What to do next............its not that tricky

( Me being attacked by a swarm of angry bee's...... for having dirty hands ?)

Yes, exactly what to do next ?.

Last post saw me having undone the rear half of the spring, undone the axle "u bolts" and one damper drop link.

Thats exatly how the situation is now, only worse.

So how can it be worse if I've not done anything ?

The situation at Uni is :-

1st week, all week, very fast paced and lots to imbibe and inwardly digest.

2nd week, easier but the real enormity of 1st week hits home with and essay to finish by end of the month.

3/. Knowing this would happen at Uni since the drop of the axle/springs, I looked up the parts and cost involved to get the back end sorted.

It went something like this :-

Plan 1/.

a/. All new bushes at the back, deffo. Poly bushes and Blue "fast road use".

b/. New "lowered" pair of leaf springs. ( to suit chrome bumper model ride height, mine was a rubber bumper model to be lowered )

c/. New Chrome bumper shorter drop link ( pair of )

d/. Spax suspension would be nice ( so would a pair of parabolic springs too) but they are all out of the question, money wise.

e/. new bumpstops top & bottom.

f/. new rebound straps.

g/. Lowering kit from MGOC

Reality after a few searches ont tinterweb..................way too expensive !!!!.

I'm not sure if the spring price was per pair or each, either way £80 is a lot.

It all came to ....................wait for it ............. £ 330 approx.

So plan 2/.

a/. as 1/.

b/. Second hand springs.....................price dunno yet

c/. Second hand drop links.................£ 5.oo each

d/. Forget............too expensive

e/. as 1/.

f/. as 1/.

g/. Is it really needed ?, some stuff can be re-used or I already have it above.

Reality.......................Still too expensive. Its just over budget.

By the way at this point it would be good to mention what my budget is - see below

NOTHING !!!

yes, thats right. I've got bugger all.

So in light of this and my new found wisdom a re-think was done. The reality is this.

a/. Poly bushes @ £ 37.00 set ( rear only) OR Std stock rubber ones ( Noooooooooooo!!)

b/. Refurb the springs ( they have sagged anyway, shorter drop links will tell)

c/. Second hand drop links £ 10.00 total

d/. Second hand rebound strap.........price......dunnoo ( but less than £10.00 total )

e/. - g/. forget.

So I might as well be planning a total new re-shell since thats about as realistic as the above when you aint got no cash.

So thats why the post is called " What to do next ". Its definitely not tricky. The answer is Nothing.

Uni will keep me busy for the next 3 weeks anyway with the dreaded assignment essay. After that the weather will turn and maybe a little too cold but much more likely too wet.

I'm determined though that its not going to be one of the dreaded "Unfinished projects" for sale.

I might have to think of ways to improve the lot of Lostsock and family, after the essy though.

More soon.

Is that an axle in your eye ? No its a leaf spring actually.

What a strange title. Let me explain. You knew I would anyway.


Many years ago, when I had money, time and a restless nature I had a desire to fulfill a long lost dream. That was to restore an old car. So I looked on good old e-bay and bought an old banger from 1977, well in need of renovation and with a good supply of parts suppliers and knowledge base available. So In good old Lostsock fashion I decided to document its renovation.
That's what started me on the blog thing. Rather than take loads of photos, why not make a narrative text as well to assist others and maybe solicit some help for myself.
I did and the oddities of the chosen Blog supplier prevented me from linking both of my blogs each way.
Now the real reason for the post and a little light reflection and observation on our good old health system.
During the last few weeks prior to Uni starting I've done some work on the car. Its sort of well on the way to being finished after years of body work repair. Next job on the list was replace rear springs and bushes, clean up and paint with whatever ( Underseal, Red lead, etc)











This involved me with some time flat on my back......careful.... working spanners and hammers on nuts that have not been touched for 33 years. So, 33 years worth rust fell onto my drive during said operation, only taking a detour into my Right eye. For some months my Left eye has been odd in the morning ( Deduced by wifey to be the same cause). Insomuch as sticky eyelids and a general soreness. So after said weekend and the start of Uni saw Lostsock not his usual chirpy self. Plagued by a dull headache behind the eyes and head.
So, Monday morning saw me attend the Docs at 8 am sharp. Not to see a doctor. Simply to stand in line when the surgery opens so I could book an appointment as soon as.

Its pointless trying to telephone as it rings for ages once you get the answerphone message and options. Then appointments are for in at least 1 months time. Well not really but generally far enough away to stop people with trivial illnesses wanting to attend.
I was 4th in line at the reception desk. The desk is manned by the Practice Manager. Not a woman who would win any charm contests. So I heard all the 3 previous peoples illnesses since the PM had to ascertain to whom to send them ( Nurse, Doctor or Room for arguments) , their age and date of birth and their address.
So What happened to patient confidentiality then ?................
Is the P.M medically trained ?....................methinks not ( Hope the Practice is Insured )

It didn't help when the guy in front of me insisted he needed his blood testing because his wife is Ill ???????????? and they didn't do it at the hospital last night because he'd he fainted. Is this a breach of confidentiality ?. There's been lots posted on various sites regarding this topic and say, Facebook. A certain Government ministers wife revealed some potentially sensitive details... allegedly. Some excellent medical related sites have even closed down voluntarily for fear of the dreaded Confidentiality police. Hope they don't come knocking for me...............errrrrrrrhemmmm.

But seriously, should we have to do this ?. I fully understand why the Practice Manager is a sourpuss ( The general Public...) but it should still not be allowed for the jaded, impatient and almost rude to be people facing. Neither should Non medically trained staff be making clinical decisions. Don't you agree ?. Could we do it as radiographers , i.e I.D patients in the waiting area. No. Tell them they have a nasty break ?. No. I am full of praise for all aspects of our wonderful NHS. It is still the envy of the world, has some great people and services. It is Europe's biggest employer and thereby is its problem. Its very difficult to employ 100% perfect and professional people. Unfortunately its the minority that stick in peoples minds. I for one am determined not to be a whingeing employee. Its depressing anyway listening to some people whingeing to others.

I have Conjunctivitis by the way so my vision today is a little cloudy................heeee heee. That's because there's been most of a 1977 British Leyland axle and leaf spring in it the last few months ( Nay years).

A New Winter Coat

Not much activity MG wise. The weather and wifeys constant nagging re D.I.Y list has taken priority. What days off I had was devoted to either a nice long walk in the fine weather or resting. I must admit I wasted several days doing god knows what. The hours flew by and I can't remember anything. Only being annoyed at wasting time on nothing.

The MG has a new winter coat. £15 from Argos. Its fully waterproof, fits like a dream and has elasticated corners. Ever since I took out the rear window to repair the seams and lip its been kind of vulnerable to water ingress. The Blue poly sheets I've been using had eventually become porous, kept coming loose and generally were a real pain to remove/fasten up. Not helped by the fact the giant ( Not an understatement, its about the size of a tennis court) outer blue cover was ripped to shreds, full of holes and becoming snagged on every corner of the MG. The new under cover over the rear window just sagged into the tailgate space due to the weight of rain water collected so I had to be careful how I dragged the cover off. After several times of complaining about some of the water ingress wifey suggested the Argos catalogue ( She has up to date catalogues of every consumer selection on the planet) Well, we have no money so why not dream and spend the imaginary lottery millions. I don't think I'd shop at Argos if i did though.
It seems strange to be saying "winter coat" since its the last Sunday in August and the weather this month has been rubbish. Not hot and settled at all. Generally sunny with some rain and scudding clouds & wind, changeable and average. Where oh where have the long, hot and lazy summers of my childhood gone ?
Here it is covered, as I've just finished a couple of hours between D.I.Y'ing.

Below shows the end plates of the Rubber bumper mounting removed. I intend to convert to chrome bumpers so theses must come off. Its not as straight forward as you think to convert a RB car to chrome bumpers. It now leaves the longitudinal chassis end plate open so I can chop off about 2" ( 50mm) back inside the grill opening ( to allow the fitting of a grille) of the top half, the bottom half needs only be cut back to be behind the valence when fitted. A plate is then welded to the top half to re-cover the section and a nut welded somewhere to hold the bumper bracket.


Then, the lower valence has to have its two square holes ( where the above mounts poked through) welded up.
The wings have to have two square holes filled in and new square hole cut to suit the light fitting with chrome surrounds.
If you can remember the RB cars have the lights( Indicators) integral into the bumper and are larger than chrome bumper cars.
The rear needs the pointy body extensions under the lights ( done when I fitted the rear wings yonks ago). A conversion mount can be bought cheaply to fix the mountings and bumper.

Fortunately I have most of the stuff bought in the mists of time from E-bay and collected
from various parts of the country back when I was travelling this fair isle.

Incidentally, here is a list of places I've travelled to collecting my E-bay purchases :-


Enfield . North London...............................MGB-GT purchase...............................£180
Doncaster ( S.Yorks)........LH & RH sills/castle rail/jacking points and x-member.....£35
Harlow ( Essex)..................................MIG welder.........................£60
Mitcham ( Surrey)..............................Front chrome bumper & lights.............£15
Somewhere north of Wolverhampton miles from anywhere...... rear chrome bumper ....£10
Slough (Berks).........complete roof section......£10............still in storage at former employers ?
Dewsbury ( W Yorks)...........pair doors ....£15 .......Rubbish, never used, in shed I think.
Belper (Derbys).....................doorskin..............................£ 25
Doncaster ( S Yorks ) Head gasket set....................£8
Chesterfield ( Derbys).................Chrome bumper front springs.....................£10
Liverpool (Merseyside ).........Oil cooler & pipes........£15 ( Scouser Jim collected, ex colleague)

And that's not counting the trips to MGOC (many), MGB Hive (three), Mechspec( two) & Watford MG for proper purchases with real money for NEW stuff. Or stuff bought on E-bay that's been posted ( Mostly tools but did include VW golf repair rim for wheel arch) and "other" stuff generally purchased on E-bay.
I might like to add that I am not being paid by E-bay for all this promotion. of their wonderful product. A donation would be appreciated though !

More soon.