Rusty the Fuel Tank
After getting a strong whiff of fuel inside the car recently, it turns out that the old fuel tank was rusty beyond belief and fumes were leaking out from the rust holes into the car 😛 I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later, as the old fuel tank has never looked great. Once again, time for a replacement!
I knew what I was getting into when I got this car, and the challenges I would likely face, which is why I chose to do this. So, I maintain my position that this is less about “Murphy the Money Pit”, (albeit this does cost money to chip away at), and more about, wait and see, because it will be worth it… stick with me readers, you’ll see!
Here’s the old tank:
…and here’s the shiny new one:
All the 3’s – Fish, Chips and Peas!
As of 19:45 tonight, Murphy has hit all the three’s – 33333 – (133333 to be precise).
Well done you little beauty!
Winchester MGOC Cobweb Spin
Organised by the Winchester MG Owners Club, we headed out for a family day out at Sir Harold Hillier Arboretum and Gardens near Romsey, Hampshire.
“MG Owners from far and wide will be proudly displaying their beautiful classics such as MGAs, MGBs and Midgets. There will be other Golden Oldies including makes such as Triumph, Morris and Austin.”
It was really nice to meet up with other owners of these beautiful classic cars, as well as other members of the local Winchester club, who I don’t get to see as often as I’d like due to working hours/commitments.
Being so close to home, this was definitely something I’d do again, as the family and I are frequent visitors to these gardens. A lovely day in the most beautiful, picturesque surroundings, with my favourite kind of cars all around me. There was only one word to describe this – bliss! 🙂
A big thank-you to Steve and the other organisers in the Winchester MGOC for arranging this. 🙂
Battery & Alternator Replacement
The old AC Delco battery in Murphy reached the end of it’s life, so it was time for a replacement. Whilst testing the current flow to the battery, I also found that the alternator wasn’t performing anywhere near as well as it ought to be. Once again, time for replacement parts!
I also noticed that the cables going into the connector on the alternator had perished over time, so they were cut back and re-crimped.
Not a big job – one I was able to get out of the way on a Saturday morning – and not too costly either, so I can’t complain really!
Cracking Up!
Having been subject to many years of colour changes, from white to red in the ’70’s to green in the 90’s, Murphy is starting to cracking up – literally!
All these layers – yes, they didn’t strip back, just resprayed on top, in some places very thickly – are taking their toll, so it’s a good thing I’ve already been saving up for THE BIG ONE!!!
Hopefully, I’ll be in position to have this done sometime next year, but for now, I need to stay calm, hope these cracks don’t turn into rust holes, and not crack up too!
1970’s update… You will never believe this!
24th January 2016
After digging around online, I found an article in a local Leicestershire magazine called Thrussington Life, about Murphy’s second registered owner, Mr Alan Jinks. Unfortunately, Mr Jinks had sadly passed away in 2013, so incase the magazine disappears from the Internet, here is the PDF file, and text from the May 2013 article, below:
Welcome to the May edition of Thrussington Life. Over Easter we lost one of our volunteers and contributors to the magazine. My memories of Alan Jinks are fond ones, he was so energetic and I remember being amazed when I saw him celebrating his birthday this year that he was 80! Our thoughts are with Paula and their family.
Alan Michael Jinks was born 1st Feb 1933 at Strood in Kent and was the only child of parents Wilfred and Constance. They moved to the area of Humberstone Leicester in 1940, when he was 7. Alan went to Humberstone Junior School and then Wyggeston Boys Grammar School. He played Rugby and after he left played for the Oadby Wyggs. Alan had a strong connection with these all of his life. A few years ago he was president of the Wyggeston Old Boys Association and at the time of his death was vice president and life member of the Oadby Wyggs Rugby Club. His grandson Harry now plays for the club.
After school he took articles at the local firm of Bolton Bullivant and qualified as a chartered account in 1958 and eventually became a partner in the firm. Subsequently the practice merged with the international firm Price Waterhouse. Four years after that in 1973, Alan together with two colleagues set up the practice of Jinks & Co initially on the New Walk before moving to London Road. He met Paula at a Cricket match at Grace Road in 1954 and they were married in 1958. They set up home in Davenport Road, Evington before moving to Thurnby in 1977. They had two sons David in 1961 & Martin in 1963 both sons followed Alan to the Wyggeston School and also became Accountants despite vowing they never would. Martin eventually joined Alan at Jinks & Co. It is interesting to note that although Alan has been retired for some time, Martin has received numerous letters from his old clients expressing condolences. These letters show what high regard they all had for Alan. Alan along with his sons was active members of the Scouts and this was where he met many lifelong friends.
Once Alan finished his sporting activities he was drawn to Freemasonry and he threw himself at fully. They moved to Thrussington in 2001 and both Alan and Paula quickly became involved in the community and village life and were warmly accepted. It did not take long for Alan to chat with the Landlord Bob, and find out he was a Rugby fan and that he arranged trips to matches (usually for men) but Paula went along as an “honorary bloke” and enjoyed many weekends following the Leicester Tigers around Europe.
Recently at his 80th Birthday celebrations, Alan honestly stated that for both of them the past 12 years in Thrussington had been amongst the happiest of their lives. Alan knew some ten years ago that he had a weak heart but was not prepared to be wrapped up in cotton wool. He loved life and never grumbled or complained, he was always optimistic – the only down side was that he liked traditional Jazz and some of his jokes were pretty awful. All in all, Alan was the just the type of person everyone wanted to be with.
He will be sadly missed.
Since this article mentioned Alan’s son’s David & Martin, through the power the Internet and social media, I was able to find them online and took a chance in writing to to them on the 10th November 2015. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I received the following response from David Jinks:
Valve Seat Replacement for Unleaded Conversion
It’s time for major works again, and this time it’s all about giving up the additives. By replacing the valve seats with hardened metal, Murphy can at last run on unleaded fuel without the need for additives. Whilst I still favour higher octane fuel, e.g. Shell VPower, as this seems to run not only smoother, but also more efficiently, it does bring me a saving on running costs too.
The local company commissioned by Church Garage did a sterling job on this for a very reasonable cost, and I was very happy indeed with the results.
Whilst at it, the engine internals had a thorough clean out, and also gave the opportunity to really inspect things, which once cleaned up, was in fine shape. I hope this engine will give me many more years of good running!
Major History Update!
After applying to the DVLA using a V888 form, (Request by an individual for information about a vehicle), they were kind enough to send me an extensive pack of documents tracing Murphy’s history from it’s first owners in the 1970’s to today.
This information was a real treat, as it allowed me to compile details of every single owner from new, where in the country the car resided, and some other interesting facts – starting with the colour!
In December 2014, I contacted the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust who provided me with a Heritage Certificate (below). This certificate showed the car as being originally Glacier White in colour. I knew it was previously red, as there’s odd signs of red paint in some areas, e.g. under bolts, and the V888 document trail also proved this, with the car being resprayed green in 2003. After a conversation with the Heritage Trust, it was assumed the certificate details were incorrect – something that is possible on such old data.
Two Little Ducks!
As of 08:58 this morning, Murphy hit 22,000 miles – that’s 122,000 in modern money 😛
Bodyshop Woes!
Poor Murphy recently suffered some accidental door damage, which meant going into a local bodyshop in Fair Oak, Hampshire to get fixed.
This bodyshop was reasonably recommended, so whilst at it, I also asked the them to tend to the rust on the tailgate, thinking this was all straightforward.
Despite promises of perfection, and whilst the actual bodywork on the door was OK and tailgate was OK-ish, to my dismay, these guys really f****** trashed my car. I cannot tell you how absolutely f******* livid I was, but to cut a long story short, (and leave out further expletives), suffice it to say, never again with this company!
They bent my aerial – I mean, how hard is it to put an aerial down?!?!?
They must have hammered the pedal beyond it’s endpoint to not only bend the metal in the engine bay, but also have the pedal sitting to low
