Throughout my childhood, my dad owned MGs. When my parents were first married – years before I was born – they purchased a pair of matched MGB roadsters straight from England (see picture above – not their cars though as no pictures exist). By the time I came around, they were gone, but he had picked up a 1951 MG TD (see picture below). My dad had this car until about the time I was in 5th grade. I thought it was the coolest.
When I was in 7th grade, my father purchased a 1966 MGB GT. It wasn’t restored and it required a lot of TLC just to stay on the road. This was the car that I learned many basic things on: how to do an oil change, a tune up, work on brakes, as well as how to drive a manual transmission car. After about a year, he added another one – a 1972 MGB GT. It was interesting to get to know the changes that had been implemented from that early model to one at about mid-run of the model. I was sure that one of these two cars would be mine. Then I went to college. And he sold them. Both.
Well – that’s that.
Or so I thought. 30 years later I found out that a friend of mine had a 1970 MGB GT that he kept in his garage and didn’t really drive much any more. In fact, he was hoping to sell it! What?! I’ve got to have this car!!
Ok, so I bought it. I knew that it would be a constant struggle as they are prone to break down – or at least to need constant mechanical attention. What I didn’t realize until that very moment was that I was craving that relationship with a needy car. I carved out a spot in my otherwise full garage and made it a home.
From the beginning, there were little things that needed attention. The clutch lines needs to be bled. A new electronic ignition was needed. The brakes were… bad. And the electrical. Ok, it’s still a mess – but it was worse when I first adopted this car.
So it drove fine for a few weeks. Then it literally just wouldn’t start. I checked the battery, the starter, the alternator. I checked to see if spark was getting to the plugs. I checked the fuel line. I couldn’t figure it out. Plus, there are a ton of wires that are literally 50 years old running all over the place that could all easily have a short in them. I was perplexed. The video below shows what I thought would be the end of my problems (updating the ignition).
After many failed attempts, I finally found that the cable from the battery was corroded in a place that was out of sight and hard to locate. I ordered the new part and (in the mean time) adjusted the problem cable. It worked. That engine starting was the Sound of Success. It was the Sound that Ended my Frustration. Watch below.
