Luv2Wrench

In keeping with the frustrations for getting the MG 100% dialed in... the choke is not fully releasing. The SU carbs have a cork seal that can grab the mechanism and keep it from fully releasing. Of course that means a rebuild to replace the damn seal. Obviously this time I will not be using the cork. I also go as far as saying... I'm not as much a fan for "correct" as I used to be. There are plenty of things that were done a certain way because they just didn't have the technology/materials to do it a different way and that really needs to be taken into consideration during a full restoration. I'm not going to drop a SBC in the car but on my next restorations I will pay attention to situations where far superior materials/methods can be used that don't draw attention to themselves. On a more fun note... I managed to land multiple new (old) machines tools. A very generous individual made me a fantastic deal on a Van Norma No 12 Universal Milling Machine, Monarch 10EC turret lathe, Monarch 11 Jr lathe and various other machinist accessories. Pictured here is the Van Norman mill on the left (motor is on the table) and the Monarch 10EC on the right. The Monarch will need a rather significant restoration and has a fairly complicated analog control system. If I can get it running it should be amazing. When new these lathes held a tolerance of 30 millionths. While I was moving the machines in the MG had its day in the sun... just not the way it wanted. The parts for the rebuild should come in next week so it should be on the road very soon.

Over the last couple months I've filled out multiple online "get a quote" forms and never heard a thing. I called one of them and they said "oh, yeah, we don't know how to access that". I think this is typical. They buy a website, quote form is an option they select and then no one there understands how to access it on their end. Have you used adjustable reamers? I found a couple at one of my machine buys and grabbed them. I'm thinking about getting more to fill out the set. I just wonder if they're really accurate enough why don't I see them more. Seems like a great idea but maybe they don't really do the job.

Thanks Joe. I was never able to find clear evidence as to what was causing the leak. I had to approach it from the angle of where could oil come out. The potential leak sources were... 1) The welsh plug for access to the rear camshaft bearing. 2) Bronze plug screwed into an access hole for the oil rail. 3) Gasket between two halve of crank case notably around the rear main bearing. 4) The "modern" rear main seal kit. 5) The crankshaft flange and oil seal intersection. 6) Crankcase pressure. 7) Lack of drain path for oil back to pan. I approached each of these areas and did everything I could think of to verify they would not leak. I replaced the camshaft welsh plug including JB Weld on the inside edges and coated outside edges with JB Weld. I filled the bronze plug with Loctite "green" (the thread sealer for already assembled applications) and coated outside with JB Weld. To get that sealer down in the threads I stood the engine up on its "nose" and applied the thread sealer 4 times. I noted that the first two applications quickly wicked into the plug. In my mind this implied that it was not sealed. Could be that someone removed it and didn't put sealant on the threads when they put it back. I used gasket sealer on the crankcase gaskets, soaked the cork gasket and assembled in 3 steps letting each step set up. I set up the "modern" rear main seal kit again and went to ridiculous levels of precision to get it perfect. I went "machinist" on it. I'm probably one of few that managed to find the need for a dial indicator while installing a seal. Even though the crankshaft flange looked good and I had it polished I also installed a SKF speedi-sleeve which was as tedious as it was expensive. Verified positive crankcase ventilation. Several sites mentioned the long drain/return tube from the rear main bearing. The thought is that since it extends into the oil pan (below the oil level) it could impede flow. That seemed a bit silly but some were quick to point out that the MGA/MGB has the same tube and it was drastically shorter such that it didn't extend below the oil level. As such... I shortened the tube. I felt like I did everything I could do short of line boring the block, machining the "screw threads" off the crankshaft and installing a true split seal around the crankshaft. Had it still leaked that is exactly what I would have done. Others have had success with the rear main seal kit running on the crankshaft flange so I felt like if I addressed all the potential problems it would work fine. It appears to have done just that. In short... I was more careful this time, took extra time to understand how it all fit together and made sure it got done correctly.

Last night I got everything buttoned up and the engine back in the car. I chose to wait until this morning to start it because I was tired and didn't want to make any mistakes. This morning I went over my checklist and fired the car up... except it didn't start. Backfire out carbs. I double checked timing and spark plug order. Same thing. I Googled "carb back fire timing" and as I was reading an article I said to myself "rotate dizzy clockwise" and the article said counter-clockwise and I realized I forgot which order the silly dizzy rotates!!! Even with the ARROW on the the rotor showing the direction of rotation!! Swapped the spark plugs wires, she fired up immediately, set her at 2500 rpm and set a timer for 30 minutes. I had the valve cover off so I could verify all the pushrods (and thus tappets) happily rotating away. With that verified I put the cover back on and waited and waited trying not to look for the oil leak I knew was going to happen. It didn't, however, happen. 30 minutes passed and my very dirty shop floor was still dry. After another 30 minutes of it sitting there cooling down there was still no oil. I will put the car back together and do a road test which will be the deciding test. I really couldn't be any happier.

Wow that's a lot of work but the results certainly look worth the effort. I think I have to do a similar task on the Metz. I imagine I'll be referring to this thread over and over once I finally get back on the Metz. Really glad you're showing me the way.

I had to read that a couple of times to figure out how the green car got red *before* it got painted. lol, growing old is tough! I'm now twice as excited about this thread since we'll get to see two cars!

At the risk of insulting all the metal workers and machinists... if you're good at woodworking you'll probably find metal work easier. You'll need to get some specific tools and learn some techniques but metal work allow much more precision. If you can put a good finish on wood you know it is all prep... that's the same with metal. If you've got room you can do a full restoration. It is a wonderful looking car. Get it running and fix it piece by piece with the paint absolutely dead last. Run, stop, turn.

It really doesn't seem possible. Simply incredible!

Wow.. the oil pressure warning lamp burned out. Dang, that's just brutal. I would have never, ever thought to check something like that. Hopefully the "new" engine will have plenty more miles left on it. Also... wouldn't be surprised if that belt shredded because something else on the loop seized. I replaced a belt once only to find the reason it went bad was the water pump seized... fortunately I didn't get out of the driveway before I realized it.

Yep, it happens to everyone! I haven't reassembled the engine yet because I can't find why it was leaking. I'm an engineer and a software programmer with nearly 40 years experience over which I've learned that unless you really understand the problem you're wasting time trying to fix it. Eventually I'll have my hand forced and I'll need to put it back together but until then I'm exhausting all possibilities. I'll fix it though, I always do.

It is a good thought and I've been down that path looking for similar type issues. That cap looks to be solid but if you look closely you can see holes in it around the side. It vents a little too well and some oil does come out there under high rpm. The tappet cover below is also vented and has a tube that runs down to the bottom of the car. When driving the air going over it creates a bit of a vacuum and pulls vapor out. I do agree with your theory of pressure in the lower end as it definitely seems to leak in relation to rpm.

New distributor came Friday and I was able to get it hooked up and everything ready to break in the camshaft. That day came today and the engine fired up immediately and I got the break in completed. The engine ran fantastic and everything was wonderful except that... it still leaked oil. Now it leaks as it runs as well. I think the overall amount it leaks might be less but it is much more continuous and actively leaks while running. The current plan is to pull the engine back out, drain the fluids, remove the oil pan and inspect the oil seal. After taking a week to install this kit I think I know why some people love it and some people hate it. The seal kit includes a huge lip seal that rides around the crankshaft flange. It is held in place by a machined aluminum bracket of sorts. That's all fine. Mounting said bracket (it is two pieces) to the oil pain and main bearing casting is sketchy at best. Neither is a machined surface and neither is necessarily perpendicular to the crankshaft. As such the seal might not be perpendicular to the flange. I believe this is why some people have great results with the kit and others (like me) find it is worse. When I get it back apart and inspect it I imagine I will find nothing wrong which means the lip seal isn't able to make a good seal on the crankcase flange thus this "better seal" is actually worse. If that's the case I'll take it off and put the old style seal back on. There's a chance it is leaking elsewhere around the bracket and if that's the case I'll fix that and give it another try. Unfortunately taking the engine out and putting it back in isn't as easy as one would hope. There are several access issues that are a real pain.

Congrats Chris, that's fantastic!! I was going to retire end of this year but market isn't cooperating. It isn't the worst news and I'll probably cut down on the hours so will have more time next year. The car is really coming together, looks great!

Outstanding!! All of the car looks fantastic and the paint looks perfect! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see more pictures of the restoration over the years. Can't have too many pictures.

Engine out and bell housing (gearbox included), clutch/pressure plate and oil pan off. Engine is back on the stand and I've located the gear. I've also discovered what happened. When I put the oil pan on before I forgot that the flywheel has to go on first. I didn't discover this until I was ready to install the gearbox and thus I had already put the distributor in and static timed it. To get the oil pan off I rotated the engine upside down and, apparently, the advance weights came loose and managed to lock the distributor. When I rotated the crank around and around to check clearance between the new oil seal and flywheel the gear turned but the dizzy didn't and sheared off the pin. It also managed to destroy one of the advance weights. As such... I have to either buy parts of eBay and rebuild the distributor, buy a new "points style" distributor or buy an electronic distributor. I'm leaning heavily towards getting an electronic distributor and the CSI model is the one I'm looking at. I should be able to get this done for around $500 and it would be a fairly significant upgrade to the engine and remove the points maintenance for the next owner. Of course now I'm back to waiting on parts instead of getting this engine broken in and the car sold. Rats. I'll add that the good news from the day is I managed to not break anything else getting to this point...

So this afternoon was the time!! I cranked the engine over to get oil pressure before installing the tappets and lifters. While doing so I noticed the distributor was not spinning. Not a good sign. I removed the distributor to find the gear had separated from the shaft and was sitting on top of the camshaft. Not thinking clearly I tried to grab it with a screwdriver and knocked it down into the oil pan. I haven't been more mad in several years. I tried finding it with an endoscopy camera and fishing it out with a flexible magnetic grabber but have not been able to get it. I think the gear was broken off the shaft when I was turning the engine over to check for clearance of the flywheel bolts and the new rear oil seal. I believe something was holding the top of the distributor and when the camshaft turned the gear it sheared the pin holding it in place. Not a big deal if I hadn't knocked the gear into the oil pan. Tomorrow I will remove then engine and drain the oil. I will use the endoscopy camera to look in the pan via the drain plug and see if I can locate the gear. If I get lucky I might be able to fish it out once I understand where it is. If not... gearbox, bell housing and oil pan all come back off.

Slightly off topic... is the vertical head on your mill fixed, ie; is it fixed in Z direction? If so, how do you find moving the knee works for that? Having never done this myself it seems like it would be a big pain. I ask because I'm considering adding a vertical head to my Hendey horizontal and I'm wondering if it would be worth the considerable extra effort to have it have a Z axis capability. My guess is that using the knee for vertical operations becomes second nature and isn't a big deal.

Engine is back in the car! I'll hook up the bare minimum to do the cam break-in. Once that is complete I'll do the rest and drive it to seat the rings. If things go really smooth I might get that done this weekend.

Engine back together and just about ready to go back into car. I plan to spin it over without tappets until the oil pressure is up. I static set the timing and it should be close enough to run and break in the cam. The carbs haven't been touched so they should still be set correctly. I'll verify spark, add the tappets/lifters and set the valve lash a bit conservative. Hopefully it'll start right up and I'll increase the RPM to about 2500. I'll need to verify the tappets are spinning and adjust if needed. 30 minutes of that and the cam should be broken in. Once that is complete I'll put the interior and such back in and go for a drive to seat the rings. Not really sure when I'll get a chance to do all of this but I at least have it ready to go.

WOW... are those all your cars? That's an incredible collection.

Rebuild has started. New camshaft in and modern oil seal conversion kit installed. I replaced the rings and had the cylinders honed as well. I figured if I was taking it apart I might as well do it all.

Yes and I used assembly lube and all the fixings. Going back through some pictures it looks like the lobe was probably already worn and my engine guy didn't catch it. He should have caught that but it was my responsibility to check it as well and, really, I never even thought to measure the camshaft. I'll measure the next one.

I took the engine and broke it down to have a look. I didn't really find a smoking gun. One thing I did find was the camshaft had at least two lobes that were worn. I had it inspected and polished when I rebuilt the engine so it is a mystery as to what happened. I suspected a problem when I was setting the valve lash but since the engine ran great I ignored it. Once I had to tear it down to investigate the oil leak I decided it would be smart to pull the cam and take a look at it. I ordered a new cam/tappets/lifters along with the "modern" rear main oil seal kit. I will start putting the engine back together soon, hopefully this weekend.

Yeah the dream is to be retired and be able to do this 8 hours a day without interruption. Like yourself, when I get out to the garage a good chunk of my time is spent trying to remember what it was I was doing the last time I was out there. Learning a skill and keeping it fresh is nearly impossibly with just a few hours separated by a week or more.

OUSTANDING!! Do you videos of the process? Maybe a webpage?