Back Roads May/June 2025
Back Roads
Dean Hickenlooper, Vice Chairman
Well, we’ve almost made it through another winter and spring is in sight. I hope you’ve all been busy getting your MGs serviced and ready for another driving season. I’m only a couple of weeks away from having all mine prepped, rebuilt and ready to go. I’m very excited for the upcoming GT-50 convention in Traverse City, Michigan. There are a few spots still available, so don’t delay and make your reservations soon.
This GT proves to be a truly amazing one with the Michigan Rowdies once again taking the reins and providing an action-packed schedule with several wine tours, self-guided tours to awesome lighthouses, and a tour of an insane asylum which I might suspect might be keeping me after I take the tour. I hope to see many of you there and to have the opportunity to get to know you better.
As your new vice chairman I’m amazed at all the work that takes place within the Board and by the staff members. Unless you have held one of these positions you probably won’t understand all the time and work that is performed by these amazing members. Hats off to all of you, past and present!
As for me instead of getting settled into this new position, I’m finding that there is more and more to learn and do. They tell me it might take a year or so to feel comfortable. I hope it won’t take that long, and I would like to thank everyone for their help and patience.
So, here’s a little update on my wife Kerry’s MGA engine rebuild after arriving home from GT-49. I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but we lost a head gasket on the way home. We were able to limp her home and I did a complete engine rebuild and finally now have the engine back in the A. I pulled the spark plugs and cranked it to get oil pressure and ….NOTHING! Tried removing the rear oil cooler line and pouring in oil whilst turning the engine over backwards, but still no oil pressure. Yes, it has a new oil pump and yes I used the correct oil pump gasket.
Well, it was then time to pull the oil pan and see what’s going on. I got the pump out and dissembled it to check specs. Everything checked out find with 0.0015”-0.002” clearance. Put it all back together and voila! 80 PSI cranking! Stay tuned next time for more updates.
That’s all for this issue my friends! See ya on the road to GT-50 and Traverse City!
Sincerely, your humble servant, Dean Hickenlooper.
