Fit the first
In my profile I mention a MG Midget MkIII. I acquired it last year and when I bought it it was in reasonable condition, and working (with an MOT!). This is a speculative purchase for me (spurred on by Anne, who thought that it might be fun — she knows me too well) and I don't have the tools or experience really. But half the fun of ownership is to gain the tools and experience. She tells me.
The first order of the day was to decide what to call it/him/her. My daughters decided it was male, although every other car I have owned (or my father has owned) has been female, so we wanted a suitable nom de la rue.
To cut a long story short, Jen wanted to call him Red Rum — the paintwork (such as it is) is Red, Tartan Red I think — but I thought that was demeaning since it implies it is only one horse-power. So in the end we shortened it to Red. I bought a Black n' Red workshop notebook, and ink-blackened the Black n' on the cover, so it reads (in red insert on a black background) appropriately, and was smug.
However, soon after we garaged him and I got a new battery (the old one loses charge quite quickly) Red failed to start. There was no trouble turning the engine over, so the new battery is OK — just no inclination to fire at all. We go into detective mode.
First, electrics: the spark was fine (this is so tricky to do on your own). Check.
Second, fuel: I took the fuel lead off the carburettor, switched on and turned the engine — no fuel. Aha! Have I run out? [It might true: the fuel gauge was one of the things marked dodgy when I got him, so looking at it was not obviously helpful.] From what I could tell by rocking him, and listening for sloshing at the filler, we might be very low.
Red had been lovingly managed by his previous owner, and amongst other things had been converted to run on unleaded petrol. My other car (no name, notice) is a diesel, so I do not have a ready supply of fuel in the garage: I had to get some. Also a can. Also a funnel. This took a few days.
In my profile I mention a MG Midget MkIII. I acquired it last year and when I bought it it was in reasonable condition, and working (with an MOT!). This is a speculative purchase for me (spurred on by Anne, who thought that it might be fun — she knows me too well) and I don't have the tools or experience really. But half the fun of ownership is to gain the tools and experience. She tells me.
The first order of the day was to decide what to call it/him/her. My daughters decided it was male, although every other car I have owned (or my father has owned) has been female, so we wanted a suitable nom de la rue.
To cut a long story short, Jen wanted to call him Red Rum — the paintwork (such as it is) is Red, Tartan Red I think — but I thought that was demeaning since it implies it is only one horse-power. So in the end we shortened it to Red. I bought a Black n' Red workshop notebook, and ink-blackened the Black n' on the cover, so it reads (in red insert on a black background) appropriately, and was smug.
However, soon after we garaged him and I got a new battery (the old one loses charge quite quickly) Red failed to start. There was no trouble turning the engine over, so the new battery is OK — just no inclination to fire at all. We go into detective mode.
Aside: While fitting the new battery I banged my head so often on the bonnet, which is heavy and back-hinged with the battery right up against the back of the dash, that I removed it. It now stands against the wall at the back of the garage.
First, electrics: the spark was fine (this is so tricky to do on your own). Check.
Second, fuel: I took the fuel lead off the carburettor, switched on and turned the engine — no fuel. Aha! Have I run out? [It might true: the fuel gauge was one of the things marked dodgy when I got him, so looking at it was not obviously helpful.] From what I could tell by rocking him, and listening for sloshing at the filler, we might be very low.
Red had been lovingly managed by his previous owner, and amongst other things had been converted to run on unleaded petrol. My other car (no name, notice) is a diesel, so I do not have a ready supply of fuel in the garage: I had to get some. Also a can. Also a funnel. This took a few days.
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