mg midget engine 1500 swap ??

[bmcecosse]

MG Rover specified 15/15 with the unleaded head.

[chrisryder]

well i run my unleaded head at 12/12 and it's nice and quiet (tappet-wise) and gives me a valve that opens 3 thou higher than MG rover would like, and it'll open earlier and close later

[bmcecosse]

Vizard found the engines give more power with LARGER gaps.......... You are also running the risk that the exhaust gap will close up when the engine is HOT- and then the valve will instantly burn. But - it's your engine - do as you wish......

[timetraveller]

its not an unleaded head so would the best gaps be 12 and 15 ??

thanks
neil

[bmcecosse]

15 exhaust, 12 inlet.

[mike.perry]

Now that the engine is sorted are we going to deal with the clutch and gearbox?

[phurn]

I have to confess, though I have future plans for appt of mile modifications to mine, I haven't found the standard minor to be slow at all! I keep up with modern traffic without any trouble, intact I regularly overtake some quite expensive modern cars, so I can't quite understand where all this underpowered bit comes from.

[timetraveller]

to be honest i can keep up with modern traffic and its not bad on the motorway and will sit nicely at 65-70 in standard form
my problem is from a standstill to eventually keeping up with modern traffic
its my daily driver and i have a really awkward fast moving non traffic lighted roundabout that i use four times a day and its a nightmare to accelerate quickly into the traffic without people sounding their horn or accelerating quickly towards my side
i personally quite enjoy pootling down A roads at a steady pace
i dont want to street race it,i dont want to go 100 mph on the motorway,i just want to be able to pull away from junctions safely and quickly so hopefully this engine mod and a few other alterations will be just the ticket

[chrisryder]

eagerly awaiting your results!

[timetraveller]

hi
where are the mixture screws on the hif 38 carb and whats the easiest way to set the carb up as its fouling the plugs with black soot
cheers
neil

[bmcecosse]

As you stand at the nearside wing looking at the carb - it should be on the right - at an angle looking towards the wiper motor. Make sure the piston is free to rise/fall ok. What needle ??

[timetraveller]

although not like the rocket ship i suspect some people are probably expecting.....
it does what i expected it to do and goes very much better and is very revvy and to coin a phrase 'nippy'
i have set the carb up as best i could and it idles and runs nice and evenly
could probably do with a pro to set the carb up though to optimise things
the exhaust i made is very loud when giving it a bit....small price to pay though i suppose
thanks to everyone who contributed their help and opinions to this post (particularly roy a.k.a. bmcecosse....cheers mate)
in my opinion a good diy upgrade to a standard minor and at under £100 for the lot is well worth looking at
front discs are next on the list to stop it!!
thanks again
Neil

[bmcecosse]

Front discs The nice big Wolseley 9" front drums are MUCH easier to fit - and considerably less expensive.