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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Storing an engine

I dismantled a midget a few years back and kept all the running gear including the Engine that had been rebuilt, run up for oil pressure but never started. Its stood in the garage since then and is unlikely to be run anytime soon . What's the best way of storing it , maintaining it. It will turn so is not seized . It's just on the floor covered in a blanket at the moment. any thoughts welcome.
Mike
M Fairclough

Hi Mike, I've had engines in storage on a number of occasions and I've pretty much always taken them apart, oiled and greased the components and bagged them up awaiting a rebuild. Mostly, they don't stay long in stored disassembly but they could: all the fastenings are stored in small labelled plastic fake-tuppaware boxes (like take-way tubs - £9 for 200 boxes)and all large components are painted with grease and/or bagged in polythene - I tend to use large freezer bags.

On the rare occasions when I've had to store an engine for longer periods without taking it apart I once did nothing at all and water from a head gasket failure collected near the rings and corroded the bore.

If you have to store without dismantling for any period of time (more than a week or two) I'd recommend filling the bores with oil, greasing anything you can get at and wrapping the whole thing, on a dry day, in polythene or clingfilm.

Nick Nakorn

Mine had not been started when rebuilt, but was kept on the garage floor after being rebuilt with 50/50 STP/Duckhams mix n bearings and bores for about eight years

It had a copper head gasket, fitted by my mini race engine building mate, which failed by weeping at its edge when put into service for about six months


SO I am saying, if you('they') built it well it should be OK especially if you can store it somewhere better than on the floor of my garage

:)

My engine was good at 113mph, cruised allegedly in France at 110 in company with a very quick gappy Sprite and a Boxster
Bill1

My thought would be to remove and replace all the coolant and oil with kerosene /parafin/ K1 or oil base paint thinner then remove the carbs and dissy, and seal off all the various openings with mothballs and cellephane wrap and keep it all dry

Id slack off the rockers also so there are no uneven stresses and pressures on the valves and there springs

Id also remove the carbs and dissy and bag them in sealed O2, moisture free vac baggies

Prop

Prop and the Blackhole Midget

leave it as complete as possible, any hole needs plugging thoroughly so spiders and bugs cannot get in and take up residence. A couple of teaspoons of clean engine oil into each cylinder, then I spray with Ambersil 40+ and then wrap well in heavy cloths (old curtains are handy) so I can get at them easily to turn them over every few months.
David Smith

As said. Squirt some oil into the bores, and from time to time turn the crank. My spare 1275 engine sat on my garage floor for over 13 years, Sitting on blocks to insulate it from the damp concrete. No seizing at all. As long as your garage isn't running in water it'll keep for yonks.

Just curious. 1500 or 1275? Why not sell it if you have no plans to use it?
Lawrence Slater

Thanks for all the replies. I will definitely see if I can get it off the floor and will keep on turning iit over by hand. The oil down the bores seems a good idea. I had left some spark plugs in it and covered all the ports when I stored it so should be no creepy crawlies in there. I want to keep the engine as it came with car and was built by Mountune in the 80's and I still have the handwritten invoice for the work. Don't think Mountune would do a Midget engine anymore!
It's a 1275
M Fairclough

Keep it all well oiled and all should be well. I have the original 948 cc lump from my frog which has been stored in the garage since 1978, I poured 1/8 pint down each bore turn it over once a year. Every 5 years I put down some more oil.
Bob Beaumont

I second what Bob and Lawrence say
Christian Carter

But then reality sets in....

5 years later its in the corner as a coat holder, and how many times did you crank the engine over :-)

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Make sure the coolant is out. Of the two engines I have the one with the coolant in seized due to a coolant leek while standing and the one with no coolant in turns lovely. Also stop up open orifices such as manifold ports with something like bits of rag to help stop moisture ingress.

Both engines not used for approx. 10 years. Only 1 guess which one was in the car and which one not.
Dave Squire 1500

I had an Ital A+ ...taken out of car as a runner...left in various outuildings/garges for 20+ years. Stripped it for parts and not a hint of rust on anything significant. Certainly turned OK and I reckon it would have run happily if it was all hooked up.

So drain it of coolant (inc block)....keep the oil in...and shove it in the corner. it will be fine :-)
Dean Smith ('73 RWA)

A few have mentioned draining the engine of water not sure I did that, is there a specific plug on the block to take out to do that ?
M Fairclough

yes (or tap), have a look in your Driver's Handbook as there's usually a diagram

if you've never taken the engine block plug out (and scraped the orifice clear) during draining or flushing on coolant changes then you've probably got a fair bit of crud that hasn't been evicted

again details are in the Driver's Handbook

you've obvious not seen Dave Squire's posts on this matter :)
Nigel Atkins

Whatever you do DON"T squirt WD40 on anything, especially in the bores.
Allan Reeling

Why not?
Lawrence Slater

I'd deduce that the WD40 would wash off the protective oil film, the WD40 residue would evaporate and hence allow the bare metal to rust.
David Smith

As I understood it WD is water dispersant and 40 is 40days. After that it becomes increasingly Hydroscopic, i.e., it attracts moisture. I've known of one or two people who have religiously squirted it down their bores to find a seized engine when trying to turn it.
Allan Reeling

"WD-40 is the trademark name of a lubricant, penetrating oil and water-displacing spray. It was developed in 1953 by Dr. Norm Larsen,[1] founder of the Rocket Chemical Company, in San Diego, California. WD-40, abbreviated from the phrase "Water Displacement, 40th formula,"[2] was originally designed to repel water and prevent corrosion,[3] and later was found to have numerous household uses.

Larsen was attempting to create a formula to prevent corrosion in nuclear missiles, by displacing the standing water that causes it. He claims he arrived at a successful formula on his 40th attempt.[3] WD-40 is primarily composed of various hydrocarbons.

WD-40 was first used by Convair to protect the outer skin, and more importantly, the paper thin "balloon tanks" of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion.[3][4] These stainless steel fuel tanks were so thin that, when empty, they had to be kept inflated with nitrogen gas to prevent their collapse."


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I spray it on my leave springs, and it's kept them looking fine for 20 years, even if it hasn't prevented them going as flat as a pancake.
Lawrence Slater

This thread was discussed between 21/12/2013 and 28/12/2013

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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