The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (April 16 - April 30, 2026)
Thursday, April 16, 2026:
Just say we took the day off to clean up loose ends, since we are about five weeks late getting out of town.
Friday, April 17, 2026:
One last Friday visit to Tech Central, looks like not much planned for the day, but there was a little chore to mount two fat-tire e-bikes onto an older rack on back of the motor home. After deleting some base adapters the fat tires fit into the rack okay, but the top clamps would not come down far enough to hold the frames. Solution was a quick trip to a local store to buy two high bars that clamp between the seat base and fork bearing tube, after which the top clamps on the carrier work fine.
The newish Chevy 3500-HD diesel work truck didn't want to start? It cranks over fine, but no go. For diesel engine, no fire has to mean no fuel. We think there are two fuel pumps, low pressure transfer pump from tank to engine, and high pressure pump for the fuel injectors. There was a trouble code they were trying to reset, but wait. It's computer controlled, right? How about a reset? Just unplug it, and reboot it. So they disconnected the battery ground cable for 30 seconds, then reconnected it, and the thing started right up, and the trouble code was gone. J
ust like the old Microsoft operating system joke. -- Then there was the never ending job of organizing the tools. the trick here is to teach people discipline to put tools back where they found them at the end of the day, every day. Maybe even easier, we just need to teach one person, our host.
the Jaguar was back, the one with the electric fan that keeps tuning until it runs the battery down. That should be as simple as replacing the thermostatic switch, but no new part handy. So I think they re going to wire in a toggle switch to kill the power from the cockpit whey the engine is switched off.
Finally time to get back on the road, after spending five months in one place? That's just weird. So we hit the expressway for the first time with the new crankshaft., driving 125 miles north up I-75 at 75-MPH when the traffic was flowing. Some stop and creep a few time in hot weather, just switch on the bilge blower to keep the carburetors cool while only the passengers were cooking. 2-1/2 hours on we stopped in Sun City Center , Florida for fuel and an evening break. Call the lady at Scarborough Faire to check in, and we think the Return Authorization number for the misconfigured Moss Motors radiator is finally on the way via email. -- And time to post he photos and notes for the day.
Saturday, April 18, 2026:
Short side trip to an ATM this morning, and one lame no-go WiFi spot before landing in Bushnell, Florida for breakfast. Spent a good part of the day posting new Part Numbers tech pages for MGA door rubber buffers, tapping plates and screws. MB19556; AAA5115; AHH6273; AHH6273K; AJD2245Z. Two rubber pieces in slightly different styles, one tapping plate and one screw, but at least five part numbers, only three of which appear in the factory Service Parts books. These numbers can be single parts or kits, and seem to be used interchangeably, so hard to know what you may be ordering. The worst problem is, replacement tapping plates may be aluminum , which will promote galvanic corrosion so they cannot be removed later.
Sunday, April 19, 2026:
Made it back to Gainsville, Florida, where we broke the crankshaft five months ago. Just weird. Feels like Friday the 13th. Good news is, the cruise control we installed a year ago is working well, as we cruised north to I-10 and Lake City, FL by late night.
Monday, April 20, 2026:
Drove west to Tallahassee,FL today. The morning WiFi spot was less than comfortable, so by mid afternoon we moved more west to Cottondale, FL. Only two hours to Pennsecola from here, so we may be moving faster than intended. Plans to be in Mandeville, Louisiana by Saturday morning. Heading to Austin Texas around end of month.
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