Bob’s Garage – Fall 1986

Once before, I described my preparations for a cross country trip. Fortunately, the cursory examination I gave the two cars was sufficient, I might have done something to prevent a wheel falling off the TR6. However, that’s another story best left for others to tell.

The Ocean to Ocean T Tourist Trophy provided considerable insight into what can go wrong on a long journey. Some of the problems encountered might have been prevented if the cars had been more carefully prepared. Perhaps we can learn from the combined experience of 47 cars and over 300,000 hard travelled miles.

Although none of these suggestions are new, they bear repeating. First and foremost: before leaving on a long trip, know the mechanical condition of your car. It is not necessary to do a ground up restoration, but you should be familiar with the condition of everything. A questionable component may or may not last the entire trip. Two MGTCs had rear axles and hubs replaced during the OOTTT due to excessive spline wear. Both cars probably would have finished the trip without a failure, but then maybe not. In each case, the driver opted to change parts en route. An inspection before leaving would have made the roadside changes unnecessary.

The number of generators and fuel pumps replaced due to failure indicated that some of these should have been repaired or replaced before leaving. Generator bearings and bushings which are acceptable around town can fail during prolonged high temperature operation. The same applies for fuel pump points.

An engine rebuild may not be required, but why not be sure? Unless you know how and when the engine was built, who knows what it is like inside? Drop the pan, pull the head for decarbonizing, check the condition of the cam and tappets. An inspection won’t stop the crank from breaking if it has a hidden crack. It will identify obvious problems such as burnt valves, bad bearings, pitted tap pets and many other potential troubles. Be 100% sure of everything before the trip starts.

We learned something about luggage racks on this trip. Try to put four weeks worth of gear in an old MG and keep it orderly. It’s like a trip to Europe; everything fits on the way over, nothing fits on the trip home!

We had a few luggage racks fail due to overloading. One gentleman complained that his Moss luggage rack was bending. Later, I found out that he had fifty pounds of spares plus all of his clothing strapped to the back. Our racks can carry a great deal, but there are limits. Some people strapped the top of their load to the spare tire carrier. This reduced stress on the rack mounts as the cars bounced across America. The idea seemed to work quite well and provided an additional safety factor. If the rack broke loose, the parts would still be tied to the car. Someone I know once ran over a briefcase while taxiing an airplane. The plane won. I’d hate to think what a semi would do to your gear.

What were the real problem areas? Spares were swapped around freely on this trip, so I don’t have specific numbers. Below is a list of the things which came to my attention.

Parts that broke:
1. Generators
2. Fuel Pumps
3. Fan Belts
4. Axles, snapped or fell apart
5. Crankshafts
6. Luggage Racks
7. Water Pumps
8. Bearings (spun)
9. Pistons (burned or broken)
10. Brake Pipes (worn through)
11. Valves (burned)
12. Flat Tires (TCs in particular)
13. Pushrods (bent)
14. Distributor Parts
15. Starters
16. Brake Master Cyl.

Parts that fell off:
l. TC front shock link
2. Brass exhaust manifold nuts
3. Core Plugs (good idea to check before a trip. I recall three people had less than an enjoyable time fixing these.)
4. Hats
5. Carb Float Bowls
6. Supercharger Belts

Here are a few other ideas which were employed on the trip and may be of interest: the car and its occupants will run cooler if the hood side panels are removed. Drive across the desert top down only if you are young and foolish. I did, drank a six month’s supply of Gatorade along the way and felt like the left over hotdog sitting on the fire at a BBQ… great tan though! A number of people wrapped a wet towel around their necks and felt much cooler as a result.

Two enterprising individuals solved their laundry problem by strapping a small cooler to the back of the car. Each morning the cooler was filled with hot water, detergent and clothing. At the end of each day they had freshly washed clothing in need only of a rinse and dry.

Choose a point along the route that will serve as your preventative maintenance stop. Go over the car carefully. If there are signs of deterioration in any important mechanical components, do something about it then. Don’t wait for a wheel to fall off before tightening the lug nuts.

What of Moss Motors’ entries in the OOTTT? Well, Howard Goldman, in his MGTC, drove from New Jersey to California. He was responsible for the float bowl and supercharger belts (listed above). He also proved that old MGs can outrun almost anything on four wheels. The Moss TD pickup drove West to East for the start, received a new generator (hmmm!) at our New Jersey warehouse and returned to California. The car always had fresh oil in it as it leaked enough to make oil changes unnecessary, otherwise it was flawless. The Peugeot parts wagon drove about 15,000 miles pulling a car most of the way. That vehicle was uncanny, it never skipped a beat

There were times during our twenty-one day adventure when people had every right and reason to quit. However, no one did. Some of the cars had serious problems, but one point was proven. A well prepared, carefully maintained British sports car will take you anywhere, reliably and comfortably. Well, maybe not too comfortably.

Bob’s Garage was designed to give you a chance to talk with us, and to answer questions on Moss products and services. If there are any subjects of interest to you. chances are many others arc interested also. Send your questions and contributions to: Editor, Moss Motors, Ltd, Box MG, Santa Barbara, CA 93116

By Robert Goldman