Ray Murray's Journal

Re: Help! My '66 MGB Is Not Selling On EBay, Need Advice

Mon, 16 May 2011 11:17:43 -0500

Ray Murray's Journal --

jskeith
I've listed my 1966 MGB three times on eBay and it just won't sell. Keeps stalling (in auction) at around $4,000 and I'm really looking for something like $6,000, based on what I've seen sell for that. Am I just being unreasonable and should take the $4,000, or is my timing bad, or is my ad bad, or what? Any suggestions?

Jonathan:
Ref: eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Classic-Driver-wire-wheels-metal-dash-leather-seats-/180663256273?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a105e84d1&clk_rvr_id=232748423822

You have a very nice little MGB there.

Posted 2011-05-16 11:17:43 by Ray Murray

A Common Thread Among Internet Forums- The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:31:13 -0500

Ray Murray's Journal --

The Dunning Kruger effect is a tendency to make systematic errors in judgment, knowledge and reasoning in which an unskilled person makes poor decisions and reaches erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the problem solving ability to realize their mistakes. The unskilled therefore are hindered by illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average, much higher than it actually is, while the highly skilled underrate their abilities, and are hindered by illusory inferiority. This leads to the situation in which less competent people rate their own ability higher than more competent people.

This maybe why actual competence may weaken self-confidence: because competent individuals falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding. The mistake of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the mistake of the highly competent stems from an error about others.

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" (Darwin)
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." (Yeats)

Dunning et al. cite a study that 94% of college professors rank their work as "above average" (relative to their peers), to underscore that the highly intelligent and informed are hardly exempt.

For instance, the Confirmation bias is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions regardless of whether the information is valid. As a result, people gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way.

For example, in reading about DOT 5 vs. Silicone Brake Fluid, people usually prefer sources that affirm their existing attitudes. They also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. Biased search, interpretation and recall have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), and belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false).

Some people show a confirmation bias because they are pragmatically assessing the costs of being wrong, rather than investigating in a neutral, scientific way. Confirmation biases contribute to overconfidence in personal beliefs and can maintain or strengthen beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.

"...it is a habit of mankind ... to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what they do not fancy."
(Thucydides)

I know that most men, not only those considered clever, but even those who are very clever, and capable of understanding the most difficult scientific, mathematical, or philosophic problems,can seldom discern even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as to oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions they have formed, perhaps with much difficulty, conclusions of which they are proud, which they have taught to others, and on which they have built their lives.
(Leo Tolstoy)

Conclusion: THINK before hitting the SEND key for your post. Ask yourself if your information and experience is, for the most part, as accurate as it possibly can be without injecting your personal biases, unless of course, your information is subjective in nature. However, if your information is pretty solid, then don t allow the over-confident and less competent Cyber Bullies detract from what you sincerely think is a valid point of view. Usually a Cyber Bully will resort to sarcasm and name-calling rather than attempt to refute the premise being offered by another responder. Even extending an apology to a Cyber Bully will only engender disdain and ridicule.

So when we make our posts in the MGE, we should remember that often our perceptions of our experiences and skill sets, and those of others, are flawed, especially when it involves repairing or restoring MGs, since we all know that it can t be an exact science if it involves MGs.

As a final note I would like to quote a very smart gentleman on this post: Mr. Steve Schultz and his 4 Rules for the Internet Forums:
1) You must have a thick skin to play;
2) Other people will have opinions. They will care about their opinions just as passionately as you care about yours.
3) Most everyone else does not care about your opinion as much as you do.
4) See rule number 1

This is not unique to the MGE boards, of course. I'm â€¦ an MG fan, and we pretty much always have a couple of guys that are put out and have "taken their ball and gone home" for a while after some spat â€¦. The good thing is that they usually realize playing the game is more fun than sitting at home, and they come back. It's all in fun and enjoyment in the end and most realize that, although there are some bruised feelings along the way.

Now let's crack open an Old Speckled Hen and talk about oily bits!

Tahitiblue
Steve Shultz
Raleigh, USA
(Quoted with permission)

Thank you Steve,
Ray Murray
Velcro

Posted 2010-10-29 10:31:13 by Ray Murray

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Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:24:38 -0500

Ray Murray's Journal --

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Posted 2010-10-05 10:24:38 by Ray Murray

Gas Tanks

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:57:09 -0500

Ray Murray's Journal --

After installing the tank, whether new or existing, I would recommend that you [b]do not[/b] put those rubber strips back on the top of the tank. You will notice on the old tank that all the rust, or the most rust, has accumulated mostly where those rubber strips were located. Instead, use a good quality silicone sealant and place a 1/4 inch bead about 3/4 inch from the edge on the top of the tank. Make doubly sure that there is a generous amount of silicone sealant on the lead edge of the tank where it joins the floor of the boot. All the spray and road debris tries to collect between the top panel of the fuel tank and the boot floor panel. By making a moisture proof seal in this area, your fuel tank will last for many years.

Posted 2010-10-03 19:57:09 by Ray Murray

MG Family

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 07:54:18 -0500

Ray Murray's Journal --

At one time we had a complete set of MGs, from the 52 TD, a 61 A and a 71 B.

<Three Amigos. Our MG Family>

Posted 2007-03-15 07:54:18 by Ray Murray

Ju Ju Bee 1971 MGB GT Restoration

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:16:02 -0600

Ray Murray's Journal --

All my project cars have to have names, its a good ol' British tradition. (Did you see the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" movie?) I'm putting in an MG OD unit and I decided to check out the motor while I had everything out. Had a warped head. #4 cyl had 165 psi but #2 & #3 had about 35 psi. Head gasket wasn't the problem. Removing the spigot bearing has always been a pain in the butt. This one took me about 1 hour and about 20 odd tools to work it out of the crank.
Stay tuned. I'll be installing a new rear seal, (whether it needs one or not), new spigot bearing, new flywheel and clutch pressure plate bolts, new clutch assy. and then mating up the OD unit.

Posted 2007-03-10 00:16:02 by Ray Murray