My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 2, 2011

Friday night and Saturday morning gave me a few more hours to disassemble the MBG engine once again, although this time I also removed the head. As noted previously, the #2 intake valve was sticking in an open position taking compression to zero. Under further inspection, I can see that it doesn’t seat correctly … who knows if it has anything to do with it being designed for leaded gasoline and running most of the miles on unleaded fuel? I suspect that may have something to do with it.

I called a friend, Jack Cook who owns a small machine shop, in hopes that he would be able to machine the head and seat the valves next week … thankfully he met me over at the shop and suggested we install a couple hardened valve seats in the exhaust ports too. Sounds like a plan.

While I’m at it, I’m going to have him re-tap a couple emission ports so I can install proper plugs rather than the pinched off lines (eliminated them when I installed the new Weber downdraft in place of the Zenith carburetor).

One of my debates now is whether to pull the pistons and install new rings? I’m doing a leak test with some diesel fuel to see just how long before the fuel drains into the oil pan … it held for about an hour or so, but eventually all but number one cylinder “leaked” all of the fuel. Hmm …I do wish this car had the potential for value since I’m putting a few too many hours into it (mostly pleasure), not to mention dollars.

Category: Automotive, MGB, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: engine, mgb, rebuild

Posted By RichC on October 1, 2011

I saw a CNBC interview with Warren Buffett the other day and didn’t realized just how twisted the “tax the rich” ideas had become. I’m not saying that I agree with either Warren Buffett or President Obama’s new tax proposals, BUT I was surprised to have them being reported as nearly one in the same by most of the media … as well as those political partisans seeing this as benefitting them (both far left and right).

I’m including a couple questions asked of Mr. Buffett (below), one answer, that in my view, shows a significant difference between the Buffett Plan and the Obama’s proposal. Buffett didn’t answer the support or not question directly, but drew pretty significant distinctions between taxing the über-rich, who earn the majority of their income from capital gains, and the working-rich who earn their multi-millions via earned income (IRS definition). With this distinction made, it doesn’t sound as if he is endorsing higher taxes on the majority of small business or for that matter the majority of high income Americans. After explaining his ideas, he then also stated that President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on households with incomes over $250,000 is “another program.”

CNBC: Is the program that the White House has presented a million dollars and over your program? "

Buffett: "Well, the precise program which will — I don’t know what their program will be. My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low. Not just high incomes. Somebody making $50 million a year playing baseball, his taxes won’t change. Make $50 million a year appearing on television, his income won’t change. But, if they make a lot of money and they pay a very low tax rate, like me, it would be changed by a minimum tax that would only bring them up to what the other people pay."

CNBC: "Does that mean you disagree with the president’s new jobs proposal which would be paid for by raising taxes on households with incomes of over $250,000?"

Buffett: "That’s another program that I won’t be discussing. My program is to have a tax on ultra-rich people who are paying very low tax rates. Not just all the rich people. It would probably apply to 50,000 people in a population of 300 million."

Does the average voter detect this difference … or is the Obama administration (and media folks who support them) deceptively misleading the public that their tax proposals are those of the Oracle of Omaha?

Category: Financial, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: congress, media, obama, taxes, warren buffett

Posted By RichC on October 1, 2011

So far I have been satisfied with our relatively low cost purchase of a Roku 2XD as a way to stream Internet content to our plasma TV. The Roku is must quicker to navigate than our TivoHD and offers a simple interface and one HDMI wire set up. Amazon online movie rentals worked great and Netflix content streamed effortlessly … again, better than our Tivo. The unit is WiFi, it is HD, low power and  is so small and lightweight that the bend in our kinked HDMI cable prevents it from sitting straight. My biggest regret is that our Panasonic Plasma has only one HDMI input and I now much switch cables every time I use it. Hmm, why didn’t they build in a few more HDMI inputs?

• Pros: High quality picture, Built in Wi-Fi, Compact
• Cons: Want more video choices, yet another single purpose remote
• Best Uses: HQ Internet TV HD "Networks" … in our case, GBTV.com

I’m looking forward to trying it out on the boat … while within range of our marina’s Internet service of course. Although IF I had a 4G connection wouldn’t mind trying it tethered to the smartphone while being “untethered” to shore-side power?

Category: Entertainment, Movies, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, gbtv, glenn beck, netflix, roku

Posted By RichC on September 30, 2011

As someone who has never been comfortable with President Obama’s policies or what he says publicly (particularly his “apologies for America” overseas) or in regards to terrorism (does the Obama administration even use that word?) — I will  acknowledge that there  has been continued aggressive actions to the exterminate top Al-Qaeda leaders (and pretty successful I might add … thanks to our military, CIA drones and U.S. special forces). I thought Glenn Beck’s headline was pretty good and used it as the subject line while archiving the removal of Anwar al-Awlaki … “Aww, shucks, another terrorist leader is dead.”

American born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed by American forces. The death is being universally applauded as everyone agrees this dirtbag was a terrorist – ok, almost everyone is applauding it. Ron Paul immediately came out and expressed concern that an American citizen was assassinated without trial. Does he have a point? Or did al Awlaki seal his own fate?

Read more at Glenn Beck.com.

Category: Archive, News | No Comments »
Tags: archive, glenn beck, obama, terrorism

Posted By RichC on September 29, 2011

Although this might just be my opinion, but the Bemus Point, New York rest area which overlooks Lake Chautauqua is one of the nicest stops I rarely miss. I know I’ve posted a few photos before, but today I though I’d give our (Brenda’s) new Kodak Playsport Zx5 pocket camcorder a test. The video is out of the windshield while exiting Interstate 86 east after crossing the lake which opens into a vista. Besides being beautiful, the large park-like setting and clean rest rooms are some of the best around … certainly better than the rest areas of old. (yes, I remember the smelly pits that were part of Ohio’s highways and byways in the 1960s and 70s)

Category: Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: new york, rest area

Posted By RichC on September 28, 2011

Stopped to check on the big NYC coverage from Amazon for their new eInk Kindle Touch reader device and highly anticipated Kindle Fire 7″ tablet device. A couple surprises are the “Silk” browser and pricing at $199. For those looking for a competitor to Apple’s iPad … look elsewhere. The new Kindles are more of a B&N Nook killer than a full featured tablet device.

Here are a few specs from Amazon:

Display 7″ multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.

Size (in inches) 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).

Weight 14.6 ounces (413 grams).

System Requirements None, because it’s wireless and doesn’t require a computer.

On-device Storage 8GB internal. That’s enough for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.

Cloud Storage Free cloud storage for all Amazon content

Battery Life Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.

Charge Time Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB.

Wi-Fi Connectivity Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.

USB Port USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)

Audio 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.

Content Formats Supported Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

Documentation Quick Start Guide(included in box); Kindle User’s Guide (pre-installed on device)

Warranty and Service 1-year limited warranty and service included. Optional 2-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Kindle is subject to the Kindle License Agreement and Terms of Use.

Included in the Box Kindle Fire tablet, U.S. power adapter (supports 100-240V), and Quick Start Guide.

via Kindle Fire – Full Color Kindle with 7″ Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi.

Category: Computer, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, eInk, fire, ipad, reader, tablet

Posted By RichC on September 28, 2011

So much for the carburetor tuning and electrical issues that have frustrated me lately (posted yesterday) … it wasn’t the problem. Can you tell what the problem is from this photo?

I’ve been struggling to figure out why the 1975 MGB would not run smoothly at idle … now I know …  the problem is the #2 cylinder’s intake valve. The sticky valve didn’t show up immediately after I took the engine apart and installed a new cam … or when I adjusted the rockers and tweaked them for a second time. I just so happened that the valve spring returned the valve back to a resting closed position each time I worked or looked at it. The initial compression test showed all cylinders with compression and #3 and #4 slightly higher at about 110 psi.  BUT after rechecking tonight, I noticed something odd … zero compression in the number 2 cylinder? Hmm … a stuck valve?

After popping the valve cover off I didn’t immediately see the problem; the spring returned the valve  to it’s closed  position again. It wasn’t until I cranked the engine a couple revolutions that the intake valve on #2 opened and eased S-L-O-W-L-Y closed again. After a quick crank again, it stuck open for a few more seconds, enough for me to snap the above photo. AHHH … the culprit!

Unfortunately the MG will be sitting for a week or so before I pull the head. The  next few days are travel oriented and then we have my nephews wedding this weekend. (Congratulations Ben and Emily … a happy time)

To be continued.

Category: Automotive, MGB | No Comments »
Tags: mgb, valves

Posted By RichC on September 27, 2011

Nationwide Children’s Hospital applauds the House of Representatives for voting in favor of H.R. 1852 which reauthorizes the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program. The bill, which was introduced in May of this year by Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, reauthorizes up to $330 million per year during a five year period to support pediatric residency training at 56 freestanding children’s teaching hospitals in communities across the country in order to address the national shortages of pediatricians. Children’s freestanding teaching hospitals train 40 percent of all pediatricians in the country and 43 percent of all pediatric specialists.

via Nationwide Children’s Hospital Hospital.

Category: Personal | No Comments »
Tags: columbus, katelyn, nationwide children's hospital, ohio, residency

Posted By RichC on September 27, 2011

I’m posting my MGB idling problem to the MG Experience forums in hopes to gain a little help … if you’re “just a car guru” and have some advice I don’t mind the extra thinking – either leave me an email or Disqus comment below. Thanks and additional details below.

From forum:

First, a year ago I replaced the points with an electronic module and replace the Zenith carb with a Weber downdraft. I put in a new gas tank, fuel pump and fuel filter as well as spark plugs and wires. Upon starting (with starting fluid), the engine ran rough and would not idle … eventually stalling; after stalling, the engine would not start while hot. After cooling I was able to start again but no matter how long I worked at tweaking the new carburetor settings, I could not get the little beast to idle below 1200 … an even then it would run lumpy. Definitely not road worthy.

Fast forward to this month. I took the engine apart and installed a new cam, timing chain, oil pump, water pump, alternator and checked the compression again (all 4 cylinders equal – about 90) and made sure there were no air or vacuum leaks from carb/intake manifold. Upon starting, the engine ran exactly the same … lumpy and it will not idle below 1200RPMs. I cleaned all the electrical connections and checked voltages. Coil had resistance of about 4.5 (needed to be over 3) and each plug demonstrated spark. I’ve moved the distributor (advanced/retarded) until the engine stalled but could not get the engine to run smoothly at low rpms. I put in fresh gasoline and carb cleaner (in case it had gummed). I’ve been tweaking the Weber idle screw, but suspect the idle never gets low enough to run without the primary feeding the engine. I’ve used the propane trick (feed unlit propane near intake manifold gaskets, etc) while the engine was fast idling to see if there was a change of idle … the only time it rev-ed a little was when the raw propane neared the choke flap.

I have not taken the head off to check for piston damage or deeply seated or damaged valves, but am reluctant to go that deep again (should have when the engine was apart) unless I hear from the gurus here. Before I go much further, what else should I be looking for OR is there a better way to set the Weber 32/34 downdraft carb?

EDIT: For the “firing order” suggesting … all is correct.

Category: Automotive, Personal, Video | 2 Comments »
Tags: engine, idle, mgb, problem

Posted By RichC on September 26, 2011

It has been a while since I mentioned anything on biodiesel … primarily because the feedstock used to produce it have risen along with oil. The fact that new cars and their emission controls have also thwarted biodiesel fuel in higher than 5% doesn’t help. Still, it is interesting to see companies catering to the need of biodiesel “homebrewers.” Northern Tool and Equipment is doing just that … interesting even if their prices seem a bit steep.

What Equipment Do I Need to Make Biodiesel Fuel?

Safety Gear: Because youll be using chemicals to refine your oil, you should always be sure youre wearing protective safety gear before starting the process. Safety goggles, gloves, protective apron and boots are essential.

Chemicals: The Biodiesel fuel-making process requires methanol, sulfuric acid and catalyst along with air-tight storage containers for each.

Biodiesel Processor: The processor converts the oil into Biodiesel fuel. Consider purchasing a well-known, trusted brand such as BioPro or Fuelmeister.

Fuel Filter: The fuel filter works to filter and remove water from the fuel. Because initial use of Biodiesel can release deposits previously accumulated on tank walls and pipes, its recommended that the fuel filter be changed after the first tank of Biodiesel.

Fuel Pump: The fuel pump provides safe, efficient transfer of the fuel to your engine. Consider models that are heavy duty with thermal overload protection, strainer and automatic nozzle for easy fuel transfer.

Fuel Pre-heaters: A Biodiesel fuel can sometimes gel, either due to cold temperatures or because its been produced from heavily saturated fats such as waste oil from restaurants. Fuel pre-heaters work to effectively keep Biodiesel from solidifying.

Biocides: Biocides are an additive designed to stop the growth of microorganisms in your fuel, thus helping preserve the life of stored Biodiesel.

Synthetic Polymer Fuel Lines: The solvent properties of Biodiesel can result in a slow degradation of rubber fuel lines over the course of months and sometimes years. Therefore, it is beneficial to use Synthetic Polymer Fuel Lines when it comes time for replacement.

Still need help?
Email our product experts, or Call 1-800-221-0516 our 24-hour sales line.

LINK

Category: Biodiesel | No Comments »
Tags: biodiesel, equipment, tools