Brake Bleeding Advice

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am writing a book. Its title is "The Reliable British Sports Car - A Work of Fiction".

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

With electrical systems by Lucas, The Prince of Darkness.

Tom Thompson Former MGB and Jaguar XJ6 owner and current TE driver.

I owned a '59 Austin Healy 3000 when I was in the navy in '69. It was and still is, IMO, one of the
most beautiful cars ever built. but it was a mechanical disaster. the fuel pump (lucas) was located
just below the driver's seat, attached to the frame and it worked- most of the time. when it cut
out, I had to open the door, reach under the car with my left hand and bash the pump until it began
working again- all this while going 70 mph on I-95.

the pasenger seat rails had rusted out before I got the car and the right hand seat was, shall we
say, loose? it was a hoot to accellorate from a stop sign and watch my passenger, seat and all,
topple over into the boot.
:^0

and don't even get me started on those plastic windows- they were designed to direct rainwater
straight into your lap!! -but wish I had that car back, warts and all

rich v2, in windy rural Illinois

"Rich Westerman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am writing a book. Its title is "The Reliable British Sports Car - A Work of Fiction".

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

With electrical systems by Lucas, The Prince of Darkness.

Tom Thompson Former MGB and Jaguar XJ6 owner and current TE driver.

I owned a '59 Austin Healy 3000 when I was in the navy in '69. It was and still is, IMO, one of
the most beautiful cars ever built. but it was a mechanical disaster. the fuel pump (lucas) was
located just below the driver's seat, attached to the frame and it worked- most of the time.

when

Quoted message said:

it cut out, I had to open the door, reach under the car with my left hand and bash the pump until
it began working again- all this while going 70

mph

Quoted message said:

on I-95.

the pasenger seat rails had rusted out before I got the car and the right hand seat was, shall we
say, loose? it was a hoot to accellorate from a stop sign and watch my passenger, seat and all,
topple over into the boot.
:^0

and don't even get me started on those plastic windows- they were designed to direct rainwater
straight into your lap!! -but wish I had that car back, warts and all

rich v2, in windy rural Illinois

I used to love the way the roof leaked on the MGB. Water would be forced in past the "seal" at the
top of the windshield. run along the windshield bead, drip to the dash, the run along the driver's
side edge of the dash unitl it curved underneath, then drop right onto my left knee. Great fun when
wearing shorts in a rainstorm.

Tom Thompson

Quoted message said:

I used to love the way the roof leaked on the MGB. Water would be forced

in

Quoted message said:

past the "seal" at the top of the windshield. run along the windshield

bead,

Quoted message said:

drip to the dash, the run along the driver's side edge of the dash unitl

it

Quoted message said:

curved underneath, then drop right onto my left knee. Great fun when

wearing

Quoted message said:

shorts in a rainstorm.

Tom Thompson

Ah, British sports cars of the 50's and 60's. Beautiful machines that required a full-time mechanic
to maintain. My '59 Austin Healy Sprite had a roof that leaked so badly that one winter it was drier
to simply leave it off the car. I used a tonneau cover to keep the seats dry (sorta), and wore ski
jacket, hat, and gloves when driving. Didn't have many dates that winter, but I remember driving
home from a New Year's Party with a date. It was 4F, she was woefully inadequately dressed. It was
the last time I ever saw her. I almost bought a '60 or '61 Sprite recently for $200, remembering
only the fun. Then I remembered the grease-covered Saturdays. I'd rather be out riding my bent.

<Chas> Remembering the ?good? old days

Tom Thompson said:

I used to love the way the roof leaked on the MGB. Water would be forced in past the "seal" at the
top of the windshield. run along the windshield bead, drip to the dash, the run along the driver's
side edge of the dash unitl it curved underneath, then drop right onto my left knee. Great fun
when wearing shorts in a rainstorm.

Tom Thompson

My MG Midget would pull water in through the "heating" system. I carried a large turkey baster in
the car to bail out the water that collected on the floor.

Britannia may rule the waves, but don't drive an English car through a puddle.

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Tom Thompson said:

I used to love the way the roof leaked on the MGB. Water would be forced in past the "seal" at
the top of the windshield. run along the

I have noticed over the years, the "bad press" heaped on British sports cars, and decided they must
have all been MGs and Austins with the problems. I had three Triumph Spitfires, all did well for
me, and were quite reliable, requiring ordinary maintenance, and running well year-round. Each was
sold due to financial difficulties, yes, from causes other than the car. After one such sale, I
purchased a Chevrolet Nova after hearing over and over from seemingly thousands of people what a
good reliable car they were. It was the worst piece of vood-doo cursed [censored] ever. I drove to my
friends' wedding reception(dressed up), getting a flat on the way. Fixed it after the party, and
got another flat on the way home. A month or so later, the rear started bouncing a bunch. The parts
of the car where the shocks attached broke loose. About once a week, I would have to get under the
car and jiggle the shift linkage into position so that the transmission would shift. Usually this
would happen when I was well dressed and it was raining. Speaking of rain, the car would lose
almost all modicum of traction with the least bit of moisture on the streets, behaving like an
ill-mannered zimboni. My brother quipped "if you spit in front of the rear tires, you'd have to
push the car to get it to move". The heater made lots of wind noise but barely warmed anything
inside the car, even after flushing the system and checking each part for functionality. I'd love
to have my 1980 Spitfire back. It was virtually trouble free, and compared to that Chevy, a miracle
of modern technology.

rorschandt skewing the bell curve