Oily Hand's Life with MGs |
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The MG Car Club Tyne Tees Centre's first big run of the year. The Cobweb Run is on 22 April 2012. This is a great event and not to be missed. Entries fill up fast so get your application form here and send it in quickly.
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I think the TA decided to try to teach me who is boss. It all started late on Friday afternoon when after filling up with petrol for Saturday I decided to adjust the clutch. I had barely put any pressure on the adjusting nut when the operating rod snapped."Oh dear, this is not good", I said to myself. My poor attempts at welding some more threaded rod to the shaft failed miserably and I was facing not having the planned driving weekend, or going in the 71 GT. I made a couple of phone calls to see if I could find a friend who might have a spare rod, but no luck. Desperation was now setting in and I was standing in the garage looking for anything I could cobble up a clutch operating system from when I looked at a Morris 10 gearbox lying in the corner. Bingo!!. Attached to the box was a short length of chain with a threaded rod attached. It took some considerable time to remove this heavily corroded adjuster without breaking it but it came off and was 'adjusted' to fit on the TA. A short test drive showed that all was well and some four hours after starting the job, I got cleaned up for a very late meal. It was a lot of time and work, but maybe I dodged a bullet there. It wasn't ideal at home, but that rod could have snapped at any time, possibly stranding us in some remote place. Saturday was an early(ish) start to drive down to Skipton (about 75 miles) to meet up with 60 T Types of all ages and conditions. The MG Car Club T Register held it's Autumn Tour this weekend. Two days of driving over some superb roads in the Yorkshire Dales. We were keen to get there early enough to meet people before setting off, but it was not to be. Breezing along at around 60mph, with not a care in the world, we hit a bump and everything died. After some checking it was found that the live battery terminal had bounced off. it was quickly refitted, all the gear was stuffed back under the tonneau and off we went. A few miles further down the road it came off again. This time I made sure it was going to stay on. Got all sorted out and back in the car and it wouldn't start! All electrics were working and the engine was spinning over well but not firing. Removing the distributor cap revealed no spark at the points, probably because they weren't opening. How it had been running so well up to now was a mystery. Setting the gap with the Mk1 eyeball, got us running again. We were now well behind our planned time and probably wouldn't make the event start time. We carried on and saw Grant & Barbara (the organisers) leading a group towards us. Assuming that they were the last away. we did a quick 180 and followed them. Shortly after that we got a route book from Grant and we were able to take a break knowing that we wouldn't get lost. So after a hectic start to the day we had a cuppa and then followed the route to Bolton Castle for the lunch break. This was the first chance I had to take any pictures. Unfortunately my camera isn't designed for shots like this but it gives a flavour of 60 T Types all in one place. More pictures from the day After lunch and some great conversation we set off across the valley where Numbum had one more surprise in store for us. On the climb out of West Witton I noticed steam coming from the radiator cap. As this car never overheats I pulled over to the side of the road. Whilst waiting for it to cool down I took the opportunity to get the video camera out. Checking the radiator indicated that it was short of water, so I topped it up and off we went. Keeping a close eye on things we carried on to the finish at the Coniston Hotel, where the cause of the water loss was found, a weeping core plug. The helpful hotel staff kindly refilled our water cans and we set off for the journey home and made it safely with only one top up stop. Thanks to Grant & Barbara for their hard work in organising such a great day. Sadly we wouldn't be with them all on Sunday but we hope they had a good day with fine weather. As we were once again later than expected ariving home we picked up a fish & chip supper on the way in. After eating it was back out into the garage to try to stop the leak. Fitting another plug wasn't an option as I didn't have one available. My first though was to fit a self tapping screw into the hole but as I tried this the hole got larger and what was seepage of water became a trickle. It was clear that the plug was worse than I thought. Then I remembered a product I'd used some time ago which I thought might work. After a frantic search, Pam found what we were looking for. Plumbers Mate, made by Evostick is a two part product, which when mixed together makes a putty that can be used to seal leaking water pipes, even when wet. It's designed as a domestic product but with no other option I had to give it a go. I mixed a portion andpushed it into the small hole. The leak stopped and just for good measure I spread the rest of the mix over the whole area of the plug. After another later than expected night, I closed the garage door. If it was leaking in the morning, we would take the 71 GT. Sunday was the MG Car Club Tyne Tees Centre Old Speckled Hen Run. We were assisting with the signing on so had to be there on time.There was no sign of leaking when I got the TA out of the garage, so we set off early to refuel with the plan to return home to get the GT should the leak reappear. Thankfully all was water tight, so we set off for the start. Sadly, a lower than normal entry for the day (probably a sign of the economic times), and all but two made the start. A wide range of cars, from our 1937 TA to a 2009 TF85 enjoyed the 45 mile drive through some little known lanes to the lunch stop at the Durham Dales Centre in Stanhope. After lunch it was another 47 miles over the wild North Pennines to Seaton Delaval Hall where cream teas and good conversation prevailed. The bullet cam was suffering problems, mainly lack of battery power. I cannot say who forgot to pack spare batteries as I don't want to incriminate myself. Pam did a remarkable job with the hand held cam in a bucking TA with me driving. Thankfully, the rain mainly stayed away but the bleak wind took the edge off things a bit, especially on the run home down the A19.
Barrie and Sheila Hope deserve a great pat on the back for organising such a great day. Today, the TA ran as well as ever, but I've now got some work to do on it before our next outing. It was a bright warm morning at the Lord Stones Cafe where members of the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club met for the start of the 2011 Prince Bishops Run. 40 cars on the list and I think all but two made it to the start. I'm not aware of any that didn't finish. After morning refreshments, I saw quite a few bacon & egg butties going down, we set off for the 89 mile run to Durham. The first part of the run was 40 miles to The Hardwick Park where there was an optional break for refreshments. En route we saw some dark clouds beginning to form so we stopped to don waterproofs. Whilst stopped we were given some good natured ribbing by other cars with the tops down. We got our own back when the heavens opened and we passed them all frantically putting hoods up. Thankfully the rain didn't last long and by the time we reached Hardwick Park, it was dry again. The next leg was 15 Miles to Auckland Castle, the home of the Bishop of Durham and some took the opportunity for a tour of the castle. We had a quick cuppa there before setting off for the final 34 miles to The Palace Green in the beautiful historic City of Durham. It was a great honour to be able to park on the green, right next to the Cathedral, as normally cars aren't allowed in. The cars attracted a lot of attention and many owners were deep in conversation with people asking questions. Great fun! This event was also very special as each of the T Types was represented. 1 TA, 1 TB, 1 TC, 3 TDs, and 1 TF. That has to be a rarity anywhere and for a local club run, it was exceptional. We lined up the cars for a photoshoot, and there were many cameras clicking away. One of the features of these runs is the selection, by an independent person, of the car they would most like to go home in. Diane, the manager of the Almshouse Cafe chose Numbum, much to our surprise. This is the second time, as we were selected on the Cobweb Run earlier in the year. I wonder if we can make the hat trick on the Old Speckled Hen run, later in the year. You can get a flavour of the event in this short video. All in all, a superb day, much enjoyed by all. Heartfelt thanks go to Barrie & Sheila Hope and all those who assisted in running this superb day.
We decided to give the 76 BGT a run out in the country on a lunch run organised by the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club. This was a run with a difference as the two natters had different runs to end at the same place for lunch. Starting at Durham services on the A1M, the southern group, including us, had a lovely 40 mile run to the coast and back into the country to Lanchester where we had a good feed. This is the first time this car has done more than five mile trips in my ownership. We did close on 100 miles today and the car behaved itself perfectly, which is just what I expected.
Today was Drive It Day in the UK, a day to encourage owners of older cars to get out on the road. The Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club held its annual Cobweb Run with the start and finish at Brockbushes Farm Shop near Corbridge. As well as doing the run we were helping with the signing on and marshalling so it was daft o clock when we set off from home. Bright blue skies with not a cloud in sight, but sadly the great heater in the sky wasn't working too well and it was a bit chilly. The 60 mile run to the start was uneventful but we arrived to slight chaos as Peter Ebdon, our centre chairman and organiser of the run had suffered a breakdown with his TF1500 on the way to the start. This meant much rushing around by Peter and his wife, Lyn, to get everything in place in time. Thankfully it all went well. There were 55 cars registered but I think only 53 actually turned up to the start. There were some substitutions as the registered cars had problems, one of which was Barrie Hope, our centre Secretary, who suffered head gasket failure on his ZB Magnette just the day before the event and had the ignomy of doing the run in an Audi, There was an optional lunch break at around the halfway mileage where most of the cars took a bit of a rest. The afternoon part of the run was a bit warmer as the wind dropped a little and we arrived at the finish having covered 100 miles. The run was 87 miles. The other 13 miles were the result of navigational problems. 'Discussions' are ongoing as to whether I was given the wrong instruction, or I wasn't listening. One of the features of the Cobweb Run is that somebody not involved with the run, selects the car they would most like to go home in. This year Jan Kidd, the Brockbushes Tea Room Manager selected our TA. She said she chose it because she likes things that look well used. I think she was talking about the car. Thanks, Jan. I have to say you have impeccable taste, and the cheque is in the post. Thanks too to Peter for taking the picture.
The drive home was thankfully uneventful and we arrive home about eleven hours after we set out and had been in the saddle for about seven. What a great day! Events like these take a tremendous amount of work to organise so as usual a big thank you to all who helped make it happen. Some members of the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club met up at the Baydale Beck pub in Darlington for a circular tour of about 30 miles. Once back at our start point we all sat down to some good food and conversation before making our own way back home.Thanks to Steve and Richard for organising the day. We took a scenic route home and shot some video on the way. A year, almost to the day since our last visit, a small group of MGCC Tyne Tees Centre members were re invited to Heritage Classics in Middlesbrough where John and his team were willing to show us all the goodies. Patiently they answered all our questions and demonstrated the use of the English Wheel and a super piece of kit for straightening bent wheels. There were cars in all sorts of condition, from just started to almost completed. The standard of workmanship was superb and I almost needed somebody to follow me to clean up the drool. From the traditional To the more modern And the unusual As well as full restorations the team are capable and willing to do smaller jobs too. I must stress that I have no affiliation with Heritage Classics, but I do recognise quality when I see it and I saw lots there.
They have also added a powder coating facility capable of taking a full chassis. This is a great idea as powder coating is more durable than paint and cheaper to do as well. Last night saw about 50 members of the MG Car Club Tyne Tees Centre gather together for the annual dinner dance and prize presentation at the Gibside Hotel.
A night of good food and drink in great company with some gyrations on the dancefloor later. Nobody was more surprised than Pam & I to find that I had won the Enthusiast Trophy and Pam won the Lady Enthusiast Trophy. We only did the events to enjoy ourselves but the trophys are a bonus. If we look a little blurred in this picture, it's probably the amount of alcohol consumed. The Old Speckled Hen Run is one of the three big runs organised by the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club. We were roped in to do the signing on so we had an early start to the day. Signing on was great as we met everybody and put some names to faces. How long my memory banks will hold those names is another question. The start was at the Windmill Hotel on the A19 and the run was about 100 miles, ending at Raby Castle, which is about 15 miles away as the crow flies. The weather was kind to us and we had a great run. I don't think anybody had any problems on the run but one MGB had a slight issue of a split fuel pipe when setting off for home. This was soon fixed by using a short length of the radiator overflow pipe to replace the damaged bit. We also used the day for a trial of a new camcorder, which turned out not too bad. I think some form of mount is needed as Pam said she had a hard time keeping it steady. I'm not sure if that was down to her or my driving. After having our cream tea I took a couple of a short runs in the TA for people who wanted to see what it was like to travel in. It's a bit bouncy. All in all it was a super day and a huge thanks go to Barrie and Sheila Hope for all their hard work in organising the run.
We had bright blue skies as we set off in the TA for Hamsterley Hoppings to join a group of friends from the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club. Despite the blue skies it was cold with a bitter strong wind. Thankfully we had an almost dry drive up with only a few spots of rain unlike the unlucky souls who came from the North. They had torrential rain on their trip. Apart from the MGs there were many other classic cars there. One noteworthy one was the Delage with it's wonderful straight eight engine. I can't remember if it was 5 or 5.5 litre. The other was an electric conversion on a Vauxhall chassis, built in the 1930s. The current owner has promised to send me some information on this incredible car. When I get it I will do a write up on it. Some heavy rain in the afternoon dampened eveything but our spirits and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.
This year the supported charity was Help for Heros. We hope they raised plenty for them. |
AuthorHi, I'm Owen and I've been having fun with MGs since 1970, starting with my 1937 MGTA. Since then I've had three Y types and a couple of Z Magnettes. I now have a 1971 MGB GT along with the TA and my wife and I are still having fun Archives
September 2020
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