Midget cylinder head question.........

[andrewws]

I have recently purchased a RWA midget 1974, I need to know if it has been modified for unleaded. I believe the head is non standard, as the rockers seem to be machined in steel and not cast like I have experienced on these engines before (1275). Does anyone out there have experience of this, and could I tell from removing the head and looking?

Any advice/thoughts?

[MGJohn]

andrewws said:

I have recently purchased a RWA midget 1974, I need to know if it has been modified for unleaded. I believe the head is non standard, as the rockers seem to be machined in steel and not cast like I have experienced on these engines before (1275). Does anyone out there have experience of this, and could I tell from removing the head and looking?

Any advice/thoughts?

Some thoughts for you

1275 assumes A-Series engine. To save any worries, fit the cylinder head from any A-Series late Metro or Maestro ~ an MG Metro head could be picked up for about £20 ~ £25 5-10 years ago in local yards ~ remove it yourself ~ but they're rare in yards now. Some owners did just that when 4* fuel was phased out about ten years ago. The head you have sounds like a later one from what you describe. In fact, many A-Series heads were engineered for the U/L fuel even though 4* was recommended for them ~ because where these cars were sold in areas where low grade fuels were the only ones available, there was little point in manufacturing two different types of cylinder head.

It may be possible to identify your head from casting marks on it. If not already done so, suggest you post yopur query on the MGCars BBS here ~ more specifically the Midget forum :~

http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgb...

Wealth of knowledge there ..

HTH...

[perdu]

For identification purposes most Metro heads don't have bypass hose attachments by the thermostat housing (no by pass on Metros at all, they use a two pient stat coupling with its own by-pass outlet) and the Metro water pump doesnt have a vertical outlet up into the head there either

My Midget has an MG Metro head and water pump (for the unleaded head approach, you need a Metro that had the later high fuel filler point on the body to be sure of accepting u/l fuel though. Early, low filler caps cars are probably still unmodified for u/l, the changeover came at about the same time.

I'm sorry my picture isnt very clear but if you look at the water pump you can see a blanked off piece of casting and the lack of a corresponding spigot under the stat housing shows the "no hose point" look of the head

even without a bypass I dont get overheating, even at 34/35º in Le Mans

I do have a 1/8" hole in the thermostat (drilled as a "just - in- case" measure)



and yes, do come and visit us in the Midget and Sprite section of the MGE BBS

we love to help

[andrewws]

Thank you both for your help, much more helpfull than the Porsche forum!! My midget has gone in for a complete respray, so I will look at the head when it returns. The MG BBS forum looks very informative thanks, I will bookmark it as having just taken on a midget restoration questions are many. Have just spent a happy few weeks replacing filler with metal!!!

[perdu]

andrewws said:

Thank you both for your help, much more helpfull than the Porsche forum!! My midget has gone in for a complete respray, so I will look at the head when it returns. The MG BBS forum looks very informative thanks, I will bookmark it as having just taken on a midget restoration questions are many. Have just spent a happy few weeks replacing filler with metal!!!

some day I'll tell you about my happy years replacing busted up delaminating Arkley fibreglass body work with good old fashioned steel from a mk 3 Sprite

(years, 'cos I wasnt in a hurry)

very satisfying to do it all myself too

[Mr2Mike]

andrewws said:

the rockers seem to be machined in steel and not cast like I have experienced on these engines before (1275).

The rockers will be either pressed steel (all A series apart from Cooper s), forged steel on Cooper S or sintered metal ones on the A+ engines. Sounds like you are describing the sintered metal ones as they have the kind of shape you might expect from something milled from billet.