A classic is at its best when you're using it — but a long run in a seventy-year-old car rewards a little preparation. Ten minutes of checks before you set off, and a short look-over when you get home, is the difference between a trip spent enjoying the car and one spent fixing it at the roadside. Here is a practical routine to run through before a long drive or a show weekend, and again on your return.
The day before: the unhurried checks
Do these with the car cold, on the level, in your own garage — not in a hurry on the morning of the trip:
- Engine oil — check the dipstick and top up to the mark with the right grade. Fresh oil before a big trip is cheap insurance.
- Coolant — check the level cold and top up with the correct mix.
- Brake fluid — check the master-cylinder level; a dropping level means investigate before you go, not after.
- Tyres — set the pressures cold (including the spare) and look hard at tread and sidewalls for cracks. On a classic, age matters as much as tread depth.
- Battery — topped up if it needs it, secure, with clean, tight terminals.
- Lights, wipers and horn — walk round and check the lot.
Under the bonnet: the pre-trip look
- Belt — check the fan/dynamo belt's tension and condition; no fraying or glazing.
- Hoses — squeeze the radiator hoses; soft, weepy or perished ones let go on a hot run.
- Leaks — look under the car for fresh oil, coolant or fuel on the garage floor.
- Charging — start up and confirm the dynamo is charging: the ignition warning light should go out as you raise the revs, and the ammeter should show a charge. A light that stays on means investigate before you travel.
- Fuel — enough to reach a station, and listen for the SU pump ticking and then settling as it primes.
The T-Series quirks worth a check
Every marque has its own habits; here are the T-Type ones:
- Grease before you go. The T-Series has a proper chassis-lubrication schedule, and a long run is exactly the moment to make sure the grease and oiling points are done.
- SU dampers. Top up the carburettor dampers with SAE 20 — low dampers give poor pickup.
- Positive earth. Remember it before connecting anything — a battery pack, a jump lead — and get the polarity right.
- Points ignition. Points and condenser are consumables that can fail without warning, which is why they head the spares list below.
- Cooling. The T-Series runs at low or no pressure — check it cold, and don't overfill.
Spares worth carrying
On a T-Type, a small box of spares turns most roadside failures into a ten-minute job rather than a tow:
- A fan belt, spark plugs, a set of points and a condenser, a coil, an SU fuel pump (or know the "tap the pump" trick), assorted bulbs and fuses, a length of fuel hose and a few clips, insulating tape, a tube of grease and a can of SU damper oil.
- Plus the basics: your toolkit, a tyre pressure gauge, a torch, gloves, rag, a bottle of the right oil, pre-mixed coolant, and water.
On the road
Drive the first few miles gently and stay tuned in to the car:
- Watch the gauges — temperature steady, oil pressure healthy, ammeter charging.
- Listen — for new rattles, knocks or a changed exhaust note.
- Smell — hot oil, coolant, fuel or an electrical smell all mean stop and look.
- Take a shakedown stop after the first twenty or thirty minutes: a quick look for leaks and anything working loose while it's all warm.
When you get back: the post-trip check
The return check is the one most people skip, and it's where you catch the small stuff before it becomes a winter job:
- Look underneath for fresh leaks the trip has brought on.
- Re-check the levels — oil and coolant, once cooled — since a long run can reveal a slow loss.
- Walk round for anything that worked loose, a blown bulb or a weeping hose.
- Note what needs attention in the car's history file while it's fresh — a squeal, a stiff gearchange, a gauge that wandered — so it's on the list before the next outing rather than forgotten.
- Give it a wipe-down (especially after rain or salt) and put it away with a good amount of fuel, which keeps condensation out of the tank.
Related reading
- Servicing your MG T-Series → /servicing — the full basic-service section.
- Engine oil & filter → /servicing/engine-oil-and-filter, Coolant → /servicing/coolant, Brake fluid → /servicing/brake-fluid, Chassis greasing → /servicing/chassis-greasing.
- The Lucas control box → /technical-library/lucas-voltage-regulator-control-box — if the charging check turns up trouble.
*A general guide to adapt to your own car, not a substitute for the official MG Workshop Manual.*