Our March meeting was held on Saturday, March 7 at Spring Creek BBQ in Cypress.  Scott led a round table story-telling session where owners talked about breakdowns and what tool or spare part was needed to get them going again. 

After hearing the meeting ideas and reviewing other sources, Scott developed a list of possible spare parts and tools that could come in handy on a road trip:

Parts:

• Various Fuses as needed
• Various Bulbs: panel, turn, brake and flasher
• Points, Condenser, Rotor and Distributor Cap (or Replacement Electrical Unit)Coil
• Wire 10/12/14 ga.
• Assorted wire connectors (Male, Female, Insulated, etc.)
• Hose clamps 3" diameter to smaller
• Spark plug top (screw on) or Spark plug wires
• Generator brush set
• Fuel Pump
• Small Fuel Bottle (Aluminum)
• Socket set, Spanners & Adjustable Wrenches
• Booster Cables or Lithium Battery Jump Starter
• Ground Sheet or Blanket
• Gloves
• Tire Pressure Gauge
• Length of 1/4", 5/16” and 3/8" rubber hose
• Radiator hose and clamps
• Spark plugs
• Oil for carb damper (usually 1 ml. needed & can store in 3 ml. syringe for easy use)
• Minimum 1 Quart Motor Oil
• Clutch – Brake Fluid
• Fan Belt
• Various assorted sizes of screws, nuts, washers and bolts
• Tire Plug Kit
• Spare Relay

Hand Tools & Emergency Supplies:

• AAA Card
• Small Analog Voltage Meter or Test Light
• Pliers: Needle, Regular & Large Locking
• Wire Crimper
• Spark Plug Socket or Wrench
• Spark Plug Gauge
• Emory Cloth or Sandpaper
• Brake Adj. tool (1/4" square)
• Assorted sizes of Straight & Phillips head Screwdrivers
• Small Hammer
• Funnel and Paper Towels in Ziplock Bag (for adding oil)
• Rag or Paper Towels
• Flashlight
• Magnetic Pickup
• Repair – Shop Manuals & Schematics (or digital version on your phone)
• Space blanket
• Scissors Jack
• Duct tape, Electrical tape
• Leatherman (Multipurpose Tool with Knife and Pliers)
• Spare Tire and/or 12V air compressor (or can of fix-a-flat) and/or Tire Plugging Tool
• Lug wrench or Spinner Wrench
• Boot Opening Tool (MGB)
• Fire Extinguisher
• Road Flares and Safety – Warning Markers
• Water
• Hand Cleaner/Soap (for cleanup and soap for finding leaks)
• First Aid Kit
• Cash

If you have an MGA or MGB and have converted to a single 12v battery (Group 26R usually fits in the left side battery compartment), then installing a plastic bin liner in the right side can serve as a very useful compartment for spare parts or tools.

About 15 Club members showed up and enjoyed a leisurely patio lunch at Watson's House of Ales, on a pleasant Winter Thursday.   These simple gatherings provide midweek enjoyment and easy mutual support for LBC enthusiasts.  A number of MG's (and at least one Mini) were scattered about.  Good food and libations were just right.  No annoying calls were incoming at the British phone booth. 

Well done Events Chairman. 

LOCAL EVENTS - 28 FEBRUARY 2026:

Fellow HMGCC members,

Thanks to sterling efforts by Dusty (who will be racing his Triumph there - come support him) as he has secured:

1. Clearance from the event organizers for our club members to drive (y)our own British classic on a lunch time parade lap around the MSR race track in Angleton on Saturday February 28th. (Address: 1 Performance Dr, Angleton, TX 77515. - 35 minutes south of Downtown Houston on Highway 288). There is a suggested donation of $20 per car to “Hands on Driving Academy” which creates racing opportunities for handicap veterans.
2. In addition, Go-Kart racing: will also be available on the karting track for $20 per race; participants must be aged 13+ (physically, not mentally - so most members, myself included, should scrape by that age bar?). Loaner helmets are provided. Note these karts run 50 mph – they’re not toys!

If you wish to participate in either or both driving events - i.e. (1) parade lap and/or (2) go-kart racing - please contact Dusty with your information so that he can get you signed up. He can also advise whether there is an assigned / available parking area there, if any, for us to congregate.

Please do remember that Dusty is prepping to race his car there all that weekend, so please don’t wait until the last minute to inundate him with your sign-ups. His contact info:

To register, contact:  nicholsondustin@yahoo.com and cell if needed: 281-871-9623

Group meeting/departure point?

John and Sam in TTR have kindly arranged for the TTR club’s regular Saturday breakfast venue for that week to be on that side of town at the Busy Bee Café at 4009 West Broadway Street, Pearland TX 77581. (They usually meet at 7:30; order and eat at 8:00.)  

Although there is no pre-organized group drive to MSR scheduled, (some) attendees may wish to convoy there from that breakfast location and its associated social opportunity?

Safety Fast

David

David J. Fowler

Membership Director - HMGCC

VP Local Events - TTR

Mobile: 713-412-0661

I recently replaced my rear brakes after a leaking rear hub seal contaminated the brake shoe linings.  I went through a number of online resources including John Twist videos to come up with what I think is the correct spring configuration and thought this photo might be helpful to anyone doing a brake job.  Specifically, I believe the left "tail" of the lower internal spring fits under the rear parking brake as shown in the photo.  Don't assume the last person who worked on your brakes assembled everything correctly.  

My MG is a '63 with the banjo rear axle (1962-1967), but the rear brake setup is the same for all MGB's with the possible exception of the outer lower spring.  Last year it was sold by Moss for only the banjo rear axles, but now I see it's no longer listed so I'm assuming they decided it must not be needed or perhaps they wanted to simplify and offer the same parts configuration for all MGB's.   The part (17H 8737) is however shown in the official MGB parts manual.

Our club's February meeting was held on 2/7 at Lyndon's Pit BBQ. 

Our club president, Scott Kalish, led a fun game to identify a list of somewhat obscure British cars.  Contestants were awarded points for correct make, model and year.  The maximum total of correct points was 188.  Only 3 club members scored above 50 points.  Congratulations to David Fowler for a winning score of 79 points.  

There was some discussions on:

• The board looking into issuing a monthly emailed newsletter
• A change of venue for the next MG-Triumph club autocross
• Future club meeting locations.  Lyndon's was noted as one of the few venues that does not charge for the room

Thanks to all who were able to attend.

This link is to a rather long YouTube video that was taken in the late 90's at a monthly club meeting when Dwight Dawson was President.  It features a very special guest speaker and might be of interest to newer members.

 https://youtu.be/fB4TpxryQDw?si=bKy3m-7VwACiqxu

Many Thanks to Dwight for providing this!

Here's an interesting article from the 1998 ROARS suggested by Dwight Dawson.  Sadly, the MG factory closed on October 24, 1980 with the production of the last roadster number 523001 two days earlier.  I didn't realize the factory wasn't actually demolished until 1997.  I remember there was a time you could purchase bricks from the factory from Moss Motors.

The second article shows a wrecked MGF after a chap when berserk pushed it off a cliff with a tractor.

Thanks Dwight!

1998 Roars Article on MG Factory.PDF

Those of you who are members of NAMGBR will have received the January/February 2026 issue of "The MG Driver", the Tech Issue, which contained an article written by HMGCC member Scott Hardy. The article discusses problems with MGA/MGB heater valves, and presents an alternative heater valve kit manufactured and sold by your humble HMGCC webmaster, Rob Ficolara. The article is reproduced below for the edification of those who either did not see the article or are not NAMGBR members...

New Heater Valve Kit for MGA/MGB That Solves OEM Deficiencies Now Available

While driving in an autocross last fall, the distributor in my 1972 MGB was doused by an unwelcome shower of coolant from a failed heater valve diaphragm. And judging from the high volume of online posts concerning failed heater valves, what happened to me is not an unusual occurrence. Thanks to the support of Houston MG Car Club members who came up with a blanking plate on site, I was able to complete the three-hour drive home. During that journey, I resolved to identify a more effective solution for controlling the heater.

The deficiencies of the available OEM style heater valve in MGAs and MGBs are well documented. If you have one, you already know. To summarize:

• When the diaphragm in the valve fails, the valve leaks directly onto the distributor.
• The valve design does not allow adequate coolant flow for optimum heat output.
• The valve resists opening and closing, making it difficult to operate with the cable controls.
• It is hard to either completely open or completely shut the valve, which results in heat being released when you don’t want it.
• The lifespan of the available replacement valves is not equal to the OEM valves. Mine failed after six years of use and I have heard of failures in much less time.
• The OEM design does not allow a socket wrench to fit onto the bolt heads, making it difficult to remove or install the valve, particularly the lower bolt.
• Failure of the valve has resulted in catastrophic engine failures due to overheating because the temperature gauge will not register when there is no coolant.

Numerous solutions to this issue have been shared on platforms like MG Experience, so I didn't have to start my search for a better valve from scratch. I resolved to use an automotive ball valve with the same push to open/pull to close action as the original valve, and I experimented with creating bases from failed heater valves. However, I found the castings to be poor quality, and the remaining base did not provide enough material to tap a large enough fitting to increase the coolant flow, so I needed a better answer. I designed a couple of trial heater valve bases that Texas MG guru Wayne Kube machined into reality.

Fortunately, I found out that fellow HMGCC member Rob Ficolara was pursuing the same goal of creating a better heater valve design, and he had the great idea of producing an easy to install kit for MGA and MGB owners. We tossed around some thoughts for procuring the valves and fittings, and he had the equipment to turn my heater base designs into beautiful, 6061 aluminum alloy pieces that allow more than twice the coolant flow of the original design. We also fixed the installation problem by using socket head screws for attachment to the block.

I installed a prototype design on my car, and the results were amazing. Installation was a breeze. I was able to use the original heater cable with a small modification. The valve was easy to move from completely shut to wide open and back again. The increased flow allowed the heater to put out more heat for the cold days (rare as they are here in TX!). It even looks proper. And that ball valve will never leak onto my distributor!

Rob has started producing the kit, which provides everything you need to replace the heater valve assembly from the engine block to the heater inlet. Rob is a fellow MG owner who takes pride in his work, and his kit provides a well-designed answer to all the problems created by the OEM design and currently available replacement parts.

The heater valve kit, which contains complete instructions, a pre-assembled valve assembly, and all mounting/hoses/clamps/gasket hardware, is available to MGA and MGB owners for $US 87.50 plus shipping. The ordering details can be found on his website, www.BritCarCraft.com. Don’t wait until your valve fails (again). Look into this upgrade today!

What’s in the box. (Not pictured are complete, easy to follow instructions).

Detailed view of the preassembled valve, fitting and base supplied with the kit.

The valve installed.

The club received an email and I know our members will rise to the opportunity!  If you have an MGA or MGB and would be willing to show your car to a Veteran with cancer, be sure to participate in the January club meeting...

Hello:

I have [an uncle] who is a Viet Nam Veteran who has been fighting cancer for 3 years and is running out of options and time. One of his great loves was his MG’s. He had an MGA and a chrome bumper MGB, (as best as I can remember).  He lives close to your meeting location Swanny’s Grill - about a mile away.  I have a question and possibly a favor.  If he and his son came by during the meeting could one of you show him your cars, and possibly give him a ride around the block.  

Thank you!