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MG MGA - engine build ??

Hi all , having read the thoughts on tommys head ?i began to wonder if my recent build will be ok . I have a 1622 block bored to + 20 with hepolite h/c flat top pistons / & a late 1800 head,& mga cam ? distributor ? needles / timing , motor runs ok but feel that it should do better ,any thoughts , best wishes Colin
colin daly

Have you tuned the car on a chassis dyno since the rebuild? If not, you probably should. Make sure you are getting the most out of your current set-up before putting more money into it.

Regards,
M.D.
'57 Coupe
M. D.

I am no pro but I wonder about the MGA cam (stock?) with all the higher output changes you have made.
Steven B

The early "18" head is very similar to the "16" head used on the 1622 engine,same valves and same chamber volume. Flat top pistons are standard in the high compression 1622 engine (most are high compression). So you haven't done anything special to the engine other than rebuild it, still pretty much stock configuration.


Barney Gaylord

Colin-

I did the same with my 1622 motor & early 18 head to start with except that I built it from the get go with a rallye scatter pattern cam from APT, and had the block decked to piston height to get maybe 10:1. From there I added (in order of installation) pertronix ei on a Lucas Mini S no Vac Adv distributor I believe timing's set about 31deg, LCB Header, Flowed & Ported Head, H4 carbs with mods per the book ref'd below...

When I started out the engine ran ok. The Pertronix has made it dead reliable (oops). Next I fitted the header which by itself made little difference. The big change occurred when the head was reworked and matched to the intake and installed. This is when I feel everything started working together. Getting the top end to breathe is most important.

If you haven't already, before you do anymore work, I highly recommend reading Peter Burgess' book on making MGB's go fast, and also the SU book by the same publisher (velocepublishing.com). Lots of good info from tried an true testing.

I'm hoping to put it on a dyno (rolling road) this winter to get the mixture and timing perfected and will post the results.

JohnB

This thread was discussed between 11/07/2007 and 19/07/2007

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