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King Tri metal Bearing

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Hap Waldrop

Hap Waldrop

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King tri metal bearing have long been available the US for many of our engine, but not all of our engines. So if you wanted tri metal bearing for your MGA, MGB 3 main engine, rod bearing for example were only avaialble thru a few over jealous vendors, and did they ever see us coming, charging often times well over $100+ a set for King, or NOS Vandervell bearings. Well those days are over my friends. being a technical advisor to Moss Motors, I was asked what should they should stock, they don't stock, and one of my responses was tri metal bearign, so now Moss Motors, and Moss Motor distributors like myself can offer King tri metal bearing for many engine where no reasonable price offering were offered, for example MGB 3 main tri metal rod bearing for under $50, also other hard to get offerings like MG 198/948, big Triumph, big Healey are now readily avaialable in tri metal bearing for very reasonable pricing.



Warning: for you all out there trying to source NOS Vandervell tri metal bearing, often times thess bearings have not been made for a couple of decades at minimum, and command a premium price, be VERY AWARE, that many of these old Vandervell tri metal bearing are shelf aged out, and the top lead shell has started to discolor, delaminate, rendering them uselss, if you see discoration and flaking on the face of a NOS Vandervell tri metal bearings, I would highly advise you to not to use them in your engine. Be very aware these bearings are often offered on Ebay and by some NOS offering vendors, if you see this, know these bearing showing these conditions, they cannot be trusted.


Hope this helps.
 
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Hap is amazing and creative in many ways, spelling included. :jester:
 
Hap Waldrop said:
LOL, Peter, you know me by now :smile: sorry I get in a hurry sometimes.
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I'm serious! My computer woulda been beeping and honking and the screen looking like a road full of worms after a spring rain!

Besides, you're dissing all my NOS Vandervell.

Peter (I use Kings too)
 
PeterC said:
I'm serious! My computer woulda been beeping and honking and the screen looking like a road full of worms after a spring rain!

Besides, you're dissing all my NOS Vandervell.

Peter (I use Kings too)
Click to expand...

Well as you know Peter, not all NOS Vandervell bearings are trash, and I think I did a fairly good job of alerting people what to look for. After buying several sets of NOS Vandervell bearings from a vendor, and paying a premium price for them and not being able to use them, needless to say I will not use that vendor ever again. I recently bought three sets of Vandervell VP2 bearing out of Ebay UK, two were good, one was junk, I could only wish my odds with other vendor were as good. Peter, I'm sure you know this problem exist and being the good vendors you are, would not sell the above described bearingd to anyone.


Here's a couple of example of some NOS Vandervell that are IMHO, not usealbe, you can see the separation of the top layer at the oil holes, and even copper showing in one, and one bearing where the top layer was missing on the edges and and in all cases you could feel with your fingertip, I don't consider a discoloration you cannot feel with your finger a issue.





Pictures 920.jpg


Pictures 920.jpg


Pictures 921.jpg
 
His brain is too fast for his hands!

Or do I have that the wrong way around? :jester:


I'm happy that you and Moss are still talking.
 
I have to be honest. I'm pretty sure all of my recent bearing purchases have been bi-metal. Mostly as a matter of convenience plus I did not know any better.

I will buy the tri-metal bearings from now on, but to tell the truth, I wasn't having any real problem with the cheaper bearings.
I change oil and filter every event (about 3 to 4 hours of running time) and inspect mains after every season. While I'm doing that inspection, I always swap out rod bearings (this was really "key" with my old 1500 but I don't it hurts my 1275 either).
 
AE/Glyco makes a heavy duty tri-metal bearing that I’ve use in the past with excellent results. Part# Rods [FONT=myriad_proregular]AEB572., Mains# [/FONT]AEM91120. for A type engines
 
OK, I'll ask the question: what is the advantage of the tri-metal bearings? A simple bearing has a layer of soft metal, AKA babbitt, on a steel backing. If you put something under that layer, how does it have any effect?

Inquiring minds want to know.....
 
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