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MG MGA - How they built the power units

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2spL9Z--lUE

Includes adjustment of the tappets while the engine is running!
Kemper

Good spot Kemper. Enjoyable movie.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Anyone catch that the blocks and heads were cast in Australia?I liked the tappet adjustment also.
gary starr

Very intimidating to see how fast the engines are put together, "multi-drive air wrenches" notwithstanding !

Great fun to watch.

Thanks !

-Chuck
Chuck Mosher

fyi, The assembly plant shown is in Australia.
Great video, it really shows the differences between the 50s and now, nobody really touches the engines anymore during assembly.
Mike Parker

Thta was fascinating.
Is there a way to download videos from Youtube?
I would love to have that one on disc!

Rich
Rich McKIe

I watched it a couple of times, but I still missed how the guy locates the pistons in the block without a ring compressor. He looks like he is just tapping on the sides of the piston, then just pushes it right in. I've never had that kind of luck!
Cleve

Cleve

Yes, I wondered the same. With the planned obsolescence and poor engineering tolerances in those days the rings probably went in uncompressed!!

Steve
Steve Gyles

For the rings, he has a small hand-held ring compressor that he seems to just absent mindedly pick up, throw around the piston, rap the top with his bit of wood, and drop down on the bench again. If you are doing a thousand engines a week, I suppose it's like scratching your nose...

Bear in mind that this movie is only for Australian built cars using B series engines (ie not just MGAs but many other models too), and they didn't ship cast blocks and heads from Oz to the UK for finishing.
dominic clancy

I had to wonder what would happen if one of the sump bolts crossthreaded going in.....
Bill Spohn

If you watch closely, the guy has a ring compressor in his left hand. He manages to squeeze it with his thumb and finger, while tapping the piston in. I suspect that it's a skill developed over time.

Check out the guys other videos, particularly those from the 59-69 Earls Court Motor Show. One of them pictures a fuel injector the size of your fist "set to replace carburettors".

I use Firefox and an extension called Videodownloader to save embedded videos like that.
Kemper

Kemper,
I see that now. I was expecting to see some "slow-mo action" like when I install rings, and I'm trying not to break one. After you mentioned it, I went back and could see the little hand compressor he was using.

After that one, I spent about an hour watching old clips, especially the ones about big Austin Healeys. The sound of the exhaust really brought back some happy feelings!
Cleve

Must be awfully hard to fit the pistons in those oval-shaped cylinders! Gawd I hate phony widescreen effects.
David Breneman

This thread was discussed between 05/08/2007 and 09/08/2007

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