December 2, 2019
Today I had the first attempt at getting some work done on Project Blue, my 1972 MGB Project.
To start, I picked up a used white hood from a 78 model and fitted it to the car. It fits and pretty good. I'll need to screw in the chrome strip, but its on and even though it needs some adjustment its fitting well.
I got some spark plug testers, and connected them to the plugs. I unplugged the fuel pump just to be safe.
I then turned the key to the on position with the battery connected and checked and I found I was getting 12v at both coil leads. Weird. I figured one side should be ground.
I tested ohms at the coil and found a bit over 3 ohms around 3.3 to 3.5. I have 2 coils, and both tested the same on my multimeter. I tested to the center post and found on 20k setting around 6. something so not sure what that means, but still no spark.
I pulled the distributor, a Lucas 25D and inspected the points they looked a bit funky, so I swapped them with a new set that was in a brand new box that came with the car. I checked and both the condenser wire and the distributor wire were mounted against the spring within the plastic washer insulating them from the post. I adjusted the points and they seem to open and close fine as the distributor rotates.
I swapped the new looking condenser with another new one that also came with the car. Still no spark.
Looking at the car's wiring, at the dash there is a red and white wire that is cut, there an aftermarket red wire that is running off the red/white from the switch and running to the starter going into the engine compartment that seems to be bypassing the starter relay. disconnected the red wire and reconnected the red/white and the starter does not turn. bridged them both together and the starter turns, and the red/white wire at the starter relay under the hood will turn the starter over when attached to the lowest fuse.
There is a blue wire coming off a white wire on the fuse block off the 3rd fuse that is going under the car to the fuel pump. bypassing the internal harness wire. Thats no big deal. I can work on that later. fuel pump clicks on and is one of those aftermarket square gold colored ones. and boy does it make some clicking, but thats all good for now.
Back to the spark, still no spark found at all. Looking at the engine compartment, it looks like there is a white plug near the alternator with 3 spade connectors aligned in an L shape that is not plugged into anything. There is a wire from the car that is going from the fuse box to the alternator and there are wires on the alternator.
Coil has the white with black wire connected to the negative post on the coil and the white wire is connected on the positive post.
Towards the front of the car, on the harness, there is an area with what appears to be two green wires coming out of the harness that is cut. not sure if this is supposed to be fused or joined together, but thats not a big deal for now. This car will need some wiring fixed.
Pulled the tach, both white wires are connected at the tach. bypassed the tach, still no spark. Reconnected the tach back together.
Tried with the other coil, still no spark. I suspect that the coils may either both be bad but unlikely. I suspect moreso that there is some kind of wiring issue.
My next step is to clean up with wire connections everywhere I can see. I plan to probably just cut them all and replace all the ends with new ends, or get some electronics contact cleaner and some stiff bristle brushes and go to town. I will also replace the fuse box with a newer style ATO fuse box I got because its easier to deal with fuse wise for me plus I figured I may as well update it.
RUST:
ITs not as bad as it seems. Yes there is a hole on both rear quarter panels and on the front passenger lower fender at the bottom. but the castle rails are solid with only some surface rust. A Little Eastwood rust enscapulator for the frame rails and should be good to go. All it needs are new rear quarter doglegs to be welded in, and the front right lower fender bottom to the welded in. then the rust is clear. Floors all solid.
The dash has rust on the frame. it was expected, and its not great. so I figure thats going to have to be replaced at some point.
Until the next time I get to it, I have already done some testing and I'm not really further ahead from where I was, but I was flying blind just going by what I had been reading a bit. I'll remember to take my no spark checklist with me next time. I suspect that I should clean up the wires and replace any bad connections and put the wiring back to as stock as possible before doing anything else, as the problem may simply be in there.
Worst case is, I buy a whole new harness from britishwiring or one of the other sites that sells them. I know that will cost about as much as what I paid for the car, and spend a good amount of time installing it, But if thats what it takes to fix it so be it.
I suspect it just needs all the wire connections cleaned and replace a few bad wires. I've got the diagram so once I figure out what wires need to be replaced as per colors, I'll order some matching wires and solder splice in some new sections as needed to get the wiring back to how it should be from original. The multimeter had some trouble getting a good clean contact without scratching at the connecting points to get to the clean metal. so I am suspicious of dirty connections as being a good part of the problem.
My plans for the car are as follows and not necessarily in this order.
1. Get spark back / clean and fix wiring issues
2. Rebuild SU carbs and reinstall them
3. Replace fuel tank and rubber lines
4. Go through braking system and ensure it is safe
5. Ensure all gauges and Lights are working
6. Change all fluids and bleed all systems
7. New tires
8. Fix rust
9. Paint
10.. Interior / rubber seals etc around body
11. Go for a drive and smile ear to ear.
I'm happy for a few reasons. 1. The rust is not as bad as it looks. 2. I got a replacement hood. 3. I got a line on a whole top for a good price. 4. I'm going to get this thing back on the road that is for sure.
Today I had the first attempt at getting some work done on Project Blue, my 1972 MGB Project.
To start, I picked up a used white hood from a 78 model and fitted it to the car. It fits and pretty good. I'll need to screw in the chrome strip, but its on and even though it needs some adjustment its fitting well.
I got some spark plug testers, and connected them to the plugs. I unplugged the fuel pump just to be safe.
I then turned the key to the on position with the battery connected and checked and I found I was getting 12v at both coil leads. Weird. I figured one side should be ground.
I tested ohms at the coil and found a bit over 3 ohms around 3.3 to 3.5. I have 2 coils, and both tested the same on my multimeter. I tested to the center post and found on 20k setting around 6. something so not sure what that means, but still no spark.
I pulled the distributor, a Lucas 25D and inspected the points they looked a bit funky, so I swapped them with a new set that was in a brand new box that came with the car. I checked and both the condenser wire and the distributor wire were mounted against the spring within the plastic washer insulating them from the post. I adjusted the points and they seem to open and close fine as the distributor rotates.
I swapped the new looking condenser with another new one that also came with the car. Still no spark.
Looking at the car's wiring, at the dash there is a red and white wire that is cut, there an aftermarket red wire that is running off the red/white from the switch and running to the starter going into the engine compartment that seems to be bypassing the starter relay. disconnected the red wire and reconnected the red/white and the starter does not turn. bridged them both together and the starter turns, and the red/white wire at the starter relay under the hood will turn the starter over when attached to the lowest fuse.
There is a blue wire coming off a white wire on the fuse block off the 3rd fuse that is going under the car to the fuel pump. bypassing the internal harness wire. Thats no big deal. I can work on that later. fuel pump clicks on and is one of those aftermarket square gold colored ones. and boy does it make some clicking, but thats all good for now.
Back to the spark, still no spark found at all. Looking at the engine compartment, it looks like there is a white plug near the alternator with 3 spade connectors aligned in an L shape that is not plugged into anything. There is a wire from the car that is going from the fuse box to the alternator and there are wires on the alternator.
Coil has the white with black wire connected to the negative post on the coil and the white wire is connected on the positive post.
Towards the front of the car, on the harness, there is an area with what appears to be two green wires coming out of the harness that is cut. not sure if this is supposed to be fused or joined together, but thats not a big deal for now. This car will need some wiring fixed.
Pulled the tach, both white wires are connected at the tach. bypassed the tach, still no spark. Reconnected the tach back together.
Tried with the other coil, still no spark. I suspect that the coils may either both be bad but unlikely. I suspect moreso that there is some kind of wiring issue.
My next step is to clean up with wire connections everywhere I can see. I plan to probably just cut them all and replace all the ends with new ends, or get some electronics contact cleaner and some stiff bristle brushes and go to town. I will also replace the fuse box with a newer style ATO fuse box I got because its easier to deal with fuse wise for me plus I figured I may as well update it.
RUST:
ITs not as bad as it seems. Yes there is a hole on both rear quarter panels and on the front passenger lower fender at the bottom. but the castle rails are solid with only some surface rust. A Little Eastwood rust enscapulator for the frame rails and should be good to go. All it needs are new rear quarter doglegs to be welded in, and the front right lower fender bottom to the welded in. then the rust is clear. Floors all solid.
The dash has rust on the frame. it was expected, and its not great. so I figure thats going to have to be replaced at some point.
Until the next time I get to it, I have already done some testing and I'm not really further ahead from where I was, but I was flying blind just going by what I had been reading a bit. I'll remember to take my no spark checklist with me next time. I suspect that I should clean up the wires and replace any bad connections and put the wiring back to as stock as possible before doing anything else, as the problem may simply be in there.
Worst case is, I buy a whole new harness from britishwiring or one of the other sites that sells them. I know that will cost about as much as what I paid for the car, and spend a good amount of time installing it, But if thats what it takes to fix it so be it.
I suspect it just needs all the wire connections cleaned and replace a few bad wires. I've got the diagram so once I figure out what wires need to be replaced as per colors, I'll order some matching wires and solder splice in some new sections as needed to get the wiring back to how it should be from original. The multimeter had some trouble getting a good clean contact without scratching at the connecting points to get to the clean metal. so I am suspicious of dirty connections as being a good part of the problem.
My plans for the car are as follows and not necessarily in this order.
1. Get spark back / clean and fix wiring issues
2. Rebuild SU carbs and reinstall them
3. Replace fuel tank and rubber lines
4. Go through braking system and ensure it is safe
5. Ensure all gauges and Lights are working
6. Change all fluids and bleed all systems
7. New tires
8. Fix rust
9. Paint
10.. Interior / rubber seals etc around body
11. Go for a drive and smile ear to ear.
I'm happy for a few reasons. 1. The rust is not as bad as it looks. 2. I got a replacement hood. 3. I got a line on a whole top for a good price. 4. I'm going to get this thing back on the road that is for sure.