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MG MGB Technical - running a B in winter

some one had taken of with my daily driver ( which i bought for winter) so I am having to use the bgt for going to work in. Trouble is hes had my daily driver for 5 weeks and looks likes he going to be months with it so I may need to use my b over winter any one do that and if so any tipes for keeping rust to a minimum and other mainatance.
Jim

Hi Jim.

First step is to service the car, paying particular attention to the ignition and general electrics.

I suggest you wipe the ignition leads, coil end and distributor cap over with WD40 or similar BEFORE they get damp.

Is your battery good ?... cold batteries don't work as well as warm ones, and a cold engine is harder (stiffer) to turn over. I have a trickle charger that keeps mine topped up.

Rust is a big subject, but the basic rules seem to be to spray lots of a runny rust-preventer into cavities, (sills etc), and apply a 'stiffer' one to areas that are exposed (eg wheel arches).
Very soft rust protectors can wash off, while very hard ones can chip.
I have found that any loose paint is best removed as it only traps water and accelerates rusting.

Washing the car frequently will help, as will ensuring that there aren't any pockets of mud to retain salty water.

HTH... Don
Don

Check the condition of your alternator. During winter you'll be runnig the heater, wipers and headlights a lot, it's harder to start the engine, and the cold makes everything less efficient. I had an alternator die on me last winter and it wasn't much fun.
david pothecary

I have driven MGs year round, for a long time an MGB was my only car so it was driven in all weathers, several inches of snow included!

The advice above is good, I shall add my own spin on it. The BGT is your car, you obviously know it very well, you know all those little niggly "I must get round to fixing that" things like a slow blinker or a dead hazard unit or non-funtioning windscreen wasgers or slow wipers or dead rear window heater or........?

You get the message. :-)

Fix them now, before the cold weather sets in and something lets you down one morning. Then, whenever another little niggle develops, fix it immediately. The trick to keeping these cars running all the time is to keep on top of everything, but, do not fiddle needlessly, if it ain't broke don't <insert your prefered word here> with it. Just keep on top of the servicing, change plugs, points, belts, caps, etc as necessary, I change them all twice as often as the book says and that seems to suit these cars very well indeed.

Rust prevention is best dealt with by washing, every couple of weeks or so just pressure wash the car, paying particular attention to the underside. That will remove all the dirt and salts that are the main cause of rust.

One last thing, in the middle of winter when the car is buried in snow you either have to let it warm up for a really long time before driving so the side windows are clear enough to see though, or you just have to drive to work with the windows down so you can actually see out. :-)
The Wiz

Try movin to Perth in Western Australia. Minimum temp 4deg Celcius- average on cold mornings is about 8 deg. No ice, no salt, low humidity, not much rain. My 77 BGT starts each morning without choke and has never let me down because of weather.
RM Taylor

Go down at your first oppurtunity and pressure wash the underside and wheel wells. Give em a real good inspection.
Two major areas that are easily delt with are the top of the fuel tank and the splash panels in the front wings.
The fuel tank can be dropped fairly easily and de-rusted/painted/coated. The splash panels likewise but sometimes the little screws won't come out nicely. Lots of PB Blaster on them will help.
Once the splash panels are out you can wash out all the crud behind there and clear the drain holes (I guarantee you will find lots of crud). Then get a new seal and replace the panel. Extra rust retardant there is a personal choice. Good paint should be OK if the drains are clear as no rocks/spray are directed back there (except what leaks past the seal).

Those plastic inner liners for fenders would be a help too but I haven't popped for them so I don't have any direct experience.

Otherwise, give it a tune-up now and mind the electricals.

Mike!
mike!

I used my V8 as a daily driver for about eight years. Don't garage it when wet, a carport is best, just leaving it outside if you haven't got a carport. You shouldn't need any more than 'normal' maintenance, although that depends on what your definition of normal is ;o) Hose out the wheel arches to get rid of any mud behind the lip, it just serves to keep dampness and salt in contact with the body.

I found that using it daily I could make batteries last significantly longer than intermittent use. If we get a really cold spell and your washer bottle is at the back of the engine bay (and maybe even the earlier location) you will be able to sail past all those modern cars stranded on the hard shoulder of motorways scrubbing away at their salt encrusted windscreens because their systems have frozen up.
Paul Hunt

Another thought. I dunno how cold it gets there, but lighter weight oil in the pan and tranny help with cold starts unless you have a heater hooked up. Water heaters are nice for the internal heat but oil heaters really help on first cranking.

Mike!
mike!


My pre-emptive maintenance for winter was
1 Put in the wheel arch liners- quite an easy job and they make it a cinch to wash off the dirt - it doesn't stick to PVC the same way as to underseal. But if there is corrosion behind them it will probably spread. Also there is some risk of corroding the wheel arch lip, the seal looks as if it could trap water. I figured that if they held off the need to replace a wing for even one year it was money well spent.

2 Go through all the connections I could reach,clean /renew them and apply di-electric grease - made for boats - before reconnecting.

3 When I had to replace the rusty fuel tank I also fitted a new fuel pump. [ paid my dues on SU pumps with early minis. ]Fitted new contacts to the old pump and put it in the boot just in case.

4 Started to use a battery charger with a condition monitor. Now engine is never reluctant to turn.

Vic
V Todman

This thread was discussed between 25/09/2004 and 28/09/2004

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