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MGB Idaho motors

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WillR

WillR

Jedi Warrior
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I opted for cheaper but not cheapest. cant complain to much. There was a puddle of oil on the boot and splatters all over the rest of the paint i have not been able to wash off but as you can see shes not the prettiest example out there to start with. That radiator was running fine last time she ran though it may fall in to a "might as well"

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This was my first batch ever of ATF and acetone. Poured a bit over the exhaust manifold and left it while I made a fool of myself on the "propshaft" by the time I came back to the exhaust I was able to turn nuts and bolts that were beginning to strip yesterday. This site got me to move from wd 40 to Pb blaster and now to this. If you haven't tried it yet... DO IT! The manifold leaked so bad you would get out of the car smelling like you spent the day at a classic snowmobile race. When i first got the car I tried to fill all the cracks around the cat with JB. Never worked to well. Prompting me to look in to a header. Now Im calling all the junk yards in my area looking for a pre 74. Alas all MGs have been removed from even the junkyards around here.
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Good to see you've got it close to hand finally. The fun starts now.
 
Be gentle, this is all new to me. A guy Im doing some work for close to my house has a brother who owns a machine shop a few houses down from him. I though "perfect" As i need to resurface for the head gasket. He claims to be familiar with our motors. So here I sit, torn with the decision to throw it back together with enough attention to make it a great runner... Or go to town. I have lofty dreams of having my tach (when i get that bugger sorted out) fly by the red line. However my knowledge of what is really needed to the full extent to safely raise the redline is limited to heavier springs and change the lifters and pushrods.
I have about 80 to 90xxx miles on my motor. How long are those parts good for? Is it something i should be doing anyway at this step? Id like to raise my compression. I feel more confident about that decision as I could have him shave it as he is prepping for the head-gasket or switch to shallow dish instead of deep dish. The goal being still able to run pump gas just a higher number then Im running (or ran) now.
Funds are not unlimited however I have no real rush to get it done. Id like to be driving by sept. Are their articles some one could point me to detailing everything needed to raise the redline I could read a few times as my skull can be a bit thick at times after the poundings my head has absorbed over time?
 
Here's what I've learned from my somewhat limited experience plus lots of conversations with Hap at ACME Speed Shop and others here:

There's an engine refresh, a standard rebuild, and a performance build. Refresh is do what you have to to make it run reasonably well -- so you address any particular issues you have and get on driving. There's a standard rebuild, more comprehensive but basically just sorting out worn bits.

Then there's a performance build.

To do the performance build you need to think about every part of the engine. What are your performance goals? How streetable do you want it to be? Much more complicated than just raise the redline or bump up the compression. You really need to know *exactly* what condition your current motor is in, so you can do the calculations to get all your variables to where they need to be for your desired outcomes. This is good fun, but not cheap. This is what I did when I did my last Bugeye motor -- Hap and I had a couple long discussions about what I intended for an outcome, and that drove a number of different parts decisions. After that discussion I went on to spend a bunch of money. Well worth it and I will do it again, but in no way cheap.

So my recommendation is that if you want to be driving in September and funds are a factor, just do a basic rebuild/refresh as necessary right now. Get that car driving! You can always source another block and plan out a fun performance build later. Plenty of MGB engines around -- heck, even I've got a spare MGB engine and I don't even have an MGB anymore. :grin:
 
If looking to performance enhancement, its all-of-a-piece. Every part has an effect on the overall. And that's when ya need cubic dollars.

A big help in making it perform a bit better as-is, is to cc the chambers and do some port cleaning/matching. An exhaust header is also worthwhile.
 
we are just north of Idaho Falls in a town called Rexburg. The way I hear it, we have another member here settling in to Twin Falls about four hrs from me. With those names you would think we lived in a state full of rivers and green everywhere you looked. Lots of rock and some pasture, but thats about it. Post falls is almost in another world. We are south east Idaho. I hear up that way is very pretty.
I was planning on attacking intake and exhaust with a dremel for hrs and hrs and finding an early exhaust manifold to have ceramic coated. would it be better to find pick up a header instead? Doc i thought you were kinda anti headers sense Hooker stopped making them for MGB years ago.
I guess my long term goal is to have the tough B motor Iv come to know. Some town driving with plenty of highway (70 mph around here) with plenty of trips to utah (85 +) and hopefully many longer trips to. Occasionally some canyons when im in the mountains. I thought a higher redline would let me feel comfortable pulling 90 for hrs on end. That and really wanting to see the needle pass the redline was all my motivation.
When I first got my car one or two of the exhaust lobs on my cam were worn off completely. At best she was sluggish so a happy stock motor would be a nice increase. Sense i need a new cam I thought "why not a hotter cam?" Though im getting mixed reviews. Some people say you can feel a difference and its really worth it. Others things I read are saying unless its in conjunction with a whole set of other parts, dont bother. 90% of my driving will be higher RPM. I still have time to make a decision. Thanks for keeping me grounded here.
 
Thank you Doc. Ill keep an eye out for his books. At this point in the hobby I have a lot to learn.
 
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Well I wonder why I always smelled like burnt gas? :smile: That crack is right next to where it would hook up to the cat.
In the 2 picture you can see my 2 and 3 cylinders are a bit to white. Lots of white flakes on the valves in the same cylinders. I could not see any obvious place the head gasket failed.
What worries me is the shape of the third piston. That does not look healthy.
 
Just a WAG, Will, but I'm bettin' your number three piston is now a candidate to become an ashtray.
 
Yeah, here i was hoping to sneak by with out getting them. oh well. Stay positive, now i can get that extra bit o'power from boring it out.
 
I'd suggest this: pull the engine apart and see what you've got. You might find that some things are in remarkably good shape, others need attention. When I took apart my TD engine, it was clear that the upper end was in great shape, good compressions, the cylinders were perfect within a half mil, and so on. The bottom end was a mess though, and it needed a new camshaft. So, I did a stock repair, not really a rebuild. I think that your choice of how to approach things should depend on what you have to work with. Especially if you are on a budget.

Same story for other parts. You don't need to do a tear-down restoration, but you want things to be in good enough shape so you can enjoy the car.

Also, realize that there are a lot of options for parts, not just Moss and Victoria British. British Parts Northwest has lots of MGB parts at good prices and plenty of parts are available on eBay. You have to be careful of eBay, as people try to sell things for stupid prices, but with some care you should be able to exploit it well. There are also a lot of specialty places that can be very helpful.
 
:confused: How would I go about getting the head bolts out of the block?
 
Assuming you mean the head studs, there are special tools to back them out, but most folks I know just use the 2-nut method. Put two nuts on the end of the stud and tighten them together. Put your wrench on the lower nut and it should unscrew the stud.
 
The last picture i uploaded featured my piston. In the bottom left corner you see a stud. It is in my block and went through the head so I assumed. I dont see any threads on the bottom of them. Should i put the head back on and pull them through with the 2 nut method? Thanks for the response Drew.
 
WillR said:
The last picture i uploaded featured my piston. In the bottom left corner you see a stud. It is in my block and went through the head so I assumed. I dont see any threads on the bottom of them. Should i put the head back on and pull them through with the 2 nut method? Thanks for the response Drew.
Click to expand...

Don't have to put the head back on. Just put the 2 nuts on the threads at the top of the stud and it should come right out.
 
Ah I understand now. I spent the day digging in the sun and read that just as I came in. Perfect, thanks for the help.
 
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