engine rebuild

I'm going to pull the 79' 1500 engine soon and need good instructions on rebuilding it. Haynes doesn't quite cut it. I have rebuilt a couple of engines years back, Chevy and Ford, but never an MG.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi
I just purchased a 79 MG midget myself from ebay.. I am going to do a compression test on it this weekend, and from the previous owner's comments he recommends for me to rebuild the motor.. sorry for the meaningless post but I am on the same path as you are... thought it would just stop from double posting..I will post anything I know and I hope you will too so im tuned to this thread myself..
Good luck

Get a copy of Porters Triumph Spitfire and Sprite and Midget restoration guide. This might help....

Thanks James, did a search as you sugested and found the book that I think will do.

Rogelio, you'll love driving that car around! Here's the site I found for a good book. Good luck on working with your new project. By the way, I'm doing a couple things that should pull up the HP. Changing over to 9.1:1 ratio during rebuild.

http://www.aptfast.com/APT_Parts/Books/Workshopbooks.htm

Well, I had my 1500 rebuilt by a British Car Specialist and after almost 8,000 miles it's still humming along. He had my crankshaft balanced and said all the 1500's should have had that done before leaving the factory. The machine shop took quite a bit of metal off. Bored 20 thousands and flat top high compression pistons. Stock camshaft. Head is stock except it was ported and polished. Weber carb and a header. Triumph fan and water pump. My Radiator was recored to 2 inch thickness. Muffler shop built me a stock looking 2 inch exhaust from the header to the end. I had all these things done on advice from the engine mechanic and the car runs great.
Rik

I read somewhere to use 77 MGB rod bearings modified. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Mark,

If you've rebuilt engines before, you can handle this. These engines are pretty simple. Just take lots of pics as you disassemble, Make notes, and don't let too many months go by as you do it. That way you don't forget how things go back together.

Mark, I'm curious... do you plan on any performance upgrades or are you just going for a stock rebuild? I will be facing this in the future - hopefully far off - and I was just wondering.

Cheers,

Glen

Hal in South Carolina (It might be Hap in NC) had a great post about rebuilding a 1500. Rebore to 1600, use TR6 pistons, shave lots off the top for high CR, balance crank, upgrade cam. That was the gist of it, good luck.

I'm pretty sure what I'll be doing, but it might change.?
Leave the engine with the stock 7.5:1 ratio, balance the crank, port the head and add a small turbo, which I have on hand. Rebuild the head if needed, I’ll make sure the single SUHIF4 carb is set for best running, or go up to a SU6. See how that goes before changing the cam.