Heidi Shackelford's Journal

Finally got the midget running, had to take off the new carb and intake and re-do the gasket. this time we used a high heat red silicone and it worked like a charm. the engine started right up first turn. it runs so good just might need to adjust the idle some. Ron and i drove it to work Saturday and he got it up to 70. i never thought that was possible. now i have a long list of little things to do. and i really want to jack it up and get under the engine with some cleaner. it has so much grease, oil and road grime it's hard to tell what's new and what's old.

well we finally gave up on the zenith in blinker. got a great deal on a weber and intake from a guy here in ok. received it last week and put it on this weekend and still not running. ron moved the fuel pump to the rear like most do that helped with keeping enough fuel going to the carb but still wouldn't idle. while looking over the engine he noticed that oil seemed to be overflowing out the dip stick and after further inspection realized that there was gas in the oil. oil changed, car requires 3 qts and i drained out almost 6 meaning that there was 3 qts of gas in the oil. tried again.... no luck. better but still won't idle. if you keep pumping the gas the car will run and you can rev it like no other but as soon as you let of it dies. the guy we bought the carb from has it on his midget so it should be set up already and not need much adjusting but need it to idle to fine tune it. Ron has the carb pulled back off and is going to give it a good cleaning tonight and then after that i guess we will try to adjust a few things. he is getting frustrated with it so a few more tries and looks like it will be headed to a shop in tulsa. ugh. just want to drive my car. and even after we get it running good i have at least a whole day of detail and carpet install.

we have shifted focus on the new B for the moment, doesn't look like there's a whole lot it needs. spent a good day cleaning the interior, everything scrubbed down, vacummed, cleaned windows,removed roll bar, cleaned and repaired seat belts, took out the seats, gave them a good scrub down and used the wire wheel on grinder to reomve the rust on the runners. greased teh runners and reinstalled the seats with new bolts. now they glide! we are replacing the slave cylinder and hydraulic line, front brake pads and then bleed lines. do a tire swap and we are on the road again. pretty pleeased with the before and after. well worth the time just to see him shine.

here's an update on the mg's, the 76 midget is waiting on the carb rebuild and the fuel pump to be moved. then it gets all put back together. new carpet, seat covers and a good detail, wash and wax. then Blinker will be road ready. the 74 has been cleaned out and some of the rust taken care of but until we get a few other projects done he will be in the wings waiting, as he requires a complete rebuild. the new 77 B is getting a complete detail today and a new slave cylinder and a new hydraulic line then i hope he will be ready to roll, or at least drivable till we get him all tuned back up. really looking forward to driving one of them this summer.

yes we have aquired another mg, this time its a 1977 mgb, pretty good shape, needs new top and a good clean up. has modified engine but haven't had time to really look it over. and better yet it was free. found out a high school friend had one and just wants it gone. doing some side jobs on his rent house in trade. will give a full report soon.

ok i did it i took apart the carb and auto-choke, all cleaned up and almost ready to put back together. it doesn't seem as hard as i thought. thankfully the boyfriend has already taken it apart once and watched me take it all apart this time so he can help me put it back together. i am a little nervous that the kit came with a quite a few o rings and so far i have only found one on the carb and there wasn't one to fit so i left the old one on as it still looked pretty good. wish me luck that it will run when i'm done.