Further progress update from Chris Vernon Chris Vernon, a V8 member, is driving his Midget "Dorothy" to South Africa with Roy Laycock in his Midget, "Bridget" - here Chris sends a fourth report on their progress. See the other reports. More Back to homepage Chris Vernon has sent a further brief report on the progress of the two Midgets through several deserts to the Red Sea coast where they stopped to do a 4,000 mile service on each car. Several technical problems are causing continuing problems and when driving they have to road like a hawk for potholes and humps which could end the trip. Chris Vernon's report on the journey through Arabia to the Red Sea coast Received on 221011 I think I last reported at around 2,000 miles from home but as we are well over 4,000 miles now I will take you there. The problem with the carburettor float sticking persisted every morning on start up until we reached Jordan where it stopped when I must have done something right. We do find that the dashpots dry out in the heat and need frequent topping up. The cutting out which plagued me for the first part must have been electrical, nothing to do with the carbs or the heat. As it turned out it was a loose connection on the low tension side of the coil, if only we had found it before Syria! The Midget, Dorothy, still seems to be loosing or using a bit of oil but now the price has gone down from £12 a litre to £2 in the Middle East in true MG style I am happy to recycle it from whence it came. Fuel consumption remains at 36-38mpg which again is not so important as fuel is so cheap here. When did you last buy 41 litres for £7.60? Fuel quality is OK at present and 92 octane is common but you can also get 90 & 80 which we have not needed to try yet. Surprisingly you cannot guarantee to get fuel when you need it so the cans have come in useful. She seems to be pinking so I have wound the distributor up a bit, it could probably do with a tad more. Both cars run on from time to time we have not yet tracked down the cause, temperature, fuel, timing or carburation. So while they are running do not meddle. On the Red Sea coast, having crossed several big deserts, we did our 4,000 mile service. The local Shell garage changed the oil, topped up the gearbox which needed 0.5 litre - so I must keep an eye on this as it only holds 1litre - and they supplied an extra litre all for £12.50. Whilst underneath I found that the middle exhaust bracket had snapped so had it welded up for £6 including a £1 tip!. Back at the hotel I spent a long time tightening up everything and oiling anything that moved ready for 47C in Sudan and Kenya where they have rocks for roads. The other Midget, Bridget, is not doing so well as we had a long couple of breakdowns in the Arabian desert. We first replaced the alternator as the bearing had gone as we thought it might be shorting out (brought by me from WKR) but found it to be another low tension lead. Those stops meant we finished in the dark when my exhaust broke on a hump or pothole as I still have only one headlamp. Bridget also has a persistent misfire but it is not a showstopper so Roy is leaving it. In summary these great little cars just keep on going at a steady 50mph on good roads but we have to keep a constant lookout for humps and potholes which could wreck the car in a flash. It is a pity that this trip has come to an end for me because of a technical failure of the driver not the car! To be continued . . . . . . Posted 221011 V8 Register - MG Car Club - the leading group for MG V8 enthusiasts at www.v8register.net