Thread: 51 MG restoration.

Road test one, done!
So much better. Hard to describe but you just know when the car is moving in the right range for the revs and gear you are in.
I can still start in second, but need to really Rev her to do it now. Starting in first however and taking her up to 4000 in all gears at shift she pulls solidly now, and road speed is commensurately good.
In 4th I’m cruising around 72 mph at 4k rpm but now am quite sure my wheels need straightening. Least the rears, but do em all. Ass and seat shimmy at that speed but the steering is smooth.
And she accelerates well still from low Rev 4th, around 35 mph without downshifting all the way back up to 75.
I was pulling away from traffic!!!
Only regret is I didn’t have the proper paper diff gasket and had to go with silicone so there is a slight weep. I will order a couple and deal with that in the off season..

Is it possible that the driveshaft is out of balance.!?

Originally Posted by outback

Is it possible that the driveshaft is out of balance.!?

Was thinking same. You could put the rear on stands and run it in gear. Watch the wheels for wobble.
Might not be the 1st time the rear tires were not balanced, esp as with the rear tire fiasco.
Take the rear of driveshaft off and rotate it 180. See if that makes a difference?

The driveshaft was made new and I presume balanced at that time. But rotating it 180’ is a great idea to troubleshoot.
Also it seems road speed related not rpm related in that it doesn’t do it in lower gears at 4k rpm, but in forth, around 55-70 mph it sure does. But that still could be the driveshaft, although I don’t feel it in the shifter.
Figure start with the rims as that’s easy, and I did see the run out on the balancer. And dial it in from there.
Second road trip was that beautiful river road I did in that video. Terrific ride, lived in third on the curves, fourth on the straights and the road noise, cut in half thanks to the gear reduction. Wife noticed that right away!
I noticed the throttle response to road feel was just about perfect!
I’m a happy camper now for sure!

So are you still thinking about a trany swap?

Originally Posted by Gasman

So are you still thinking about a trany swap?

Yes! Yes! Inquiring minds want to know--

Yes, but only if I need to or find the right deal now.
Will still drop my revs on the hiway an additional 1000 rpm over current, but it’s not as burning a need now that the rear end is matched better to the output.

Put her up on Jack stands to isolate my rear shimmy.
See the results.
https://youtu.be/FABQhridR-A
https://youtu.be/cM7b-HUV7is

Interesting note is that in the air, up to 120 kph at the speedo, no vibrations felt with the tires off the ground. I was wondering if the driveshaft to rear diff centerline was off a hair from my install maybe, but even in the air, those physics would be relevant I think and I would still feel the vibrations on the ground or in the air.
So seeing these results, and knowing it’ll take a week to do just the rims, and they will redo them in powder coat of my choice as part of the service,,think I’m confident in the rims as my next step..
Figure I will have them take the rims back to silver, as per oem.
I can always make them ghost green pearl again later.

Good job. Isolating when testing is a biggie in about all we do. Even shaving.

She’s sitting on stilts again this week as I pulled the wheels and they are off getting straightened and powder coated this week. Hopefully done by Friday so we can enjoy the fall colours that are starting up here already!
Also, found a $500 5 spd in Brampton that I am going to look at when I pick up the rims.
All works out, my winter project will be sealed, and the ride will be smooth until i get her converted.

On another note. My VW alltrack is throwing codes indicating the turbo might be giving up the ghost sadly.
Need to check my warranty card cause it’s only a 4 year old, low mile car.
However, if it is off warranty,,, the car will be getting an upgrade similar to what I did to my Corrado a few years back.
That will make for an interesting experience, what with the 7 spd dsg automatic transmission, and the all wheel drive capability of the car.
Take her from 160-HP up to 397 HP and 403 FT-LBS of torque.
Oh that’s be exciting !!
I do tend to be a bit of a gear head. Hehe.