Hello, all
During the continuing disassembly of the MGA, I have been finding some
good and some bad. First things first. The cam is shot. the lifters are
pitted and concave (vs. the usual convex) on the bottom and the cam has
some pits on the top of the lobes and they are all slightly different sizes
now. Where is the best place to but a cam? Moss wants $200+ and VB has a
regrind for $100. Someone said that SICP has good cams at a reasonable
price but I don't have the info or how to get hold of them. What about a
slight performance cam? The rest of the engine is bone stock but I have
never bought a stock cam in my life so if anyone has had success with a
slightly hotter cam, I would appreciate the input.
As far as the rest of the engine. The bores look great with a barely
noticeable ridge on top. Judging by the fit of the new rings, there is
about .003 wear which is really good for 80k miles. The cam bearings are
just starting to show copper. The crank and bearings still look good after
doing them last year. The rocker shaft shows some wear but not too bad.
What is involved with replacing it- in particular how do you deal with the
end plugs? The timing gears look good and the chain is a little loose but
not too bad. The head looks great with no visible cracks, good looking
valves, and no measurable warpage. The head gasket was sealing well when
it was removed.
In the transmission- the layshaft is toast as are all of the needle
bearings. The ball bearings seem OK but I may replace the front one out of
GP. The syncros are in surprisingly good shape so maybe the Mobil 1 is too
slippery for them to work right. I will probably replace the 2nd gear
syncro anyway. There is some extra play in the 2nd-3rd gear 3rd motion
shaft pack and I may buy new thrust washers to take this out. I will
probably buy new springs for the slider clusters to add pressure to the
syncros so the will work a little better. There is some unexpected wear in
the tranny. there is some galling on the back of the 3rd motion shaft
extension where the needle bearings ride. I am going to dress this area a
bit with crocus cloth on a file and let it ride. There are also some chips
our of the first/reverse gears with the lay gear looking the worst. The
reverse idler is kind of beat up also. The chips are right behind the
rounded tips of the gear teeth that aid engagement. Again, I am going to
live with these. The car is not new and the gears don't show any other
wear- just some evidence of poor double clutching. Maybe they all look
like that after 35 years. I am sure it will run another 35 years just as
it is. Besides, if those three gears go, it will almost as much to replace
them as it would be to buy a rebuilt tranny.
Next step is to order parts and get the cam bearings replaced. Then I will
start on the head.
Having this thing back on the road by 14 June is going to be tight now but
still we have to give it our best shot.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
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