What to do next? - Page 4

ZS · 18-09-12, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattie007

Yeh sorry, I should move up there! My mates in Perth atm, I should of tagged along but not sure what his misses would say on there honeymoon! Lol
I'm gona run the car for a few weeks, see how it goes then decide what to do.

Mattie,

If your down Hampshire way at all, drop in one weekend and I'll take a look

have rebuilt a few 1.8K's now and have a whole stash of parts in the garage (not sure about the lower part of the engine... but you never know... Worst case you'll have a second opinion

Slipping though... sounds like clutch?

Fred68 · 18-09-12, 03:42 PM

It's been a long time since I've had the cam pulley off the crank but if it's a D flat that has worn then it's not the end of the world to fix! The crank needs to be locked in the correct place and the cams timed up and locked with the belt tight at the front. Then when everything in the correct place you need to drill the pulley and crank to take a dowel. It's not difficult to do tbh. Good luck with getting it sorted

mattie007 · 18-09-12, 10:31 PM

Thanks for the help and kind offers, one reason I don't want to stray from the MG community.
Took it on its first 'long' run tonight, around 80 miles and it's dangerous to drive to be honest. Below 3.5k revs in any gear it just doesn't want to accelerate. Above that it flies, feels better than it ever has. Such a predicament as I'm tempted to strip for parts, on the other hand it could be a simple fix. Either way it's not going back to that garage.
I simply can't throw any more money at it, but I need a car for my job.
To add some perspective I used to be able to cruise at 55 in 5th. Now I have to use 3rd. If I use 5th the car slows down, 4th it feels lumpy and in 3rd gear it's revving high but at least it pulls

Ritchy · 18-09-12, 10:35 PM

my bad pete, cant remember the last time i had one off, either way should be fixable

Nobrainer · 18-09-12, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZS

Mattie,

If your down Hampshire way at all, drop in one weekend and I'll take a look

have rebuilt a few 1.8K's now and have a whole stash of parts in the garage (not sure about the lower part of the engine... but you never know... Worst case you'll have a second opinion

Slipping though... sounds like clutch?

I have the lower part if your looking to complete your collection?

petet16 · 19-09-12, 07:19 AM

As I see it Mattie you've got a few choices, you could break it for parts, or source a better secondhand engine, then sell off the bits of your old engine which are useable, you can't really leave it as it is because how long could you put up with driving it like that.

Freds idea of drilling the timing cog and crank for a dowel would work, but would be difficult to do in situ.

Also, I don't think your being very fair to the garage by saying that it's not going back there, from reading your earlier posts it strikes me that they correctly diagnosed the problem and offered you the solution to that problem, you were unable or unwilling to pay that kind of money, so they put the engine back together as they found it, which is why it still has the same problem, but what other choice did they have, they can't work miracles, or fix the unfixable, I'm sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but it sounds like they did as much as they could under the circumstances.

ZS · 19-09-12, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nobrainer

I have the lower part if your looking to complete your collection?

IIRC Nobrainer's engine has head problems... and yours has crank problems...

The VVC 1.8 and the 120 1.8 engines share the same block...

So... it sounds like a fix it meet to combine the two into one decent working engine...

mattie007 · 19-09-12, 11:24 PM

Your right Pete, maybe I was a tad harsh. Just feel deflated that it was in the garage for 5 weeks and it's the same.
ZS, does seem ideal but I have no mechanical experience. Need to get it sorted soon as my new job involves driving and I do like the look of the BRM!
Nobrainer, what do you reckon? Could we fit it ourselves?

If I break it, I reckon I could recoup the money...
Piper backbox £75
Power flow mid section £50
180 kit £150
Green leather seats £75
Green leather steering wheel £50
PiperX Induction £35
R45 lights £20
Fogs £20
Mk2 alloys with decent tyres £300
Chassis/shell/engine £200 scrap
Grille £25
Chrome mirrors £10
Mk2 ZS side strips £20

That's just over £1000 as a rough guide.

ZS · 20-09-12, 07:17 AM

Stripping cars can take a long time to do and depends if people actually want parts at the time

- I guess I'm trying to say its a lot of time and hassle... plus it takes up tons of space!

Can be quite fun though!

It just so happens I'm taking the engine out of the car I am stripping in a couple of weeks time (its been sold though!) so its not difficult... with yours you would remove all the gubbings that you want to keep then swap the block, then refit... I guess... or if you had use of a stand build the new engine next to the car, then fit it whole once you know it is working...

Nobrainer · 20-09-12, 07:36 AM

Probably not the look you are going for...
pic

You can have the block for a tenner, though i'll need a hand getting it out as have no lift. Hence why its been stripped in situ and is hanging off by the hydromount