Engine overhaul cont.

This weekend I was able to continue with the assembly of Mildred’s (the 1973 MGB GT) 18V571 engine. As written before – I wanted to clean up the engine and have it back in running condition – just in case that there is a bigger issue with Maggie’s (my 1967 GT) 18GB engine. Maggie is in at GB Classic in Cologne but after two weeks I still haven’t gotten any update them. Thankfully, there is also no urgency.

In the end the “clean up” went a bit further than anticipated. While the chain, the cam sprocket and crankshaft gear looked good – the chain tensioner needed to be replaced. Maybe, I should have spent the additional 50€ for all parts. On my next trip to the UK in December I will bring them along – just to have them available for next year.
I cleaned the old oil pump but ended up fitting a new uprated one. All gaskets were fitting with Dirko HT silicon sealant.

As a new oil pressure relief valve doesn’t cost much, I will order a new one along with a few missing bolts and gaskets. The flywheel could look better – I will bring this to a machine shop tomorrow and ask them if it can be resurfaced. While I do have a new Bork & Beck clutch kit in my spares already – I believe the one in the Mildred was changed not too long ago. The release bearing looks good, and the surface of the clutch plate does not have the same marks that can be seen on the flywheel.

The sump and timing chain cover both had really bad surface rust – but fortunately no holes and I hope that the cleanup, rust converter and paint will protect them good enough for a few more year. I also used the dry weather this weekend to clean and paint the roll-over jig. This will be upgraded to 20cm castors, and I will add a bar that allows connecting both sides – to allow better stability when moving the mounted bodyshell. Talking about the body work on both MGB GT shells. The start on project “Molly” (the 1970 shell I bought as replacement last year) has again been postponed. I hope that the start date by the end of November will work out – a year delay now…

And after placing the engine back on the small wooden pallet – I decided to build a small test stand that also allows easy storage of the assembled engine. More on this soon.