Blair's Blog

Little British Car.

I’ve had my 1979 MG Midget for over 30 years now. I bought it in the spring of 1985 and, at first, it was a daily driver. However, the first serious cold snap that next winter made me re-think how practical that would be in Calgary. If it was colder than about -25C the carb would ice up and stop providing fuel to the engine within about 6 or 8 blocks of driving. So then it was my summer car, alongside a series of cheap winter beaters, for a few years. It was a great car in the mountains and I made a few trips to Vancouver Island in it. Eventually, after getting married and buying a house, it became the summer sports car and reigned supreme in the garage while the “other car” got the driveway.

For about 10 years it got plenty of use and was pretty reliable – particularly once I sorted out the Lucas ignition issues and removed the air pump. During our Cold Lake years there were lots of great memories and trips to Calgary or Edmonton. Eventually it had some gearbox issues which took a while to sort out and it started to take a bit of a lower profile as life got busier.

For two years in the late 90s my Dad had it while we lived in Australia. We came home to Calgary in 1998 when Steven was one and the demands of a growing family left less and less time to drive or maintain the MG and after about 2008, I was down to driving it a few hundred kilometers a year – just a few little day trips each summer. Last year was a bit of a low point, the only trip that I did was from Chestermere to the new house in Calgary – and a run to the local gas station to fill the tank before winter set in.

This spring I decided that it was time to get serious about the Midget. We are pretty settled in the new house, I have more free time due to cutting the commute in half and the kids are all plenty old enough to amuse themselves while Brenda and I go for an evening cruise in the MG. Only trouble was that 5 or 6 years of minimal use adds up to maintenance issues. In particular, the brake master cylinder had developed a leak and needed replacing. So I ordered a new master cylinder and a bunch of tune-up parts from the US and started to tackle the backlog of issues.

For less than $400, I have done an oil change, full tune up (plugs, wires, air filter…) and sorted out some suspension issues. I bought a bunch of car care products and have given it a polishing like it hasn’t had in ages. I figure that I’ve managed to drive at least a 1200 km over this summer and fall – it is a little hard to tell as one of the things that still needs fixing is the odometer – it stops turning when the speed is over 75 km/hr. Maybe that will be one of the winter projects to disassemble, clean and lubricate the speedometer. Next spring, brakes and rear suspension bushings are on the list, as well as figuring out why it is using up a bit of coolant.

All told, it has been quite a good season with more wind-in-the-hair driving than the previous five years combined.

2 April 1988 – the day Brenda and I got engaged

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What’s the best comic ever?

There are lots of ways to answer that question. What comic strip do you read every day? What comic do you remember most as a kid? The way I look it, the best comic is the one that survives the longest on your fridge. By that logic, this is the best comic ever:

This comic has a long history on our fridge. I think that it actually started out clipped from a newspaper and pinned up in my office cubicle. Eventually it got photocopied and enlarged and found its way home and onto the fridge of our first house in Cold Lake – probably around 1990. Due to a pretty complete lack of interest in taking photos of the fridge, particularly in the days before digital photography, it’s pretty hard to come up with exact dates. However, in this picture, taken on my birthday in 1991, you can see the comic displayed prominently:

Even today, that same comic is on our fridge – not quite so prominently, but still there making us smile after more that a quarter of a century. It’s a bit dog-eared and stained, but retains it’s place as probably the best comic ever.

Comments Off on Those Saxon Dogs!

Happy “Back to the Future” Day!  In “Back to the Future Part II,” Marty McFly travels to October 21, 2015, to save his children, yet to be born in “Back to the Future’s” 1985.  Celebrate by falling off your hoverboard!

The future has finally arrived. Yes, it is different than we all thought. But don’t worry. It just means your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. Just make it a good one.
–Emmett Lathrop “Doc” Brown, PhD

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Forgetmenot Pond is at the far end of highway 66 into the Elbow River valley past Bragg Creek and today was a fine fall day – warm and sunny. Brenda’s motorbike had been in need of some serious care and attention this summer. Although I had it running in the Spring, it didn’t see any use until after our vacation to Europe. The battery died first and it took a while trying to get it to take a charge, and failing, before getting a replacement. Then it wouldn’t run properly, idle was all wrong and it would stall at the slightest provocation. I figured it was a fueling problem, so I siphoned out the old gas and coaxed it to the gas station for a tank of premium.

25 km of laps about the neighbourhood later, it was really no better. Must be gummed up carburetors. Unless it is a fouled plug or other ignition problem – best to check that first… Must be gummed up carburetors.

Messing around with carbs – particularly when there are two and they will need to be synchronized if I touch them – is a bit daunting. And, which carb is the problem one? The bike does run, although poorly. After some procrastination I finally raised the fuel tank and took off the airbox to have a look. So, which one is the culprit? I don’t want to mess up the one carb that is working. So, I start the bike and seal off the throat of the front carb with my hand. The engine slows a fraction but keeps turning over. When I seal off the rear carb throat the engine stalls immediately. Definitely the front carb is just not working.

Fortunately, at that moment two things happen to save me from what was sure to be hours of work and heartache disassembling the carb. First, I found a very old can of STP Carb and Choke cleaner and second, Brenda calls out to me in the garage to say that lunch is on the table. So, I figure, “what could go wrong?” and spray a quarter of the can of carb cleaner into the front carb, in all the openings and nooks and crannies. Then I head into the house, wash up and enjoy lunch with Brenda.

Once lunch is over it is time to face the music – back to the garage. But, before I grab any tools, I start the motorbike, without much hope. But, a miracle has occurred thanks to the magical powers of acetone and xylene. The engine starts and idles normally! Except for the cloud of smoke from the exhaust. Sealing off the front carb with my hand, the engine goes back to the same lumpy idle as before – and the same thing happens when I seal off the back carb. Woohoo!

I gave the bike a good run that day and all seemed well, but there is nothing like a ride to somewhere with no cell coverage to really see if things are ok. So today it was off to Forgetmenot Pond – about 165km for the trip and the motorbike worked perfectly.

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