have the work done. Hopefully, this will be the last major expense for a few years. I need to get some (hopefully minor) rust on both lower sides taken care of, but I will just have to live with it awhile.

I just hope that I have a trouble free, reliable, good running car for next year's driving season.

Addition - I realized that the shop hadn't planned to replace the clutch system. I called and told them to change it while they had the "lump" out.

Today is 11/11/10.I've had the 'B' almost 5 months and I have spent lots of time, blood, sweat & money on the car. Here's a list of what I have done, that I can remember:

- New brake pads in front and new shoes in the rear.
- New rear brake wheel cylinders
- New brake rotors in front
- New front wheel bearings
- All new brake hoses, front and rear.
- New rear brake lines
- New brake master cylinder
- New clutch master cylinder & slave cylinder, soft line and hard line.
- 4 New Michelin 175/70/14 tires. 4 new tubes also.
- 4 New Moss wire wheels with new 2-wing knockoffs
- Sandblasted and repainted one of the old wire wheels and use it as a spare. New tire and tube on spare wheel.
- Rebuilt front suspension. Replaced all rubber parts and steel bushings/pins in all components exept the kingpins and tie rods, which were good.
- Replaced right front shock
- Replaced both front springs
- Replaced mounting straps and rubber bushings on front and rear sway bars.
- Replaced front sway bar end bushings and installed new links.
- Rear shocks converted to tube shocks
- New front grille
- New splash shield in engine compartment
- Replaced motor mounts
- Valve job (all new valves & guides)
- New head gasket
- New Pertronics ignition.
- New Distributor Cap & rotor
- New Lucas Sport coil
- New spark plugs
- Carburetor (ZS) rebuilt
- New fuel filter
- Replaced cracked intake/exhaust manifold.
- Replaced cat converter with a "test pipe"
- New exhaust pipe from manifold back to first muffler.
- New rear muffler and exhaust pipe
- All new interior (Wooden steering wheel, Moss UK leather seats, floor soundproofing, all new carpet & new seat belts).
- New defroster vent covers
- New external hood vent cover
- New windshield support rod
- New wiper switch & stalk
- New headlight switch
- Installed windblocker
- New Group 24 battery, battery hold-down
- Installed elect. cutoff switch
- Replaced both courtesy light switches
- Replaced Hazard warning switch
- Installed under-dash covers.
- New thermostat, gasket and thermostat cover.
- New valve cover gasket.
- Stripped and repainted valve cover & air filter housing.
- Purchased tonneau cover support rod
- Installed hydraulic bonnet and boot struts
- Replaced both radiator fan motors

I purchased my 1980 MGB on 6/19/2010.

I bought it from a 70 year-old farmer in Lafayette, IN. He had owned it for 2 years and had driven it very little (his wife didn't like to ride in it), and hadn't made any improvements to the car. He had kept it in one of the sheds on his property and it needed a good cleanup. The odometer read 50,400 miles.

My wife and I drove the car and it was definitely driveable. The oil pressure was good and the water temp was steady. The interior will definitely need replacement. The seats had no tears, but the vinyl looks 30 years old and the seats need redbuilding. The carpet also looks like it's 30 years old. The brakes were a little soft, but stopped well when pumped.

The only rust I could see was slight on the "dogleg" areas just in front of both rear wheels. The car had old wire wheels and there was no spare. The 4 tires on the car looked relatively new. When I inspected the engine, I noticed that the emission controls were still installed. I could see no major leaks and nothing that really signalled trouble.

After some bargaining, I reached a deal with the owner and bought the car. I drove it home (50 miles) with the wife following. The trip home was uneventful, but I noticed a slight hesitation/buffeting during cruising. I also confirmed my previous assessment that the brakes would need immediate attention.