Scott,
You didn't mention the model year and that makes quite a difference. I'm
not sure what kind of radiator cap you are describing. My 72 has a standard
7 lb cap with an overflow that goes to the ground (no bottle to catch
overflow). I would guess that you have a newer MG maybe 75 or later? I
suspect that the weird bracket you mentioned used to house the air pump.
When I removed mine I also removed the bracket, but the thermostat housing
does still have an extended mounting bolt. My engine does not move around,
it torques when I rev it up but that's all. Maybe you have something loose
on the mounts or cross brace may be weak. The lever in the foot well lets
air in through the grill in front of the windshield. The poor running is
probably indicative of the need for a tune-up. The tappets are set using
the rule of 9 and firing order is the same. I believe from about 1975 to 76
the distributor is a 45D4, prior to that it was a 25D4 and after that they
came with an electronic ignition. You can get a Pertronix ignitor or any of
3 or 4 other electronic ignition modules to replace the points. I put a
Pertronix in my 72 and it seems to run just fine.
Good luck on your new MG,
Dave 72 B
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Beavis <sbeavis@solartron.com>
To: _MGs <mgs@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 7:04 AM
Subject: Getting to know the new MG
We have been driving the MG for a few days now and are getting used to it. I
will get underneath it this weekend and give the underside a good coat of
waxoyl. I am also trying to familiarise myself with the engine bay. The B
series is fairly similar to the A series in my mini so it's not too
difficult to figure out what is what and where things are.
A couple of questions for you experts out there...
- The radiator has no cap on top, but instead an 'over flow' pipe comes from
the top of the rad to a catch bottle (I wouldn't call it an expansion
bottle) mounted on the engine bay side wall. Worryingly, this bottle is
empty and it is not at a higher level than the top of the rad. I am not too
keen on this setup. On my mini I have a metro front rad and expansion
bottle. The expansion bottle has a drain pipe to a low point on the system
and a balance pipe at the top which connects to the stat housing. I am
guessing that the stat bolt pattern is the same on A and B series. I am
tempted to install a proper expansion bottle and replace the stat housing
with a metro one. The current stat housing has a big nut thing on top of it
and a wierd bracket sticking out (maybe designed for mounting a dynamo?).
Any comments about this?
- The engine seems to rock about an awful lot. The rubber mounts were
renewed about 2 years ago, but to me these seem wildly inadequate. My mini
has 5 engine steadys with poly bushes and is rock solid. Are after-market
engine steadies available? or uprated mounts?....or is the engine fine like
this?
- There is a lever up in the passenger foot well. It sounds like it is
moving a vent flap or something. What is it doing?
- When accelerating the engine sometimes lurches and kangaroos. It seems to
be worse when cold. It also pops back through the carbs occasionally. In my
experience this is a symptom of being too lean. Any other ideas?
- The engine power level seems to get unstable below about 2k. Trying to
drive along at low revs is difficult. This could be carb imbalance or an air
leak on the inlet. I notice the engine breather pipe is routed back into the
carbs...yuk! Filthy habit! I'll block up the carb vent stubs and put a K&N
on the breather (or pipe to a catch tank...or the road). Could this be
causing the engine revs to wander about when cruising? (idle is ok)
- Are the tappets set by "rule of 9"? Is the firing order the same as on the
A series? ie: 1342
- I havn't checked yet to see if the dizzy is running points or electronic
ignition. I have an Aldon Ignitor on the mini. Is there a similar unit
available for the MG? (it may even be the same type of dizzy!....mini uses
a Lucas 45D4)
That's all for now, I'm sure I'll be back with some more questions later!
Thanks
Scott
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