The engine has to be separated from the tranny to do the rear main
seal. Replace the front tranny seal while you are at it too, and toss
in a new Borg & Beck clutch kit if you have over 50,000 miles on yours.
Be aware that when you rebuild a head the increased compression and
performance will put more strain on the worn bottom half of the engine.
Broken rings are common after this repair on high mileage engines,
especially when they are 25 years old, and any worn bearings will wear
faster to the point of complete failure.
Get some estimates from local machine shops for re-working the engine
and heads, add in the cost of new bearings, gaskets, pistons/rings, etc.
and also get his cost to assemble the engine with your parts. You may
find that you can save a significant amount money this way, at least I
have, and you know exactly what you are getting.
Good luck; now is the time to be doing this so you can drive it next
summer!
--
Stuart MacMillan
Seattle
'84 Vanagon Westfalia w/2.1
'65 MGB (Daily driver since 1969)
'74 MGB GT (Restoring sloooowly)
Assisting on Restoration (and spending OPM):
'72 MGB GT (Daughter's)
'64 MGB (Son's)
Stripped and gone but their parts live on:
'68 MGB, '73 MGB, '67 MGB GT
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