OMG! What I’ve been missing!

[Bret]

Well along with pointing out some areas on my 78B that needed some attention (see my brake pad thread) I had my friend do some work for me at his shop. Had him replace the crossmember bushings & hardware because the front end was a little loose and had a thumping noise coming from the right front end. As expected the Bushings where totally shot. Would have done the work myself but with all the work being done on the old homestead the wife put a moratorium on most of my LBC projects – mainly because new concrete & oil stains don’t make for a happy better half and I prefer to sleep in my own bed.

Anyway in addition to the front bushings I had him swap out the old steering rack for a new unit from Moss I’d had sitting in the garage for awhile. Turns out I'd just accepted it as normal, but the old rack was so bad it would leak all the time and always felt a little loose and would wonder a bit at freeway speeds (70mph & up).

Results? Fantastic! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif I swear between the new front crossmember bushings & hardware and the new steering rack its handles like a dream.

 

[Steve_S]

This just proves that most "upgrades" are not necessary. These cars are old, and when they don't feel right people blame the design. There is NOTHING wrong with the design. The problem is age and junk parts. If you install high-quality original-style parts on your car and keep it maintained as new, most people would be amazed at how well these 45-year-old cars perform!

 

[Nunyas]

yeah... I had a bit of wander on my front end to until I completely replaced *all* the bushings up there, including the crossmember pads.

I'm gonna be crawling around under my car this weekend to see if I can tie up some loose ends I've been letting slide for a little while now.

 

[Steve_S]

If you want to swing by and put the car in the air after the exhaust thing feel free.

 

[Bret]

Yeah. I'd already replaced all the other bushings on the front end (rear too) with Polyurethane (Energy from VB) bushs, a few years ago and saw a drastic improvement as the old ones where almost totally shot. However (shame on me) I didn’t replace the crossmember bushings at the time.

But to my friends credit he re-checked all my work and retightened everything. Again she handles like a totally different car now. But I do still have a few things to fix that my friend pointed out and actually gave me a little check list of items. Nothing major mind you but this weekend I hope to be able to address my brakes. Replacing the fluid, pads & shoes and adjusting accordingly.

My friend also pointed out that my third gear is pretty bad and will probably need to be rebuilt. But because I have a O/D unit sitting in my garage I’m going to forgo any tranny work save to have the OD trany checked out and serviced before installation with my new (rebuilt) engine this fall.

Other than that all that is really warranted it a fresh tune up.

 

[ccougill]

I know how you feel, I'm paying someone to work on my B so I can get caught up on the honey do list before Gatlinburg. This weekend I learn to lay tile.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

What? Pay somebody to lay the tile and so that you can work on the MG! C'mon man! get your priorities straight!

 

[Bret]

[ QUOTE ]
What? Pay somebody to lay the tile and so that you can work on the MG! C'mon man! get your priorities straight!

[/ QUOTE ]
Don’t get me wrong I ain’t giving up my own wrenching – just keeping the peace. Fact is I just don’t like sleeping in the dog house and enjoy my wife welcoming me into our bedroom. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DrEntropy]

Chuck, I did about 750 sq/ft a few years ago. Hadn't done tile in YEARS... Get a set of knee pads. A ~good~ pair. Your knees will thank you.

 

[Steve_S]

I paid someone to do most of the work on my cars for over a year while we were doing construction on the house. THe garage was a dirt lot and I didn't have the space in the driveway to work. And the really messy jobs were not appropriate for the driveway anyway. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. Heck, I even took it in for an oil change! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Nunyas]

Bret- the bad crossmember pads on my B were the source of the wander I experienced without a doubt. On the same note though, by the time I bought the car nearly all the bushings up front were completely dry rotted... the car sat in the POs garage for 2 years before I got it. Somehow I doubt the bushings rotten to the point that the were in during those two years ... it was a mess...

Steve_S- I'd take ya up on that offer normally, but I'm house sitting for my ex-roomies this weekend. I'll be entering that place dual wielding insecticides with both bottles a blazin'! They don't have a garage, but at least they have a spot off of the street for me to work on the car.

 

[ccougill]

my priorities are set by swmbo, I'm going to Gatlingburg and she's gonna stay home and look at her new kitchen. Best trade off I could make. I'll lay hands on the B before I go, still a couple of small things to do that I don't trust anyone with.

 

[ccougill]

[ QUOTE ]
Chuck, I did about 750 sq/ft a few years ago. Hadn't done tile in YEARS... Get a set of knee pads. A ~good~ pair. Your knees will thank you.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is on the wall.

 

[DrEntropy]

~Much~ better!

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I'm going to Gatlinburg solo as well. My wife hasn't put any stipulations on the trip, but when I get back she'll probably have a long list of stuff for me to do around the house.

 

[kcbugeye1275]

Priorities, we all make these calls, good call. I went though the bugeye a couple years ago when I converted to disk brakes, the old bushings were in good shape, but when you are there, its foolish not to.