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MG MGA - Cylinder head

Good day to everybody
I’m restoring my 1959 MGA 1500. The engine has not original cylinder head with smaller valves from lower power MBC engine. Have been looking for cracks free original MGA cylinder head for a long time but still can’t find. If anybody knows any good source for
cyl. head please let me know.
Nikolai Skliadnev

Hallo Nikolai

I have one that I want to sell - it's also a high performance one (stage 2) so that will bring quite a substantial improvement in performance over what you have. It is complete, and ready to bolt on. Contact me by email if you are interested

Dominic
dominic clancy

Nikolai, I got one last year from Errol in Scotland with the usual modifications to allow for lead free use.

The contact is Cameron Gilmour. They don't ask for an exchange head. With tax (which you wouldn't have to pay) and shipping I paid just less than £250........................Mike

See www.britishclassiccarspares.com .
m.j. moore

Nikolai - Perhaps easier to source an MGB head - which, I believe,should fit, rather than the "lower powered BMC" one which is probably from a Morris Oxford or even a Marina. .
Cam Cunningham

Mine is now on ebay 130456586287

There's also a pile of other stuff from the cellar clear out

Comes at the same price as the standard one, but brings rather more in terms of performance
dominic clancy

Dominic, I saw the cylinder head you're selling on Ebay. I would love to get my hands on it to replace mine, but it is rather expensive for me with the shipping and everything. Will you let me know if it doesn't sell on ebay. Maybe I can haggle a bit with you to get it a bit cheaper. One more thing... you wouldn't have a set of used brake shoes,in good useable condition, would you? You can contact me via email on: fcamill@hotmail.com

Frank
F Camilleri

The head is gone. We had our MGA Club AGM tonight and it was sold to another reader here very quickly indeed. Obviously too cheap but it's gone to a good home and will be put to good use in the mountains here.

Frank, I believe I do have a set of shoes or two kicking around. You can have those for the postage costs

Dominic
dominic clancy

Well, It seems I've run out of luck again Dominic. Not the first time. Is the lining on the shoes OK? Let me know the cost of posting them to Malta, and method of payment. Do you have a paypal account?

Frank
F Camilleri

Thank you for replies.
I know Cameron from Scotland. Unfortunately he doesn’t have original MGA heads this moment. It’s possible to put MGB head and easier to find it but original head is preferable.
I will think of MGBs just if not find the original one
Dominic sold his cyl. head too fast, I even didn’t have enough time to find out everything
of the head…
Nikolai Skliadnev

Nikolai

We do not normally hear anything about MGAs in Russia. Are there many in your country? Do you have any spare parts suppliers there or do you have to buy them all abroad?

Do have any photos of the car for us to enjoy?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,
No MGA cars, no parts suppliers… I know just 3 or 4 MGA in Russia, one is in Old Cars Museum, two in Vladivostok, it’s city 10.000 km from Moscow and my MGA. May be somebody else have but I don’t know exactly. All spare parts are from US and UK.
About photos, I’ll send it later. I bought my MGA last year in US and have been restoring it all this
time. I have just a few photos during restoration, so photos I have mainly are before restoration.
Nikolai
Nikolai Skliadnev

Good luck with your restoration Nikolai and in your search for the correct cylinder head - as Steve says it would be nice to see the restoration photos of your rare Russian MGA.
Cam Cunningham

I do have another source for complete engines in need of restoration - costs about £50 GB for an engine, but you are always under the risk of the head being toast.

Otherwise I can ask my buyer if he wants to sell his other cylinder head - as far as I know it's fine, he's just after the extra power that the stage 2 head brings.

Dominic
dominic clancy

Thank you Cam. I will show photos for sure but a little bit later.
Nikolai Skliadnev

Dominic thank you. I think idea with the buyer of your head is interesting. If he changes a head
just because of getting more power the head could be fine. Could you ask him how much
he wants and the casting number. If price is reasonable I’m ready to buy it but I would like
to check it for cracks in professional work shop and ready to pay extras for this.
There was an article in the internet about MGA/MGB cyl. heads. About 70 !!!! percent of testing
heads have cracks. Often there are internal cracks and to find them necessary to do pressure
testing. Even heating cast iron pats of modern cars suffer of it. I changed cast iron exhaust manifolds of my Mitsubishi Pajero twice because of cracks!
Nikolai Skliadnev

Hi
Does anybody know Peter Burgess Automotive Performance Engineering from Alfreton Derbyshire? They specialize in rebuilding and modifying of cyl. heads mainly for MGB.
I have found a cyl. head in one of the MG breakers yards and would like to send it there for rebuilding. If anybody has any information of the company please let me know.
Nikolai Skliadnev

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/peterburgess/
dominic clancy

Nikolai, these are the people I have used for the last 40 years http://tinyurl.com/32npvxf they are excellent engineers but to get stuff to them and back would be expensive unless you are planning a holiday with heavy luggage!
Lindsay Sampford

Lindsay sorry I forgot to say the cyl. head I have found is in the UK and it would be cheaper to rebuild it in Russia but I’m not sure in the condition of the head and going to send it to professional work shop for testing and rebuilding. I just want to be sure that I’ll receive in Moscow a workable head. Or you mean a shipping inside UK is expensive?
Nikolai Skliadnev

Now I understand. I thought you were shipping to the UK for the work to be done! I thought it strange that there would not be an engineer in Russia that could do the job!
Lindsay Sampford

Do NOT fit most MGB heads unless you want about 7.5:1 compression. They have a larger chamber.
Bill Spohn

This thread was discussed between 18/11/2010 and 23/11/2010

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