Old Brits

Saskatchewan British Car Club Newsletter

December 2007 / January – February 2008

Number 51

The Broadway Street Faire - 8 September 2007 By John Pharr

Once again a small group of enthusiasts turned out for this event in Saskatoon’s answer to

Greenwich Village or Soho. The handy presence of a Starbuck’s coffee shop and the Yard &

Flagon pub had absolutely nothing to do with our being there!

This year we were given a nicer location for the cars (seven cars this year), parked along the

east side of the median rather than backed up next to the grocery store. A bit less shade but

more crowd exposure and flatter asphalt underneath us, and a front row seat to the musical

bands. The gracious young lady who directed us there told us that next year they would like

to move our LBCs even more central to the proceedings, as it happens to be their 10th

anniversary, too.

As usual there were lots of people to talk to amid the mixture of sun and light rain showers

that marked the day. And as usual Bob’s little green Morris Minor saloon garnered more

attention than the sports cars. Since Bob wasn’t there all of the time the rest of us subbed for

him describing this paragon of cuteness… or more often listening the to stories of the car’s

admirers, many of whom had known one in their youth… or infancy. I spent a bit of time

chatting to some members of the Society for Creative Anachronism. For those who don’t

know about SCA these folks try to re-create and enjoy the life of medieval times (minus the

plagues and witch-burning…, I think!). However, I’ve always thought they probably have a

lot in common with us. Fact is, if their name wasn’t copyrighted it wouldn’t be a bad

monicker for our little group!

2

LEN AND KELLY’S MGB ENGINE By Bob Forward

Recently Kelly and Len Bykowy decided to rebuild their MGB engine as it was using some

oil. The engine ran well and was not noisy so it was unsure what would be found inside. The

engine was removed for inspection and this is when I joined in so I could help with the

diagnostic process. I must say that this sadly is another case of very poor workmanship by

someone unknown; this is what was found.

First we checked the piston crowns for signs of oil consumption after removing the cylinder

head. It was plain to see that the piston rings were not doing their job so we proceeded to

remove the con rod caps at this time so we could check the rod bearings. To get at the rod

bearings it is easier if the oil pump is removed so after unbolting this I opened it up for

inspection; the pump was badly scored and worn out. I was convinced at this time that the

crankshaft and bearings were also going to be a write-off as well due to the oil pump’s poor

condition. Amazingly the crankshaft and bearings are good and reusable so we assumed the

previous repairer did not check the oil pump!!

Well, back to the pistons. We removed them for inspection and this is where it gets really

interesting! The engine came with 5 ring pistons from new; we found oversize 5 ring pistons

in the engine with only 4 rings on each piston. The oil rings at the bottom were all missing…,

who needs that 5th one anyway.

The piston clearance was checked and found to be okay which confirmed that the bore and

piston were good. I decided to check the old piston ring gap expecting to find 25 to 35 thou.

Well, was I wrong. The top two rings were at least 10 times that. It appears that the person

working on this before was not aware that there are guidelines about rebuilding engines; i.e.,

install all the new correct size piston rings, replace the worn out oil pump, do not grind the

hardening off the cam followers. We found a fairly new camshaft with a badly worn-out set

of cam followers that had been refinished.

The cylinder head was next to come apart so we were all waiting to see what was in there.

3

I returned to the MGB engine diagnosis another night to take the cylinder head apart. Nothing

too bad, only the usual worn valve guides which had been knurled the last time. We then

proceeded to hone out the cylinders and check for any problems. All good, the honing went

well so we were finished on time.

Having worked on this car before myself I must say I am surprised by all the problems we

have found as the car was running well.

The Bedford Diaries - Chapter Three By Scott McGibney

So it seemed like a good idea at the time – pick up the club van from Ed Aldred after the June

Car show, tool around in it for a couple of weeks, then pass it on. Reacquainted myself with

the mirror 3-on-the-tree shift pattern and managed to not hit reverse from either third or first

on the trip home. Hmm – no functioning instruments at all, just hafta guestimate speed and

hope there’s fuel in the tank and oil in the pan. Stick to the side streets, enjoy the breeze from

the open door, smile and wave at gaping pedestrians and pointing kids. No seatbelts and a

small, flat, slippery seat – if it weren’t for the fact the Bedford is incapable of generating more

than about a hundredth of a G cornering force I might be worried about sliding off into the

street. And I realize that the open door policy is mandatory as there appears to be a bit of an

exhaust leak that fills the cabin with fumes if they are closed. Get home without incident.

OK, maybe that was enough excitement for a couple of weeks, will just park it until the next

show, when the next lucky recipient can enjoy its quirks.

4

Few weeks later – off to the Bus Stop show. A nice morning tour down Spadina. Great

show. Hmm…, no volunteers for the next keeper of the van, guess it can sit in the driveway

till August. Make it most of the way home when she sputters to a stop – dang, bit by the “no

fuel gauge” bug – outta gas. Fortunately there’s a full Jerry can in case of such emergency.

Dump it in and shuffle on home.

Cruise Weekend show - leave good and early to avoid traffic. Cool in the morning – she

needs full choke to keep running – which fills the cockpit with a hydrocarbon rich, eye-

watering effluvia, even with both doors open. Gotta get moving so I can breathe. Down

around the curve on White Swan Drive – gray Crown Vic parked at the curb – dang, the only

gray Crown Vics in existence are “unmarked” police cars, please don’t let it be a cruiser.

Amble past at my best 50 kph guess – sure enough, little red and blue lights tucked in the

corner of the rear window – please let him stay parked – I mean it’s not like I’m driving

anything conspicuous here. Drat! He pulls out and follows – mentally run down the list of

rolling infractions that I’m driving – not good. Sweat bullets – no lights, just curious?

Concentrate on what an inconspicuous 50 kph should look like. Stop sign. I will the cop car

to make a right while I attempt to look legal and law abiding as possible in an open-doored,

seatbeltless, uninstrumented Bedford van. The gods are smiling – he turns. Run out of gas

again at 33rd

(calculate it gets about 2 mpg on full choke) – and the battery dies trying to

restart. Fortunately have the bike on board – ride home, get truck, get gas, jump start van,

proceed to show. Another good show, but by now everybody knows the van’s “peculiarities”

so again no volunteers to take it. Guess I’ve got it ‘til it goes into winter storage. Have

acquired a Spitfire, so there’re now five cars to shuffle around the driveway – neighbours

must think I’m running an antique car lot.

But wait, Alvin has rustled up a free paint job from CarStar – as soon as they have a lull at the

shop. The good citizens of Saskatoon respond to our good fortune by damaging their vehicles

at an unprecedented rate – there is no “lull”. Fall turns to gettin’ cold enough for winter.

Finally Craig at CarStar gives up on the not happening break and tells us to bring it in – he

will fit it in somewhere. Drop it off at CarStar. The temperature drops to -25 for most of

November and it snows – lots. The guys at CarStar dutifully push the little van in and out of

the shop every day so it stays warm and dry. Lots of unexpected bodywork fixes required so

the job takes longer than anticipated, but finally the paint is applied and it looks GREAT!

5

The temperature even relents into the mid teens (below zero of course) the day Alvin and I

pick it up. Toss in a rejuvenated battery, fuel up (I’ve learned) and head across town. Should

have given Alvin the camera so the looks from the citizenry could have been documented – it

got quite a reaction. Meet Jon Hall at the storage building and, after a few runs at the

snowbank in front of the door, roll the SBCC club van into the warehouse for the winter.

SBCC Project TR 7/8 By Bill Rafoss

Summary:

The 2008 project car for the Saskatchewan British Car Club is a Triumph TR7/TR8

conversion. These conversions are fairly popular in the U.K. and the U.S.A today because the

TR7 was originally built to handle a V8 motor. The club project began in 2007 with the

acquisition of a 1980 Triumph TR7 convertible. It was delivered to Bill Rafoss' home in the

fall of 2007 where the car will likely stay until it is back on the road.

The car came without a drive train, so that made the starting point quite straight-forward:

clean out the engine bay and be ready to accept a donor motor. This was easily accomplished

on the first night by taking out the steering rack and cross member. The cross member had to

come out because the V8 requires a different support mechanism and fortunately these

conversion kits are readily available.

The next order of business was to ensure that the new motor worked! The club bought a

Rover SD1 saloon (see photo, page 8) from SGI Salvage, extracted the motor and

transmission and scrapped the rest. Bob Forward proposed that we try to motor on the floor

of the garage, something most of us had not seen before. Sure enough, after hooking up a

coil, battery and starter, the V8 was coughing and spitting on the garage floor. Everything

seemed to be in working order.

The third work night involved moving the motor underneath the car, then raising it into place.

That might sound like the opposite way we normally do things but again, surprisingly, it

worked like a charm. With no engine supports in the way to block the engine's ascent it was

easily hoisted into place and secured until the next step. The club has since bought

the requisite cross member, so the next step will be to mount the engine and transmission.

The saga continues…November 20th:

Tonight we raised the front end of the TR7/8 and slipped the engine underneath the engine

bay, then hoisted the engine up into its place. We then installed the transmission mount to

keep the engine aligned, then laid a 4x4 brace across the engine bay to hold the engine in

place until the new cross member arrives.

6

…and continues…January 15th

, 2008: Here are some shots from the workbee tonight. We mounted the transmission in place and

connected the drive shaft. The next step was to mount the engine onto the cross member that

Bob Forward had fabricated. However, the motor mounts on the engine did not match the

mounts on the cross member so some additional parts are needed to make the adaptation. We

will continue next week.

7

…and continues…February, 2008:

8

Saskatchewan British Car Club Minutes – December 17, 2007

Members present: 36

Location: Boffins Club, Innovation Place

Saskatchewan British Car Club Minutes – January 9, 2008

Members present: 30

Location: Boffins Club, Innovation Place

Saskatchewan British Car Club Minutes – February 20, 2008

Members present: 34

Location: Boffins Club, Innovation Place

SBCC OFFICERS / 2007-08

President: Bob Forward Vice-President: Terry Yuzik

Secretary: Ron Bland Treasurer: Larry Chapman

Webmasters: Ed Driver, Scott McGibney Newsletter Editor: John Pharr

Founding President: Alan Wilson

Website: www.sbcc.ca