After fixing the brakes, clutch, exhaust and all the usual items that need regular attention, the MG passed the official test without any trouble. So we went for a few drives to see how well the car had coped with being awakened from a ten year sleep. Of course we could expect some teething troubles and so the starter motor duly decided to pack up. It did so after a pleasant run. At home in the garage. Such a good car...
I thought maybe I could fit a Landcrab 1800 starter. The mg and Landcrabs share the same engine after all. Comparing the two showed a few obvious differences though. The solenoids are in different positions and the Landcrab has 9 teeth on the sliding pinion(drive gear for Americans). The MG has 10.
As a replacement was not available at short notice I decided to just take the thing apart and see what was wrong. The starter only clicked, so I expected somethng wrong in the solenoid.
As you can see, the contacts on one side have burnt and corroded. No wonder.
I cleaned them up and re assembled the whole thing again
Easy? Well the actual reassembly was simple, but it was more of a fiddle to get it to operate as intended. It took four tries on and off the car. Good training at removing and fitting a starter on an MGB. I'm so glad its much easier than on the Wolseley Ten
All done. Back to driving. Next: we have 50 shades of orange here, so there's some painting to be done. Nothing fancy, that's for Blue Bee. It'll be roller and brush. But should we go for gloss of satin???
All done. Back to driving. Next: we have 50 shades of orange here, so there's some painting to be done. Nothing fancy, that's for Blue Bee. It'll be roller and brush. But should we go for gloss of satin???