Track Days 2023 & 2022 - Lets keep this going
05-06-2022, 05:07 PM
#42
MGA continues to run poorly.
I swapped in a newly rebuilt distributor with no change. Swapped 3 of 4 plug wires, no change.
Swap coil and HT wire, but hard to believe it can be coil. Also removed air filters. Will try again tomorrow.
I swapped in a newly rebuilt distributor with no change. Swapped 3 of 4 plug wires, no change.
Swap coil and HT wire, but hard to believe it can be coil. Also removed air filters. Will try again tomorrow.
05-08-2022, 01:38 PM
#44
Report from Lime Rock - Part 2.
Arrived early to try to help an MGB student who had low to no oil pressure in an MGB 18V engine. Found him an external gauge and he was able to determine that it wasn't his gauge. We drained the oil - his race prep wasn't good. It was quite dirty but not full of metal. Maybe a few specs at the bottom of the pan. Just what might kill bearings and an oil pump. I had gone to the store and picked him up some 20-50 oil and a new filter, but no help. He gave up and finished the school in his BMW, but in the student race, that too flashed a low oil light, went into limp mode and ultimately died,
As for me ...
I met Dominick Cullen. He's a new enthusiast, having bought an MGA race car last year off of Bring-A-Trailer. He's claims to have watched all of my videos. He bent a push rod, but was able to scrounge one from Norm Berke.
Well, since we're speaking of Norm Berke, he still owes me $5.00 for the two rear axles I sold him. He says he won't pay me until he turns a 1:08, ... or is a 1:06 - it's some new figment of his imagination that he's throwing into the deal.
One day he showed up at my house and wanted to see if I had any MGA rear axles that he might use to create a hybrid rear axle. So I show him the two rear axles that I have - one apparently a wire wheel axle and one for a disc wheel. After much measuring he decides it would be helpful if I sold him both rear axles. Well these things weren't even for sale! He just showed up at my house - and it was a Saturday! So I didn't have a price in mind, so I asked him how much money he had in his wallet. He must have been thinking maybe $100 to $125 each because he had a lot of money in his wallet - cash! So he made me a pretty rich offer - he was desperate! I saw his old destroyed real axle in the back of his truck. But since I operate on the theory that racing is a big swap meet - and since he said he planned to go to Colorado to have Dave Headley to weld up the modified rear axle (which I thought was pretty cool), I said $25 for the two of them. Big mistake! Despite all the cash in his wallet, he didn't have anything as small as a $5.00. So he only paid $20.00 and still owes me $5.00.
On Saturday, after I gave up, I was watching his race. He had a great, gutsy start, passing S.L on the outside in Turn 1 and sticking close R.C. for quite a few laps. I wasn't timing him, but it looked like he was running fast enough for me to get my money - even though he was trailing a bit of blue smoke. Of course, it all came crashing down to nothing. He got black flagged and came in - with no major damage, only a loose valve cover to blame.
As for me, I had no change in the warm up. Still a misfire at about 4,000 rpm. I attempted to swap out the fuel pump, but my spare was not a direct fit and I didn't have all the necessary fittings, so I just changed the filter. But I also swapped in a pair of smaller H2 float bowls, just in case I was suffering from fuel starvation. Went out for the race - which turned out to be a 30 minute race. I ran most of it, before coming in.
The car has good compression, and last year we did a pressure test on the radiator that revealed no head gasket issue. When running the engine with the radiator cap off, it appears normal. But after this longer race, I noticed just the slightest milkiness in the oil under the oil fill cap, and looking in could see slight traces on the valve train.
Based on the history of my troubles, I don't think it is a head gasket or a bad head. I'm thinking a porosity problem in the block, maybe at cylinder #1. The engine is coming out. The spare is going in.
Arrived early to try to help an MGB student who had low to no oil pressure in an MGB 18V engine. Found him an external gauge and he was able to determine that it wasn't his gauge. We drained the oil - his race prep wasn't good. It was quite dirty but not full of metal. Maybe a few specs at the bottom of the pan. Just what might kill bearings and an oil pump. I had gone to the store and picked him up some 20-50 oil and a new filter, but no help. He gave up and finished the school in his BMW, but in the student race, that too flashed a low oil light, went into limp mode and ultimately died,
As for me ...
I met Dominick Cullen. He's a new enthusiast, having bought an MGA race car last year off of Bring-A-Trailer. He's claims to have watched all of my videos.
He bent a push rod, but was able to scrounge one from Norm Berke.Well, since we're speaking of Norm Berke, he still owes me $5.00 for the two rear axles I sold him. He says he won't pay me until he turns a 1:08, ... or is a 1:06 - it's some new figment of his imagination that he's throwing into the deal.
One day he showed up at my house and wanted to see if I had any MGA rear axles that he might use to create a hybrid rear axle. So I show him the two rear axles that I have - one apparently a wire wheel axle and one for a disc wheel. After much measuring he decides it would be helpful if I sold him both rear axles. Well these things weren't even for sale! He just showed up at my house - and it was a Saturday! So I didn't have a price in mind, so I asked him how much money he had in his wallet. He must have been thinking maybe $100 to $125 each because he had a lot of money in his wallet - cash! So he made me a pretty rich offer - he was desperate! I saw his old destroyed real axle in the back of his truck. But since I operate on the theory that racing is a big swap meet - and since he said he planned to go to Colorado to have Dave Headley to weld up the modified rear axle (which I thought was pretty cool), I said $25 for the two of them. Big mistake! Despite all the cash in his wallet, he didn't have anything as small as a $5.00. So he only paid $20.00 and still owes me $5.00.
On Saturday, after I gave up, I was watching his race. He had a great, gutsy start, passing S.L on the outside in Turn 1 and sticking close R.C. for quite a few laps. I wasn't timing him, but it looked like he was running fast enough for me to get my money - even though he was trailing a bit of blue smoke. Of course, it all came crashing down to nothing. He got black flagged and came in - with no major damage, only a loose valve cover to blame.
As for me, I had no change in the warm up. Still a misfire at about 4,000 rpm. I attempted to swap out the fuel pump, but my spare was not a direct fit and I didn't have all the necessary fittings, so I just changed the filter. But I also swapped in a pair of smaller H2 float bowls, just in case I was suffering from fuel starvation. Went out for the race - which turned out to be a 30 minute race. I ran most of it, before coming in.
The car has good compression, and last year we did a pressure test on the radiator that revealed no head gasket issue. When running the engine with the radiator cap off, it appears normal. But after this longer race, I noticed just the slightest milkiness in the oil under the oil fill cap, and looking in could see slight traces on the valve train.
Based on the history of my troubles, I don't think it is a head gasket or a bad head. I'm thinking a porosity problem in the block, maybe at cylinder #1. The engine is coming out. The spare is going in.
05-12-2022, 05:09 AM
#46
I got the engine out of the car last night.
Even though it was only about 8:15, I decided to defer further work until the morning because I wanted to clean up the engine bay and maybe see if I could repair a striped out bolt hole for the starter.
This morning, I had to scrounge around, but found that I had an appropriate Helicoil to make the repair. So I fixed the hole, cleaned up the engine bay and dropped in the spare engine - all before work. Pretty pleased with the progress given the Rube Goldberg nature of my garage.
Alas,I hope I didn't cheap out on this engine's rebuild. After I had the bottom end pretty much assembled, I noticed some ghost shadows on the block suggestive of the possibility that the block is not flat. And although I did my own basement valve job, I didn't have therecessed valves repaired with hardened inserts. Normally, I would take my chances but ...
Yesterday I received notice that The Empire Cup grids are pretty much set. Aargh! Seven MGAs in my run group! Plus a whole bunch of even faster cars! I'll have to be on the top of my game!
So now I'm thinking I might best be served by using a different, perhaps better head.
Even though it was only about 8:15, I decided to defer further work until the morning because I wanted to clean up the engine bay and maybe see if I could repair a striped out bolt hole for the starter.
This morning, I had to scrounge around, but found that I had an appropriate Helicoil to make the repair. So I fixed the hole, cleaned up the engine bay and dropped in the spare engine - all before work. Pretty pleased with the progress given the Rube Goldberg nature of my garage.
Alas,I hope I didn't cheap out on this engine's rebuild. After I had the bottom end pretty much assembled, I noticed some ghost shadows on the block suggestive of the possibility that the block is not flat. And although I did my own basement valve job, I didn't have therecessed valves repaired with hardened inserts. Normally, I would take my chances but ...
Yesterday I received notice that The Empire Cup grids are pretty much set. Aargh! Seven MGAs in my run group! Plus a whole bunch of even faster cars! I'll have to be on the top of my game!
So now I'm thinking I might best be served by using a different, perhaps better head.
05-17-2022, 08:02 AM
#49
Got the spare lump started this morning, but it doesn't sound too good. I took a few shortcuts on the refresh. Engine was intended just for "security" - not for actual use.
05-17-2022, 08:31 AM
#50
Former Moderator
Thread Starter
I’ll be at Thompson on 5/21 attending the CART Time Trial event.