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MG TD TF 1500 - Recommendations please XPAG rebuild

Gentlemen

Has anyone recent experience of professional XPAG engine rebuilders in the South of England that they would recommend please?

Also opinions as to unleaded conversion / hardened valve seat inserts, or stay with original and using Castrol additive.

1954 TF 1250
Paul

Hi there.

I saw Peter Edney & his Father George strip & rebuild an XPAG at the MGCC Rebuild Seminar in 2003. I was so impressed with the tweeks and ideas that I gave up the idea of doing it myself and sent my TD over to Peter. Very pleased to have done so. I've gone the route for using unleaded petrol, and Peter has a few ideas on other aspects of "modernising" the engine to better cope with modern usage.

Peter has good website Peter Edney Classic & Sportscars phone 00 44 1279 876 976

If you give him a buzz, please pass on my regards,

Geoff. PINNEY
Geoff Pinney

Paul,

I’m sure you’ll get may responses and opinions of this request, but let me start with mine.

About 2 years ago I decided to “modernize” my XPAG. It’s a move I’ll never regret. In hot rod parlance, this is referred-to as “blue-printing”.

I gave my rods to my engine builder who crack-tested the rods, and straightened where necessary, and checked for equal length who now returned them to me along with two aluminum mandrels - one to fit the big end, and another for the wrist-pin. I then borrowed a pan and proceeded to balance all rods to equal weights end-for-end. Once this was done, I had them shot-peened, leaving the original bearings (which I later chucked) in place to protect the surfaces. I polished the rods to a mirror finish, especially the small end. (I have pics - ask me if needed)

I then individually matched and balanced the pistons, rod bearings, rings, wrist-pin and wrist-pin bolts nuts etc.

I then took all this statically-balanced stuff back to engine builder for dynamic balancing of the crank pulley, crankshaft, flywheel with clutch attached, but not the friction plate which I left out of the balance. At this point Paul, I might strongly suggest that whoever does your work, also has a full machine shop so that nothing has to go outside where control of the rebuild is left to others.

The camshaft I chose was a Crane, a modern grind made specifically for the XPAG. In selecting cam followers, be sure you read carefully, the recent thread arising from an article in the TSO, that is particularly poignant for a rebuild such as yours as you don’t want your new camshaft to run dry. This refers ro the holes cast into the cam follower and their placement.

A good engine builder will assemble your block assembly carefully, being sure to pre-prime the oil pump cavity with grease or Vaseline.

As for the hardened valve seats, since you will have the engine apart, it probably makes sense to have the mod made - I did, but in reality, with lead additive running at about £1.50, it will be obvious that modifying your cyl. head for a couple of hundred quid, will probably never justify this when compared to the relatively low cost of additive. Ideally, you should also match all combustion chambers for equal volume.

I also changed my final drive to a 4.3.

These two major revisions (engine and final drive) has completely transformed the car into a modern day cruiser. The balanced engine is an absolute joy, and I am no longer constantly watching the rev-counter needle out of the corner of my eye. as I try to keep up.

One final mod I made, was the removal of the “hand-chopper” fan, whose blades had a history of chewing up rads, and replacing it with a 12" thermostatically-controlled fan (inside as against outside), with a manual by-pass switch.

Driving my T has never been fo worry-free and fun.
Gordon A. Clark

Thank you for the tips and recommendations. We are now in discussions (as they say!)

Gordon's background on super finishing is very interesting.
Paul

This thread was discussed between 14/06/2004 and 20/06/2004

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