Morris Minor Owners Club

Always interesting to see inside an engine.
As an aside, below is a link to the LED light I used to create my high level brake light.
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Side-Front-R ... 1438.l2649

After what seems ages I have started to put the 'BMC' engine together - on the floor of my garage.

I did borrow an engine stand but found out today that there isn't enough room in my garage to use it/move it around with two cars already parked in it, so out came my kneeling mat.

There are no surprises left, so all went well with the bottom end assembly and the crank turns smoothly with pistons attached. I'll fit the sump tomorrow, sit the engine on it and put the rest of the engine together.

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After a good afternoon in the garage I have got to the stage you see here in these photos. Still getting those little surprises though.

Bottom end was going well until I came to look for the lock tab on the end of the camshaft and couldn't find it so I was unable to fit the timing chain cover/crank pulley etc., for now.

I have been using the heat resistant aerosol engine paint today for the first time (meant to be a straight match to the brush on paint but doesn't quite deliver on that promise) to spray items once they are fitted to cover my tracks as the assembly continues. I think I am going to continue with the spray paint as it has a 'dull' finish rather than glossy finish. (More Factory?)

To achieve this I am going to respray the block/head/water pump again. (just a blow over really).

Top photo shows original tappet chest covers that don't have any logo on them.

Bottom photo of exhaust manifold (loosely fitted) shows 'Britmo' logo cast into rear branch and the 'BMC' logo on the block now stands out better than I expected.


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I got to the radiator today on my never ending parts inspection list and I'm guessing it is the original item?

I thought the core was in an ok condition, however there is one small area that is badly damaged so I am looking for someone to 're-core' it for me, but retain the surrounding structure and build 'tag'.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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The boot floor repair panels have arrived and I am working out where best to splice into the body for a concealed weld.

The floor panel and boot handle latch bracket are excellent quality but the new panel below the boot aperture is very disappointing.

It isn't much straighter than the damaged panel it is going to replace!

I'm thinking about retaining the original boot seal recess on the body and cutting the new panel to fit it. That way I will retain the 'sharp' factory lines.

Is this a common issue or me being a little too fussy?


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I found the same with that panel though the metal is so much thinner than the original it was easily bent. Yes I'd say radiator is original.

Ian46 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:32 pm I got to the radiator today on my never ending parts inspection list and I'm guessing it is the original item?

I thought the core was in an ok condition, however there is one small area that is badly damaged so I am looking for someone to 're-core' it for me, but retain the surrounding structure and build 'tag'.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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Just pinch the broken pipe with pliers, scrape it shiny, and solder it up with a soldering iron. I had to do the same on my sII radiator.

I got to the radiator today on my never ending parts inspection list and I'm guessing it is the original item?

I thought the core was in an ok condition, however there is one small area that is badly damaged so I am looking for someone to 're-core' it for me, but retain the surrounding structure and build 'tag'.

Hi Ian,
If you do decide you need it recored the I can recommend Mansfield Radiators (link below).
They are used to dealing with classic radiators and did the radiator in Olwyn, my last Series 2. They did a very good job and kept the original Australian surround / embossed badging intact.
Best wishes,
Mike.

http://www.mansfieldradiators.com/

Thanks Mike, I'll look them up.

I'm going to need the boot panel so interested to hear your view - is this a UK or foreign made panel?

Hi Gavin, the ‘flat’ boot floor panel is from ESM.

I forgot to mention earlier in the thread that I decided to change the oil pump whilst I was going through the original dismantled engine.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I've attached a couple of photos here of the old one that was in/on the engine and (sorry to repeat myself but) I haven't seen one of these pumps on the A series engine before. Has anyone else?

I'm going to keep it in my garage as a souvenir.


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Have I seen one of these pumps before? - Yes but not for a very long time.
The pump shown is of the 'Vane' type which was not very efficient. These pumps were replaced by the concentric rotor style of pump which was more efficient and more reliable.
The best oil pump way back was the 1275cc Cooper S concentric rotor type, now nearly all oil pumps have the same flow capacity as the original Cooper S type. There is no such thing as a high pressure oil pump as the pressure is controlled by the oil pressure relief valve. Oil pumps in good condition will make good oil pressure but flow not pressure is what is required.
Make sure that the replacement oil pump is of the drive pin type or type to suit the camshaft oil pump drive.
Also try and obtain a concentric rotor oil pump that has the rotor keyed to the drive shaft as it is not unknown for the rotor to come loose on the drive shaft with total oil pressure loss.
Sometimes it is possible to mix and match the rotor and shaft to gain a keyed drive. Do not change the rotor and/or concentric ring as they are or should be a matched pair against the pump body.

Phil

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I picked up the re-cored radiator yesterday unpainted, (as I requested) so I could sort out any cosmetic issues to my satisfaction and I've just sprayed one side today and I'll paint the other side tomorrow. I've used a gloss black paint which I am hoping is the correct finish?

I also picked up some more blasted parts; one of which was the gearbox cover which I have had powder coated gloss black.

The original gearbox cover (see top of page 4 of this thread) had been damaged by battery acid dripping onto it, however what was left of the black paint was so shiny that I took a photo of it's original condition for the record. My blasters also do powder coating so I thought I would give it a try.

When I was getting the original petrol tank ready to go for blasting, I turned it over and there were 2no self tapping screws in the bottom which I have seen before as a fix for small leaks. Gulp! When I picked it up after blasting there were further signs that the tank was very thin in a few places. Double Gulp!

I've drilled out the self tapper holes with a large enough drill bit to get to good metal and where I suspected there could be other problems I also drilled those out to sound metal.

I now need to find a sympathetic expert in fuel tank repairs.

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I haven't felt like doing much over the last week or so as world events unfold.

Our daughter is a Doctor and had been on a two month break from work,travelling in New Zealand and Australia when she began to realise what was going on here and made the decision to cut short her vacation and return to England before borders closed.

She put herself into 14 days of isolation as soon as she got back so she can return to work next week. I am worried for her future health as she has confirmed that it won't be 'if' she gets exposed to the virus but 'when'.

Difficult times ahead. Stay safe everyone.

Especially as we now have extremely restricted freedom of movement in place, which for me means walks in the Peak District, which I love, are out of bounds.

I'm not too sure about this, if I'm honest. Today and yesterday I went for bike rides, as it happens, also in the Peak District from my home is south Sheffield. En route, on both days, I passed loads of cars, parked up in lay-bys where the owners had obviously gone for a walk-cum-hike. I must confess that when I first heard the P M's pronouncement my understanding of 'going for a walk' to exercise was just that i.e. leaving home on foot and returning on foot......providing always, of course, that you don't meet up with anyone else.

It was ideal for cycling as there was comparatively little traffic BUT when 5 Moggies in a row, flashed past me (Morgans, I mean) my first thought that they were probably not all on their way to Waitrose to do a week's basic shopping for essentials....or to the pharmacist in Bakewell.

On 'Good Morning' yesterday, Dr Hilary, in response to a direct question, said that it was not acceptable to have a run out in the car even if you remained in the car at all times. In today's Mail, it seems that it is Ok. My Moggy (a proper one - not one half made of wood ) is itching for a run out so to avoid running the risk of prosecution, I'm might to tell my wife that we are going to do next week's shopping in it. There's a Sainbury's within a mile of my house but there's also one in Bakewell...…..

To be fair, it was always going to be an impossible task to introduce such draconian measures, virtually overnight, without a few grey areas cropping up. There are more pressing anomalies to deal with at the moment such as building contractors, identifying 'key' trades etc than worrying about people walking about in the countryside. You'd think it was big enough for walkers to not come within 2 metres of each other! We all just need to act responsibly'

Stay safe everyone

if people don't heed the advice the same restrictions will be introduced as in other counties,my son who lives in france tell me they are not allowed further than 1 klm. from home address.

jagnut66 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:31 pm

PS: This is the time when you married folks have the distinct advantage over us single chaps, someone to talk to and to share the isolation with. [/i][/b]

It is easy for us to assume that the other mans grass is greener. As always, it depends on circumstances. I am one of those with the advantage of being married but I doubt I'm alone in being of an age and/or with medical history which defines me as vulnerable and means that I should be isolated. However I share my home with somebody who is still having to travel and work with the public each day.
Although official advice is to live in different areas of the house, most of us don't live in houses large enough for that to be a possibility!

kennatt wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:45 am if people don't heed the advice the same restrictions will be introduced as in other counties,my son who lives in france tell me they are not allowed further than 1 klm. from home address.

How would that work? Much of France is even more rural than a lot of the UK. We don't have any facilities at all within 1km of where we live

With apologies to the OP: His restoration thread seems to have gone off on a tangent rather!