The Reluctant Classic
The Story of the MG that would not go out of Wiltshire.
Jim phoned me up and said he bought an MG TD some18 months ago. He said that every attempt to go for a drive that took them outside of Wiltshire, the car would stop short of the county boundary. He explained in a jovial tone – the car refuses to leave Wiltshire!
He got to know the recovery service and they got to recognize his car. He had taken it to two different specialists, neither of whom were able to sort out the problem. While visiting The Geoge pub in Longbridge Deverill, he met a man who said that J L Classics works miracles with Classics cars, and they are just down the road. A short while later he was on the phone asking if I fancied a challenge.
Jim and I got on well and he was pleased to speak with someone who also wanted the TD to be enjoyed. Jim said that I was welcome to take his car to the coast upon its maiden run out of Wiltshire! We went through a basic inspection and checked the usual suspects. Ignition components warming up and failing, fuel pump performance and fuel supply problems. All to no avail.
Convinced it was a fuel problem we took temperature readings of items within the engine bay, checking parts of the fuel system, in case it was getting too warm. Moving under the car, a bright shiny stainless steel, bespoke exhaust system was staring you in the face. Its appearance, shrill noise and its cost was most apparent. The route of the exhaust ran very tight to the chassis. So tight that one could not see that secured to the side of chassis rail, right next to the exhaust system was the copper fuel pipe, painted chassis black, running to the front.
What we believed to be the problem was the heat from the exhaust, after about 10 miles it would warm up the copper pipe and boil the petrol inside. This would stop the car for a long time before both would cool down. Then when starting the car, it would happen all over again. We moved the exhaust system to its correct position and also placed a heat shield around the copper pipe for good measure.
I did take Jim up on his invitation to use the MG TD but not down to the coast. Upon taking possession of his repaired TD, Jim and his wife loved the car and became regular customers/visitors to the workshop.