As much as I hate clicking on a forum to find nothing but whiny rants I find myself making one.
There's no point complaining to my wife, as she doesn't care, and there sure isn't any satisfaction to be had
complaining to the businesses that caused me grief, so here ya go-Sorry Guys!

While I've been away from work my project has been to refinish a set of square spoke 15" wheels I bought
for the MGF from a friend on one of the UK forums. In spite of all the lousy weather we have had I was able to get
them done with 3 coats of silver wheel paint and a couple of coats of clear. I dropped the wheels and tires off at
the tire shop this morning and went to pick them up at noon as agreed. Of course they weren't ready. I picked them
up at 4:00 only to find that the paint on three of the four was damaged at the center where the tech had used too big
a cone on the machine, locating on the painted surface instead of the inner flange-sigh*
So, instead of mounting the wheels this aft as planned I will be spending tomorrow sanding out the damage and repainting
the wheel centers. I really hope the repair blends in OK as I sure don't want to redo the entire wheels!

My other current project stems from the car's failure to pass it's Aircare (smog) inspection earlier this week.
I decided to order a replacement cat and O2 sensor as the test results indicated these were the likely cause of the high
reading, and they are among the few parts I haven't replaced this past year! The usual suppliers (Rimmers, B&G) are asking prime retail prices for these consumables so I did a search on Ebay.uk and found a company selling the parts for 1/3 the price. Feedback was great so I did a buy it now and asked for a total including overseas postage. After 3 days of not hearing anything I requested a cancellation of the transaction only to get an immediate response. Seems the seller had seen my purchase and just chose to ignore it rather than have the courtesy of replying with a "sorry but I don't sell overseas"-sigh* That's 3 days wasted which will likely turn into a week as I didn't get all this figured out in time for the replacement parts to get shipped Friday so they likely won't get here by next weekend. On the positive side, I reordered from a supplier I have used before. His prices weren't as sharp as the first guy but still much better than the biggies and I know he will get the stuff to me ASAP. He also had a heater resistor I need in stock which is a bonus.

So, There ya go! Thanks for listening. I promise to sympathise when it's your turn.
I can't even drink my sorrows away as i'm still on medication!
At least the Australian GP is this weekend-Go Jenson!

FWIW Here's a pic of the one good wheel

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2012 08:06PM by Rich in Vancouver.

Rich, I got to say I sympathize with you. I have had similar problems, frankly with people who don't give a ....!!!

I prefer to do as much as possible myself but some things you have to outsource. I certainly hope you did not have to pay the garage!!

With regards to your air care problem Lubro Moly make an injection cleaner that goes right through your fuel/ cat that should certainly help your emissions readings. Did you check with CDN Tire with regards to the product I mentioned in a earlier message??

My sister called from Ontario to say they had the F out today - it was 20c in ON today. My daughter sent us a picture of her and her friends on the beach in Toronto today. Here, we had freezing rain then freezing fog. My cars won't be out for a while yet!!!

See, lifes not to bad after all!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2012 08:54PM by terreneuve.

I didn't notice the paint damage till I got the wheels home but he gave me a screaming deal. He said he felt bad for being late with the wheels but I have a feeling he may have noticed the paint damage. His problem is that he always takes on too much work and then spends his day rushing to catch up. He's a nice guy and does his best but just takes on too much. Fortunately this should be the last tire work I need done for a long time as the entire fleet has had new tires in the past year.
I think I will give the injector cleaner a try. I won't test the car again until I get the new parts on due to cost but I'm sure the cleaner won't hurt. If the reading were all close I would have just tried chemical remidies but the CO was way high.
FWIW here are the readings
HC max allowed .5000 g/km My reading .5013 g/km Close one!
CO max allowed 9.320 g/km My reading 12.1912 g/km Ouch!
NOx max allowed 1.240 g/km My reading .4519 g/km Pass

BTW: Forgot to mention above; The fellow I ended up getting the cat, O2 sensor and Heater resistor from trades on E-bay as ecp2004
Feedback 8477/99.9%-WOW! He sells mostly MGR NOS parts and is used to selling overseas. He does have new LHD MGF headlights at reasonable prices.
I got replacement NOS seat covers for my car from him earlier this year which I was really happy to find.

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2012 10:26PM by Rich in Vancouver.

I wouldn't happen to know this particular tire shop, would I?

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"Speed costs........how fast you want to spend?"

It just isn't the same without the old guy in charge!

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

OK, even I know who the shop is and I have never been there!!

Try Burnaby Auto Parts for the Lubro Moly!

I thought so, Rich. When you made the comment about taking on too much work and then playing "catch-up", that confirmed it.

Sorry to hear you had project issues. How's the surgery recovery coming?

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"Speed costs........how fast you want to spend?"

Recovery is going well, thanks Simon. Yesterday I was able to eat my first proper meal since the 7th so my outlook is greatly improved!
I'm gearing down on the meds and will be back at work on Monday. Unfortunately it's our busiest time as we have to spend what's left in the budget before the end of the fiscal year March 31st.
It sure is nice to see it staying light later in the evening as that means that car season is just around the corner. I have a huge list of things to get done on the car this year.

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

Car season is indeed fast approaching. Fort Langley show is just over a month away!

Good to hear you're on the mend.

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"Speed costs........how fast you want to spend?"

Done!
It was a busy day but the car is now sitting on it's summer tires on their new wheels.
It took about 3 hours to repair the paint damage from the wheel balancer. It was a
matter of sanding down the damaged areas and carefully spot-spraying two coats of silver
followed by two coats of clear. The repairs aren't perfect as the silver paint contains
metal flake and the way it lays down varies according to temperature and humidity. It will
be OK though. The fact that the paint on the wheels was fresh allowed the solvent in the
clear coat to blend the old and new together and as long as you aren't on your hands and knees the
wheels look good.
The summers run so much smoother than the snows and the car handles so much better I am very happy.


One last little touch. This came from Capricorn One in the UK along with the new wheel badges

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2012 07:53PM by Rich in Vancouver.

The wheels look really good from 7000 km away!! Do you have center caps?

Is that the sun shining????

John

Looks great, Rich.

John, yes that is the West Coast Sun. See my post for another view.

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"Speed costs........how fast you want to spend?"

John, It is so nice to see the sun again! And with the time change we even have an evening.
I do have center caps on the wheels. They have gel badges from Capricorn One in the UK. They have a huge range
and can even do custom colours. To top it off they are cheap as chips-around one pound fifty each. I ordered
badges for the front and back of the car in black and chrome as well but i'm not sure if I should go with them.
I may just put the options up as a poll for fun.
Here is a closer pic of one of the new wheels. They are off a 2002 TF135.


While I was at it I ordered a steering wheel badge-Couldn't resist!

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2012 12:22AM by Rich in Vancouver.

Hi Rich and others,

Those wheels look really nice Rich. Mine need to be media blasted and painted due to bubbling on at three of the four and corrosion on the sealing surface.

When I had running issues with mine last June, and it also failed its emission test, John suggested the Lubro Moly Injector Cleaner, which I do think help clean the system, it certainly ran better after the injector cleaner treatment and its first fresh tank of gas in over a year. My local NAPA carries Lubro Moly products and I think the injector cleaner was around $10.

It's spring here too. It was in the mid-twenties on both Saturday and Sunday. I've never driven a lbc this early before, it's usually mid-April before the cars come out of the garage, even back home in NB.

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Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

For ten bucks you can't go wrong. I'll have to give it a try.

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

It's called: Lubro-Moly Jectron fuel injection cleaner, LM2007

I do wish that people would tell you when they made an oops. You may be irritated for a moment but at least they told, rather you finding out later, which is worse.

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Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

Rich, I hope that you spoke to the owner of the tire store! I happen to know him quite well.

Steve, I didn't mention it to him.

"S**t Happens!"

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

You should, for sure

By the time I noticed the paint damage I was home and was still popping T3's after my operation.
He's such an earnest guy I really didn't want to make a big deal of it, so let it slide,
and spent the next day popping T3s and sniffing paint fumes.

I feel much better now.

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Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!