I tried to resist doing it, I really did!

I’ve got to get out soon so I can take more pictures of the car. When you’ve only got two “good ones”, it’s hard to have much variety.

I started the MG today. Last year, I was able to wait until the 7th of March before I did it. This year, spring arrived a little sooner.

Before I could turn the key, I had to do a little bit of maintenance. Under the hood, I found a sludgy green goo coating the engine head. Positioned directly below the thermostat elbow, I had my suspicions. The most likely suspect was the radiator hose. Barring that, then perhaps a leak at the housing itself. But the green had travelled along the head gasket as well. This worried me. Perhaps it’s not a simple fix at all. Perhaps I have a dreaded head gasket failure.

I figured the easy thing to do was to pressurize the cooling system and see where the water comes out. I hadn’t seen the coolant level drop, so I knew whatever it was, it was slow. I’d never seen signs of problems in the oil.

The only thing I lacked was tools. I have to give a shout out to O’reilly which has a tool rental program and is open on Sundays. Buy the tools, take them home and make your diagnosis, return in as-new condition and get your money back. It’s incredibly generous and today it was incredibly appreciated. Only took about three minutes to track down a dripping hose, tighten the clamp and pack everything back up. But while I was here….

I couldn’t help it. The battery slid right in, after sitting all winter inside in the cool (but not cold) spare room. The fuel pump started ticking right away, so I just went ahead and cranked. Since I drain the carbs each fall when I put her away, there wasn’t any fuel to start right away. But once it primed, vroom!

Each spring, that roar of the first start brings a smile to my face. Even adter siting for four months, she came to life as if I had last driven her yesterday.

It’s a shame the weather forecast calls for rain and cold, that weather was the only thing that kept me from calling PEMCO so I could go for a drive. All in all, a pretty nice way to wind down a day that started with a rather icy (but still very enjoyable) ride on the bike.