Category Archives: Cars

MG Magnette

Magnette, anyone?

Today’s story is about an MG Magnette that my cousin Jim Thompson worked on some time ago.  Basically Jim worked on some of the body work (mainly the firewall) that needed to be done in order to fit the drivetrain.  The engine is a 60 degree V6 fitted with an automatic GM gearbox.  The front brakes have been uprated (a bit) however, the rear brakes are still “original” drums.  The car was at Jim’s shop for a few tweaks.  I had a chance to check it out over the weekend and took a few pictures.

Here is the Magnette from the front.  The grill has been modified and a stainless mesh has been used a la Jaguar.  Interesting – looks good actually…  Nice touch!

However things go south really quick from there…  In the next picture you can see what I mean:

Unfortunately, the V6 has had a carburetor installed rather than EFI.  Too bad.  A lot of work went into this build, but unfortunately the carburetor is very dated and the full potential of the engine cannot be achieved unless you go EFI.

And that’s the way it is…

 

Zenith Strombergs…

Quick note today about Zenith Strombergs…

I have created a new section off the main menu on the blog (see above).  It is called “Other”.  The plan is to put odds and ends that might be of value or interest to readers.  I thought a good place to start would be with my Guide to Repairing the Leaking Dashpot Oil in Zenith Stromberg carburetters.

This is an updated version of the page from my original bowtie6 website.  Ever since I posted it, I have received several positive feedback emails from it.  If you find this of interest, please leave a comment.  Questions, suggestions, clarifications – you name it.  This might help others if I left something out…