The lost art of packing the bearings with grease. My Dad was NOT much of a DIY car guy but I do remember him trying to teach me to pack grease into the bearings of some jalopy we had. Of course he would clean the old grease out of the bearings with gasoline in a mason jar with a lit Salem menthol cigarette hanging out of his mouth and his son (me) a few feet away. On the plus side I do still have my eye brows… 🫤
My dad did everything car related, jumped into racing as a kid, and in his 30s him and two buddies built a Bugeye and two Mk 2 Sprites into race cars in the late 60s. He worked on that car through the early 80s and then built a Bugeye of his own. He helped out anyone who needed it with their own MG repairs for decades after retiring from racing due to a work-related injury. I can remember the same situation, mason jar, gasoline, brush from the kitchen sink, right at the dining room table scrubbing grease out of a bearing. We would just toss that filthy gas into the mower when we were done. It smoked. A lot. He did get a parts washer in the 80s and put it on the back porch, that was fun, when you were done packing the grease you could wash your hands in it. Don't mind the chafing, burning, itching, your hands were clean and that's all that mattered, LOL. Kids are great for cleaning small parts too, though my own kids have been exempted from playing with solvents, and I'm not allowed to repair anything at the kitchen table.
Good video Ian. I wasn’t aware of the different arms. Thanks for the info as I’m doing a disk conversion too. I’m envious of your parts washer! where did you get that?
Thanks Gareth. I wasn't aware of any differences until I discovered that the Bugeye's stock tie rod ends wouldn't fit! the parts washer is "Power Fist" 20 gallon one from Princess Auto (Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight I believe).
Thanks for another great video! I will be going through a similar process myself with my '59 Bugeye (eventually). I have donor parts with front discs and was not aware of the issue with the arms. Mine are also wire wheels, and I know there are issues in the rear (I have the whole rear end too), but I have seen a lot of stuff on ahexp talking about how to make that work. Will you be doing anything with the master cylinder? I have read suggestions that it should be resleeved (or something) in order to work well with the discs.
Thank you Trevor. I think it depends on the year of the donor car when determining whether the arms will be OK. AS for the master cylinder I had already purchased a new, stock, Bugeye version and plan to run with that for now. I seem to recall that it has been reported that pedal effort will be a bit higher when using the stock master with disc brakes. Seeing as I have never driven a stock Bugeye I won't have anything to compare it to!
Yes they are different. The setup I acquired was a complete one off a '72 Midget. As such it had the lower a-arms, swivel pins, steering knuckles, rotors, hubs and calipers.
The lost art of packing the bearings with grease. My Dad was NOT much of a DIY car guy but I do remember him trying to teach me to pack grease into the bearings of some jalopy we had. Of course he would clean the old grease out of the bearings with gasoline in a mason jar with a lit Salem menthol cigarette hanging out of his mouth and his son (me) a few feet away. On the plus side I do still have my eye brows… 🫤
Great story Bill, thanks for sharing.
My dad did everything car related, jumped into racing as a kid, and in his 30s him and two buddies built a Bugeye and two Mk 2 Sprites into race cars in the late 60s. He worked on that car through the early 80s and then built a Bugeye of his own. He helped out anyone who needed it with their own MG repairs for decades after retiring from racing due to a work-related injury. I can remember the same situation, mason jar, gasoline, brush from the kitchen sink, right at the dining room table scrubbing grease out of a bearing. We would just toss that filthy gas into the mower when we were done. It smoked. A lot. He did get a parts washer in the 80s and put it on the back porch, that was fun, when you were done packing the grease you could wash your hands in it. Don't mind the chafing, burning, itching, your hands were clean and that's all that mattered, LOL. Kids are great for cleaning small parts too, though my own kids have been exempted from playing with solvents, and I'm not allowed to repair anything at the kitchen table.
Good video Ian. I wasn’t aware of the different arms. Thanks for the info as I’m doing a disk conversion too. I’m envious of your parts washer! where did you get that?
Thanks Gareth. I wasn't aware of any differences until I discovered that the Bugeye's stock tie rod ends wouldn't fit! the parts washer is "Power Fist" 20 gallon one from Princess Auto (Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight I believe).
Thanks for another great video! I will be going through a similar process myself with my '59 Bugeye (eventually). I have donor parts with front discs and was not aware of the issue with the arms. Mine are also wire wheels, and I know there are issues in the rear (I have the whole rear end too), but I have seen a lot of stuff on ahexp talking about how to make that work. Will you be doing anything with the master cylinder? I have read suggestions that it should be resleeved (or something) in order to work well with the discs.
Thank you Trevor. I think it depends on the year of the donor car when determining whether the arms will be OK. AS for the master cylinder I had already purchased a new, stock, Bugeye version and plan to run with that for now. I seem to recall that it has been reported that pedal effort will be a bit higher when using the stock master with disc brakes. Seeing as I have never driven a stock Bugeye I won't have anything to compare it to!
Aren't the swivel pins and their bushings different from the bugeye and 1098-1275?. Moss indicates different part numbers
Yes they are different. The setup I acquired was a complete one off a '72 Midget. As such it had the lower a-arms, swivel pins, steering knuckles, rotors, hubs and calipers.