A random pick on the Bonvoy/Marriott app got us to Breadsall Priory. The history of this beautiful mansion outside Derby is mind blowing. Truth is – I booked it because it is close proximity to Peter Burgess. But after seeing it and reading more about the history – I feeling like a bit like a fool and ignoramus.
Established in 1266 it is now the oldest building in the Marriott Hotel chain. It was home to Erasmus Darwin – grandfather of Charles Darwin – and the brief biographie I read about him is already quite interesting. In 2005 Breadsall Priory was home to the G8 conference. Go read more about it – it really is worth a visit. Of course – newer Hotels might be more fancy, but sleeping with open windows facing a golf courses on really comfortable beds was quite a treat.
I got up early and decided to drop a few MGB cylinderheads I had taken along at Peter Burgess workshop before breakfast. After two miles the Morgan lost power again. But this time it felt different. Previously, when I found small dirt particles in the carburettor jets – the engine would just cut out. You could feel that it did not get enough fuel.
This time however it more felt like misfiring – the engine was not dying it kind of stuttered. I could not make out was it was and could not explain myself what in the carburettor must be wrong. 10 minutes later the engine started and ran fine.
Peter Burgess workshop was not easy to spot from the road. As he has an impressive reputation in the MG community for this cylinderheads – I somehow expected a fancy office and garage. But what I found was a humble, charming, hard-working man with his son Simon in an honest and established garage. A few lines with a pencil about what should be done to the cylinderheads I brought him in his notebook and off I went for breakfast. Looking forward to see and experiences the results of his work.
Back to Breadsall Priory to get breakfast. The original plan was to bring my son home to Camberwell – even though this means driving through London. As Europa Specialist Spares was more or less on the way – we also stopped there to replace the broken Smith gauge and get a few Lucas toggle switches.
The three hour drive back to London via Motorways should be quick and easy and we expected to be there by 3pm. On the way I decided to head to Frontline Developments in Steventon right after this – they are open till 5pm and that should work out. But after 2 hours continues driving without an issue the engine cut out again. This time I was also checked the spark plugs and the looked great. Light brown color and dry – indicator to me that the distributor and carburettor settings cannot be wrong.
Like before – a few minutes later the engine was running again. I asked my son if he could take the underground through London – I did not want to cause a huge jam in city traffic with the Morgan. Edgware Station was just 15min away. After this I headed to Frontline and on the M4 the engine died again. Fortunately, I was able to roll into a Services area. After 15min and a few unsuccessful tries – the car started just normally again.
When I arrived at Frontline they were almost about to close the shop. I never seen so many cars on their premises. When I asked Tim Fenna if we had an idea what the cause for my engine problems could be – it only took a few seconds before he said: it could be the ignition coil.
While he was searching for a replacement, Conner brought me a trolley with the stuff I ordered recently for the MGB. There was some disbelief that I would be able to fit all of this in the Morgan. But the Tetris experience I gained on my youth paid off and after 20min I had a 5-speed gearbox, a complete Maniflow exhaust system and a few other boxes with small parts in the car.
The rest of the trip was just nonstop driving. First (due to a traffic jam on the M25) down the A34 to get to the A303 – the rest via the motorway. For the first time I had a FlexiPlus tunnel ticket. Costs a bit more – but I arrived at 8pm and made train 20min later. In Belgium I had some issues with the headlights again – the connectors I use for the dashboard did not like the vibrations. A did of electrical tape fixed the issue.
All in all the trip was 2700km – almost exactly 1000km alone on Day 5. If you look up the definition for insanity you will find pictures from Morgan and other classic car drivers that are doing long distances. I believe I might quality here as well.
But I am more than happy that everything worked out. Small issues were expected and we sorted them out. The 4000km summer vacation trip to Italy with driving spread out over a few day will be a walk in the park.. 😉
Fixing C6622 
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