Ok, I realize that I'mgoingt obe the anomoly here, but here goes. I have
a '58 MGA. It has a 3 main B motor, and a 1500 head. When I bought it,
it had been driven occaisionally, but not a lot since a restoration a few
years prior. I drive it regualrly 9 months of the year, the other three
it is well stored (in a fairly warm garage). A year after I bought it,
the valves had pounded the seats so much I couldn't adjust them adequately
anymore. I had hardened seats put in, and all is well. So - my experience
is that if you drive the car you can pound the seats just as well. I do
realize that it's an odd configuration engine, and there were several
years the car wasn't driven regularly, but I'd say with unleaded, hardened
seats are needed sooner or later. If you have the money and have the head
in for other work, it is certainly worth doing, and there really aren't
any detrimental effects unless you get a lousy shop that doesn't do the
work properly.
Phil Bates
'67 MGB with hardened valve seats
'58 MGA with hardened valve seats
> > speeds and/or heavy loads over prolonged distances. All of
> > which tends to
> > support the opinion that a classic car used for occasional cruising at
> > moderate speeds, probably doesn't need it, especially when
>
> Nor does a car used for regular driving. We've been without lead
> additives in the US for years, and went through the same kind of
> hand-wringing about it. The conventional wisdom of lead WRT valve seats
> is overstated.
>
> Did the factory make any changes in the materials used in the head for
> the RBB's? The RBB's that came to the US would never have run leaded
> fuel, and if the materials are the same, and lack of lead was a problem,
> we'd have seen it by now.
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