Re: [mg-tabc] Roadside fixing of Problems

[Roger Furneaux]

Roadside fixing of Problems Hi folks, I bet some of you thought that some of Mr. Badger's recent advice and experience on roadside fixing of old cars (not necessarily M.G.s) was as tongue-in-cheek as his previous query about hood stitching (which probably fooled more than one of you...)

Well, just to prove him right, here is an extract I just read in the September 1953 edition of "Motor Sport" (I'm always just a liitle behind the times!):

Reporting on the "Grosser Preis der Scheiz" (i.e. the Swiss G.P.) in Berne, Dennis Jenkinson wrote:

"By less than half distance, Ascari had such a commanding lead that it seemed nothing could stop him... until on lap 39 as he passed the start-line, his Ferrari suddenly made a very flat-sounding noise just as if the magneto had got on full retard. He completed the lap and came into the pits just as Farina took the lead, and the mechanics spent 1 1/2 minutes looking for the trouble. Eventually it was traced to a choked jet in one of the carburetters, and a judicious tap with a mallet freed the obstruction and all the power returned. "

Ascari roared back into fourth place behind Farina, Hawthorn & Marimon, but still came home the winner after 65 laps. You certainly got your money's worth in those days, drivers of that calibre racing nose-to-tail (and often side-by-side!) for upwards of three hours!

Of course, an SU is a bit more fragile than a Weber, and the bodger (sorry - Badger) method might only work some of the time...

Keep on MotorinG !

Roger Furneaux

PS - I met a man today with a TA, TC & TF, all unused and stored for years. He is also putting a "B" engine in an MGA, and is thinking of buying a Twin Cam to do up. He has a garage full of cars saved from the scrap heap, and is restoring an XK120 for a customer, among others. And most of us cannot find the time to maintain more than one car...

[mrbadger]

Roger, I was really quite serious about my hit-it-with-rock style of
roadside maintenance - just don't hit it TOO hard!
Ascari's mechanics were obviously far more professional than I as they
used a mallet instead of a common rock! I envy their tool kit!
Badger



Roger Furneaux wrote:

>
> Hi folks, I bet some of you thought that some of Mr. Badger's recent
> advice and experience on roadside fixing of old cars (not necessarily
> M.G.s) was as tongue-in-cheek as his previous query about hood
> stitching (which probably fooled more than one of you...)
>
> Well, just to prove him right, here is an extract I just read in the
> September 1953 edition of "Motor Sport" (I'm always just a liitle
> behind the times!):
>
> Reporting on the "Grosser Preis der Scheiz" (i.e. the Swiss G.P.) in
> Berne, Dennis Jenkinson wrote:
>
> "By less than half distance, Ascari had such a commanding lead that it
> seemed nothing could stop him... until on lap 39 as he passed the
> start-line, his Ferrari suddenly made a very flat-sounding noise just
> as if the magneto had got on full retard. He completed the lap and
> came into the pits just as Farina took the lead, and the mechanics
> spent 1 1/2 minutes looking for the trouble. Eventually it was traced
> to a choked jet in one of the carburetters, and a judicious tap with a
> mallet freed the obstruction and all the power returned. "
>
> Ascari roared back into fourth place behind Farina, Hawthorn &
> Marimon, but still came home the winner after 65 laps. You certainly
> got your money's worth in those days, drivers of that calibre racing
> nose-to-tail (and often side-by-side!) for upwards of three hours!
>
> Of course, an SU is a bit more fragile than a Weber, and the bodger
> (sorry - Badger) method might only work some of the time...
>
> Keep on MotorinG !
>
> Roger Furneaux
>
> PS - I met a man today with a TA, TC & TF, all unused and stored for
> years. He is also putting a "B" engine in an MGA, and is thinking of
> buying a Twin Cam to do up. He has a garage full of cars saved from
> the scrap heap, and is restoring an XK120 for a customer, among
> others. And most of us cannot find the time to maintain more than one
> car...

[Awini Ambuj Shanker]

Hey Badger
did you try the chassis lubrication system i told you about? keep me
informed how you get along with your experiments
cheers
Awini

>From: mrbadger
>To: MG-TABC
>Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] Roadside fixing of Problems
>Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 06:33:32 -0400
>
>Roger, I was really quite serious about my hit-it-with-rock style of
>roadside maintenance - just don't hit it TOO hard!
>Ascari's mechanics were obviously far more professional than I as they
>used a mallet instead of a common rock! I envy their tool kit!
>Badger
>
>
>
>Roger Furneaux wrote:
> >
> > Hi folks, I bet some of you thought that some of Mr. Badger's recent
> > advice and experience on roadside fixing of old cars (not necessarily
> > M.G.s) was as tongue-in-cheek as his previous query about hood
> > stitching (which probably fooled more than one of you...)
> >
> > Well, just to prove him right, here is an extract I just read in the
> > September 1953 edition of "Motor Sport" (I'm always just a liitle
> > behind the times!):
> >
> > Reporting on the "Grosser Preis der Scheiz" (i.e. the Swiss G.P.) in
> > Berne, Dennis Jenkinson wrote:
> >
> > "By less than half distance, Ascari had such a commanding lead that it
> > seemed nothing could stop him... until on lap 39 as he passed the
> > start-line, his Ferrari suddenly made a very flat-sounding noise just
> > as if the magneto had got on full retard. He completed the lap and
> > came into the pits just as Farina took the lead, and the mechanics
> > spent 1 1/2 minutes looking for the trouble. Eventually it was traced
> > to a choked jet in one of the carburetters, and a judicious tap with a
> > mallet freed the obstruction and all the power returned. "
> >
> > Ascari roared back into fourth place behind Farina, Hawthorn &
> > Marimon, but still came home the winner after 65 laps. You certainly
> > got your money's worth in those days, drivers of that calibre racing
> > nose-to-tail (and often side-by-side!) for upwards of three hours!
> >
> > Of course, an SU is a bit more fragile than a Weber, and the bodger
> > (sorry - Badger) method might only work some of the time...
> >
> > Keep on MotorinG !
> >
> > Roger Furneaux
> >
> > PS - I met a man today with a TA, TC & TF, all unused and stored for
> > years. He is also putting a "B" engine in an MGA, and is thinking of
> > buying a Twin Cam to do up. He has a garage full of cars saved from
> > the scrap heap, and is restoring an XK120 for a customer, among
> > others. And most of us cannot find the time to maintain more than one
> > car...
>
>
>

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