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V8 Newsletter August 2003
published in Safety Fast!, the award winning monthly magazine of the MG Car Club
This month we have a report of the V8 25th Anniversary 2003 week of events and the V8 Gathering at Silverstone over the Club's long weekend International MG Meeting in June, together with reminders of two forthcoming events - another Sunday lunchtime meeting at the Shoulder of Mutton on Hazeley Heath on Sunday 17th August and the V8 Cornish Tour over the long weekend 3rd to 6th October.

Gavin Bailey's RV8 (BRG 0766) is a low mileage UK spec car purchased earlier this year - an example of the good quality and value that is available at present. (Photo: Gavin Bailey)

New Omnibus Edition of the V8 Workshop Notes
Just in time for the V8 25th Anniversary 2003, the Omnibus Edition V8 Workshop Notes CD was finally completed in May so now members have the whole series in eight volumes on one CD in both Word and PDF formats. The indexing of the whole series was completed shortly afterwards and now provides a useful way of checking where various topics are covered in the series of Notes produced from members' contributions of detailed notes and tips over 25 years. A copy of the Index is posted on the V8 Website so members can download a copy of the latest Index. The file also has a current copy of the Contents list, V8LIFELINE and the MG Dealer listing, in both Word and PDF formats so you can keep your copy of the Notes up to date. Copies of the Omnibus Edition CD are available either by mail order or online on the V8 Website - just go to the V8 Online Sales webpage. The CDs are £25.00 (UK) and £30.00 (overseas) including post and packaging and for members who wish to update an earlier CD, there is discount for an Update CD - see the V8 Website for details.

The V8 Online Sales webpages, introduced at the end of April, have proved a convenient way of purchasing the V8 and RV8 Workshop Notes CDs and tickets for V8 25th Anniversary events. The system uses the convenient PayPal payment mechanism which enables you to transfer funds using your chargecard or credit card. PayPal is an EBay company. This should be particularly convenient for our overseas members.

The next Sunday lunchtime V8 Gathering at the Shoulder of Mutton is on 17th August. Hazeley Heath is just north of Hook in Hampshire and south of Reading. Full details and a map locating the pub are on the V8 Website.

The V8 Cornish Tour over the long weekend from Friday 3rd to Monday 6th October 2003 is proving popular. The base hotel is in Falmouth by the sea from where the event organiser Gordon Hesketh-Jones has arranged an interesting programme of visits and tours. Full details of the programme of events, information on the hotel, costs and booking forms are on the V8 Website. Members without internet facilities can contact Gordon for an information pack at Manningford, Trew, Helston, Cornwall TR13 9QW or on 01736 763053. His email address is at manningford@btinternet.com for any queries.

Solving the rusting wheel nuts!
Gordon Hesketh-Jones (Harvest Gold 1904) from Cornwall was frustrated at having to regularly buy new sets of wheel nuts and washers so set out to find out how to solve the problem of rusting nuts. This Note is No 283 in the series. (Mar 03)

The alloy and steel wheels fitted to the MGBGTV8 are one of the model's distinctive, and to me, attractive features. However as our cars are now 25 years old, some (like mine) will have covered a high mileage which means that the wheels will have been removed from the car at least six times a year for either new tyres, brakes or general servicing. The original wheel nuts and washers are chromium plated over a nickel-plate "flash" and whilst this finish works well for bumpers where there is no regular mechanical friction, normal (as opposed to "hard") chrome plate will not withstand being regularly attacked by a socket head, particularly if this is done at a tyre depot or non-MG garage where they will be using metric sockets on their air spanners and are unlikely to have or to use the correct 15/16" x ½" drive socket head. For this reason I now always carry a spare 15/16" socket head in my car ready for use, but this lesson was learnt too late to save the first three sets of wheel-nuts.

As I am more interested in the longevity of the car rather than keeping it purely to the original specification, for many years I have progressively replaced all of the nuts, bolts, screws, hose clips and self-tapping screws on the car with stainless steel items. So I decided to investigate obtaining stainless steel wheel nuts.
Standard chrome-plated wheel nuts and the chamfered washers are still available from Moss Europe as part number BHH1087 at £3.63 each or £58.08 per set. But modern chrome plating is not as good or as thick as the original version which is why the two replacement sets of wheel nuts did not last very long. The chamfered washers are not available separately - they are only sold with the nuts. Moss also list stainless wheel nuts now priced at £4.88 each (or £78.08 per set) under part number BHH1087SS but when these arrived I found that the washers were simple plain mild steel washers, zinc plated. The thickness of these washers was the same as for the standard washers but the outside diameter was 1¼" compared 1 3/8" on the original items. This I felt was not too important so fitted them only to find that the zinc plate on the new washers was far too soft for the application and that very quickly stains of British Racing Rust could be seen on the stainless nuts - which rather defeats the objective. By now I had a total of 48 of the old washers in stock so managed to find 16 where the chrome and nickel plating was not too worn, but after three or so years these too produced the rust stains on the stainless nuts.

My stainless supplies mainly come from Dave Middleton in Batley, Yorkshire (Tel: 01924 470807) as they manufacture most of their items themselves using 18/8 grade stainless steel - a high quality 50ton tensile strength steel of far better quality than the A2 (40ton) stainless grade used by most other suppliers of stainless fasteners. They issue a new catalogue and price list each year and for 2003 they list a 7/16" internal diameter "thick" washer at 1¼" o/d with a bevelled edge, price £1.05p plus VAT amounting to £1.23 each. A sample was obtained and it was found to be of a suitable thickness for the V8 wheel nut, so 16 were then bought. A friend arranged to bore them out to 11/16" to fit onto the V8 wheel nuts and in fact also cut at chamfer as well so now I have a decent set of stainless steel wheel nuts and washers which should last for many years. If you do not have a friend with the appropriate lathe, Dave Middleton will bore these washers out for you for an extra £1.00 per washer. This is not cheap as it effectively means around £116 for the complete set of stainless wheel-nuts and washers, but at least longevity and freedom from rust is guaranteed, and with chrome-plate sets costing £58.08 every two years, the outlay is soon recouped. This change to stainless steel nuts and obtaining the washers will all be a bit academic if you only cover 5,000 miles a year in your MGBGTV8, but if a higher mileage is involved is definitely well worth investigating.

Now a reminder: Whether you change to stainless wheel nuts or not, the important thing is to carry a 15/16 inch socket head (number 94 if you have a classic Britool socket set from the 1960s) in your car at all times. In addition, remember that the torque setting for the wheel nuts on or V8s is 58lb/ft - many modern cars with alloy wheels require settings of around 90lb/ft or even more, so if not cautioned some tyre fitters can tighten the nuts too much and damage our wheels. So beware!

Left to right: John Targett (USA), Kai Knickmann (Germany), Eva Maas-Doyle (Germany), Al Riches (Canada), Allan Doyle (Germany) & Dana Moreland (USA) enjoying lunch at the Pear Tree in Hook Norton. (Photo: Victor Smith)

The week enjoyed wonderfully warm and sunny weather and the varied programme proved particularly enjoyable. It was well supported by overseas members from Canada, Germany, Holland, Japan, Sweden and the USA, plus of course many UK members. The week started with the second talk in the annual Don Hayter Talks series at the Beales Hotel in Buckingham.

The RV8 Talk on the concept, development and production of the RV8 proved to be a fascinating tale of how a low budget project to produce a classic sports car could still be done in the early 1990s. John Yea and David Bishop related what had inspired the RV8 development team to do the project to create a modern classic sportscar to keep the name of MG alive as a modern brand. John also mentioned that the project only just beat the increased "drive-by" noise regulations - another six months or so later and it might well have not got through! Peter Buckles chaired the event and commented "projects like that just don't happen like that any more". The availability of MGB bodies from the BMH Body Plant and fuel injected V8 engines clearly were the essential inputs but it needed enthusiasm and imagination to make it happen. Many of our V8 enthusiasts contributed to the project including Roger Parker, the late Trevor Taylor, Ron Gammons and of course Peter Buckles and his team at the leading specialist parts supplier, Moss Europe.

Left to right: Peter Buckles with the cheerful BMH Witney Body Plant team of John Yea, Neil Morrick and David Bishop. (Photo: Gavin Bailey)

The group then visited the new MG Exhibition at Abingdon Museum which has been put together by Brian Moylan (AWC) and the new Curator, Cherry Gray. Since she arrived last year, many visitors to the museum have commented that an MG Exhibition would have been something they would have liked to have seen. But the new exhibition is not just for the visitors, Brian has seen that there are many young people in Abingdon who have no knowledge of the MG Works and its former importance to the town. So the exhibition has a real purpose. The first thing that strikes you on entering the display room is an imaginative reconstruction of a view up the production line, and then you are drawn to the many items of MG memorabilia on display and in cabinets. The MG Exhibition runs until 14th September and really is well worthwhile visiting.

On Tuesday the V8 group visited MG Rover at Longbridge and had a conducted tour of the plant. It was both fascinating and encouraging to see such efficient production and a workforce who were clearly pleased to see MG enthusiasts. Gone is the large company ethos - now you can see the slimmed down MG Rover has a clear focus on making good quality cars. The team on the assembly line are interested in their customers - they welcomed us warmly. Yes the culture you see in successful medium sized businesses is very evident at Longbridge - good news indeed!

By the middle of the week, the group was ready for the V8 Tulip Tour - a 120 mile route around the quiet lanes of the Cotswolds devised and arranged by Gordon Hesketh-Jones and his team. It involved careful navigation with "tulip cards" and a continuing MG quiz. Two refreshment stops were a particular attraction - first lunch at the George Hotel

Collecting the polypins at the cellar door at the Hook Norton Brewery, an enjoyable task for Victor Smith, John Targett and Kai Knickmann. (Photo: Dana Moreland)

Friday evening saw V8 members old and new gather in the new BRDC Clubhouse overlooking Woodcote Corner at Silverstone for a V8 Dinner. The evening followed the format of the earlier V8 Dinners at the Thatched House at Sulgrave with the traditional eight toasts in response to the "instant death" slips distributed to the unsuspecting speakers in the bar beforehand. Roger Lane-Knott, Secretary of the BRDC, proposed a toast to the MG Car Club and has welcomed the V8 Register back next year! The outgoing V8 Chairman Peter Buckles presented Victor Smith with an ingenious picture to mark his 25 years from first founding the register in 1978.

Over the long weekend the V8 Gathering at Silverstone saw many V8 enthusiasts meet up at the V8 Marquee. Over 150 V8s were packed into the V8 parking area on the Sunday.

From left: David Waterton, Jean Allen, Geoff Allen, Tony Watts and Andrew Burroughs. (Photo: Victor Smith)

The V8 AGM at lunchtime was very well attended by V8 members and saw David Waterton, a longstanding V8 member, elected unanimously as V8 Chairman together with Dr Gavin Bailey as V8 Secretary and Jim Gibson as V8 Treasurer. Keith Rowson (V8 Events), Steve Newton (V8 Technical), Victor Smith (V8 Registrar & Scribe), Sue Walker (V8 Regalia) and Clive Wheatley (V8 Spares) completed the team of eight committee members. Brian Moyse offered to act as workshop notes coordinator. Full details of their contacts are on the V8 Website.


V8 Track Laps session was very popular. (Photo: Gavin Bailey)

The final event was a spirited V8 Track Laps session on Sunday morning organised by Gordon Hesketh-Jones and his team which was clearly very popular. The violent thunderstorms affecting other parts of England that day fortunately missed Silverstone so members enjoyed warm and sunny conditions throughout - except one five minute spell when huge lumps of melting ice fell from the sky! What a wonderful V8 25th Anniversary week and Silverstone weekend!

An interesting display of V8s was arranged in the Display Marquee adjacent to the Main Club Marquee by Jim Gibson and featured the works V8 of David Brown and several very good looking V8 Roadster conversions. The MG SV made a surprise appearance too to represent the third generation of V8 powered MGs.

The new V8 powered MG SV made a surprise appearance at Silverstone - currently you could buy nine good MGBGTV8s for the likely price of an MG SV. (Photo: Gavin Bailey)

Finally just an illustration of how the V8LIFELINE really works. Ulf Lindquist, over from Sweden in his V8, had an Otter sensor rubber ring blow from the top of his radiator. He has a modified set up because he has an Offenhauser manifold. At Blenheim Palace, Peter Beadle took one look, phoned his former colleagues at Moss and two replacement parts arrived with Peter Buckles the following evening at the V8 Dinner. Following Silverstone, Ulf and Ulla went on a tour in Scotland in continued fine weather and with the V8's cooling back to normal.

Peter Beadle examines Ulf Lindquist's car and then orders up the parts! (Photo: Victor Smith)

Photopage

An MGB wing is assembled in a jig at the BMH Witney Body Plant. (Photo: Gordon Hesketh-Jones)


Bottom half of an MGBGTV8 bodyshell being assembled at Witney. (Photo: Gordon Hesketh-Jones)


Kai Knickmann talks with Mike and Barbara Russell on the V8 Tulip Tour. (Photo: Victor Smith)


Eva Maas-Doyle and Lesley Smith enjoy the warm sunshine at Blenheim Palace. (Victor Smith)


Geoff Allen at the V8 Dinner with Jean Allen alongside and Roger Lane-Knott (BRDC) and Phyllida and Mike Maude-Roxby behind. (Gavin Bailey)


Ulf and Ulla Lindquist from Sweden enjoyed the V8 Dinner a great deal. (Victor Smith)


V8 power in the BCV8 Championship race. (Gavin Bailey)