jotoring · scrapping "old" cars and light duty trucks already exist, such as recycling...

]\JOSSJ\JOTORINGServing British Sports Car Enthusiasts Since 1948 • Our 12th Year of Publication • Spring 1995

CLUNKER PROGRAMS AND WHAT

YOU CAN DO TO STOP THEM

by Tony TbackerTHE LIE-THE TRUTH

The lie: All old cars are clunkers-poorly maintained polluters that must becrushed.

The truth: The 10 to 20 percent ofvehicles considered high pollutersappear-consistently-in each and everymodel year category, not just in the pre-1981 model years which have been targeted in "clunker" programs. Most areactually newer than the 1980 models!

THE DANGERS

Be wary of the following problems facing you, the hobbyist, with the establishment of 'clunker' programs, also referredto as "old car buyback programs" and"accelerated vehicles scrappagc programs". They arc widespread and couldforecast the endof your hobby.

First the destruction of pre-1981 vehicles eliminates the availability of manyengines and other components to enthusiasts, hobbyists and collectors.

Second, big oil companies and utilitiesget "mobile-source emission reductioncredits" for every vehicle scrapped under'clunker' programs ( for which they pay$800 or so, each); they arc allowed topostpone the cleaning up of their facilities to reduce their own stationary-source emission. continuing to pollute atcurrent levels for as long as three years!

Third, voluntary 'clunker' programsmay become mandatory, a governmenttactic not unheard of.

THE OPTIONS

Alternatives to crushing, melting orscrapping "old" cars and light dutytrucks already exist, such as recyclingand rebuilding parts.

Recycling is possible for virtuallyevery piece on the vehicle.For example,many subframes can be recycledto buildother models; intake and exhaust manifolds can be recycled to later model-yearvehicles;and many of the engine components can be rebuilt, giving you theopportunity to restore engines to theiroriginal configuration. Rebuilding orreconditioning parts saves a variety ofprecious engine parts-you name it, it'sbeen reused.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

•Makeyour position dear to those withthe power to fight for your rights:

• Write letters to your state's electedrepresentatives, the governor, your statesenator, your state assembly representative. It's their responsibility to listen andact on your behalf.

• Write letters to editors of local news

papers, car magazines and local television stations.

• Get your friends, fellow car enthusiasts,and car club members to do the same!

Tell them that, as an auto enthusiast, youstrongly oppose any old-car buyback legislation that will send our classic cars tothe crusher and fuel the pollution habitsof oil and utility industries, especiallywhen other options arc available.

Speak up now...or risk the extinction ofautomotive history!

(Tony is Director of Public Relationsatthe Specially Equipment MarketAssociation,Diamond Bar, Calif, and wearc grateful to "ImportAutomotive Parts& Accessories" magazinefor allowing usto reproducethis vitalfeature.)

(Tailpiece: From USA TODAY."California officials working withGeneral Motors Hughes Electronics,have developeda $50 car-mounted radiotransmitter that would send a signal tostate authorities if a vehicle's emissionsbegan to exceed pollution standards!"And this is ten years after GeorgeOrwell's big brother scenario! Ed)

The British Equivalent By Harry Newton

Moss Motors. California

This was the title of an article whichappeared Last Fall in the new magazine, "Eurosport Car", a most

excellent publication. Despite the factthat it was written by our regular contributor Harry Newton wc feel that for thebenefit of the many new customers wehave gained over the past year, it is wellworth reproducing in these pages to letthem know where wc came from, and aglimpse of where we might be heading!

HARRY'S THEME!

For more than thirty years, owners ofBritish sports cars have looked westtoward California rather than east to

England when seeking parts needed torestore or refurbish their cherished vehicles. This became even more true when,in 1980, MG ceased ptoduction. Today,owners of MG, Austin Hcalcy, Jaguarand Triumph sports cars can almostrebuild their cars starting with just a serial number plate.

Moss Motors was founded in 194S byAl Moss, a pioneer in the post WW IIsports car movement. Based in l.osAngeles initially. Moss dabbled in Britishmarques and was an Allard distributor.He played a key role in sports car racingon airport circuits at places like PalmSprings and Santa Barbara. In those earlydays, MG was the primary focus of theimport cat business because, quite sunply, that namcplate had a virtual monopoly on the sports car business in America.Surprisingly, his new car franchises werefrom the competing Rootcs Group,liillman, [lumber and Sunbeam. In1963, Moss moved his fledgling mailorder parts and accessories business toSanta Barbara. A year earlier, the firstcatalog was published offering items forT Series MGs.

Among the items that gained an avidfollowing for Moss were an oil filter conversion kit and a Tompkins steering kitdesigned to compensate for steering boxwear. Today, more than 25,000 items arclisted and Austin Hcalcy, Triumph andJaguar "bits and pieces" also are carried.

However, Al Moss no longer owns thecompany that bears his name. He soldthe corporation in 1978 to the Goldmanfamily, old customers who admired whatMoss had accomplished. The Goldmanshad the necessary energy and resources toembark upon an expansion program intomore namcplates, and it was their goal tobecome a truly international company.Under the leadership of HowardGoldman, Moss Motors has achievedmost of its goals. There are more than

three hundred employees including telephone sales people, parts pickers,research and developmentengineers;plusseveral Englishmakers and marketers ofpans for the same namcplates that nowcomprise Moss Europe Ltd. The MossMotors sales people arc trained to build

..."Involvement." He feels thata company like Moss Motorsmust be a participant in the

activities of its customers

ongoing relationships with their clients,aided by sophisticated computer data ohcustomers and their cars. President GlenAdams came on board in 1971 whenthere were a mere two dozen people onthe payroll. And, as Howard Goldmancases into retirement, his son Robertplays an increasingly more important rolein company operations.

When asked about the key factorresponsible for the growth ofMoss Motors into a dominantposition in its specialized market, Howard replies,"Involvement." He feels that a

company like Moss Motorsmust be a participant in theactivities of its customers asthey relate to the hobby, andthis is where Ken Smith entersthe picture. Smith and his wile,B3rby spend several monthseach year traveling around theUnited States and Canada toattend as many British carenthusiast events as there arcweekends. Moss donates product to many events and maintains a direct communication with mostclubs. The company even makes annualawards to clubs whose newsletters itsmanagement admires.

As 3 publisher in its own right. Mosscreates and distributes full-color catalogsfor each of its namcplates several timesper year, plus a publication, "MossMotoring", that goes to each of themote than 125,000 active customers fourtimes annually. Now, in addition to themarque-related parts and accessories.Moss offers a line ol generic "era" accessories and life-style items to its clientel.There arc other ways to broaden thescope of its offerings: concours, street andcompetition-oriented collectors in manyinstances can select items that have been

engineered and manufactured specifically

the

lor their particular budgetsand types of use.

Now there arc appareland other lifestyle items,including soft luggage, T-shirts and sweaters. Back in

the early days of sports cars,no driver would leave homewithout an emergency roadkit. "Continental SparesKit" was the name used byTriumph, and that again is

I available. A fan belt and acouple of spare spark plugswere the mainstays of thispackage, plus a spare set ofdistributor points. Othertouring related piecesinclude a first aid kit and athermo-electric cooler fordrinks and sandwiches thatoperates off the car battery.

As the universe of vehi-—— clcs ages, hard items like

replacement crankshafts forT Series MGs and steering wheel cen

ter sections for Triumphs and Austin1lealeysare becomingbigsellers.

Originally a supplier of replacementwear and handling improvement items.Moss has expanded to offer virtuallyevery component that was found in thecars. Today, suspension, steering andbrake parts arc as much in demand asinterior trim, which once was the dominant item. Exhaust systems can l>c purchasedexactly "as was", or in longer lasting stainlesssteel. Eventhe trim items areavailable in leather and in vinyl to suitaesthetic and budgetary considerations.

In keeping #ith Howard Goldman'sdesire that Moss Motors should belooked upon as a club, a second annualBritish Car festival was held in June oflast year. Staged up the California coastat Solvang, the family oriented weekenddrew more thati 200 cars. There was arally through the neighboring wine country as well as several low pressure contests, and even hay rides and games for

Sometimes 600 orders each day:

the children. A tight, "through the cones"handling course was laid out in nearbyBucllton, and this proved to be the mostpopular form of competition. As mightbe expected, nimble Mini Coopers andSprites proved quickest in this event. Apair of VS-powercd hybrid MGs, an Aand a B, provided comic relief as theydemonstrated that brute power isn'teverything, knocking pylons about as ifthey were bowling pins. Other low-speedfunkhana contests included blindfoldedprecision driving (with navigators directing the unseeing drivers around a course),a 'balancing" act somewhat akin to anautomotive sec-saw, plus balloon bursting tests of motorized water pistol marksmanship.

Also welcomed were several reprcscn-

Continued on page 5

B.fl

Aloss Motoringis published by MossMotors, Ltd.Editor: Ken Smith

Contributing Writers: Ron Phillips,Eric Wilhelm, Harry Newton,Steve Tom, Harry Haigh, JackBrady, and Bob Mason.

Production: Barbara Davis.

Although we make every effort toensure the correctness of technicalarticles. Moss Motors, Ltd.assumes no liability for the accuracy, safety, or legality of these contributions. All technical materialshould be weighed against commonly accepted practice. Anyopinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect the opinionsor policies of Moss Motors.Moss Motoring is © 1995Moss Motors, Ltd. All rightsreserved. Moss Motoring Offices:400 Rutherford St., Golcta,California 93117

Contributions Invited

Contributions are greatly appreciated and every effort will be madeto use appropriate material. Itemsfor consideration should be mailedto our newspaper productionoffice at the address below (rightdown the road from Moss Motors):

Editor. Moss Motoring400 Rutherford StreetGolcta, CA 93117

We can accept contributions, typewritten, laser-printed, or 3'/2" disconly; text files from Mac or PC,ASCII preferred; double-spaced,typed information is also acceptable.Wc regret that we cannot return anymaterial. We also reserve the right toaccept or reject any material on whatever grounds we decide. We reservethe right to edit or change any material to suit the needsof our publication,without prior notification to the contributor. "Letters to the Editor" willbe accepted for publication providedthey are accompanied by a name,address and phone number.

Contributors whose material isselected for publication in .MossMotoring will receive Moss MotorsGift Certificates in the followingamounts:

S125.00 Gift Certificates

Technical Articles, Marque Reviews,Histories (cars, race teams, etc.) andPersonality Profiles


Book Reviews. Club Article Reprints(humorous or general interest)


Technical Tips, Cartoons, HumorousAnecdotes, Puzzles and Photos (notphoto contest contributions, however)

OurCatalogs!We offer a full lineof complete andcomprehensivecatalogs.Beautifullydetailed illustrations of each carmake finding theparts you need

easy. Helpful tech- tips and hard-to-find accessories also aid you in therestoration, maintenance and enjoyment of vour British classic. Call toll-free, 800-235-6954, for your FREEMoss catalog. (At publication date,our current price list is effective fromJanuary 17,1994 till further notice.)Choose from MG TC-TD-TF, MGA,MGB, Sprite-Midget, TR2-4A,TR250-6, TR7, Spitfire MkIV-1500,Austin-Healey 100-4, 100-6, 3000and Jaguar XK120-150.Keep costs down, ask your salesadvisor if you have the current edition of our catalog.

Spring '95.

A recent trip by your Editor ro theland of his birth merely provedthat the more things alter the more

they stay the same. While the trip was ofa personal nature one couldn't help butnotice old things, new things, lovedthings and neglected things

So here arc a few snapshots ofEngland in 1994 under European Eiiniry:

• Police video cameras everywherc-atstop lights, major road junctions and outon the highways. Some are very real, others are fake! Some are linked to the DMVat Swansea so they can check on whetherthe car recorded is taxed and registered.If you jump the red lights after twilightthe flash of the camera catching yournumber plate will soon advise you thatyou have earned a ticket-and a line-through the mail!

• Arriving at Heathrow it was a goodten minutes before we even saw anEnglish made car. Audis, BMWs, Renault(what the heck is a Laguna?!) Citroenand Mercedes all passed beforeus until aRolls Roycc drove into view.

• The traffic in London was as bad asever but kept moving assisted by the infamous English roundabouts and sequential stop lights.

• Lots of MGBs seen, plus a plethoraof Morris Minors, several Triumphs, asuper Riley 2 liter, and early FarinaAustin, They do use their classics overthere.

• English breakfastsTd almost forgor-

A couple of venerable veterans! Youreditor and Jetty Coguen's 1930 MC "M~Type Doctors Coupe.

ten what they tasted like but soon re-discovered the old B.E.S.T! Bacon, Eggs,Sausage, Tomatoes, Fried bread, BlackPudding, Real-lea. toast and jam!

• Sticker shock as wc filled up ourborrowed MG Maestro with gas-equivalent to $4 a gallon, and while theImperial gallon is slightly larger than theUS measure it still seems very expensive!

WARNING:"Filling up can damage yourcredit card!"

• Swooping through deserted, windingcountry lanes up in wildest Cumbria.This is what sports car driving in Englandis all about! 'ITic 2 liter fuel injected, frontwheel drive MG Maestro was very

Dear Editor...First a letter from yet another of ourmany younger enthusiasts who havetaken the time to write to us:

Dear Moss,

First I would like to compliment youon your outstanding publication. Theinformation I have obtained from "MossMotoring" is both entertaining andmechanically helpful. As all British carenthusiasts know, there aren't many (letalone enough), such publications around.I am writing to reveal my irreplaceableMG experience.

When I was fourteen my grandmagave mc the opportuniry to buy what isnow my pride and joy, a 1976 Midget.Alter three years of numerous lawn mowing jobs and countless hours of shovelingsnow. I can now call it mine. As I hadn't3 driver's license at fourteen, most of mytime with the car was spent admiring itor detailing it. Once 1 turned 16 1 wasdriving that Midget with a feather footand graceful acceleration!

I am now an 18-ycar-old college stu

dent whose passion for British cars isakin to that of a mother to her newborn.As all former and present college studentsknow, money doesn't exactly grow ontrees. Ironically, regardless of that situa-tion, I can always find a way to squeezeout those couple of bucks for my Midget.Whether it's going without Doritos for aweek or skipping the visit to RonaldMac's for a month, I have this quest tokeep beautifying my MG.

At the end ol each summer, my MGgoes away to storage and so does a pieceof my heart for the next eight months.Winters are spent trawling through theMoss catalogs for that perfect, what youthink is going to be the last, finishingpan... of course wc all know better thanto think that! When summer rolls aroundit's back to the streets for more superbcountryside drives.

Again I would like to congratulateyou on your fine newspaper and I lookforward to receiving mv next issue of"MM."

New S.U.

Carburetor Sets

Brand new, exactly as original,S.U. carburetors are now beingproduced in England from a combination of original and new production tooling. No matter howfine a job is done in rebuildingcarburetors, they just can't possiblycompare to new uniis. Brand new carbs can make an amazing difference in the way your car runs, besides dressing up your enginecompartment.

MGB '69-71 Carb. set 366-488 S349.95

libit repbet AVD126. AUD40S. O AUD46S)

MGB '72-'74 Cub Set 366-628 $439.50

itknt rrphit AVD49S, AVD5S0. & AUD630!

MG TC Carb. Set 370-748 SI 149.50

MGTF Carb. Set 370-768 SI 149.50

MGA 1500 Carb. Set 370-778 S1032.50

MGA 1600

Sc Midi Carb. Set 370-7S8 $1049.50

MGB '62-'(.S Cirb. Set 372-238 S349.95

(thatrqincAUD>2.AVDUS. Cr AUD26H

responsive and light to the touch but itwould have been better in a real Britishsports car!

• Spending a whole day at theHeritage Motor Museum with AndersClausager. Marvelling how they've got somany superb historic cars into the spaceavailable. Hearing how BMW (the newowners of Rover Cars) are veryimpressed with what's been achievedhere. (See Heritage Hi-Lites)

• Finally a couple of days spent in andaround Abingdon talking to the peoplewho designed and built MGs. Seeingtheir eyes sparkle as they talked about the'old" days, and how interested they wereto learn of your continuing enthusiasm!

• TheWeather? English of course!

So while it was nice to go "home" fora little while to see family and friends, it'sequally as nice to be back in my adopted"home" where wc have made so many,many friends among the BritishCar fraternity. Hope to meet up with you soonand drop me a line if there's anythingyou'd like to see in "Moss Motoring"!

(Tailpiece: Some of you wrote to askme what that funny looking "English"?car I was standing beside in the Winterissue of "M.M" I guess I'll have to ownup and tell you it certainly wasn't Englishbut the new Lamborghini Diablo which Ihad hoped Santa would bring me. Nosuch luck! And with 0-60MPH in 3 seesand costing some $300,000 maybe it's agood job he didn't!)

a

Sincerely,BrentA.Brown, Cedarburg. XVI

(Doesn't it do your heart good to readsomething like that in this day and age?.'Ed)

Dear Moss,

The Triumph Sports Car Club of SanDiego wish to thank you for your participation at "Triumphest 94" held inMission Bay. •

Wc feel this Triumphest was one ofthe most successful ever held with overtwo hundred cars registered for the show.

Your prc-show help was greatlyappreciated and the support you gave usthrough "Moss Motoring" was invaluable. I did learn one lesson. Never allowmy phone number to appear in a nationalpublication! The phone never stoppedringing after your publication reachedyour customers!

Thank you again for your generosityand help, for wc couldn't have held"Triumphest 94" without you.

Sincerely, Dave Johnson, Co-chair. SanDiego, CA

S.U. SquareBody FuelPump

Brand new

genuine S.U."squarebody"' fuelpumps as

originallyfitted to

JaguarXK12C), 140, &: 150,Austin-Healey 100-6 &c3000, and MGA Twin Cam,are now available after manyyears of being considereda "lost cause".

377-085 $219.95

Looking Ahead to AnotherFabulous Moss Festival!

the slalom through a forest of cones andseveral hundred interested spectators.The many shops and cafes will be openfor you all to enjoy the Valley'shospitality. And if ladies, you were one of those"born to shop" wc will again be runningour mini-busesto the quaint Danish styletown of Solvang, two miles upthe road from the Festival. Soquaint they will not letMcDonalds open an outlet hereas it felt it would not be inkeeping with the totally Danishtheme of the area! However,they do have a great factoryoutlet mall while a couple ofmiles further up the road is theIndian Casino where you mightspend an hour at the tables.

Solvang however, is the realtourist attraction with hundreds of small shops, windmills, superb Danish pastriesand memories of HansChristian Anderson and the Danish culture on every comer.

Fancy flying high.'! The local airfieldwill be offering glider and light planerides throughout the weekend whileMoss will be flying high by offering toursby bus or convoy in your own car, to ourGolcta outlet whete the widest possiblerange of quality "goodies" for yourBritish classic can be purchased at discount, and you can enjoy a tour of thefamous Moss facility.

For those of you who just wish to lazearound in the sunshine at the event H.Q.our friendly staff will be in attendancewith their computers and catalogs for youto place orders which will be delivered

direct to you at the site on a daily basis,or could even be shipped to your homeaddress! Our knowledgeable, technicalrepresentatives will also be in attendanceduring the Festival to demonstrate the"right" techniques and assist any attendingdriverwho might strike trouble!

And what of the kids-our juniorenthusiasts of tomorrow? Have no fear.Mum & Dad, we'll look after them!There'll be games, treasure hunts, hay-rides behind the Ranch's magnificentshire horses and our ever-popularPinewood Derby racing will again be ahighlight. (Get your kits now Dad-and

It won't be long now! You reallyshould benuking your plansto attendthe third annual MOSS MOTORS

BRITISH CAR FESTIVAL which willonce again take place at the beautiful"Flag is Up" farms in the scenic SantaYnez valley on JULY 14,15 and 16th1995.

Once again our hosts at this thoroughbred horse racing Mecca, Monty and PatRoberts, will warmly welcome well over200 British cars and their crews to theirranch set against the backdrop of thespectacular Santa Ynez mountains.

Of course we from Moss Motors willalso be in attendance and have planned agreat three days of fun and festivities!The famous wine tour rallyc will beamended this year to include new 'ports'of call and our rallymaster for the T.S.Devent, John Self has yet more fiendishroutes planned to get everyone lost!

...Drive around with a

paper bag over your head...

Out in the main arena we will againmount the tricky funkhana where youmight try and balance your Britishcar onthe "teeter-totter" while your navigatordesperately tries to equalize the center ofgravity to achieve perfect balance! Or ifyou wish to emulate some of our politicians you might like to drive around witha paper bag over your head while beingtold where to go!

Fancy letting your car rip through themain streets of beautiful Bucllton? Well,now's your chance, as we will again stage

Just your size sir

Forget balanced budgets! Balance your Hcaley!

SU Carb

Rebuild VideoAnyone can tune or rebuild SU

carbs with the help of our exclusive 2 hour and 40 minute video.

This easy to follow video uses acombination of sights, sounds

and simple conversational dialogto unravel the mysterious SU. A

-Int. must for homeSMX*W mecnanics.

•n/ice/l 211-035 S29.95

Lucas HeadlampBucketsGenuine

Lucas head

lamp buckets with

adjusters,but not

includinglampsocket & wiring, rims, nor rubbergrommets. The three-adjusterbucket firs most 1953 - '59 applications using three adjusters andscrew-retained outer rim, such asTF, '55-'59 MGA, TR2-3 (not3A), 100-4 and 100-6. The two-adjuster bucket fits most applications from 1960-on.

3-Adjuster Bucket 144-797 $45.952-Adjustcr Bucket 144-807 $19.95

start whittling! Moss #231-290!)

When the kids are exhausted and inbed, we will again welcomeyou to thegiant marquee where during the eveningthe best entertainment in the business willbe available for your pleasure. Country& Western groups, Line dancing, localartists will make the evenings go with areal swing!

Of course the Festival food will beplentiful and varied,but shouldyou wishto visit one of the many local area restaurants we'll tell you where they are.However, you may wish to stay on theranch and enjoy the bar hospitality safein the knowledgethat you don't luive todrive anywhere, after having a noggin!

No matter how you travel to theMOSS FESTIVAL we urge you to tryand be with us this year. Bring yourBritish car, or your RV, or your tent,your bike- walk if you have to! Thelocal hotels arc offering great rates. Andthis year all the campers will be together,enjoying great hot shower facilities andbathrooms imported direct fromIlollywood!Our securitywill be as tightas ever and the farm is perfectlysafe forenthusiasts of all ages.

So, make your plans NOW!! Don'tleave it until it's too late, make this thebest family vacation you've ever had atvery modest cost! Our Festival coordinator, Harry Haigh is bursting bloodvessels trying to ensure you have a greattimc-and you will-just ask CharlesRunyan!

For further information call us ^_toll free on 1-800-235-6953

Combination Oil

Pressure/Water

GaugeThis genuine Smith's combination gauge is a directreplacement for early Sprite,Midget, MGA, and MGBwith chrome-bezeled gauges.These gauges have black faceswith white lettering and needles, as original, and havc^a capillary tube 77inches long.

361-761 $119.95

fl^

(HAPUT (HATTERMore thoughts from our SalesManager, Mike Chaput

By the time you read thisChristmas will be well past. It isduring this time of year many ofus reflect on what happened overthe past twelve months. As wegrow older it seems as thoughFather Time speeds up the clock. Ican remember the beginning oflast year, making resolutions Ididn't keep. Soon the kids werecutting hearts out of constructionpaper as they made theirValentines. Easter passed, asquickly as Summer began, itended, and Fall was upon us.Halloween came, and thenThanksgiving. As I write it is aweek before Christmas. Time is aprecious commodity and weshould spend it wisely.

So you're probably saying,"OK Mike, what is your point?"My point is simply this, makeplans now to do whatever repairsor improvements you need to doto your British Classic. Most ofyou out there are not as fortunateas some of us who can drive ourSportscars year round. Soon thedriving season will be over andmanyof you willsay to yourselveswhere did the time go? Whatkeeps this hobby alive and strongis the pure enjoyment we get whenwc DRIVE our cars. Sure it isrewarding and pleasurable torestore and maintain ourSportscars. Wc all get that feelingof satisfaction. But how does thatcompare to a brisk drive up amountain pass or a jaunt throughthe country? When was the lasttime you drove your car to aBritish car meet and swapped warstories with your fellow enthusiasts? Maybe this year you canplan to participate in a Rally or aFunkhana. These events aredesigned to enlist the participation \of all British Sportscar Drivers.*Get involved with your local clubsand make 1995 a great year driving your car! Plan now, get yourcar ready for when Spring arrives.

As always (and since 1948)Moss Motors is here to help youwith whatever your needs are.Remember, we arc a full serviceCompany. If you require technicalhelp, wc are here. If you want toknow where your nearest localclub chapter is,wc havea databasewith over 500 hundred clubs. Ifyou're interested in finding thenext car meet in your area we areglad to help. Don't forget, our tollfree number (1-800-MOSS-USA) isa tool for you to use. We encourage all types of calls, not justorders. Our interests lie in thelong term future of this hobby.Whether it requires Moss to reproduce yet another discontinued partor givingyou a name for your closest club, you can bet that tomorrow or ten years from now, Mosswill be here for you.

Wc really do appreciate yourbusiness greatly, for without you,our valued customers wc would bein anodicr line of business altogether. Probably one not as friendlyand cert.linly not as exciting!

If you have any comments orsuggestions, please feel free tocontact me.

Thanks and happy motoring!

- Mike

Phone 1-800-235-6954 cxt 3216

or Fax 1-805-968-6910

Spring '95, ?a«,e.

warn &*

MORRIS MINORS-NEW LOVEFOR AN OLD CLASSIC

(On our travels around the countrywith the Moss Road Show we'vebeen struck by the large numbers ofMorris Minors and their enthusiasticowners we met. So we asked TonyBurgess of the Morris MinorRegistry to give us an update on the"Mighty Minor" scene in the UStoday. Ed)

The Morris Minor has beencalled many things since its introduction at the Earls Court MotorShow in 1948.i.cute, ugly, practicaland Volkswagen to name a few! Thefirst of many brilliant accomplishments of Sir Alec Issigonis, theMinor was to set a new standard forBritish post-war automobiles. SirAlec's later project the Mini Minor,later known as just the Mini, set a

• new standard for world class automobiles regarding the use of spaceand transverse-mounted, front drivepower plant.

The Morris Minor was designedduring World War II with the intentof replacing the aging Morris sedanline at the conclusion of hostilities.The concept car, named the"Mosquito" was built with a horizontally opposed, flat four cylinderengine, a unitized all steel body, andrack and pinion steering. Due to themerger of Morris and Austin duringthis same period, a last minuteswitch replaced the flat four withAustin's "A" scries 918cc flathcadengine. Another interesting item was

Limited SlipDifferentials

These

British

Q u a i f cgear rype

limited

slip differential

units will

put more of the power from yourengine to the road where itbelongs. Great for racing,autocrossing, driving in the snow,or just for fun. Installationrequires no more work thanrebuilding a standard differential.

TR3 (from TS13046) thru TR6674-065 $899.95

MGB with banjo type axlehousing267-065 $989.95

MGB & MGC with tubed typeaxle housing267-055 $989.95

Sprite &C Midget267-075 $989.95

Spring '9.5,

that just beforeproductionstarted. SirAlec felt thecar didn't

look justright. Hetherefore hadthe prototypecar cur in half,front to back, and hadhis designers slowly separate the leftand right halves until it looked "justcorrect"! The added width was fourinches. The problem was that production had already started on thefront and rear bumpers so they werecut in half and a four inch 'fillet'plate was added to the bumpersuntil the existing stock was depleted.You can identify these early Minorsby their three piecebumper set-ups.During the Minor's productionbetween 1948 and 1972, very few-changes were made to the overallappearance of the car other thansome functional and safety items.The headlights on the early Britishcars were mounted low in the grille,but were later moved up into thefront wings due to safety regulations. "Low-lights" as these carswere called ,were never importeddirectly into the United States,although some were brought in fromCanada. Engine size grew from theoriginal flathcad to the final 1098cc"A" scries in the last Minor 1000

model. Over one andthree quarter MILLIONcars were built and it was

the first British car toreach the 1 million mark!To celebrate this occasion, 350 cars were produced as Minor1,000,000 with special"Million" badges, Lilacpaint, and White leatherinterior. Many of thesecars arc still on the roadincluding half-a-dozen in

Mew Books from

the Moss Bookshelf

"The Last OpenRoad" (fiction)byB.S. Levy,212-145 $25.00

"S.U. Carburetors-TuningTips & Techniques"by G. R. Wade(alsocoversill S.U.FuelPu-iipi|

211-345 S16.95

"Original MGB, C, V8"by AndersDitlevClausager[see book reviewon pg. 7 of

this Moss Motoring),

211-355 S34.95

"Original Sprite&Midget"by Terry Hurler,211405 S34.95

"MGB Service Guide'

byLindsay Porter,211-110 $19.95

"International Road-Kill

Cookbook"

byBuck Peterson,213-605 $5.95

"Brake Handbook"

byPred Puhn,213-610 S15.95

"Essential Austin Hcalcy100 6t 3000"

by Mikel^avrcnce,213-670 $12.95

"Essential Triumph"

by David Hodges,213-675 S12.95

TR2-3 "Service

Instruction Manual"

(hardbound),

212-520 $47.95

NorthAmerica.

The Minor wasavailable in six body styles, a

two and four door saloon, a fourpassenger convertible (Toutcr) a"Woody" wagon (Traveller) a pickup truck and a parcel van. TheWoodies white ash box is functionalin that it was assembled off the car,then bolted to the floorpan whencomplete! The metal panels betweenthe wood simply fill in the spaces. Tocompensate for the additional weighton the wagon, the roof and rear"filler" panels arc made of aluminum. (Moss Chairman, HowardGoldman, owns a superb 1959example of the Morris MinorWoody! Ed).

Many owners have modifiedtheir cars with 1275cc engines, rib-case transmissions, rear ends, largerdrum brakes and front disc brakesfrom early MG Midgets and Austin-I Iealcy Sprites since these cars werebuilt using a basic Morris Minorplatform and a sports car body.Consequently many parts arc interchangeable.

In England the Morris MinorClub has over 10,000 members andis operated by a professional staff.Here in the US wc arc just as enthusiastic if not as numerous. If youhave a Minor, or are interested inthis little English wonder, contactthe Morris Minor Registry 318Hampton Park, Wcsicrvillc, OH43081-5723. You can call us on(614) 899-2394. We welcome owners and enthusiasts alike!

- Tony Burgess, President MMR

Confessions of aBritish ImportCar DealerAstory that mightjust makeyou think again!

So you think your British sports car isabsolutely, positively original chr!You think this is just as it left those

famous factories in Abingdon orCoventry? Well, don't bet on it and I'mhere after all these years to tell you why.

Even if you witnessed your preciousnew automobile being delivered straightoff the transporter at your local dealer, itmore than likely did not leave the assembly line in that particular configurationand likely would go through even morechanges before it was sold to the customer by the dealer.

Despatch compound - Abingdc,

First let's clarify the differencebetweenan import Distributorship and aDealership. Just as in modern times distributors bought the cars from the factoryand then sold them to the various dealerswithin their designated districts. When acar left the factory gates all the pertinentserial numbers, commission numbers,engine, gear box, color of upholsferyetc.were recorded and were probably correct. However, all is fair in love and warwhen it comes to getting that particularcar into the hands of a retail customer.

"Get that car delivered", was the warcry, from the factory, from the distributor, from the dealer, from the sales manager from the salesman, "I don't carewhat it takes-move that car". That laststatement is what was likely to changethe specification of your car from wb)it ^was original and which YOU still thinkISoriginal!

The Britishimported sports cars weretransported by'truck and train, thenshipped across the ocean and were subject to all kinds of abuse from the elements and handling. The paint, upholstery, even mechanical parts could bedamaged long before the car reached itsfirst stop, the distributor, who usually, atthe height of die British car invasion hadmany orders waiting to be fulfilled.

Let's say to complete one shipment toa dealer he needs a black car with a blackinterior but did not receive one in thisparticular shipment. However, he didreceive a black car with a RED interiorand a white car with a BLACK interior.Remember, "I don't care what it takes"?A quick swap of interiors and he has hisorder filledby fitting the black interior tothe black car! The car is then delivered tothe dealer who doesn't know about the

swap, and really doesn't care, all he wantsis to "deliver that car", and he docs! Thecustomer meanwhile sees his nice newblack car with black interior roll off thetransporter at the dealers and knows it isfresh and pristine and totally original!

The moral of this episode is, what theeye doesn't sec...wcll you know the rest,but what you and other unsuspecting new-car buyers never knew was that now therewere two very unoriginal automobiles forfuture experts to contemplate, and pontificate over. Definitely, Positively corrcct-"I've had it from new"!

If my little homily has set you wondering, wait until the next installment!The particular scenario I've outlinedabove has only the distributorshipinvolved, wait until you get the truthabout what happened when cars reachedthe dealership! - Imasnocsnoes

TriumphTRIUMPH TRIUMPH TRIUMPH

VIEW POINT

CURES WORTH CONSIDERINGFOR YOUR TRIUMPH

penetrated by the stud ends. I use thehorizontal holesfurthest apart.Watch the oil level

If your transmission oil is 90SAE youcan cruise around in start and stop trafficfor years and not experience any problems. However, cruise along an openroad, nice hot day,60-70MPII for a couple of miles with thetransmission oil 1/2"too low and you'llburn out the countershaft front needlebearing! The rollersbreak up and wipeout every bearing inthe transmission, thecounter shaft and thecounter shaft hub!

Look at the transmission cut-awaydrawing in the factorymanual. How docsthe oil get to thatIront needle bearing? Besides squeezingpast close fitting parts, oil must flowthrough the hole in the countershaft exiting into the countershaft hub and flowforward. This might be OK except thesteel bushing, in the path of the flowcatches the oil and then slings it outthrough the holes drilled in it, and thecountershaft hub.

The shaft should have been drilledthrough to an exit near the front needlebearing and in seventeen years of drivingmy TR2 the problem never occurredusing 30/50SAE. My home remedy wasto cut four notches in the countershaftthrust washers, using a 3/8" rat tailedfile, and notching the transmission caseto match.

More clutch lore

Cleaning out the clutch hydraulics andrefilling with silicone brake fluid willgreatly increase the life of the system.Adjust your diaphragm clutch justenough to disengage, overfiexing will

make it unusable.

Double bolting can be done right on thecar. (MOSS has a two stud bracket # 661-595/ Ed)

Electronics for TRs

If you're not a stickler for originality,then doing away with the distributor,points etc. by installing an electronic ignition system with photocell is the way togo. Thirty years ago I bad to make myown set-up but now there is a set-upready to install. It really makes a difference in a positive way of course and your•1 cylinder will think it's 3 smooth running six! To keep it cool mount theamplifier inside the cockpit with two or

from J.R.Hill. Torrance. CA

Triumphs have been getting mefrom here to there for 40 years!Nobody does anything to my TR

if there's any way I can do it myself,that's how I learned the following thingsthe hard way!

A Positive Change

Your TR2/3 is positive ground. Afterinstalling new battery cables, with negative going to ground and switching thetwo wires on the ammeter, changing thecoil, and repolarising the generator itbecomes a negative ground! Sound toosimple? Believeme it works.

It took about three years on and off ofthinking and questioning before I felt Iknew the answer. A letter from an electrical engineer confirmed what I hadthought and I made the switch.

CAUTION: disconnect yourradio/tape deck before the polaritychange. This only changes the electricalcomponents that run the car-if electricalcomponents do not have a + or a - switchthey would have to be isolation mounted.This works with standard ignition set-upbut if electronic ignition is installed alterchanging polarity a few problems mightoccur. However, think of the choices ofnew equipment now available!

Easier Trans. Replacement

Replacing the transmission is made alot easier if you fashion two 3" to 4"studs and use them to guide the trans,into position. Just screw the threaded endinto the engine and the trans, will slideright into position with the matchingholes in the transmission bell housing

Triumphs at Bowie

It just fell off officer!

Look at the lower wishbone inner fulcrum bracket.

Just one bolt holds it to the frame-thc later TR6 has two bolts. Why?

Because with the single bolt the framemounting fatigues, breaks and the wheelsfall off! I was lucky-my wheel fell off atabout 20MPH making a tight turn!

three washers between the amplifier andfirewall, under the mounting screws.There is NO cool place under the hood inthe engine compartment and heat is thegreatest enemy of electronics.

Alternative sdom

The original Lucas generator gave metoo many problems and over 25 years agoI began using an alternator. When thisinstallation was made it was necessary touse an external regulator. Nowadays asmall alternator with one wire hook-up iseasy to find, as with the external regulatorthe wiring gets too involved. It's given mereally good service and I don't have tocarry a sparc-which might be a good ideaif you stick with the Lucas!

Slippery sniff

Molybdenum-Disulfidc visually resembles graphite powder, however, it's amuch better lubricant. Moly works insuspense and would be extracted by afine filter, so it's not lor die engine.

Moly is great for the transmission,universal joints,front wheel bearings, thedifferential and any place with a greasefitting.

"Valvoline" makes a moly grease.

I hope the foregoing will help otherTriumphowners to enjoy these wonderful cars.

^2

British EquivalentContinued from page 1

tatives of non-Moss British namcplates,including examples from Lotus, Morganand Jensen, even BenrJeys.

To further enhance the British connotation, a caterer serving "bangers" andother typical British fare was on handand did a brisk business. Picnic luncheswere appropriate for the midday menu,but the Saturday night banquet definitelyhad a more elegant atmosphere, completewith speeches and an award ceremony.

Success sometimes worries theGoldmans, who look at the finite numberof MGs, Triumphs, Austin Hcaleys andJaguars, not exactly as a dwindling market, but as one offering limited opportunity for growth. There were 10,000 jaunty MG TC roadsters built in the yearsjust after WW II, and these could bedescribedas beingthe vehicles that created America's sports car appetite. Therewere 29,000 examples of the successorTD produced, and fully22,000 were lefthand drive versions for the U.S. market.With only a two-year production, farfewer TFs were built, but the majorityfound their way here.

Streamlining replaced boxy stylingwhen the MGA was introduced in 1956.The MGA was subscquendy replaced in1962 with the MGB, which featuredmore creature comforts including roll-upwindows. By 1980, more than a quartermillion MGBs had made their way acrossthe Atlantic Ocean to America.

In addition to exploring the potentialfor later mode) Jaguar E-Types andsedans, as well as for the ubiquitousAustin and Morris Minis, the Moss management is evaluating other namcplatesas potential candidates for similar linesofmaintenance and restorationparts. I

C/D Triumph ClubsPS The National Club address

es for Triumph arc as folI—) lows. However, there are

-Jhundreds of local clubs foreach marque. Contact us

V for further details of theclub in your area, or send

• us details of your local club

=to add to our database!

Vintage Triumph Register

£-

s

15218 W. Warren Avenue

Dearborn. MI 48126

Triumph Register of

i-iAmerica

5650 Brooks Road, N.W.^^ Lancaster, OH 43130

C£ Triumph TR6 Club

H1617 Harmony RoadAkron, OH 44333

TR Parts &c Accessories

TR6 Cowl Vent Screen

Handy screen fits under the plastic vent grille to prevent leaves and debris from entering. Fits 1973-V6TR6 803-895 8.95

TR250 Steering Wheel Spoke Cover853-705 S34.50

TR3-TR6 Heavy Duty Manifold GasketsTR3 fromcng.# TS8997E-TR4A (pair) 695-070S6.75

TR250-TR6 thru 1971 695-050 S6.75TRfi from 1972'76 695-060 S6.75

u\ H iMijui A fl*

g«oii»::o»P

TR4 Factory Type Sway Bar Kit660-968 SI 74.95

TR4-TR4A Seat Hack Webbing Kit681-330 (1 rcq'd. per seat) S9.95

TR4-TR4A Windshield Mirror801-070 S18.95

TR2 Wedge-Mount Sidccurtain SetsBlack Sidccurtain Set 259-218White Sidccurtain Set 259-228

TR4-6 Windshield Frame Finisher Set

Correctly grained black plastic finishers which coverthe exposed inside portions of the windshield frame.[Windshield must be removed for installation.)801-268 S49.25

TR4A - TR6 Dash Support CoversTR4A Support Cover 633-555 $118.50TR250 Support Cover 633-565 $118.50TR6 '69-'72 Support Cover 633-575 $118.50TR6'73'76 Support Cover 633 585 Si 18.50

TR4-TR4A Rcpro. Steering Wheel853-750 S169.50

TR3A-3B Scat Frame Assemblies

Fixed Back 643-925 S199.95Tilting Back 643-935 S199.95 © $248.95

$398.50

Spring '95. Page S

Classic-fied Ads ,4- ?I a 'he MG owner stared at the lug

nut in his hand and silently cursedthe gas station mechanic. Then

he looked back up at the parts store."Tiny's Auto Parts." The words werepainted on the storefront window of anarrow brick building, sandwichedbetween a dry cleaners and a shoerepair. A dusty collection of hydraulicjacks and grease guns was barely visiblethrough the grimy window. Not muchto look at, but it was the only partsstore within walking distance of the gasstation. With a sigh of resignation, hewalked inside.

"Tiny" was standing behind a woodenparts counter, talking on the telephone.He must have weighed at least 280 lbs,and was wearing what had once been alight blue work shirt. He glanced atthe MG owner but continued talking on the telephone. The conversation seemed 10 be about 3 television show from the night before.

The MG owner sat on one ofthe cracked, red barstools in frontof the counter and surveyed thestore. Under different circumstances, he would have consideredthe place a classicpieceof automotive heritage. A fewsmall displaysofbrake tools and automotive chemicalsgraced the customer area in front of thecounter, but this was obviously not aself-serve store.

Long racks of parts bins stretched fromthe work area behind the counter to therear of the store.

On the end of each rack, facing thecounter, red pegboards held a variety ofchrome plated hand tools. Beyond theracks, the back wall held a jumbled.assortment of mufflers and tailpipes.Fan belts hung from nails driven intothe top edge of the walls, just below theceiling. The ceiling itself was an ornatepressed tin affair, caked with peelingpaint and decorated by a few well populated fly strips. A large ceiling fanturned slowly above the counter.

"Whatcha want?" Tiny was off thephone now, ready for business.

"1 need some lug nuts." The MGowner placed his lug nut on the counter.Tiny picked up the nut and chuckled.

"Bet you just came from old DeanWilter's place. He just got hisself a newair wrench. This is the third time thisweek he's buggered up a lug nut. Thisone don't look too bad. You could soiluse it."

"This isn't one of the ones hestripped. 1 brought in a good one soyou could sec what I needed."

"What'd it come off of?"

"It's kind of an oddball. I'm sure youdon't have any catalogs for it, but Ithought maybe you could match thethreads."

"I got a whole shelf 'a catalogs.What's it offa?"

The MG owner hesitated a momentbefore answering. "A 1957 MGA"

"Ain't got none."

"You didn't even look!"

"Don't hafta look. I know what I got

We accept ads for Britishcars only; no parts ads,replicas or exporters,

please. Single insertion is $35.00.Publication is quarterly, the deadline for the next issue is April 6,1995. Place your ad well inadvance, limiting it to 50 words orless. Ads received near the deadlinemay be held for the next issue. Lateads will run in the next issue unlessyou specify current issue only.Please include your name, address,state the car is located in, andphone number. Send payment withad to: Moss Classic-fied Ads, 400Rutherford Street. Goleta, CA93117.

1978 TVR Taimar: One of 395

made. Burgundy/tan. Factory Ford31tr. V6. Fast, fun, reliable, andprobably the nicest Taimar in thecountry. National TVR Car Clubmembership included. Own a trulyunique British car, hand made byEngland's largest, present day,Sports Car manufacturer. Si4,000Craig Gallun (303) 322-3961.Denver, CO.

MGA Roadsters (3) 1961. 1959and 1958: Excellent condition, newchrome, rebuilt engines. Best offerover S 15,000 takes all three. BillDowney, 6553 Niderdale Way.Middle'town, OH 45042. (513)423-5474

1951 MG TD: Restored - greatcondition. Cream paint work,black interior. Looks great, driveswell. S12,000. Washington, DC.(202) 898-4506.

1953 MG TD: Always garaged andcovered. Red with Tan

interior.Good original condition,complete with original1951 California license plates and1953 tabs! Lucas tripod headlamps. Same owner for past 9years. S10.950. David (916) 823-8958. Auburn CA.

1960 MGA ROADSTER. Maroon

with Black interior 72 spoke wirewheels with new Bridgestonc rubber. 2 litre MGB sprint engine with1.6 MGA engine as spare. New topand rebuilt gearbox. Mechanicallya "9"-Bodywise a "7". Detailedphots available. $8000. John: (901)759-9456.

1971 MGB GT. Overdrive, newvalves, brakes etc. Great condition.Bob (805) 523-7431.

MGB & MGC Alloy HoodsBritish Motor I leritage has produced these previously-hard to find alloy hoodsfrom restored originaltooling. MGB roadsters usedalloy hoods through 1969, GTs until1971, but these will fit all MGBs/ThcMGC hood also fits the MGB, and has beenpopular with those converting MGBs to V-8power, as they provide increased under hood clearance and more aggressive styling.MGB Hood 457-255 S424.50MGC Hood 457-235 $524.50

MGC Hood Chrome Strip 457-205 S24.50

Spring '95. Page6

and I ain't got these. Ain't got any metric nuts."

"This isn't metric. It's SAE. Same asa Ford or Chevy."

"You said it was an MG, didn't y3?That's foreign. All them foreign cars usemetric nuts. Hell, sometimes evenAmerican cars use 'em now. It's a scamto sell more wrenches. I don't believe init, and I don't stock metric. If God hadwanted us to go metric he woulda giveus ten disciples."

"This is British. The Brits inventedthe inch. We got it from them."

"I'll bet you a dollar that if you takea 1/2" bolt out of your parts bins it willthread right into this nut."

Tiny took the nut in his hand .andexamined it carefully. "OK" he said.He stepped back into the parts atea.A few moments later he emerged with asmile on his face. "Don't fit. Told youit wouldn't. Gimmie the buck."

The MG owner placed his dollar onthe counter. "Let me sec that" hedemanded.

Tiny took the dollar and handed overthe nut and bolt. The MG ownerlooked at it a few seconds and then heput another dollar on the counter.

"All right. I'll bet you another dollarthat if you take a 1/2" fine thread boltout of your bin it will fit this nut."

Tiny hesitated a moment, butrealized he couldn't back out. Hetook the nut and disappearedbetween the shelves agsin. "Hey"he S3idwith surprise. "It fits!" Hestarted to take a dollar out of hiswallet.

"You can keep the dollar" theMG owner said. "Just get me four5/8" finethread lug nuts."

"Don't stock 'em that way. I stock'em according to what they fit."

"Well, can't you take that bolt backand find a lug nut that will fit it? If itfits that bolt, it will fit my car."

"That could take hours. I can'tafford to spend that much time helpingone customer search for some oddballpart. I got a business to run.

The MG owner scanned the store.There was not another customer in theplace, and the sidewalks outside wereempty. He was about to ask Tiny if hehad any other pressing transscrions

to attend to, but thought better of it.Insteadhe decidedto try a direct appeal.

"Look. I'm stuck here. I'm drivingcross country to visit an old friend andbe the best man in his wedding. I pulledoff the Interstate to get gas and whileI'm filbngup I seea sign "Wc fixflats." Pve got a slow leak in my rightrear tire, so I figure what the heck.Might as well get it fixed. Next thing 1know, this hnm-handed grease monkeystrips my lug nuts and I'm stranded.

You'vegot the only parts store for milesaround, and 1think you've got the nuts Ineed in stock. But if you won't look forthem, I'll miss my buddy's wedding.

Tiny appeared to soften a bit. Thenhe said "I'll see what I can find." Hebegan rummaging through his pansbins, and in a few minutes he returnedwith four lug nuts.

"Great!!!" The MG owner almostjumped for joy. "Thanks for findingthem. What do I owe you?"

Continued on page 15

THELUG

NUTS

Tiny looked at the nut suspiciously."Ain't never yet seen a foreign car thatwasn't metric." He thought a whilelonger. Then he put the nut back downon the counter. "Buddy 'a mine had a

British motorbike once. The fuel pumpwent bad and we couldn't find nowrenches nowhere that would fit it."He looked at the MG owner in triumph.

The MG owner closed his eyes in resignation. "It must have beenWhirworth" he whispered

"What?" asked Tiny.

"Whirworth. I said it must have beenWhirworth."

"Nah. It was a Triumph or some-thin."

"Not the bike, the threads. TheBritish used to use Whitworth nuts andbolts. They come in truly weird sizes.No other wrench will fit."

"Thought you said they invented theinch."

"They used Whitworth before theyinvented the inch."

Tiny looked at the MG owner suspiciously. Then, with an air of finality, hedeclared "Don't matter. I don't gotnone of these." Sadly, the MG ownerpicked up his lug nut. As he was turning to leave, he stopped, and lookedback at Tiny. "Are you a betting man?"

Tiny eyed the MG owner warily."Might be" he replied.

Carburetor

Dashpot Oil

What kind of oil is best forS.U. and Zenith-Strombergcarburetors?

Carburetor oil, ofcourse! We have

found an oil specifically designed forthis application,and heartilyendorse its use.

125 ml. bottle.

t

UWRSJj

220-225 S7.95

Jaguar FenderCover

This

good lookingand very durable fendercover will protect your oldor new Jaguar's paint fromscratches and dirt any timeyou're working under thehood.

241-755 S19.95

J

L

Book Review

ORIGINAL MGB with MGCandMGBGTV8Authoredby AndersDittev Clausager, PhotographybyJohn Colley

The "Original" scries now numbering 15 volumes, has become one ofthe outstanding references for

restorers, archivists and enthusiasts.Original MGB, the most recent additionto the series, is Ander's fourth contribution.

He writes from a unique position asArchivist for the Heritage Motor Center.Since 1979 he has had access to therecords and the people most involved inthe British automotive industry and hehas used this accessibility to good effect.An automotive stylist with Austin-Roverearlier in his career, he also brings the eyeof an artist to his books.

Probably no other single sports carever had the popular acceptance accordedto the MGB during its 18 years of production. As the author points out in hisintroduction, there are more pages andpictures in this book than in any other inthe "Original" series, and this is not hardto understand with over half-a-millionMGBs produced. The list of productionchanges alone takes up some 12 pages!

Every major assembly in the MGB hasa chapter of its own and all arc illustratedwith an extensive collection of beautifullydetailed color photographs. John Colley.who started his career in automotive photography with Rolls Royce is responsiblefor the majority o( the color work, supplemented by contributions from MGBowners throughout the world.

A great deal of effort was put intofinding the best possible example of thecar or part that would illustrate a particular model or accessory. Where modelor part changes were of a more subtlenature, side-by-side examples have beenmeticulously photographed andexplained.

With so many MGBs in restoration aquestion will usually arise concerningpaint color and interior trim. Nine pagesof charts and text cover all the variouscolor permutations, both paint andupholstery, for the entire MGB production range. One of the most comprehensive paint charts we've ever seen also listsoriginal colors and paint manufacturerspart numbers for both British and

American

companies.For thosesvho arecurious about the originsof their cars, the arcane system of numbers and letters that with the help of theHeritage files,can tell you the exact dateyour MGB was manufactured, arc fullyexplained.

This is not a dull technical encyclopedia of facts and boring charts. To be certain, there are charts. However, theauthor uses them in a well-designed bookand crisp prose to cleverly involve you inthe history of the "B" and its largercngined variations. I would wager thatthere is something new here for even themost avid followers of MGB lore.

-IB.Hardbound, 152 pgs. 9 X 12". 265 colorphotos. Moss It 211-355 Original MGBwith MGC and MGB GT VS. $34.95.

Double Clutching a further note forMGB owners

from Robert A. Stealer, Kelscyville, CA

Chris Ball and Steve Tom wrote excellent articles on double clutching and heel8c toe downshifting. But neither went farenough when it comes to the MGB, alsoSteve is misinformed regarding at leastone Datsun model.

I learned to drive a long, long, timeago; a time when double clutching wasthe hallmark of a skilled driver.Furthermore, the old truck I drove afterschool required it, and before long thetechnique became second nature.

When real sports cats came to theUnited States after the Second Worldwar, I became aware of a techniquecalled heel and toe downshifting whichallowed drivers to dive into a cornerwhile simultaneously braking and downshifting. Although I understood the principle, I never found a domestic car thathad the proper arrangement of pedals todo this. Finally, in 1971 I was able topurchase a sports car, a shiny newDatsun 240Z. I soon discovered that the

size and the arrangement of the brakeand accelerator pedals in that car notonly made heel and toe dow-nshifts possible, but fun as well!

Several years after acquiring the240Z, I purchased an MGA and anMGB. Both had weak synchros and hadto be double clutched, but to my dismay Ifound 1 could not twist my right footround to make the heel and toe downshifts I could make in the Z-car Thearrangement of the pedals was all wrong.Steve Tom describes double clutching,but not heel and toe downshifting hisMG TC and MGB, so I assume he toodiscovered how difficult it is to put theball of the foot on one pedal and the heelon the other, when they are about fourinches apart, and about the same heightfrom the floor. Personally 1 think it'simpossible unless one is a contortionist!

One of the ways that MG drivers canenjoy heel and toe downshifts is if theyare willing to modify the acceleratorpedal. A popular approsch is to fit a"Paddy Hopkirk" pedal, which is anaftermarkct product which clamps to theexistingacceleratorpedal.This producingan accelerator pedal which is longer andoffset to the left so that it can be moreeasilycontacted with the right heel whilekeeping the ball of the foot on the brakepedal as pictured in SteveTom's article.(Thiscorrespondenceis now closed. Ed)

MOSS #900-315

KETSTONE REGION MG CLUB

Wc were suitably cliastenedto receivea letter from Terry Allen,Presidentof theKeystone MGs, pointing out that whilehe enjoyed our coverage of the CollierCup at WatkinsGlen,in the Winterissue

MG Parts &c Accessories

MG TC L/H Mirror Bracket

407-500 S36.90

MG TC Horn Trim Kit

145-107 S38.10

MG TD Chrome Dash Trim

454110 S114.50

Brass Dashpot DampersTCTD Damper 378-305 S21.60IT Damper 370-745 S23.95

MG TF Seat Back Spring456-645 S27.50

MGA Battery Link Cable332-035 SI9.95

MGA-MGB Pedal

Extension

Accelerator pedal extension enables "heel and toe"

operation on MGA and MGBthru 1967.900-315 $19.95

MGB 1968-716-Blade Fan

434-330 S59.95

MGB-GT C-Post Block Set

Foam blocksfit insiderear "sail panels"to reduce panel drumming. Sold as apair. 641-505 S9.95

MGB O.E. Thermostatic Fan Switch

Fits from 1977-'80 to car #511519

542-216 S35.50

MGB 1962-'64 Door Latch Repair Kit401-117 S17.95

MGB 1962-'64 "Pull Out-

Door Handles

Left Hand

401-510 S26.50

Right Hand401-520 S26.50

MGB 1962-'67 Radiator

456-880 S159.95

MGB 1962-'69 Sunvisor Kit

(not illustrated)224-108 5S.95

of "Moss Motoring", we failed to mention anything about the excellent MGconcours which took place the Fridaybefore the main event.

Over 50 fine cars entered the concoursand overall close to 200 MGs comprisedthe car show over the two days, so we doapologize to thosewho show by concentrating our feature on those who go!

If you livein the Leigh Valley area of PA.and have an MG the Keystone Club wouldlove to hear from you. Contact _.Terry at 404 Church Hill Rd, E3Kintersvillc. PAPhone:(610)847-598S.

18930.

MG ClubsThe National Club addresses forMG are as follows however thereare hundreds of local clubs foreach marque. Contact us for further details of the club in yourarea, or send us details of yourlocal club to add to our database!

New England MG "T" Register

Drawer 220, Oneonta, NY 13820

North American MGA Register1.5420 Summit Hills Rd.

Albuquerque, NM 87112

North American MGB Register

P.O.Box MGB, Akin. IL 62805

American MGC Register34 Park Avenue

Ashcvillc, NC 28803

American MGB Association,

P.O. Box 11401, Chicago 60611

MGB I962-'67 Instrument Cowling233-790 $19.95

MGB Battery Link Cable332-130 S24.50

MGB Zcnith-StrombergjetReplacement jets for 1975-'80 MGBcarburetors have never been available

before, even when the cars were new.They are now available from Moss!Since the original jets wetc pressed intothe carb. bodies to a carefully deter

mined height, replacementmust be entrusted to

a qualified mechanic/machinist.

366-105 S10.95

Spring '95. Page "

THE 1994

"MOSS MOTORING"

PHOTOGRAPHIC

COMPETITION

Well, you never cease to amaze us with your imagination

and technique in entering our annual photographiccontest and the hundreds of photographs received this

year proved no exception.

Thanks to each and every one of you for taking the time tosend us your work. Our judges really had their work cut out toarrive at the winners and to those people congratulations!

If you weren't successful this year, you'll have another chancenext Fall in the 1995 "Moss Motoring" Photo Competition.

SECOND PLACE - Photo by Doug McKenzie, Santa Barbara. CA

More greatentries...

GRAND PRIZE WINNER - Photo by Jeff Cook, Bettendorf, Iowa

THIRD PLACE - Photo by Glen Toobert. Deer Park. NY

Jeff AspergerIJoe Amenta, Chicago, 11.

Gary G. Anderson, Los Altos, CA

Spring '95,

Charles Meyer. Rellingham. VPA

bSgNHal

"The Pxperls" tryBill Olson, Bramhndge Island. WA Matthew Curtis, Chapel Hill, NC NeilKorpi. Minneapolis. MN

Spring '95.

-rrj'-:-

MOTORgf|®IliMOSS SPONSORED MIDGET

TAKES CHAMPIONSHD?!

thrcc-qu3rtcrs ni3rk when out came thecheckered flag! We had been handed thewin! And this win also had a bonusairached..the points lead in class! Onceagain we had won the points championship for our class for the NINTHtime!!

At this point I glanced over to the pitwall to see my crew going crazy, cheering and jumping around! What a greatfeeling as we secured the championshipby ONE point! Even the driver of the2nd placed car congratulated on a fantastic season- it could have gone eitherway, at any rime, and if it had.I wouldhave been just as happy for them!

I would like to take this opportunityto thank Harry Haigh, Jonathan Laneand David Lichclbaum of MossMotorsport for helping us win the championship yet again. Gentlemen, withoutyour support, none of our successeswould be possible! As for 1995? Staytuned to these pages!

cars or Funny cars but Police Cruisersdrag racing for the "SupercopChallenge" National Police drag racingchampionships! What is this?! Only inLas Vegas I guess-land of the flyingElvis's! Lights flashed and sirens wailedas police officers from 57 departmentsacross the USA challenged each otherover the quarter mile in souped-up squadcars. Back home the officers use theirdragsters in programs to promote socialissues. I.t. Jack Snyder of the NevadaHighway Patrol, who founded theChallenge, told us,"Hundreds of thousands of kids are exposed to these programs each year, a drag car is a perfecttool to get your message across andmake an impression". It certainly madean impression on us while wc struggledto get some trackside 'shut-eye', even asa jet powered dragster,'chute deployed,hurtled past us, approaching the midnight hour!

Saturday November 5th. Back to thereal racing and soon many of ourfavorite Triumphs and MGs were gathering in pit road for scrutineering andfirst practice runs.

At the close of the day Moss Motorssponsored a huge Greek Bar-B-Q forsome 300 drivers and their crews withGyros etc. all crazily put together by anindividual known as the "Mad Greek"!

Sunday November 6th. The great dayat last! All eagerly awaited the showdown over the 1.6 mile track between 23

Abingdon and Coventry classic racers.

Kenny Rodgers in his 1965 MGBjumped into the lead from the start closely followed by Dan Longacre in a 64MGB, the nearest Triumph being LeonDuhamel in a 63 TR4, running fourth.

By the third lap the original two leaders Rodgers and Longacre were battlingit out well ahead of the pack but Leonmanaged to pass the third place MGB ofRon Hlavka. However this position wasshort-lived as Hlavka retook 3rd pkice onlap 6 and stayed there until the finish.

Retirements took their toll and only-ten finishers crossed the line at the end ofnearly 29 miles of hard racing, the finalresult being as follows:

1. Kennv Rodgers. Newport Beach, 1965MGB

2. Dan Longacre. Dana Point. 1964<MGB

3. Ron Hlavka. Alya Loma, 1967 MGB

4. Ixon Duh3mel Long Beach. 1963 TR-4

5. Paul Smock. Long Beach. 1966 TR4A

6. Neal Rupp. Yorba Linda 1957 MGA7. Jim Dickerson. Santa Ana, 1957 TR-3

8. Jim Bush. Woodland Hills. 1962Spitfire.

9. Randy Keene. Seal Beach. 1966 MGB.

All in all a great weekend's motorsportin which Moss was proud to play asignificant part. ••

A driver's eye view from Stephen Newby.

FIREWORKS ATLAS VEGAS!!The Moss Motorsport MG-TriumphChallenge.

Thursday November 3rd. 44 Degreesand raining! So this is "Lost Wages"?where normally the the temperatures areso fierce even the rartlers hide from thesun under the brown desert rocks?However, this was Las Vegas inNovember, and the only heat was beinggenerated inside the massive halls hosting the SEMA automotive show downtown on the strip.

Fortunately these abnormal weatherconditions faded before the start of threedays of motorsport at Las VegasIntcrnationsl Raceway, which includedthe MG/Triumph challenge event, rununder VSCC regulations and sponsoredby Moss Motors, so practice and racingwere held in the normal sunshine expected in this little corner of never-never land!

Friday November 4th. The dawn airis shattered by the noise of jet aircraft-not just one or two, but a whole flock ofF-16s, F-15s. AWACS and C-130Stratotankers! Not only were theFighting Falcons taking of from nearbyNellis AFB, but wc also had the BlueAngles and the Thunderbirds into thebargain! Many people pay big bucks foran air show like this we saw it all forfree and it continued throughout theweekend!

9.00pm-With Fills taking off, usingreheat, the sky was lit up like a giganticmoving firework display. Maybe thesejet jockeys were aware that November5th is traditionally fireworks day inmerry old England! Meanwhile down onthe Raceway strip drag racing was starting to happen. Not just any old Top Fuel

THE EVENT. I"his was the third in athree race scries sponsored by the SportsCar Club of BC and the last race of theseason in the International Conferenceof Sports Car Club championship raceseries. The championship points battlewould be decided in this race.

THE RACE. Raceday dawned coldand foggyagain, hut as luck would haveit, the weather broke late in the morningand the sun quickly boosted the temperature. The extra heat in the track provedto be exactly what wc needed and ourrace setup was perfect!

Class Winner StephenNewbyandhis Moss sponsoredMidget.

QUALIFYING. The Newby RacingMG Midget was fitted with a differentengine for this event due to the expiration of our "good" engine at our lastrace, in Seattle. Our reliable 'workhorse'motor was therefore fitted to see usthrough the weekend. Mission is a shorttrack where horsepower is sometimes adetriment. The decision to install thismotor was made of necessity, ratherthan good planning. However, we willgladly take credit for the right move!Qualifying on Sunday morning put us inthe lead position for our class!

During the race we established anearly lead which proved to be exactlywhat the doctor ordered. Eight laps intothe race a rather nasty incident occurredin the fastest comer of the track with acar making heavy contact with an unforgiving wall! The driver was O.K. butdebris was strewn all over the tracknecessitating a 'pace car' situationwhereby we all had to line up in runningposition.

'llic clcsn up took a long time .meaning we ran behind the pace car until the

Cross-Drilled Brake

Rotor SetsMG Parts & AccessoriesMidget MG-Crested Lugnut Sprite-Midgetl275 OuterBeautiful chrome lugnut with 1st Gear

stamped "MG" crest for 1275 461-945 $89.95

and 1500 Midgets withROstyle wheels. Sprite-Midget 1275264-165 S3.75 Competition Head Gasket

694 555 $18.95

ROstyle Wheel Paint Mask462-695 12.95 Sprite-Midget 1098-1275

Original Type Shift KnobMidget 1970-'S0 Seat Foams 462-775 S8.95

Bottom 640-520 S24.50

t mmm

Left Back Midget 1500640-510 S27.95 Stainless Steel Heater

Right Back640-500 S27.95

Return Pipe635-105 S26.50 =-o

Sprite/Midget Self-TriggeringTrunk Stay406-985 S19.95

X '* *•» ^ j*. a

Drilled brake rotors

increase your car'sbraking ability anddecrease brake fade.

Rotors arc cross-drilledwith a rotational pattern for increased effec

tiveness. Note: 586-

518 fits TR3B TCFscries (not TSF scries).

Sprite-Midget Rotor Pair 182-158 $149.50

MGB Rotor Pair 182-178 S139.50

TR3B thru TR6 Rotor Pair 586-518 S189.50

Spitfire MkIV-1500 Rotor Pair 586-528 S159.50

Spring'95.

HEALEY

THE ONGOING

SAGA OF HAROLD

HUNTERDear Moss,

I thought your Hcalcy readers mightbe intcrsted in the attached note fromHarold "Red" Hunter way back in 1957.Incidentally the 'demon' 215 BHP enginewas one enlarged to about3.5liters!

awrlM-r' ..5C7.

Kl«n»«-

MA I

which follows:

"Exactly 4,150BN6 "MilkMiglia" roadsterswere produced atAbingdon between1958 and 1959 ( the12-port car was originally marketed as the Austin-Healey Mille Miglia). My goal isto locate as many of them as possible.

These later 100-6s are excellent andhave many advantages for theenthusiast over other Big Hcalcymodels. 1 myself own a 1958BN6.

First, they arc very rare ascompared to all regular production Big Healeys (with the exception of the early 3000 twoseatcrs) and while this raritycould cause parts and information problems, it will, at thesame time appeal to manyenthusiasts. Secondly, theselater 100-6s are better sportscars than the reputation leftbehind by early 100-6s wouldsuggest. In fact 12 port carsare equal to early 100's andvery similar to early 3000'sin performance. Also thevalue of these cars is exceptional as their prices arestill relatively affordable.However, the biggestappeal of these cars istheir beauty, closelyresembling the original

two seat 100's.

I would therefore be very grateful ifyou could give me any help in locatingthe owners of these fine cars. Thank youfor your interest and assistance in thisendeavour and happy motoring!"

(If you have one of these Healeyswrite to Paul at 118 Laurel Dr.Auburn. AL 36830 or call him

on (205) 887-6696.)

B.0.»-c: ..-.• r-*". .for I«-

2SS&5 - ->~ ^,j*gL B^-vm.

,7**

I purchased the first Lc Mans 100 tobe imported in 1955 and I also bought asecond hand 100s (AHS 3507) which Irestored after racing it. and used it as my'driver' on public roads for many years.

Both the 100S and the 100 Lc Manswent to finance a Maserati 200SI!

I still enjoy Austin Healeys and have a100-4 built up with Carrillo rods, 2"SUs, alloy head with large valves, rollerrockers, magneto ignition, tuned headers, 11:1 C.R and all alloy coachwork,plus four wheel disc brakes.

Ralph S.Stevens Jr. Capt USN (ret),Damariscotta, ME.

BN6 MILLE M1GLIA REGISTERFORMED

Wc have received a letter from PaulCasarona in Auburn AL an extract of

And we received this just beforeChristmas but felt youHealeyheads might it enjoyalbeit ratherbelatedly!

My wife and I were marriedin 1963 and went on hon

eymoon in a 1960 Austin-Healey. On our 25th anniversaryI drove home a 1966 A-H 3000.It was in very bad shape but stillbeautiful. My wife was in very

Austin-Healey &c Accessories

Austin-Healey First GearOuter ring only.Must be used withoriginal inner hub. Fits all 4-spccd100-4 through 3000.021-258 $169.95

Austin-Healey Conical Reflector544-670 ' $16.95

Auvtin-Healey Steering BoxComponentsFit from 100-6 BN4 car #68960-on.Cam & Column Ass'y.667-615 $394.50

Sector Shaft Ass'y.667-685 $298.50

Ausrin-Healey 100-4 Side CurtainStowage Bag248-930 $45.95

Austin-Healey Harmonic Balancer031-206 $264.50

Austin-Healey BJ7 & BJ8 VeniWindow Glass

Right 021-875 $69.95Left 021-865 $69.95

Austin-Healey Fender Cover(not illustrated)241-735 $19.95

Donald HealeyCollection SetThis excellent

scries of four fullcolor art prints isproduced by BrianHcalcy. TheHealey 100 printis signed by theoriginal bodydesigner GerryCokcr, and the100S print byRoger Menaduc.the Chief

ExperimentalEngineer. Theartist, NickBeringcr, hassigned the 100-6 and 3000 pThe prints are 16" X 22" onfree archival paper, and arc encin a large illustrated envelope.213-140 $87.50

goodshape

and still

eautiful! We aresoon to celebrate our

32nd anniversary. TheAustin Hcalcy is restored

and in very good shape and even morebeautiful than ever. My wife is also morebeautiful than ever and helped merestore the Hcalcy.

Cue poem:

"It's the time before Christmas and asyou can sec, it's Tullyand Wanda's redAustin-Healey.

Salvaged from the junkpile, all rustand all dent, even the grille and thebumperswere bent.

With hammer and dolly and muchelbow grease, everydent was removed,every small crease.

With a Gold credit card and understanding wife, with Discover and Visa,I'm in debt for life!

The years have come and the yearshave went, many parts have been purchased, it's money well spent.

So thanks Moss and the othersfor theparts that we need, for restoring ourHealey to a gallant proud steed.

With its bright red paint and itsengine thatpurrs, you don't needa saddle, you don't need no spurs.

Just turn the key and away you willgo, to deliver your greetings with a TallyHo, Ho!

- TullyJohnstone, Vidor.TX.

"55

$&**?

acid-

losrd

THE NUT BEHIND

THE WHEELby Ron Phillips

Sometimes it's hard taking your ownadvice. But here's an example when itreally paid off. I wrote this article on theday I delivered my 1955 BN1 Austin-Healey to the paint shop a few monthsago for the final body work and respray. Re-spray ain't the half of it, however. Allow me to reminisce a little.

Way back in 1983 I started therestoration on my very crisp BN1 rightafter the house fire that singed it a littlemore than somewhat. Do you remember seeing it on the trailer as a running,rolling chassis at Hcalcy West inMonterey in 1985? Did you see my sonTimothy and I aboard in same running,rolling chassis, circling the track atLaguna Seca that same weekend ... inthe midst of all the ashes and smokefrom a local brush fire? I low's that fora trial by fire, for a machine that hastruly risen from the ashes? MaybePhoenix wouldn't be a bad name for it.after all?

Fast forward several years and several Healey restorations later. You sec, 1just got stuck trying to align that lastdoor and wing seam. And that's where Igave up. Well, at a local Austin-HealeyAssociation club event 1 got to talkingwith one of our members about how he

had gotten stuck on his restoration andsuggested that he get professional helprather than doing nothing(which waswhat 1certainly was doing!)

Well, the more I thought about it. themore I decided my advice to others wasjust as applicable to myself. Enter oneof our quality restoration shops in mylocal area. I delivered the car to theshop one weekend, and picked it up twoweekends later, all metal work on thatlast seam and pillar post completed.The shop owner handed me my homemade wing patch panel and told me tokeep it as a souvenir. Maybe I shouldchrome it and keep it as a reminder thatthere ain't one of us that can't use profcssional help sometimes!

Now there are a couple of things 1would like to point out about the previous paragraph. First of all, the workdone was what I had requested. Second,the price was what was quoted. Andfinally, it was completed within thetimeframe predicted. Is my BN1 uniqueor is this the way this particular shoptreats all of his customers? You judgefor yourself. (By the way, that's a compliment about the shop in case youmissed it!)

So there I was, returning from theshop with the Healey on the trailer


Austin-Healey ClubsThe National Club addresses for

Austin-Healey are as follows, however there arc hundreds of local

clubs for each marque. Contact usfor further details of the club in

your area, or send us detailsof yourlocal club to add to our database!

Austin-Healey Club of America

603 F. EuclidArlington Heights, IL 60004

Austin-Healey Pacific ClubP.O. Box 6197

San Jose, CA 95150

Austin-Healey Sports & TouringClub

21 N. Rockburn Street

York, PA 17402

Sprite Club of America1421 Chocolate Ave.

Hcrshey.PA 17033

Spring '95,

•§31

ittliil*:Heard any interesting tech tips lately? We're interested in publishing new and

exciting hints and rips if applicable. Send your tech tip contributions to: Editor,Moss Motoring, 400 Rutherford Street. Golcta, CA 93117. If we can use them,

you'll receive a 35.00 gift certificate.

0^:ki- 95

MISSING OIL LN MIDGET

1 cnioy getting your newsletter verymuch and when it arrives I devour itcover to cover! I especially enjoy theTech-Tips and Under the Bonnet features and get a lot of useful informationfrom them. Owning a 1976 MG Midgetcan be quite a challenge at times!

Recently every 50 miles or so, I hadto top up the dashpot with oil and thisgot to be a pain after a while. TheMidget has a Zenith CD 150 carburetorwhich has been rebuilt. This carb. has an

adjustable metering needle that adjustsusing a special tool. To adjust the needlethere is an adjustment sctcw at the bottom of the dashpot and this screw hasan "O" ring that is supposed to keep theoil in.

After taking the top off the carburetor, I removed the air valve from it andholding the air valve upright I filled itwith oil. Placing the damper in the dash-pot and looking at the bottom aroundthe metering needle seat, I pressed thedamper assembly down. Oil would leakout every time 1 pushed the damperdown! The next problem would be toget the adjusting screw out of the dash-pot.

Looking a: the diagram of the carburetor I noticed there was a retaining ringholding the screw in. Trying to pry it outfrom the top was not the way to do it!The only way was to push it from thebottom. So I removed the needle andafter pouring out the remaining oil started to look around for a rod or something that would work. Having no rodbut having a nice set of nut drivers Itried these, and finding one that was afairly good fit I began to press the screwout along with the retaining ring.Checking the "O" ring on the adjustingscrew I found it was hard and wornafter some eighteen years and neededreplacing.

I had a set of "O" rings and selectingone that fitted I replaced the screw andretaining ring in the dashpot. I pressedeverything back into place with the nutdriver making sure the "O" ring wassnug and sealing the screw. Finallychecking that it was easily adjustable Ireassembled the carburetor and it hasn'tleaked since! The Midget does not nowmiss on acceleration and it's also nice

Battery Cut-OffSwitch

Quickly and effectivelydisconnects your battery.Siz.ed for negative battery

posts, these should beused only on negative

ground systems.145-795 $12.95

Spring' 95,

not to have to get out of the car every 50miles or so to top up the dashpot!

- Chris Lutz.York Haven, PA

(May we also suggest for other readers facing similar problems to Chris, thatthey purchase at modest cost, the excellent manuals on SU and Zenith carburetors published by Haynes. Moss S's 211-340 and 212-940 respectively or 2n-345great new S.V. book. These contain vitalinformation on all aspects of theseunique carburetors.)

Gi=M:iilJ 96

GAUGE THE PROBLEM

Earlier this year, both the fuel andtemperature gauges on my 1978 MGBwent "inop". I followed the suggestionsoffered in your MGB Catalog. Version4.2, page 65, to no avail. Using your recommendations, the gauges tested OK.Replacement of the temperature sendingunit yielded no improvement. I decidedto replace the voltage stabilizer, andsince installing it, (what a pain!) thegauges appear to function properly.

May 1 suggest that you add the voltage stabilizer as a possible cause of fueland temp, gauge malfunction (at least ifthey go at the same time). I noticed thatthe new stabilizer showed a resistanceof 3.17 megohms between the two lugs.The old one had electrical continuitywhich indicated a short or similar mala-dy.

Can I, in closing, suggest that theitem listed as the ballast resistor in theMGB catalog be amended? This item isactually the drive resistor for the coil.

Regards,

Robert CGalli, Des Plaincs, IL

QilHSiililSome of our NAMGAR members

have had a heck of a time getting a goodgasket seal when changing out the gastank sending unit on our MGAs.Troublesome gasket leaks can occur atthe main gasket, at the smaller rectangular gasket on the front of the unit and atthe electrical connection stud at the bot

tom of the unit. The rubber gasket thatcurrently comes with replacement unitshas a tendency to squeeze out after ashort exposure to gasoline and can present you with a real 'gusher'!

97

Shop ApronsKeep yourself clean with ournew 3/4 length blueaprons sportingyour favoritemarque logo. tMade of a50/50 cot

ton/polyesterblend, theseaprons are easy

to clean, andfeature three front pockets.

MG Shop Apron217-200 $18.95

TR Shop Apron217-210 $18.95

Our fix is to make or buy cork gaskets to replace the rubber ones and toliberally apply I-octitc 819 Hylomar Hi-Temp gasket dressing (part#'81997) toall surfaces. This stuff is gasoline resistant and withstands the tests of time. Itcan also be used successfully at metal-to-mctal connections where a small gasoline leak is a problem, such as the fuelpump filter access nut.

Without using "S19" or somethingsimilar that works as well you could easily find yourself with the garage floorcovered in gas after changing a sendingunit. Highly dangcrous-'Nuffsaid!

Don Holle. Albuquerque. NM.

(Don is the Registrar of the NorthAmerican MGA Register. His address isunder MG Viewpoint on page 7.)

Gi^HIHU 98

Many owners of American collectorcars will routinely pour in a small quantity of light oil into the running engine(via the carburetor) just prior to shuttingdown for the winter. This is done toprovide the interior cylinder walls andvalve surfaces with a protective oil coating duringstorage. WhileI've found thispractise to be useful, it is necessarilyquite difficult with the side draft carburetors some of our British cars use-including the Strombergs on my TR6.

Fortunately the marine industry hasdeveloped a product specificallyfor thisputpose. Available in most any marinesupply shop under several brand names,it comes in a spray can and is known as"Fogging Oil". This material can besprayedinto the carburetor for the samedesired effect and is sprayed into theengine until a blue exhaust smoke isnoted at which suge the engine is shutdown with the oil spray continuing.Naturally all of this material is burnt offimmediately the engine is restarted comespring.

- David Waldorf, Coraopolis, PA

S.U. HighPerformance

Fuel Pumps

Double-ended S.U. pumpsdeliver nearly twice the volume of standard S.U.

pumps, and keep pumpingeven if one side fails. Well

suited for high performanceengines with S.U. orZcnith-Stromberg carburetors, as no pressure regulator is required.

(Mounting brackets are notincluded, but MGB brackets areavailable and can be easilyadaptedto most installations.)

Negative Ground Pump

377-035 S249.50

Positive Ground Pump377-045 $249.50

The Nut Behind the WheelContinued from page 11

behind the ever faithful "Big BrownCruiser" and as I drove up to my driveway, I noticed that a very largelimb had broken off one of our verylarge pine trees on our parkway.Well, that ruined the rest of mySaturday. 1 had already made thecommitment to deliver the car to thepaint and body shop Monday morning. Fortunately, I was still able, inspite of the tree debris, to get all thelittle remaining tasks finished on theBN1 so it could keep it's Mondaymorning appointment with my localpaint and body shop.

Absolutely worst thing youcould ever tell someone is to

tell them to use your project asa "fill in job."

So what's 11 years worth of experience in restoring a car worth? Notmuch. But I always like to share. Sothis one's for you.

Probably absolutely the worstthing you could ever tell someone isto tell them to use your project as a"fill in job." That never works, in myexperience. The cost will still be thesame because the amount of labordocs not change that is required toaccomplish a given task. That laborwill be charged at prevailing rates.When was the last time you heard abody shop owner tell his men thatthis is a fill-in job and they have towork for less because it's so? What afill-in job means is that no scheduledcompletion need be given. For whosebenefit is that?

Certainly not your own!

Together with "fill-in jobs" gohorror stores. You know the ones.About the Healey that burned up in ashop fire. Or about the Healey thatwas parted out or lost when the shopwent out eff business. And so on.People change. Things change. I lada schedule been negotiated, and theowner followed up on the project,'and wasn't afraid of removing hisvehicle from the shop when thepromises were not forthcoming, thenmany of the "legends of horror"would not have happened. After all.no-one cares more about your carthan you do. It's just another job tothe body shop or restoration shop.Settingreasonableexpectations on thefront end of a business agreement willnever discourage either you or theprofessionals that work on your car.

What are some of the other thingsthat worked out well for me? Not toshine this one on too much, but I leftthe chrome plating for last. I decidedit didn't make any sense to spend alot of money and time re-plating anything until just before it was due to goback on the car. Chrome plate willjust deteriorate in time anyway, and11 years is a lot of time. Why pay tohave the same part plated twice? Andby the way, prices haven't gone up allthat much in 11 years. Good decision,Ron! One thing I could have donebetter was to select,.label, and sort allthe chrome bits and organize them ina box or location. While I do knowwhat goes where, I haven't sorted outthe "best of the best" yet. So, morehours will now be needed just whenI've got .those vital juices flowingagain. The good news about thisapproach, however, is that a lot motequality reproduction parts are available now that were very scarce 11years ago. It pays to check this out assome of the chrome rcpro parts arcless expensive than having used originals replated. Shop around. But takeyour original with you if that's what


Under The BonnetWelcome to Under The Bonnet, our quancrlv technical column dealing with

the basic maintenance and repair of your British car. We'll be coveringtopics here that have been the cause of recurrent problems and questions

by customers as well as ouf own staff members. While much of this may be rudimentary to old-time mechanics, we'll be exploring various short-cuts as well as talking about tricks-of-the-tradc not mentioned in manuals. If you're interested in a particular topic, please write: UnderThe Bonnet,400 Rutherford St., Goleta. CA 93117.

FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS

by Eric WilhelmThe condition of front wheel bear

ings is of vital importance to yoursafety, but is often overlooked.

Main concerns arc cleanliness, lubrication, and adjustment (where adjustmentis possible). Bearings which have suffered a lack of any of these will usuallyneed to be replaced. While reference to agood workshop manusl specific to yourcar is essential for proper servicing andinstallation of these bearings, some factory manuals do present ambiguities orgloss over some operations for whichthe novice mechanic needs more explanation. It is these information "gaps"that this short article hopes to fill.

The first step in dealing with wheelbearings is to decide if they need anyattention or not. Signs of bearing problems include noise (often sounding likebird chirps) and vibration. Front wheelbearing noise does not change intensitywhen accelerating or coasting, but maydiminish with a light application of the

, b/akes. The best way to check for theseproblems is to set the front of the car onjack stands and rotate the wheels byhand. (If you have disc brakes, ensurethat the pads are not dragging on therotors.) The wheels should rotatesmoothly and quietly, with no feeling ofroughness or tightness. Then, grasp thetires at top and bottom and alternatelypush with one hand while pulling withthe other. None but the very slightestlooseness, if any, should be felt.

If you have ball bearings and theypass these tests, they are almost certainlyin good condition. You may, however,wish to "have a look inside" to ensurethey have adequate grease for continuedsafe operation. If you have tapered rollerbearings, 1 advise having a look at theouter bearings anyway, as they usuallydevelop problems before the inner bearings do. This is very easily done on discwheel cars, but a bit more difficult oncars fitted with wire wheels. In any case,try to avoid unnecessary removal andrefitting of the bearing races in the hubs- they are press fits, and too manyremoval and replacement cycles upsetthe tolerances required, as well asincreasing the probability of physicaldamage to the bearings and their seats inthe hubs. It is a little known tact that theinner races should be slip fits on theaxles to allow them to "creep". Consultyour workshop manual if you have theslightest doubt how to remove orreplace bearings.

Visual inspection of bearings willsometimes show faults which arc not

apparent from the lunction tests outlined above. Reject bearings which showpits, spalls, smears, uneven wear, seriousdiscoloration, or any other obvious signsof incorrect condition. If in doubt,replace the bearing.

Cleanliness is absolutely essential inany dealing with bearings. A tiny pieceof foreign matter or a burr between abearing race and the recess it is pressedinto can cock the bearing enough ro produce accelerated wear, while dirt in thebearing or its grease can quickly causefailure. Handling of bearings should bekept to a minimum - use of clean cottonor surgical gloves is recommended bybearing specialists. If it is necessary toclean a bearing, use only clean solvent,and blow dry with clean, dry, filteredcompressed air. (The air from yourhome air compressor does contain waterand other contaminants.) Do not spinbearings with compressed air - this isnot only dangerous to you, but is guaranteed to ruin the bearing.

The radial ball bearings used in MGT-series and MGA present no problemsas long as workshop manual instructions are followed. Problems can arise,however, with the angular contact ballbearing assemblies used in Sprites,Midgets, and early Big Healeys, as theycan be installed backwards, allowing thehubs to come loose from the axles.Workshop manual instruction^ for thesebearings state to install the sides marked"thrust" on the outer race towards thebearing spacer. This is correct if you arcusing new old stock factory bearings,but most bearings currently available arenot marked. To further complicatethings, some manuals mention bearingsmarked "thrust" on the inner races;bearings so marked must be installedwith the "thrust" marking away fromthe bearing spacer. The following illustration shows the correct orientation of

possible configurations of angular thrustball bearings. Note carefully the thrust("strong") and non-thrust ("weak")sides of the bearing races and their orientation.

Tapered roller bearings, unlike ballbearings, require end float adjustment.As front wheel bearings, they must nothave a preload. Since methods and specifications vary considerably, please follow your workshop manual proceduresand spccificstioiis. In all cases, the bearing races must be fully seated beforeadjustment can be performed. MGBsand later Big Healeys use spacers andshims between the inner and outer bearings to maintain the end float adjustment. While time consuming and oftenfrustrating to set up, once they arc set,they tend to stay set. Triumphs andJagusrs, which use only the axle nut foradjustment, can be adjusted in just a fewseconds, but seem to require more frequent attention.

Lubricant specifications, particularlyfor older cars, can be a problemwhen the greases specifiedare no longer available. Inthis case, use a high temperature disc brake wheelbearing grease, even on a"low temperature" drum brake car.While it could be argued that this is likeusing 100 octane gasoline in an enginerequiring 80 octane, it will do no harm,may work better, and the cost differenceis minimal. On the other hand, trying toeconomise by using the cheapest chassisgrease you can find is definitely a falseeconomy, as it will not do the job.

If you do not have a bearing packingtool (and you really should), theapproved method to grease the bearingsis to put a supply of grease in the cleanand dry palm of one hand, or, better yet,use a clean cotton or surgical glove.Holding the bearing in the other cleanand dry (or gloved) hand, scrape thebearing against your palm (if taperedroller bearings, scrape with the largerend), forcing the grease completelythrough the bearing. The bearing cupsof roller bearings should be coated withgrease before assembly. General practiceis to partially fill the space in the hubbetween the two bearings, althoughsome workshop manuals say not to dothis, When in doubt, follow the manual.

The best way to prolong the life ofwheel bearings (and all other components of your car) is to follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule found

in your owner's manual. Keep thingsclean and well lubricated, and your carcan last almost forever.

ERRATA: In the last "Under theBonnet" article on Steering SystemLubrication, it was erroneously statedthat oil should be used for MG TD-TFsteering joints instead of the requiredgrease. We apologize for any problemsthis may have caused.

REPLACING STEERINGRACK GAITERS:

To replace steering rack gaiters, theouter tic rod ends and their locknutsmust be removed. As re-assembly ofthese requires careful adjustment toreestablish correct toe-in of the front

tires, the "trick" is to somehow retainthe original setting after the tie rod endshave been removed and replaced.Unfortunately, this problem is notaddressed by workshop manuals.

The best "trick" 1 have heard of toget around this problem is to accuratelymeasure with indicating calipers the distance from a fixed position on the innertie rod end ("ball joint") assembly to theouter tic rod end or its nut. as shown inthe accompanying illustration. Recordthe separate measurements for bothsides, as they will not be exactly thesame. After putting the new gaiter onthe tie rod, but before securing the inner(larger) end, assemble the outer tie rodend and its nut on the tic rod to themeasurements previously made. Pleasenote that this is not advised if you arc

installing new ticrod ends, as jffffthey may differ slightly in -=»-length from the old ones.

THE CARE & CLEANING

OF WIRE WHEELSA timely reminder for Spring fromDavid.N.ReiUy.

As we stood around a "Baker'sDozen" of beautiful Jags during theJaguar Touring Club's outing toSugarloaf, NY, we admired and commented upon various features of thefine examples before us. One of thenew members asked me, "How doyou keep your wire wheels soclean?" 1 explained briefly but lateron the three hour drive back toSouthern New Jersey I refreshed mymemory about this noticeable aspectof classic car care.

Like many things in life, it allstarts at the beginning. If your wheelsaren't clean to begin with you cannotkeep them clean! I've found over theyears that a oncc-a-year, off-the-carcleaning is the key and the way tostart. I always do this in the Fall justbefore the car is placed in hibernation. That way, as pan of the Fallmaintenance the wheels arc protectedall through the winter and there isless to do in the Spring! While thefollowing is paniculsrly applicable tochrome wire wheels, I hope thatthose of you with painted wires, discor mag wheels, will find some pointsuseful.

First step is a very thoroughcleaning off the car. It is possible todo this one wheel at a time, but 1findit a lot easier to put the car on jack-stands and have all five wheels onthe bench at the same time. Yes, Isaid five because you want to keepthe spare in just as good a condition


English Dull-Coat TopsThese arc top-quality tops withzip-out rear windows and fullyinstalled mount

ing hardware.Their British dull

coat vinyl is significantly heavier than most other tops, and allseams are stitched and heat welded.Installation

instructions arc included.

MGBTop(1970-'80) 242-685 $179.95

TR250-6Top 640-115 S179.95

"Helmet Head" Cable

End Set

These vintagestyle battery cable ends are duplicates of one of the most attractive types used by-Lucas as far back as the 1940s. Each piece ismade from pure lead in heated moulds, andcarefully hand-finishedto produce a product ofsuperior quality to the originals. F.ach setincludes one positive and one negative terminal

and installationinstructions.

332-200 S24.95

Inertia Reel SeatbeltsWhile not exactly-like any of the several fitted by thefactories as originalequipment, theseare excellent

replacements. TheTriumph belts directlyreplace the originalson TR6.Some TR4, 4A, and 250s may requirecaptivenutplates welded to the wheel arches. MGB/Spridgerbelts directly replace originals on 197J-.'80 MGBsonly. Earlier MGBs, Sprites, and Midgets requiremounting brackets or captive nut plates. Call forinformation on mounting brackets.

MGB/Spridget Seatbclt 222-120 S119.95TRSeatbclt 222-105 $64.95

Spring '95,

bJ s

Ken Smith, Club & Events Coordinator

what we can build into our journey plan.One of the problems wc face is that wehave to maximize the audience we cantake the "Mossmobile" to, and thisinvariably tends to take us to the largernational meets which take place duringthe year usually at the height of theSummer. Wc also have to bear in mindthe most economical route when planning our itinerary.

Our friends down south tend to holdtheir events "off-season" however, whenthe heat and humidity are perhaps lowerand it's these that we wish to learn of, sowc mightvisitwith you next Fall.

So to those show organizers in thesouth such as, Tennessee, Louisiana,Alabama even Florida call me with thedate of your show as soon as possible.Even if wc don't make it in person, we'llcertainly put the date in our British eventscalendar you see on the opposite page!

Don't forget if you want a linle helpfrom Moss Motors with an event you'remounting, we need at least six weekswritten notice for Club Support donationrequests, and only one request perannum, per club please!

We look forward to meeting you somewhere along the great American road!

- Ken Smith

As I write this sining comfortablyeasconced in my California home,it seems light years ago that we

ended the season of British car events.And yet, it's only a few shon weeks agothat we finally put the "Mossmobile" intostore following the MG/TriumphChallenge at Las Vegas. Time is such aprecious commodity and as wc get older itseems to slip through ourfingers like sand.

Yet already the 1995 calendar on my office wall isfilling with great events tocome this year! No time towaste-less than a month tothe first event of the season-and what a season to look

forward to!

From California to

Chfcago, Washington toWho knows Whcre-we'U beout and about on the road

Wire WheelsContinued from page 13

as the others. A second reason to do themall is that this is a good time to rotateyour tires and, third, if you enter your carin concours class, the spare will be judgedto the same standard as the four on theground.

If your wheels haven't been cleanedthoroughly in some time, you will findbits of road tar, small stones ands otherstrange things on the inside of the rim.This must all come off! You can usedegrcascr, tar remover, lacquer thinner(not on painted wheels!) or anything elsethat will get everynook and cranny clean.One other suggestion, NEVER use Brilloor steel wool on your wheels. I think it'smuch to harsh for the chrome. 1 use awire wheel brush, (available from MossMotors# 386-940 and shaped like abanana!) which, if properly manipulated,will reach every area of a wire wheel and,for very difficult stuff, I use Drass wirewool which is available from Eastwood.

Once your wheels are very cleaninspect them for broken spokes. I usuallyfind three or four each year that havpbroken. I keep a supply of chrome spokes(there are only two lengths in a Jaguarwheel) and nipples and by carefullymanipulating the replacement throughthe cross-spoke pattern any spoke cm bereplaced without dismounting the tire.Occasionally you may have to deflate thetire and lever the bead away from the rimto get clearance to stan the nipple ontothe new spoke or, if the spoke is brokentoo close to the nipple, to remove the nipple and insen a new one. It is easiest totighten the spoke if you have a spokewrench ( Moss # 385-800) but I havealso done many with a standard wrench.

Tighten the new spokes using the

to meet and greet you with the 1995Moss Roadshow. There are very fewplaces we've have not visited over thepast six years, and before the peopledown south say, "He's never been here",I do assure you that we arc going to try3nd travel south of the Mason-Dixon line

later this year! Send us details of yourevcnt(s) as soon as possible and we'll see

Service Manual standard of "correct tension C3n be closely estimated from thehigh pitched note emitted when thespokes are lightly tapped with a smallhammer." 1 myself use a plastic hammerto be sure there is no damage to thechrome and I check all the spokes in thewheel. Nonnal driving usually results in acouple of "dead notes" per wheel. Nowyou know what 'tuning' your wheels really means! Alsolookclosely at yourspokethreads and any other areas that may bebeginning to show a little rust. Treat eventhe smallest spot carefully with a rustinhibitor. I have used Naval Jelly in thepast but I now like Metal Ready, (avail-sblc from POR 15) which both treats therust and primes the spot with zinc phosphate. When it is dry, it can be given aspot of silver paint and will hardly beseen. Many years ago I found a little dispenser of "Liquid Silver" with a built inbrush and it works wonders!

One further thing that will help prevent your wheels from looking nasty is tolightly coat the spoke ends inside the hubwith a silicon sealer. This keeps thegrease on your splines from being thrownoutward by centrifugal force and causingthose ugly oil streaks along the spokes.Of course, if you have already done this,when replacing a spoke, be sure to rcscalthe innerend. '' ^

We are now nearly finished with theinitial (or yearly) cleaning. All thatremains is to carefully polish the wheelrim, hub and spokes. I use SimichromePolishon all of the chrome on our Jaguar3.8S. I might mention here that all theforegoing tasks should be done with thebalance weights off the wheels. I markthe location of each weight on the tirewith tire chalk and then after polishingput on new weights each year.Alternatively you could wire brush theold weights before you replace them and

they'll look pretty good.

Now, before rcgrcasing the splinesand remounting your wheels,take a doselook and be sure they arc really clean andgleaming with no rust showing. Bepatient, you will find your maintenancefor the next year will lie really easy if youdo a careful job now.

One last task, if you want a reallybang up look, is to clean the parrs thatcan be seen through the wire wheels. Onmost cars this is the brake calipers infront and the calipers or drums in therear. If these pans are really greasy oroily, use a degrcascr first and then discbrake cleaner and they should look reallytop notch. If you have any corrosion,again use a brass brush not a steel wirebrush. Because of the heat, aluminumfront calipers sometimes continue to lookdull and if you have this problem a coatof Alumablast will make them look likenew. Iron drums can be painted with theappropristc color high temperanire paint.

Now, with your wheels back on andeverything looking good you want tokeep them that way. This is the easy part!After each outing or event, I clean thewhole car, inside and out, but as this isabout wheels how do I tackle them? First,wash with soap and water using the wirewheel brush to be sure road dirt andbrake dust is removed from every crevice.Next, hose off with plain water andapply a wheel cleaner. I use Westley'sChrome Wire Wheel Cleaner and, after afinal hosing off, find that it leaves thewheels sparkling and spot free.

That's it. Before a show I use a littleSimichrome Polish on the outer rim andthe knock offs. If you put your rime intoyour yearly cleaning and maintenance,the rest of the year it's just wash, cleanand hose off for beautiful wire ••wheels! B3

Lucas 7" "Flamethrower" Fog Lamp

These genuine Lucas "Flamethrower" fog lampswere optional equipment for Jaguar XK120, andwere used on various race and rallye cars during

the 1950s and '60s. These

chrome-plated beauties havebeen upgraded with quartz-halogen bulbs for greaterlighting efficiency withoutaffecting their audientic period

V\. ^ appearance.

162-850 S198.50

MG & TR Crested Key BlanksThe large logo-crested key blankswhich were so popular in the1950s that MG featured them

prominently in much of theiradvertising have returned! Ourkey blanks are of highly polishedsolid brass, and should be cutlocally. Order by the series designation of your lock.

Spring '95,

FS (TR) 163-350 $6.95FP(TR) 163-360 S6.95FA(MG) 163-320 $6.95FS(MG) 163-330 $6.95

FP(MG) 163-340 $6.95MRN(MG) 163-310 $6.95AA-2(MG) 163-370 $6.95

THE MOSS MOTORSCLUB JOURNALISM

AWARDS 1994As we expected our judges had

one heck of a job decidingwhich winners to choose from

literally hundreds of entries for ourcontest. Entries were judged on a variety of parameters ranging fromDesign/Graphics, Editorial Content,Impact, Entertainment and Frequencyof publication.The size and resourcesof the submitting clubs were alsotaken into account. During an intensive three hour session at the MossCorporate headquarters the final decisions were as follows:

(over 1000 copiespublished)1st-"Austin Hcalcy Magazine" AustinHealey Club PacificCenter.

Editor: John Trifari.2nd-"Whitc Lady" -Association ofJensen Owners.

Editor: Sandi Baker.

3rd-"Cascade"-Cascade AustinHealey Club. WA.

Editor Sean Johnson

Not ?o large Club Category!1st- MG Vintage Racers Newsletter.

Editor: Greg Prchodka

2nd- "The Spanner" -British AutoClub of Las Vegas.

Editor: Ibsen Dow

3rd- "The Roars" Houston MG CarClub.

Editor: Marshall I lenderson.

Honorary mentions:

(In no particularorder!)"Oil Spots" -United British Sports carClub. Sacramento.

Editor: James Mcssinco

"MG Talk" -The Southeastern MGGT Register*

Editor: Don.S. Harmcr.

"Jammers" -Jensen Motorcar Club, „•

Editor: Sandi Baker

"Chatter" -Emerald Necklace MGRegister.

Editor: Dee Zimmerman

"British Wheels" -British Car Club ofHawaii.

Editors: Mark 8c Linda Kulinsky,

"Texas MG Chapter News"

Editor :Mark Dement.

"Ye Olde Valve dartre" Club "T"MG of PortlantLOR.

Editor: Mary Margaret Hitc.

"Octagram" -West Michigan OldSpeckledHen MG Car Club.Editor: BruceWyckoff.

-Meshing Gears" -MG Car ClubCentral Jersey Centre.

Editor: Rick Brown.

"Offside/Nearside" -British MotorClub of South Jersey

Editor: Ken Baxter

"Elva" -Elva Owners of America.

Editor:Lee Bccnnetson.

"Chicagoland MGB Club News"

Editor: Kim Tonry.

So there you have it!Congratulations to the winners and infact to everyone who took the troubleto enter. The standard of the publications amazed our learned panel, andthey have asked me to pass on theirthanks for a most enjoyable morningperusingyour work.

The winners will received suitablyappropristc plaques , plus a MossMotors gift certificate to be used as thepublishing club decides, and the honorable mentions will receive certificatesacknowledging their achievement.

FIFTY WAYS TO SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR

BRITISH SPORTS CARS

the North American MGB RegisterConvention on June 26-20th where theSacramento Valley MGCC will host MG95- a giant meeting to which all MGs arewelcomed.

One of the biggest meets has to bethe Vintage Triumph RegisterConvention in Rockford IL, dur

ing late July where hundteds ofCoventry's finest arc expected to attend.The Clock Tower Resort will make agreat backdrop for this prestigious meet,which this year will feature the TR7.

The Triumph Register of America willhold their annua) get-together inCincinnati, Ohio starting June 22nd andhere you will be able to sec some of theearlier Triumphs such as TR2's andTR3's.

Like to travel? Like Austin-Healeys?Want to go abroad? Then why not headfor Quebec up in Canada for CONCLAVE 95 on July 17th? Even as wespeak over 200 registrants are lookingforward to a scenic spectacular at theChateau where famous Healey sportingpersonality John Chatham will be inattendance plus other overseas guests.

The other big Austin-Hcalev event isENCOUNTER 95 in Mount Laurel,New Jersey, where during August youwill be able to see a fine show of cars andpossibly meet with Bic Healey.

These plus many other fine eventsawait your pleasure, but you can't havethe pleasure if you don't go! Check thedates and telephone numbers on ourevents page and call now to reserve yourplace!

You will no doubt have seen ourgiant calendar of events on page 9of this issue of "Moss Motoring"

and we are justly proud of our claim thatthis is the most comprehensive listing ofBritish sports car events you arc ever likely to see! Over fifty events-nationwide!

Some of these events arc local, somearc Regional and several arc Nationalevents. Whatever, they al! deserve yoursupport, so get out there and go to atleast one ot these events this comingsummer.

In regard to the National events therearc some which we would like to highlight and urge you to attend. Wc showcase here, by marque, exactly what's instore for your delight!

Healeys willbe in Quebec lor Conclave.

Nut Behind the WheelContinuedfrom page 12

you are into. And check the faithfulness ol the repro carefully if concourseand/or originality is your thing.

What I am happy about is that I'vegot the whole car assembled as close tooriginal as I can make it. I relied on theshop manual, the factory parts list,numerous drawings and pictures 1made during disassembly, and I've keptall the original, fire scared panels, forreference for what screw holes gowhere.

And, I've looked at bunches of otherHealeys over the last 11 years, lookingfor those answers to those really nitty-gritty questions that some of us lieawake nights pondering. Just kidding!So, the very kind of advice I would giveanyone, I even take myself!

As for my prediction that the carwould be a long way toward done atthis time, well. I'm realistic. It willprobably take the best pan of the winter to finish the assembly as the interiorand all the trim items that need to bere-attached. All these "fiddclly bits"take time and I'm realistic, what withthe four letter word "work" and family-obligations. Not to mention attendingevery Healey event I can and assembling the ncw-to-mc 1969 Mk4 Spritewith 19,000 original miles that anotherfriend found for me recently. (Ofcourse it was a basket case!)

When it takes several weeks elapsedtime to organize the parts and installjust one grille twice until I got it right,you get the drift of my meaning.Special thanks go to one of our clubmembers who helped out with the rightstuff in this particular task. So, in thefullness of time, as they say, my BN1will be ready for this summer's Healeyevents. To paraphrase one of our clubmembers, "if it ain't ready, I ain'tgonna go." And nothing short of a catastrophe will keep me awav from nextyear's CHW '95 and Healey West!

'Till next time, Ron Phillips.

TRIUMPH

First, on July12-16th, wehere at

Moss Motorshave an interest

in an event just'down the road'in Ventura. CAwhich promisesto be a feast forpre-war MGenthusiasts. Wcrefer of course toGoF West whichthis year will be aspecial salute tothe "Triple M"MGs-thosc withthe overhead cam and the funny vertical

dynamo drive shaft! (Triple M?-Midgets, Magnas & Magncttcs!)

Our own Chris Nowlan and AlMoss, along with Leo Pcdersonand the Santa Barbara SpecialTswill be hosting what could be thelargestgatheringof pre-55 MGs tobe seen in this part of the worldfor many years, as 40-60 rare andunusual pre-war MGs are expected plus an additions! 200 T-scricsMGs.!

The "Mossmobile" will be in

Pre-war MG's to star at GOF WES!

The Lug NutsContinuedfrom page 6

Tiny consulted a small paper charttaped to the cash register. "That'll beforty one dollars and sixty cents."

"What??"

"Yep. That's ten bucks apiece fot thenuts, plus a dollar sixty for theGovernor."

"Ten dollars apiece... for lugnuts???!!!!"

"Hey. These ain't just any nuts. Thesefit one of them fancy British sports cars!

With the helpof a good lawyer,the MGowner was able to prove that he was a victim of customer abuse. I lis long, unhappyhistory of searching for British car partselicited sympathy from the jury.Cramming the lug nuts down Tiny's throatwas found to be justifiable homicide.

- Steve Tom

(Author's Note: This story is looselybased on an experience I had severalyears ago, before I discovered MossMotors and their fast deliveryservice. Ifit happened today, I'd just call Moss.Back then, I was at the mercy of the localparts store!)

m

Zenith-StrombergChrome

Dashpot Cover

Highly polished chrome to really-dress up your engine bay!

Fits TR250-6 & MGB.

222-385 SI7.95

attendance and wc hope that many GoFWest participants will also be able tomake it to our Survivors Car Show, atthe Moss British Car Festival, on Sunday-July 16th.

Now wc mustn't forget another GoFtaking place in Galesburg IL at the sametime! This is the GoF Central and again asuper displayof early MGs is expected tobe on show in a beautiful part ofLiiicolnland. There are also GoF's inPIvmouth MA, and later in the year atLake Placid NY.

If your MG is of the later variety thenthe place to be is in scenic Lake Tahoe for

MYSTERY CAR CONTEST AND

RESULT OF WINTER COMPETITION

Can you identity this car?

Well, the mystery car in ourlast issue got quite a few ofyou stumped! We'll let the

owner, John ALLARD tell you a little bit about it and then we'll give youthe winner.

Moss and Allard go way backtogether, to the founding of MossMotors,(AI Moss was the Allard distributor for California) and this is a1954 ALLARD PALM BEACH Mkl.One of 75 Palm Beaches made, thisparticular car is powered by a 400HPsmall block Chevrolet that transfers

its power through a Muncic four-speed and a 49 Oldsmobilc rear end.

Many people don't realize that theBritish jobbed out many of the pansfor their cars and by doing a little

TR2-TR4A

Rear Crankshaft Seal

Conversion

Tired of your clutch being oiled by a leakyrear crank seal? This wcll-cnginecrcd conversion allows use of a modern lip typeseal.The scroll at the rear of the crankshaft

must be machined and polished to 65 mmdiameter, but installation is easier than setting up the stock type sealInstructions are included.

837-005 S98.50

detective work andapplying logic, sourcescan be found for rarities such as this andother cars. MossMotors came to therescue with items likethe proper style doorand trunk hinges,parking lights, headlamp bezels and many-other small items too

^^^^^^^ numerous to mention.Moss is my HI suppli

er-thanks to the efforts and understanding of your parts staff!John Allard. Y'akima. WA.Now for the Winner who is DAVIDREDMOND of Westchester.PACongrarulations Davc-your prize ison its way!

Now why not have a go at this issue'smystery car depicted here? Send youranswers on a postcard only please to:

Mystery Car Competition,

"Moss Motoring",

400 Rutherford Street.

Goleta. CA 93117. to reach us by-April 6th 1995.

-and don't forget to put your nameand address on the card!

Spring '95.

Mall Orders:MOSSMOTORS, LTD.

72001loUistiTA>vnuc

P.O. Box 847

Golcta,California 93116

Payment:Wc leapt Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or we can shipCOD. (CODs andcheeb orer (400.00 require cashorCertified Check). Mall ordersam be accompanied byduck or raooey order,although personal checkmay delayshipment. Ordering, pricing, shipping and otherprocedures areInourNew Product/Price Updale.

Counter Hours:

Goltu,CA Dover, MMon.-r'ri. 8 im-5pmPST Mon.-Fri.9am-6pmESTSaturday 9am-4pm PST Saturday 9ani-4ptn 1ST

Make yourvisit counll Please callaheadforstockchecksuteripicking upparsal ourGolcta, CA (800-235W54)or Dover, KJ(210-361-935H) showrooms.

MOSS MOTORS. LTD.Wertern Warthoiu* ft Sales Counter

7Z00noUlsicrAvcnut« Golcta, CA93117

Eastern Warehouse ft Sales Counter

Hamilton Business Park,MA,Dover, NJ 07801

111£| 3

We're as closeas next door!

Open sevendays a week!

Coast to coast locations

Convenient Sales Hours

WESTERN MOUNTAIN CB01M1 EASTERNMon.-Fri. him lo Tfxii Mon.-Frl. 7UBlo Mpm Moo-Kri. ba.iltoVp.n Moa.-Frl. 9ui to 10pmSat-Sun. 7imlo1pm SaL-Sun.Ham lo Spir, Sat.-Sun. yam106prj Sat-Saa. 10am lo 7pm

1-8004KOSS4JSADirect Order Hotline, USA& CanadaDial ri|(lit Intoour.salesroom lospeaktooneoloursalesadvisors about

orders, catalogs, pansInquiries andreturns. Ifyou wish lospeak with yourregularsalesperson, dialI-SOO-235-G954 anddialhisorheralctisionaltheprompt.

Customer Service HoursHave aquestion ona previously placed onlcr? Please callourCustomer Service

dcptlUnCDl, onournew tollfree numher, forprompt atlenlion.WESTERN MOUNTAIN CENTRAL EASTERN

M-F 7amto 5pm M-F 8ara» 6pm M-F 9amlo 7pm M-F 10am toBpm

1-800-235-6953Customer Service, USA & Canada

(Previously Placed Orders andBackorder Satus Inquiries)

Fastest shipping in the biz! ^ft^.805-968-1041(All Overseas Calls)

805-968-6910(24 HourOrdering Fax)

JYJOSS]\JOTORINGServing British Sports Car Enthusiasts Since 1948 • Our 12th Year of Publication • Spring 1995

jotoring · scrapping "old" cars and light duty trucks already exist, such as recycling...

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