MGA To The Arctic: Post Expedition Review
Mission MGA to the Arctic is complete. Charlotte Vowden and her expert mechanic father Steve completed the epic journey of driving her 1960’s MGA from the UK to the Arctic and back – all using Morris Lubricants products in the car.
It was, by design and circumstance, an against the odds feat. A 6,000-mile round-trip to the top of the world, that was accomplished in three weeks. This limit-pushing expedition proves that Morris Lubricants’ products can be relied upon when a vehicle is put to such hard work. “This sort of distance may not have even been covered annually back in the day,” says Morris Lubricants’ Technology Manager, Adrian Hill, “so the workload and stresses experienced by the mechanical systems on the vehicle throughout this epic journey were extreme.”
Manufactured in 1960, Charlotte’s 64-year-old MGA performed heroically for up to 14 hours per day. Enduring a heatwave while travelling through traffic-congested parts of central Europe that saw the MGA’s cabin temperature soar to an unbearable 49°C, Morris Lubricants’ MEG Antifreeze Coolant helped prevent the MGA’s engine from overheating. The same can’t be said for Charlotte and Steve, who definitely felt the heat.
As the team travelled further north, temperatures and gridlocks eased. From stop-start urban motoring that put extra stress on the four-speed gearbox and clutch, to prolonged inclines and subzero climes, the nature of the burdens put on MGA continually transformed. Foggy subsea tunnels, including the four-mile Nordkapptunnelen in Finnmark, Norway, that reaches a depth of 212 meters below sea level at a 10% gradient, presented challenging climatic and technical conditions. Herds of nonchalant reindeer frequently obstructed the road. Mountain passes, hairpin bends, flooding and crumbling forest tracks, the MGA valiantly conquered them all. The team reached Nordkapp, the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car, within eight days.
“With a mixture of workloads that tested the mechanicals, the oils, lubricants and the drivers to new extremes, this trip represented the worst-case scenario for a classic vehicle,” says Adrian. “A strict maintenance regime before and during the expedition was essential, but choosing to use robust oils and lubricants with balanced additive chemistry tailored to suit this type of vehicle contributed to a successful outcome.”
As outlined in a pre-departure technical brief with Adrian, which you can read in full here, Charlotte’s MGA’s on the road first aid kit included Golden Film SAE 30 gearbox oil , Dot 4 Brake Fluid and MD4 Multipurpose Spray, but by the end of the first day, one product in particular was put to emergency use. “We lost half a litre of engine oil because of a leak from the rear main, a common issue on the MGA’s 1.6 four cylinder B-Series engine” reveals Charlotte. “At that rate of loss, I was not sure if it would be safe to carry on,” adds Steve.
With five litres of oil on board, which should have been sufficient for the journey, they’d run out before reaching the Arctic Circle. The oil leak also threatened to contaminate the clutch. “I found it hard to keep my emotions in check,” confesses Charlotte, “after all the hard work and preparation that had been put in, it looked as though our challenge would be over before it had properly begun.” That’s when she put in an SOS call to Adrian and the Morris Lubricants’ team.
One of the longest-standing international distributors of Morris Lubricants, PERMAKEM AS, is located in Oslo, Norway’s capital, which was on Charlotte and Steve’s route. “If at any moment I thought it would have been detrimental to the car to carry on, I would have made the difficult but necessary decision for us to stop,” says Steve. Their journey from Germany to Oslo was successful but fraught. “Progress was slow because we had to take breaks more frequently and for longer periods of time in order for the oil to cool so that we could obtain an accurate reading of its level,” explains Charlotte. Mercifully, the rate of loss significantly reduced; the rear main, Steve suspects, did not function as it should do at higher revs.
Lars Amble, Sales and Category Manager at PERMAKEM AS, welcomed woman, man and machine into the capital city with coffee and 10 litres of Golden Film SAE 20W-50 that was shipped in one-litre bottles for convenience owing to the MGAs limited amount of space. In total, four and a half litres were used on the 6,000-mile journey, but on an expedition such as this, everything must be done to minimise the risk. “Adrian was amazing, not only did he provide technical support, he provided emotional support too,” says Charlotte. “When we thought we were in trouble, knowing the troops at Morris Lubricants had rallied and were doing everything they could in order for us to keep going was the best morale boost. It really was above and beyond.” With the exception of the rear main leak, the MGA completed the mission without fault. “There can be no greater testament to the ability of the Morris Lubricants’ products we used,” says Steve. “Or dad’s mechanical skill,” adds Charlotte, “we were proud to fly the flag for Morris Lubricants at the top of the world.”
Safely home, Charlotte and Steve are readying themselves for their next adventure, and although they will have to remove the MGAs engine block to the fix leak from the rear main first, more news and information about this is to come! Knowing how the products performed on this limit-pushing expedition to the Arctic will set the parameters for what could come next.
As part of the epic journey and to test the Morris Lubricants’ products in a controlled way, oil samples were taken from the engine, gearbox and differential after the trip and compared to unused products. Each oil sample was anlaysed by an independent laboratory to test the physical and chemical properties of the oils.
Comparing unused samples of engine oil Golden Film SAE 20W-50, gearbox oil Golden Film SAE 30 and Lodexol 80W-90 gear oil with samples that were collected upon completion of the 6,000 miles, Adrian has compiled a detailed lubricant performance report. This kind of technical support is available to Morris Lubricants’ customers. “It offers peace of mind to people who manage fleets, as well as people like me who really care about their car,” says Charlotte.
The analysis report for the engine oil indicated it had worked hard but had coped throughout the journey. “Prolonged high-temperature operation subjected the lubricant to significant stress,” says Adrian, “this type of motoring creates a heat soak that can oxidise the oil and when an oil becomes oxidised it thickens which reduces its ability to flow and cool. Performance then begins to decline.” The level of oxidation present did not raise cause for concern.
Topping the engine up with fresh oil would have further reduced the risk of adverse consequences owing to heat soak. “I’ll consider that a silver lining to the drama caused by the rear main leak,” says Charlotte. Adrian adds: “being realistic, a regular top-up was quite normal for engines from this era due to the way the piston ring packs were designed, coupled with the build tolerances of the day.” A negative result for glycol, a material that originates from the antifreeze coolant, indicated zero leakage from the coolant system. This is a great result.
“The real measure of performance was to see what level of wear elements, such as iron, copper, lead, and tin, were present in the used Golden Film SAE 20W-50,” explains Adrian. Low levels of each metal were found. “This is evidence that the oil film stood up to the severity of differing workloads such as start-up and acceleration; the anti-wear chemistry successfully re-enforced protection levels. In summary, the additive chemistry in Golden Film SAE 20W-50 kept oxidation and component wear to a minimum. Even when the oil level had dropped close to critically low levels, the engine oil did its job and protected the engine and the components.” Again, this is another great result.
Next the attention moved to the used gearbox oil, where the issues of heat soak could have also been detrimental to operation of the gearbox, especially over 6,000 miles. “the analysis looked for levels of oxidation and any effect it may have had on viscosity,” explains Adrian, "oxidative thickening can be a problem for oils held at high prolonged temperatures and certainly the duty cycle of the gearbox on this trip was pushing the limits.” It was a relief, he says, to see the viscosity of the gearbox oil had only marginally increased. Signs of oxidation were present but very minimal. “Well balanced oil formulations incorporate an oxidation inhibitor to control this process and ensure the lubricant is protected from the effects of heat between services,” Adrian says. Golden Film SAE 30 did its job perfectly and protected the gearbox. This is excellent news.
Turning his attention to the used oil from the rear differential, Adrian found traces of iron that are indicative of low-level general wear. “The low level of iron was an indicator that the correct level of extreme pressure additive, based on Sulphur, was present in the formulation of Lodexol 80W-90 gear oil that was used in the rear differential,” Adrian explains. “Sulphur bonds with the gear tooth surface, under conditions of pressure and heat, providing a sacrificial chemical layer. This layer takes the brunt of the work protecting the integrity of the gear teeth. Overall, the oil provided a protective regime that maintained the components of the differential.” Again, Lodexol 80W-90 gear oil did its job correctly and protected the rear differential. Again, another set of excellent results.
“Getting the results back has been a nerve-wracking process,” says Charlotte, “this is information that dad, a professional, accomplished mechanic, can use to give the MGA the best level of care and maintenance.”
This project clearly shows that you need to use the correct oils, lubricants and greases to keep a car working as it should and avoid time spent in the workshop. Using Morris Lubricants’ high-quality products did not let Charlotte or Steve down. These correctly formulated oils lubricants and greases meant that the car’s engine, gearbox, rear differential and other components were protected against wear when this epic journey pushed the vehicle to the max.
To find out more about Morris Lubricants’ Golden Film SAE 20W-50 engine oil, Golden Film SAE 30 gearbox oil and Lodexol 80W-90 gear oil please visit Morris Lubricants’ website, social media or YouTube channel. You can also contact the Morris Lubricants Technical Team or Sales managers for more detailed information, by calling 01743 232200