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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - fan belts and oil fiters Grrrr!

Hi chaps,
Am at the final stages of a 4 year restoration of a '70 midget with a Speedwell monza bonnet.
All I need to get the new engine running is an oil filter and fan belt..
Shouldn't be difficult I thought, but how wrong could I be!
The engine is a morris marina unit (oil filter top, back left of the block).
So far I have ordered 3 oil filters from 3 companies who claim to provide Marina oil filters. All have a central screw thread that is too big! any thoughts?

Got the converse with the fan belts.. The car has an alternator, and the two fan belts I have ordered are both too short..
Again, any thoughts..
VERY FRUSTRATED!
Tim
T Dafforn

Tim,
Pete ordered and fitted the following to his 1275 Marina engine - note if you have an oil cooler or filter adapter plate then this might change things -
http://www.aseriesspares.co.uk/oil-filters/morris-marina-1-3-unipart-spin-on-oil-filter/prod_1090.html

as for fan belt measure what you need on yours and see if it's the same as on the late, alternator fitted, 1275 models
Nigel Atkins

Have ordered oil filter (fingers crossed)..
Off to halfords to compare fan belts (needs to be 32 inches)
Tim
T Dafforn

this might help for standard Marina filter - http://www.inlinefilters.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13670

I measured my Halfords (H8)837a (619122) belt at just under 83 cm but I can't remember if that was internal of external
Nigel Atkins

Tim, measure in mm not inches - most belt suppliers have the length in mm as part of the part number, don't feel bad about it - Nigel hasn't noticed either.
David Smith

A strand of rope or wire wrapped around the achellies can you get you close then just take that to the parts store
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

think I have solved the fan belt issue..
Visited a mate up the road who has a Gilbern GT with an Ital A-series.
Looks like I had the bottom attachment of the alternator set up wrong so it wouldn't adjust to allow the belt over the pulley. have sorted now and it seems to be working OK. Still think I could improve it further, but getting there.
Also had a look at a spare oil filter he had and it fits OK so. seems to match the filter from A-series spares which have ordered. We'll have to see..
For UK owners I can now confirm that a Marina filter is HOF209 from Halfords (morris Marina's no longer appear on there online catalogue!)
Now need to sort a sticky throttle..
Tim
T Dafforn

Thanks for the update Tim, I fitted the Unipart GFE442 filter from A series spares as Nigel has already indicated. I'll bear the Halfords filter in mind, however, it doesn't appear to be available on-line and the store in Burton very rarely stocks anything for Midgets.
Pete Ottewell

looks like Halfords Oil Filter 209 is also for Midget 1500 so might be listed under Rover

David,
my tape measure has both metric and imperial (still can't remember if it was internal or external making the 83 in the number
Nigel Atkins

you don't get it do you Nigel <sigh>. You say 'I measured my Halfords (H8)837a belt' - why measure it, you know already that it's 837mm.
David Smith

David,
I measured it at just under 83 cm!

Tim put his needed to be 32"

the belt was marked H8837a so why isn't it 8837mm and what is the 'a' about

my current belt is marked 6271 so is it 271mm?
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,

The A may indicate an A section belt, approximately 1/2" wide. http://www.vbeltsupply.com/conventionalvbelts.html
David Billington

David B,
thanks for that

David S,
I've taken the belt off the car but can't accurately measure it as I don't know where my wife now keeps her fabric tape measure, so I'll have to put it back on the car for now and try again tonight

IIRC the Halford in store catalogue for belts showed 3 for Midgets and they were all similar numbers

Nigel Atkins

Got fan belt fitted. The adjuster wasn't set up right meaning that i couldn't slacken off enough to get the belt on.
Oil filter arrived from a series spares and fits perfectly.
Now just need to run with plugs out to get oil pressure and the. Ready to fire up!!
Tim
T Dafforn

If you do measure it around the outside IIRC it will indicate bigger than the length on the belt by a fixed value as the length is at the pitch diameter rather than the OD of the pulley. The fixed value is given by some of the online belt length calculators.
David Billington

http://www.beltingonline.com/a-section-length-calculator-8405 gives the fixed correction value for A section belts as 30mm.
David Billington

I never knew such things existed

David S,
you told me off in a previous thread for not using measurements in 1/16" and now were on mm - well I took the belt off again and measured it and sure enough it around 83 cm so yes the 837 was the mm length

I'm surprised you didn't pick up on my typo, H8 should have been HB so (Halfords Belt) HB then the size 837 then the a for the profile (HB837a)

perhaps if you'd been clearer sooner I would have need to take the belt off twice to check it

now I've got to put it back on whilst it's still light
Nigel Atkins

Engine now turning over nicely on the starter. Ran it without plugs to get oil pressure. Showed 40 psi running in the starter. Usually heart in mouth moments as I waited for the pressure to come up.
Just need ht leads ans wire in the fuel pump, and o yes some fuel! And then we can start them ol girl!
Tim
T Dafforn

if you'd have read slowly and digested my post you would not have had to remove it at all as the size is printed on the belt, what I said all along. Didn't suggest you measure it in Imperial or metric at all, just read it... just realised you and Prop have something in common.
David Smith

cue explosive burst of hot coffee!!!

:)
Bill1

Tim,
for HT leads I strongly recommend, and independently back up by Peter Burgess's testing of them, Fast Lane's 'performanceleads' - http://www.performanceleads.co.uk/

or I've got a hardly used silicone set you can have s/h (guess what quickly replaced them)

David S,
I had to take it off as the markings were the other way as fitted to the car and the belt was stopped at its blank part

last time I gave a quick measurement (of distance between top rad cowl fixing screws) you moaned at me for confirming measurement in mm instead of 1/16" (body) measurements

if you'd have pointed out the B / 8 typo I'd have got there sooner

NARH - just pulling your leg (to match mine) of course I didn't take the belt off

I'd cut and pasted the measurement and code in from elsewhere not noticing the typo or relevance of measurement code but with all the info from you and David B even I will remember this for future reference

as I've twigged my knee I can't even get into a car at the moment, my wife reckons it might be from kneeling on a garage floor helping my mate with his classic but I just think it's old joints from a poor gene pool - so wobbly brain and knee now
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 02/07/2013 and 04/07/2013

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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