Discussion
ker.If you need to know something about MGs there are people on here who may be able to help, and in one case I can say will be pleased to help
pretty much any Octagonal question is answered in the archives here. There are also helpful owners on the live BBS.
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/index.html
Other models are available
Edit, If it is a K sereis engined car the head gasket is now well understood. £300 will see you sorted all data available above or at the MGCC F Register forum. This does give a man maths chance to get a gas flowed big valve head so you can get to the essential 190BHP these engines can relaibly and easily produce.
pretty much any Octagonal question is answered in the archives here. There are also helpful owners on the live BBS.
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/index.html
Other models are available
Edit, If it is a K sereis engined car the head gasket is now well understood. £300 will see you sorted all data available above or at the MGCC F Register forum. This does give a man maths chance to get a gas flowed big valve head so you can get to the essential 190BHP these engines can relaibly and easily produce.
Edited by SMGB on Thursday 22 November 08:30
SMGB said:
If you need to know something about MGs there are people on here who may be able to help, and in one case I can say will be pleased to help
pretty much any Octagonal question is answered in the archives here. There are also helpful owners on the live BBS.
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/index.html
Other models are available
Edit, If it is a K sereis engined car the head gasket is now well understood. £300 will see you sorted all data available above or at the MGCC F Register forum. This does give a man maths chance to get a gas flowed big valve head so you can get to the essential 190BHP these engines can relaibly and easily produce.
Not that simple - believe me, I know. If you want 160-180bhp from a standard (143bhp) VVC, you will need new pistons, otherwise there's a real chance the standard ones will fail. To fit new pistons means a bottom end rebuild (if it's to last) - you need to add that to the cost of the top end rebuild. If you want a 'real' 190bhp figure, that'll cost a lot more. Even early Trophy 160's had only standard pistons, and these are only good for 160bhp max (according to Dave Andrews).pretty much any Octagonal question is answered in the archives here. There are also helpful owners on the live BBS.
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/index.html
Other models are available
Edit, If it is a K sereis engined car the head gasket is now well understood. £300 will see you sorted all data available above or at the MGCC F Register forum. This does give a man maths chance to get a gas flowed big valve head so you can get to the essential 190BHP these engines can relaibly and easily produce.
Edited by SMGB on Thursday 22 November 08:30
It is a slippery slope and real money sink. Again, I know (just bought a brand new 160VVC complete head for Hellier to work on, and also Omega forged pistons for a bottom end rebuild and balancing - this will give between 175-180bhp - about the limit for the VVC head with VVC mechanisms in place)
of course, you will need to give the suspension and cooling system a complete overhaul first - no good spending all that money on power if half the pipes are almost perished and you have crappy handling...
Not for the first time have I been asked about that. I bought my first MG nearly fifty years ago now, an MGB tourer... can still remember the registration number... 210 FBD.
I then became known as John with the MGB within my large circle of car and motor cycle mad friends. That became MGJohn .... for a period about twenty odd years ago, with several Montegos including a fine low mileage MG Montego turbo which I still have, I was known by neighbours as 'Montego Man'...
Rather that than Mondeo man ...
Since those now faraway days, always had one or more MGs about the place.
//
As Professor Stanley Unwin would have it ...
All Clear Now..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWOTpeBVML8
I then became known as John with the MGB within my large circle of car and motor cycle mad friends. That became MGJohn .... for a period about twenty odd years ago, with several Montegos including a fine low mileage MG Montego turbo which I still have, I was known by neighbours as 'Montego Man'...
Rather that than Mondeo man ...
Since those now faraway days, always had one or more MGs about the place.
//
As Professor Stanley Unwin would have it ...
All Clear Now..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWOTpeBVML8
RealSquirrels said:
.
I'll give you 12/7 odds that he owns MGs.
.
I'll take those odds. Love betting on a certainty ... I'll give you 12/7 odds that he owns MGs.
.
BTW, none of the K-Series cars bought new in my family have had so called Cylinder Head Gasket FAILURES. None... repeat NONE!
Yeah I know, we've been lucky!
In the interests of balance and fairness ...
Other Marques are available with serious problems including Cylinder Head Gasket damage issues...
C-W ...
Recognise this ?
Now you know ...
RED ALERT..
Practice 1 about to start on Freeview Channel 301
Finally, provided no serious damage has been done to the engine following overheating from coolant loss, replacing the Cylinder Head Gasket on the four Cylinder K-Series engines is an inexpensive doddle.
Widely known as "A nice little earner" in the trade.
Yes, I say that speaking as a mere enthusiastic amateur DIY spanner twirler with limited resources who has replaced half a dozen of these gaskets on various MG and Rover K-Series.
many thousands of miles later, so far not one of those I renewed has suffered a repeat "They all do that" so called failure. They rarely actually fail on ANY car. Invariably they are first damaged by some other agency such as coolant loss leading to engine overheating.
I'll say no more as I'd hate to further undermine the "They all do that" widespread 'myth' which so many PHers like to remind us about so frequently... why spoil their fun!
More seriously, those friends and relatives cars which I have renewed the CHG on I was able to identify the reason for the coolant loss. In most cases loss was via a worn Water Pump leading to overheating damaging the gasket so it could no longer do the job designed to do. The other single instance was a friend's car which he had the top coolant hose replaced on his car during a routine service. Whoever did that job was the real failure. They failed to seat the Coolant Elbow correctly which the hose attaches too which allowed coolant to escape at higher Motorway speeds. Coolant reaches critical low level and then, guess what happens ...
Altogether now.....
THEY ALL DO THAT !!!
Widely known as "A nice little earner" in the trade.
Yes, I say that speaking as a mere enthusiastic amateur DIY spanner twirler with limited resources who has replaced half a dozen of these gaskets on various MG and Rover K-Series.
many thousands of miles later, so far not one of those I renewed has suffered a repeat "They all do that" so called failure. They rarely actually fail on ANY car. Invariably they are first damaged by some other agency such as coolant loss leading to engine overheating.
I'll say no more as I'd hate to further undermine the "They all do that" widespread 'myth' which so many PHers like to remind us about so frequently... why spoil their fun!
More seriously, those friends and relatives cars which I have renewed the CHG on I was able to identify the reason for the coolant loss. In most cases loss was via a worn Water Pump leading to overheating damaging the gasket so it could no longer do the job designed to do. The other single instance was a friend's car which he had the top coolant hose replaced on his car during a routine service. Whoever did that job was the real failure. They failed to seat the Coolant Elbow correctly which the hose attaches too which allowed coolant to escape at higher Motorway speeds. Coolant reaches critical low level and then, guess what happens ...
Altogether now.....
THEY ALL DO THAT !!!
MGJohn said:
I'll take those odds. Love betting on a certainty ...
BTW, none of the K-Series cars bought new in my family have had so called Cylinder Head Gasket FAILURES. None... repeat NONE!
Yeah I know, we've been lucky!
In the interests of balance and fairness ...
Other Marques are available with serious problems including Cylinder Head Gasket damage issues...
C-W ...
Recognise this ?
Now you know ...
RED ALERT..
Practice 1 about to start on Freeview Channel 301
I was gonna ask if that was you! (don't want wife to know yet, because I also bought this, along with Omega forged pistons...)BTW, none of the K-Series cars bought new in my family have had so called Cylinder Head Gasket FAILURES. None... repeat NONE!
Yeah I know, we've been lucky!
In the interests of balance and fairness ...
Other Marques are available with serious problems including Cylinder Head Gasket damage issues...
C-W ...
Recognise this ?
Now you know ...
RED ALERT..
Practice 1 about to start on Freeview Channel 301
It's all going to Hellier to be ported/polished and a bottom end rebuild.
I have bought some new injectors for that unit I bought from you, and can send that off, along with the new head while still using the MGF. Hope it all works! lol
Out of interest, how good are you with gearboxes? I ask because sometime next year, I intend to buy a Quaife CR gear set........
chris watton said:
I was gonna ask if that was you! (don't want wife to know yet, because I also bought this, along with Omega forged pistons...)
I'm not telling ... Hey "neighbour" ~ must get together some time.
Good luck with the project.
EDIT to add @ 12:24 ~ still have one eye on TV Practice coverage...
Just spotted your Gearbox plans.
Gearboxes ~ Love working on Rover and MG PG1s. Search over on .org for my various illustrated "how" to on the PG1 and TorSen Differentials.
Edited by MGJohn on Friday 23 November 12:24
MGJohn said:
chris watton said:
I was gonna ask if that was you! (don't want wife to know yet, because I also bought this, along with Omega forged pistons...)
I'm not telling ... Hey "neighbour" ~ must get together some time.
Good luck with the project.
EDIT to add @ 12:24 ~ still have one eye on TV Practice coverage...
Just spotted your Gearbox plans.
Gearboxes ~ Love working on Rover and MG PG1s. Search over on .org for my various illustrated "how" to on the PG1 and TorSen Differentials.
Edited by MGJohn on Friday 23 November 12:24
chris watton said:
I already have the excellent Quaife LSD fitted in the gearbox, but I also want the Quaife CR gear set, so the car will essentially have a new very strong engine and equally strong gearbox.
Nice one. Someone who used to race a 300bhp Maestro Turbo had a quaife diff/box set in his PG1, felt Rover's own TorSen B Differential fitted to Turbo Rovers was just as good.Quaife's more expensive. Someone told me Rover's TorSens were made by quaife ... dunno if true or not..
Courier just picked up the manifold. Expect it sometime next week he reckons.
By the way, when fitting those Quaife gear clusters, take the opportunity to have these 14-Ball steel caged differential Bearings fitted. I fitted some to several PG1s and bullet proof reliability :~
OE 9-Ball Bearings with nylon ball cages were prone to break up on standard unmodified cars if the lubricant was allowed to run low via worn or damaged seals. Differential seals easily damaged by hasty driveshaft removal when renewing CV-Joint Boots or Clutches. Like this so your balls are not contained or spaced equi-distant ...
No good at all with 200bhp plus through the gears! Bought that car with known gearbox issues. Found a chitty under the driver's seat from Santa Pod showing a half decent standing 1/4 mile time! All that with less than an eggcup full of lubricant in the box rather than the recommended 2.2 litres of MTF 94!
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