Temperature gauge sender

I don't mean to confuse you all, but I thought this post about a new "proto-type" temperature sender for the Z Magnette was pretty interesting, though the pictures are from my already restored Magnette, not the Birch Gray subject of this blog.

The sender is an electronic drop in replacement for the NLA, no longer available, original senders.  I had an MGB sender in place put it was more of a hole plug than it was functional.  I had not done the extra resistors and wiring needed to make it record accurately.

The prototype simply screwed into the existing site near the thermostat and seems to work great. A longer test is upcoming this week when I embark on the 1000 + mile loop to British Columbia for Gary's Run, an annual MG group trip.

Key on, engine not running.

At first start up.

After a ten minute drive.  It will be very nice if this proves
accurate, not knowing engine temp on a long run is
worrisome. 

Simple looking for so much happiness!

Looking good.

Progress?

I have had distractions getting in the way of progress on the ZB.  I have an MGA coupe that is also in total project mode, don't ask me why I would try and do two at once, it wasn't really all my fault. This last week I had to stop and work on my irrigation lines and pump, we have two cows to fatten up so a nice green pasture is essential.  Every spring the pipes on the ground need flushing and re-connection, this year the pipe the pump draws water from also needed silt and trash removal, I used a trash water pump and it worked fine. After that work the pump was primed without problem, but the outflow pipe immediately split open along a crack on its underside. Maybe a result of the hard winter or from a bump from a four wheeler or lawn mower. That was patched up and everything is operational now.

The trash pump in action.

Car wise I have finished going through all the parts. I have rebuilt the MC, the bores seemed good on my spare.  I have been cleaning up some parts with the wire brush and painted some brackets, etc. I bent the MC to four way brake line, using the copper/nickel alloy, so hand bent.  I will be getting to the brakes this week. I had previously ordered many body panels from John Shorten in the old country, before I came to my senses and pulled the plug on my rusty parts car.  I have sold and shipped off most of these, others more skilled than I can put them to good use. Hopefully more serious progress will be accomplished this week.

Shorten floor panel

Turn signal switch.

The week after this I will be going to Gary's Run in British Columbia, I will be taking either my current Magnette or a '63 MGB.

Forward and back again

This morning I tightened up the radiator and hoses, after replacing the water pump yesterday.  The car fired right up and ran cool for several minutes, I decided to steel wool the horn push and clean the steering wheel a bit while I watched the gauges.  All seemed well until I stepped back and looked down, where a pool of oil was spreading underneath the car.  I shut down the engine and crawled around underneath the car, the filter and lines were fine.  The leak was rather far back and then a light came on in my dim memory, the oil gauge line is a weak link in this chain.  I was right, the pipe to rubber hose junction was leaking. Luckily the leak was on the engine bay side, although with no carpet or interior in place a leak inside the cabin wouldn't have hurt much.

Tomorrow I need to install the master cylinder, so I can see if the clutch is frozen.  The brakes will need the cylinders rebuilt or replaced for sure.  If I can do a little driving I can see if the transmission is fine for use.  I am feeling my way along, to determine if I need to pull the engine or not before I get too far into the cosmetics of the interior.

Water pump, a Classic Gold from Moss.

A used coil I had on hand.

Rebuilt distributor,  I static timed the Pertronix and she fired right up
After I removed a large rag from inside the plenum, that is.

Will you pay me now, Jeff?

In the beginning...

I first saw an MG Magnette when I took my MGA to a GT gathering in Welches, OR in about 2004.  The style and practicality of a four door with solid top appealed to me. My good wife Cindy was impressed with them too, especially a nice two-tone.  I remained naive about Magnettes, not knowing the difference between a ZA, ZB or ZB Varitone (the two-tone with larger rear window).  This changed after I saw a reference to a Craiglist Magnette for sale in California.  I somewhat foolishly bought the dormant car based on its pictures.  I was lucky though, and the rust free car was delivered and restored over a couple of years.  It is not a Varitone, but since "we" were set on a two-tone color scheme, it is painted like a Varitone.

It has been very good so far, as always there are refinements and finishing details I could do but I don't always get to those right away.

The "new" Magnette, the subject for future posts, came to me by adoption from the original owner and her son.  This is also a 1958 ZB, it was a wedding gift.  The young couple arranged delivery in England and used it on a 6 week tour of Europe.  It remained in the family as a daily driver until, most unfortunately, when parked to pick up the mail it rolled down an embankment and was disabled.  In about 1990, the intrepid son, finished with college but not yet employed, embarked on a repair and restoration.  There was some body work and rocker rust to do.  The project went well through the re-paint in the original Birch Gray, but then a new job, family and life terminated progress.  The car languished for another 23 years.  I learned of the car on the North American Magnette e-mail list. As I was just finishing a year and a half mission for my Church, I was looking for a project.  We were able to arrange transfer of custody and I am now beginning to assess how much to do and how much to leave alone.

My approach with past cars was to not worry about originality too much and to restore with an eye to reliability and modern function where possible.  This time, given the state of this car and it's remarkable history, I am more inclined to leave as much original material and function as possible. This relates to matters such as keeping the original engine, front drum brakes, not adding a front roll bar, etc.  As we go along practicality, improved performance, and availability of original parts will all factor into decisions.

The car was trailered from Mercer Island to my garage in Eagle, ID.  It fit nicely on a U-Haul trailer, the center gap was not a problem (I did have to order it for a Toyota Corolla as they wouldn't allow the Magnette to reserve a trailer). The following pictures illustrate some of the work to date.  I have changed for a rebuilt SU fuel pump, water pump, rebuilt distributor, new coil and cleaned the carburetors.

The car was stored in the carport with a car cover.

A steep driveway with a curve added interest. The wheels turned fairly freely and a simple come-along worked well.

My grandson, Amos, had a lot of fun helping us. 

Here is a link to a video after I washed everything in my driveway.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KObjzl4pJoU

Here is the engine at first start up, two days after I thought things were ready to fire.  I discovered leaking fuel line connections and a rotted lower radiator hose, minor delays on the road to glory.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qWzEDHP_II

A Magnette is defined by certain characteristics that make it unique.  Some of these are illustrated below.  I don't have a picture of the Trico vacuum bottle window washer yet, but  all parts seem to be there.  Lamentably the clock doesn't seem to be in the boxes.  Otherwise many of the original accessories are present, like the jack and hand crank (which I used during static timing of the distributor).  Ed. note:  The clock was later found in with the dash gauges!!

This roof rack doesn't come with most Magnettes, it was a period
accessory.

Worn burlap tool roll and tools.

The Windtone high and low tone horns look good, I will have
to bench test and get them back in place.  Right after the re-wiring
of the stator tube.

The grill and center bar are nearly perfect.

These are mystery fasteners, any comments on where they go are welcome!