And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Saturday, August 15, 2026
I'd commute in that (if I could keep it running - very questionable)
I helped a buddy put a 3.8L w/ auto overdrive in a MGB and rewire the car with a GM universal wiring harness. That car became scary quick and the extra weight up front affected the handling. He later fixed that by rebuilding the front suspension.
One of my best friends 40 years ago sold his 53 just like yhat one but not as good of condition for $800. Running motor bolted to a pallet. He knew I wanted it and would've gave 1k-1.5k.I was Piiiiissed
they are easy as hell to keep running. had a few English sports cars in my life. keep the SU filled with oil, adjust the valves every oil change and check the belts. what's the problem ? and check the front shocks for oil ! if you had "wires", you had to pull and clean the splines and grease them once a year. my problem was after my back blew out was getting in and out of it ! hated to sell my 69 MGB-GT .
Easy enough. Install an electronic distributor so there are no points to be retimed. You need a Jaguar workshop manual, a carb synch tool, the ability to read and follow instructions and that's about it. Keep the oil in the carburetors at the proper level, change the engine oil religiously and drive it frequently. Sitting is not good for old cars, they were made to be driven not stored. The XK engine was so good it was made for over 50 years and won LeMans 5 times in the '50s. This looks like a XK120 as the XK140 grille has only 7 vertical bars and incorporates the 'growler' badge. Al_in_Ottawa
God save us from Cretans who do not understand or know how to treat a thoroughbred! The bad rep in the US is due more to ham handed 'mechanics' rather than British engineering! In 20 years of driving I never had to adjust the valves or the timing. BTW, valves are adjusted with shims in the cam followers.
Yes, it's an XK120 roadster, factory designation "Open Top Sports" (OTS) Looks like a '51 or early '52 based on the separate sidelights and the tall rearview mirror. A very nice example!
Love those fender mirrors.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere a looong time ago that for every hour driven, it spends two hours in the shop adjusting valve lash and general timing issues.
ReplyDeleteEasy to fix. Replace everything under the hood with a 1960s 6 cylinder from any American pick up.
ReplyDeleteI helped a buddy put a 3.8L w/ auto overdrive in a MGB and rewire the car with a GM universal wiring harness. That car became scary quick and the extra weight up front affected the handling. He later fixed that by rebuilding the front suspension.
DeleteOne of my best friends 40 years ago sold his 53 just like yhat one but not as good of condition for $800. Running motor bolted to a pallet. He knew I wanted it and would've gave 1k-1.5k.I was Piiiiissed
ReplyDeletethey are easy as hell to keep running. had a few English sports cars in my life.
ReplyDeletekeep the SU filled with oil, adjust the valves every oil change and check the belts.
what's the problem ? and check the front shocks for oil ! if you had "wires", you had to pull and clean the splines and grease them once a year.
my problem was after my back blew out was getting in and out of it !
hated to sell my 69 MGB-GT .
Easy enough. Install an electronic distributor so there are no points to be retimed. You need a Jaguar workshop manual, a carb synch tool, the ability to read and follow instructions and that's about it. Keep the oil in the carburetors at the proper level, change the engine oil religiously and drive it frequently. Sitting is not good for old cars, they were made to be driven not stored.
ReplyDeleteThe XK engine was so good it was made for over 50 years and won LeMans 5 times in the '50s. This looks like a XK120 as the XK140 grille has only 7 vertical bars and incorporates the 'growler' badge.
Al_in_Ottawa
Convert it to electric. it would only be about $100k...
ReplyDeleteSacrilege!! Anyone who electrifies a classic car should be hunted down and fed into a wood chipper.
DeleteAl_in_Ottawa
Heinlen promised us electric cars with classic car bodies in the future
DeleteGod save us from Cretans who do not understand or know how to treat a thoroughbred! The bad rep in the US is due more to ham handed 'mechanics' rather than British engineering! In 20 years of driving I never had to adjust the valves or the timing. BTW, valves are adjusted with shims in the cam followers.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's an XK120 roadster, factory designation "Open Top Sports" (OTS) Looks like a '51 or early '52 based on the separate sidelights and the tall rearview mirror. A very nice example!
6 volt positive ground
ReplyDelete