MG M Group Saloons Day

The day that Murray & Christine came to collect me last year was the day on which the MG ‘M’ Group had their saloons day gathering so, as I reported on the blog, we called in on the way home; and it was just after we left the Saloons day that all my troubles began.


The 2008 MG ‘M’ Group Saloons Day was held today and Murray considered it a bit of a challenge to make it there and back without incident as ‘proof’ that, for the moment, the troubles are over and I was behaving as I should. He also wanted to take me for a decent run to see if the water consumption problem had been fixed with the fitting of my new water pump.

So, bright and early this morning we headed north, out of London and on to the M1. Fortunately the speed limit through the road works up to Junction 9 is 50mph so we did not hold anybody up. From Junction 9 we went up the A5 to Milton Keynes then took the A508 through Northampton and up to the venue at Lamport House.

Although the weather forecast was for fine, sunny weather there were a couple of light sprinkles and it was quite chilly. I was the only Y there this year; the nearest cousins were three Magnettes – well down on the 10 that were present in 2007.

Because of the inclement conditions we slipped away early and headed home via Holdenby House and the back routes and byways to Winslow and then London.

Murray was very pleased with me today: cruising effortlessly at 55-60 mph; fuel consumption , 33 mpg, much better than in the past; and, in 160 miles, I used less than a litre of water, quite a change from the 1 litre per 10 miles problem that started my troubles a year ago.

Home again

Well, the pulley did not arrive in time for the weekend and when it did John discovered that the bolts holding it all together were the wrong size. It seems someone has done a bit of a 'bodge' job at some stage and the holes in the spacer have been bored out to the wrong size.

But the lads at Bewley sorted it all out and tonight Murray came and collected me and we went for a short run on the motorway. I simply purred along at 60mph and even made 65 for a short while and Murray was still not pushing me as hard as I could go. I haven't done 65 in years - it is really quite a rush for an old girl like me.

Hopefully this weekend we will be able to get back to the MG Saloons Day, a lot has happened since the 2007 Saloons Day - it has been rather an eventful year.

Man the pumps

The vibration was due to a badly worn water pump and the reason that it was becoming more obvious at lower speeds was that the wear was getting worse.

So I now have a brand new water pump to go with all the other new bits but unfortunately the old fan belt pulley was too worn to fit properly on the shaft of my nice new water pump. Hopefully the pulley will arrive in time for it to be fitted before the weekend, as Murray would like to take me on the Epsom Area MG Owners Club run to the Bluebell Railway on Sunday. We shall see.

It will also be interesting to see if the new water pump also solves the persistent but small water leak that is still troubling Murray. John said that when he took the old pump off there was some evidence of leakage behind it, so fingers crossed.

Copyright?

Murray and Christine ended their Sunday at Highclere Castle where there was a gathering of Jaguar cars.

It was a totally miserable wet day for all the enthusiasts who had turned out in their lovely XK open sports cars for the XK Register 40th Anniversary. Naturally there were many more models represented including some pre-war SS cars, before they adopted the Jaguar name.

Murray is convinced that the Y designers had a picture of a 1938 SS 100 Saloon pinned above the drawing board as they crafted the transformation of the Morris 8 body shell into the Y saloon.

The similarities are striking and although the SS 100 is bigger, longer, lower, and somewhat more curvaceous, given the fact that there was very little that could be changed with the passenger cabin section of the Morris 8, the designers did a grand job of stealing the looks of the SS 100 and making an affordable sports saloon for the driver whose pockets were not quite so deep. We even both have sun-roofs!

Buckinghamshire beckons

Returning from last weekend’s Naviscat, Murray was increasingly concerned about a worrying vibration that was making driving unpleasant.

However, he needed to do a bit more detective work to try and pin down the conditions under which this vibration occurred so he and Christine set off for Buckinghamshire to visit a few places and enjoy the country lanes.

We stopped in at Beaconsfield, Princes Risborough and Long Crendon before wending our way back home. While out and about, Murray stopped to collect some elder flowers to make elderflower cordial.

All the while the vibration was getting steadily worse and I had to be driven at slower and slower speeds to keep it under control.

Naturally Murray will take me back to see the lads at Bewley Motors next week.