[Sticky] The Beck TD Story Starts Here!

If you have found your way to this blog via the Internet or the article in Classic Motorsports magazine about the Beck's Brewery MG TD, welcome to the Grant Street Garage! I was thrilled to have a full-page article printed in the November, 2017 issue of Classic Motorsports about my MG project. If you would like to read the whole story so far, start at this link, which will lead you through multiple blog posts:

http://emz3cp.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-beck-brewery-mg-td-part-1.html

Beck TD, Part 89 - Missing!

Beck TD has been running poorly lately. Quite a disappointment, because it had been running beautifully, and my recent work installing a new radiator has also worked out beautifully, with cool running no matter what the weather. The problem was a consistent "miss" that marred the driving experience in both normal traffic and when urging it along. Previously, the engine was willing to run all the way to the 6000 RPM redline, and now it was giving up the ghost at around 3500! Here's a video - listen to the exhaust note for the consistent miss.

Beck TD, Part 88 - Curing The Death Wobble

 It's so common, it even has a name: the "Death Wobble." It's that vibration that sets in at a certain speed in old cars. I was even told that, "All MG TDs do that at 50 mph." But I knew that wasn't so, because I know two TD owners, Charlie and Jake, who can drive 75 or even more without a wobble or vibration. Significantly, both of them are running wire wheels that were purchased brand new during their cars' renovations. Could I do something for Beck and still use the 72-year-old steel wheels? 

Beck TD, Part 87 - The Fan Temp Sensor

A couple of months ago, Part 85 of this blog told the long and convoluted story of installing a new, custom radiator in Beck TD from a manufacturer in China. I'm happy to say that I'm really pleased with the performance of that new radiator! Even on recent hot afternoons (temps around 88 F), on the road the car ran at 160 degrees, which is the temperature at which the thermostat opens. Basically, it runs as cool as possible, even in hot weather.

But, as always, there was one more thing to figure out - the best location for the sensor that controls the cooling fan for that radiator. I've just completed the third try, and I think it's the one that will remain. Here's the story of the wandering home for that sensor...

Beck TD, Part 86 - Stupid Wooden British Cars!

 After the recent radiator work (Part 85), I asked Troy Nace to help me get Beck's body panels aligned. I had already figured out that it was going to be a fussy and time-consuming task! But we had to take a little side trip, due to the way some British cars were still made in 1952. The bodywork has a substantial wooden frame, and wood has a nasty habit of rotting...

Beck TD, Part 85 - A New Radiator!

 One of the consistent threads of Beck TD's 7-year story in my shop has been "messing with the cooling system." In the early days, just getting the radiator and hoses sorted took effort, and since then, the cooling system has been barely adequate on hot days. In Part 82, I went to significant expense to make some changes to the radiator, and while it improved the fitment and look, it still ran hot on 90+ degree days in city traffic. That 70-year-old radiator just wasn't up to snuff!

Members of the Volvo Engined MG group had identified a replacement radiator for sale on eBay from Winner Racing that looked promising, and one member had contacted them to request a custom version for our Volvo application. Their response was, "Sure - just tell us what you need!" I contacted them, and across several emails we worked out a custom version that I bought. In the photo below, their stock TD replacement is on the left, and my custom design is on the right. You'll notice several changes, including a flat tank, relocated inlet and outlet, a custom filler with pressure cap, and more. 

Beck TD, Part 84 - Converting to PCV

 Converting to... what? PCV is a very old acronym for one of the earliest attempts at controlling the emissions from auto engines. It stands for "Positive Crankcase Ventilation" and was developed in the 1950's. As is typical in our country, it was regulated into law in California first, since they have the perfect storm of population and geography to have a real smog problem in Los Angeles. Basically, the stinky byproducts of gasoline combustion were recycled and burned again to try to reduce their effect on the atmosphere, and not at all coincidentally, also make our garages not stink so badly of unburned hydrocarbons.

Beck TD, Part 83 - New Air Filters

 This is another one of those crazy projects where I spent a lot of time and effort making something I could easily buy. What can I say? I just like making stuff! In this case, I modified some inexpensive air filters to precisely fit the SU carbs on Beck TD. These filters came from AutoZone, and were suggested by Larry, who's a member of the Volvo Powered MGs online group. He said that he had used them very successfully on other projects, and the price was right at around $23 per filter, including the lower housing and pretty chrome cover.

A Substantial Threading Die Holder

 If you aren't the sort to regularly make your own screw threads, you might not be aware that the cutting tool used to do that is called a "die." And of course, if you are using the die to cut threads, you need a "die holder" to work with. The die holders that come with sets of threading dies are small, cheap, and prone to break at the worst possible time. So... I just finished making this substantial replacement:

Beck TD, Part 82: Remediating the Radiator

 I've wanted to do something about my top radiator hose for years, ever since Beck TD came to the Grant Street Garage. The mechanic that converted Beck to Volvo power years ago apparently made several decisions based on what materials were at hand. For the top hose, he chose a brass plumbing fixture to convert the 2" hole in the TD radiator to the 1-1/4" needed for the Volvo engine. He chose a flex hose with dubious routing to get it all to work. In this photo, the valve cover is removed, giving a better photo of the whole routing:

Beck TD, Part 81: Testing the Temperature

 This was an interesting bit of garage science today. About a year ago, I replaced the water temperature gauge in Beck TD's dashboard because the existing one had failed. I was suspicious of the new gauge right away, because it seemed to read about 10 degrees hotter than the old one, and also would read 10 degrees hotter than the temperature indicated on my laser non-contact thermometer, checking right at the gauge sender.

I had read of a test for those capillary-style gauges using boiling water, but I had never tried it. Until today, that is! Read on for the interesting results.

Beck TD, Part 80: Moving the Alternator

 MG TDs didn't come from the factory with an alternator to recharge the battery. In 1952, an old generator was good enough. In fact, it was probably still good enough in 2019, but in that year, Jake Roulstone and I collaborated on a blog post on how to convert to a modern alternator, which became Part 45 of the Beck TD saga. The installation documented there has worked perfectly ever since, so of course this winter I decided to redo it. What good is a project car if you don't have projects!

Audi A3 Sun Visor Repair

 It has been rather quiet around the Grant Street Garage for several months. My last blog post was in April, 2022. In May, I had very successful open heart surgery, leading to a summer of rehab, and then in August, I happened upon a home in a retirement community that we loved so much that we moved! We managed (with help from Beyond the Fork in the Road, a marvelous moving company) to pack, downsize, sell our old house and move in just 3 months. But that didn't leave much time for shop fun! Here's a photo of the new place, with Beck TD in the driveway. We kept the Grant Street Garage, so Beck still has a place to live.

Beck TD, Part 79: Radiator Tales

 In the last two posts, I detailed special tools I made to help with a big project on Beck TD: replacing the head and cam. That's all done and Beck is running very well, and someday I'll do a final report on that project. But for now, let me tell some "Tales" about my radiator. There's a new technique here that really helps minimize the mess of radiator work!

Beck TD, Part 78: Two More Custom Tools

 In my last post, I described how I duplicated a special Volvo puller for removing a cam gear. As the disassembly and refresh of Beck's engine continued, I needed a couple of other special tools. Here's how I made them:

Beck TD, Part 77: A Very Specific Puller

 Beck TD has been a real joy this summer and fall, as evidenced by the lack of blog posts. Mary Ellen and I put nearly 1000 miles on Beck, cruising around the beautiful Lancaster County countryside. But finally it got too cold, and since Beck was running very well... I tore the engine apart! Idle hands are the Devil's workshop, or something like that.

Well, more on how that state of affairs came about in a subsequent blog post, but for now, let's talk about a fun fabrication I did to help. My friend Jake, who is definitely a co-conspirator in this madness, acquainted me with a special puller that would make life easier. 

Beck TD, Part 76: Honking My Horn

 When you've been driving 50 years and more, you develop a certain set of reflexes, covering all aspects of vehicle operations. For me, one of those reflexes is that one sounds the horn by pressing the center of the steering wheel. If you're driving a 1952 MG TD, that's a problem! MG thought it was just fine to put the button (which is apparently called the "Horn Push" in all cars, not just MGs) on the center dash. Here's a web photo showing that horn push:

Rescuing an Old Friend

 Many of my readers are involved in my "real" life and know that just last Wednesday, I retired from Lancaster Church of the Brethren after 17 years as their Director of Music. For all of that time, and for some years before taking that job, I used my folding microphone stand to record various concerts and events, and it saw weekly duty during the pandemic while I recorded video and audio for our online services.

As I was cleaning out my office, I was folding up my old stand one last time to take it home, and the aluminum base that holds the folding legs shattered, dropping several pieces at my feet. It was almost as if it said, "If you're done, then I'm done too!"

Beck TD, Part 75: Remediating the Handbrake

 Here in the US we've always called it the "emergency brake" or "parking brake," but in 1950's Great Britain it was just the "handbrake." Just another brake, with a ratcheting lock that you had to explicitly engage if you wanted to use it as a parking brake. On Beck TD, it was the only part of the braking system that I hadn't renewed, and it was time.

Beck TD, Part 74: More on the New Steering Wheel

 I have continued to mess with the new steering wheel introduced in Part 73, to good effect. The T-series MGs were unusual for the day in that the steering wheel was adjustable in and out, and the chrome hardware for that mechanism on Beck TD was rusted and jammed shut. It wasn't expensive, so I ordered new parts from Moss Motors and installed it just like the old ones. Imagine my surprise when the new cover jammed shut also!