Picked up another transmission. Sounded like the pilot bearing was the problem but there was a nice t5 on Craigslist at a good price with a larger range that the one I had so I went for that. I walnut blasted (thanks for the nuts John) the tranny and painted it with Eastman Chassis saver. That stuff hardens like a rock. I had a half full can that developed a skin and I had to use a screwdriver and hammer to brake a hole in it. It gets stronger as it ages, I’m thinking it was a good choice.

Anyway with the tranny in an the leaks pretty much stopped I’ve got it in a very drive-able condition. Have to put some screws in the new interior panels, put the end caps on the doors, a little rubber piece here and there, speaker grills, things like that. When I was buying parts I got some new v8 brake rotors and pads from Brit-tek (nice place to deal with). I’ve got to order a speedometer cable – I looked all over and have no clue where mine went. I remember taking it out and then that’s the last time I saw it. I’ve been using my Android phone with a speedometer app in it. Actually worked pretty good – and it keeps a reference of your speed and probably location. It’s called Speedview by Code Sector. If you lay it on the dash at night it will reverse so you get a heads up display on the windshield. Neat. Of course on the MG if you put it on the dash and turn the corner too quick and have the window open you’ll lose your phone. Been there almost done that.

Here’s some of the last pics:
2011-09-21_14-56-23_176

My solution was to find a master with a smaller diameter piston. The normal setup is a 3/4″ piston in both the master and the slave. I checked around and found a 5/8″ master. That would mean about a 40% increase in travel needed but also less force. I got the 5/8″ unit I’ll look for the model later and post it, I think it was a Nissan pickup. To mount it I had to drill new holes in the mounting block. Then make a push rod for the piston. The one that came with it was way too long. I grabbed a bolt of the right length and used the grinding wheel to form the head. It worked great. The clutch feels much more like a normal unit. The travel is good and the amount of pressure needed is way donw. I’m happy with it so far. We’ll see how it works out once I drive it a bit and a better feel for things.

Here you can see it in the upper left corner – it’s tilted because the mounts were and there isn’t room to turn it the right way and still fit.

Now I’m down to:
getting the 5/8 master clutch cylinder in. Because of the shortened fork due to space limitations the clutch is hard to push and also the movement from off to on is way too short. It works but it’s not comfortable.
The reverse lights need to be put in but I need to find a connector to the tranny for those.
The washer squirters – I forgot them.
Tighten up the dash – works out ok because of above.
A speedometer connection.
The front skirt panel.
Clean and shine the wheels and tires.
Headlight rims.
New rubbers on the steering/tie rods.
Fuel gauge voltage regulator.
Glove box and lock.
Radio power.

Here’s a couple pictures:

Put on new tail light lenses. I was able to reuse the side markers, reverse and license plate lenses. I started to do the windshield washer mechanics but couldn’t find the washers that go under the squirters. I remember taking them off, but don’t remember which box I put them in. I think they were an oval plastic piece, I’ll have to look some more. Here’s some pics:

First thing I did was put the MG plate back on the trunk:

It was a great day so i left the big garage door open. I’m working along and I hear this “Thump”. I look over toward the tool box and see something fall into the tool box. I go over and it’s a bird! It had flown in the garage then saw the window up near the roof, hit the glass and knocked itself out. I went over to look it was laying feet up – just like a dead bird. But I could see it breathing. I left it alone and then decided to take a picture. by then it was standing upright but not moving or trying to fly. Left it a lone a while and some other birds landed near the door, he heard the chirping and off he went. At the office we’ll get a bird a week or two hitting the windows. The sun hits the windows and they probably think they can fly through it because you can see the trees through the windows on the other side. We’ve never seen dead birds out in the yard but I’ve seen them drop to the ground and sit for a while. Just an interesting side trip ….

I like the way the scoop turned out and I put a piece of the new interior color next to it and it turned out just like I thought – the brown is carried into the creame color. I’m lovin the look of the shine, it was worth going for the high end clear coat, it has more solids in it than the less expensive. It laid down very nice – no buffing. Joe did a great job painting, Dan did most of the sanding and did the scoop fitting. Kurts Garage – 1350 Hudson Ave. 585-266-4992 – ask for Dan – tell him I sent you.

I have to decide what to do with the wheels. First I’ll clean this up and shine them, then see if they need to be different.

I’ll post some of the progress next week, but for now here’s a few pics:

It’s was listed as for an S-10 pickup.

I had used a standard master cylinder with a 3/4 inch bore. I searched the web and found a 5/8 inch bore unit that should fit. That should give me a longer but easier throw. We’ll see. But it does look pretty.

I’m finished with it, no more rebuilds for you. I checked around the MG Experience and a few other places and took a closer look at Graham Creswicks setup. Seems I’m not alone with this problem. A couple helpful emails back and forth and the HTOB (Hydraulic Throw Out Bearing) is history for me. Too bad, it wasn’t a cheap part.

One of the big pains is removing the transmission before required removing the engine. So when the HTOB leaked you had to remove the engine, the transmission, replace a $1 O-ring and put it all together again. Ugh. So this time with the t5 it’s setup so the transmission can be removed without removing the engine:

The wet looking stuff is the Eastwood body undercoating.

I had to get a clutch fork, the pivot ball and a Pull hydraulic cylinder. I found it at Speedway Motors. They have a lot of non-run of the mill car parts for special installations. I also saw some banjo bolts and thought that would be a great way to mount the cylinder. Here’s a pic of the stuff before installation:

You can see that all it took to mount it to the T5 was a simple L bracket. Here’s a pic of what the positioning will be:

Dan has also worked out using a banjo bolt at the front – that will keep the cylinder floating so there will be as little side pressures as possible on the cylinder seal – should prolong the life.