I’ll check which ones and let you know Sam.

Well the last two days were very productive. With the cam issues I decided to remove the cam covers as was not convinced by the problems encountered. To cut a long story short I was either tired or I failed to check the contents of each box but I had the cams in the wrong position on the front bank. After checking each set and happy with layout I rebuilt the cam carriers. I can honestly say that the cam belt service is probably the worst I have done. Not user friendly, the secondary set-up is a right pita. I would go to say it would be easier with the engine out. It is now slowly going back together. Cranked it over by hand, no dramas and everything lined up again. Just a case of trying to torque the crank pulley bolt up with no flywheel locking pin. Even in gear and wheels chocked I can still move the car! Guess it’ll have to wait until the brakes have been bled then get a helper to stand on them. Now to get the fuel filter changed, tidy up the loom then rebuild the manifolds and plenum.

well done, getting there.

Bet the first start up will be exciting.

Short lived excitement. Informed today by pure chance that the cam seals fitted are incorrect. Apparently they have changed and it appears I have to strip it all down and refit them in the opposite ends. Or should I say wait for replacements and fit them. So totally effed off and lost interest. Felt like scrapping it after hearing that. Going to leave it alone for a while.

Disappointing, but keep at it, put it down to hands on learning.

Sounds a complicated engine, thats why I enjoyed working on the BMC "A" and "B" engines in my midgets and MGB GT's. Also easy to take out and put back in. Still thats progress I suppose.

:):):)

Decided to carry on with the rebuild. Can’t see what affect the seal design will have on the current usage. It’s only a tiny design feature so will see how it fares.

Plenum on and off a few times due to routing of pipes and access.

Fresh oil, fuel pump relay removed and it actually cranked over! Oil light out, coolant filled up. Tried starting it, it really struggled, igniting down the exhaust. Finally started once the fuel filled up the filter and pipework. It ran rough, 4 or 5 cylinders. Left it to dry out, front bank plugs were wet. Not sure on the HT leads as the fit is different With the new plugs. The HT leads on the old plugs were snug to the cam cover aperture, now it sits proud so dirt ingress easier down the plug hole.

Try again another day, getting there.

Its all progress though Stanford :) Even if it is slow, you are still moving forward each time you do something on the car.

I tell myself the same thing, my back has been playing up (lack of excersize during lockdown and sitting at a desk all day doesn't help) so can only manage short durations working on a car, but each time it is moving forward towards the goal :)

It will all be worth it in the end, when you finally get the car back on the road and drive her again :)

Cheers Sam.

Well......I was browsing through my photo archive and was looking through the MG ZS folders. Saw an old engine shot. I had a closer look as was curious as to why my HT leads didn't fit as before. They were fitted 1,3,5 order as the leads were numbered.

Noticed that the leads were not fitted in number order. So checked a photo from 5 years ago, same layout. So I swapped two leads about and now it breaths on all 6! Woo hoo! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Seems the loom is not right and the coil packs and injectors don't align with their cylinder number. Must have been a Friday afternoon build! Thank f@@# for that!

Good result, and even better a cheap fix.

:):):)

Thats good news :)

And you are welcome, however I am now having to tell myself the same thing (check out my new thread!) as it is so easy to loose focus and enthusiasm for an old car when these things try us. But Like I said, small steps forward, it will be worth it in the end! :)