'Red' engine quick question

[Tim M]

Hi and sorry for asking what might be a stupird question but I've noticed that most engine's in Minors are green in colour. Mine is red. Why is this?

Happy Easter everyone!

Tim

[charlie_morris_minor]

because red ones can rev higher

assuming you have an A series it could have been the only colour the previous owner / garage had to hand.

[Tim M]

Oh, so is the colour the only difference?

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I thought they used red on MG engines or am I wrong in this?
Best wishes,
Mike.

[philthehill]

MG engines could be either RED, BLUE, BLACK or Gold
What is the engine number as from that number it can be determined what vehicle it was originally fitted to and what colour it should be.
But of course the colour could be the personal preference of a previous owner.
I found a tin of Speedwell Yellow engine paint on the shelf in my workshop when I moved in. The previous owner of the property was a 1275cc MG Midget enthusiast. One day I may get round to using it myself

[bmcecosse]

RED is definitely higher revving and a good 10 bhp more than a humble green engine.......

[philthehill]

As regards red engine paint I do paint the inside of my crankcases with GLYPTAL, RED enamel paint which helps seal any tiny pores and leaves the block interiors smooth. It also helps keep the engine oil clean and flowing freely.
Does not increase the power though

[Tim M]

Hi

The engine number is 273831; how do I know what it is?

Thanks for all the replies!

Tim

[Chipper]

You need to look at the first part, e.g., 10V, and compare it to this list:

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/news/news498.html

[philthehill]

Tim
You wont unless you post the whole number including letters in the order that they are set out on the engine number plate!!!

[Tim M]

Hi

The actual full number is : 86162 EP10785 with the letters AA stamped underneath the numbers. I might be both blind and stupid but I cannot see it listed on the site unless its not an engine there.

Tim

[bmcecosse]

It's a rebuilt engine then...so the numbers are meaningless to us. And that's a completely different number to the one you first told us? So.....which is it?

[Tim M]

Oh, that explains it then. Many thanks everyone.

Tim

[chesney]

I believe 'A' means it is both standard bore and crank size, or at least it was when rebuilt.

[bmcecosse]

Not much of a 'rebuild' then...

[chesney]

Indeed, must have been a very low mileage engine when they got their hands on it.
Someone posted this info not too long ago...

[Tim M]

It has 'AA' underneath so maybe that means they're double the size! Either that or it put out the same amount of power as a smallish Duracell battery...

[Tim M]

It's a rebuilt engine then...so the numbers are meaningless to us. And that's a completely different number to the one you first told us? So.....which is it?

The numbers I first wrote down came from the V5 and the later ones I got from the engine casse itself. Should I be worried?

[jagnut66]

Hi,
The engine number can be found on the block itself, unless it's been removed or lost through time.
It is located at the front, just under the front spark plug / engine temp sensor, either on a plate riveted to the block or stamped into the block itself, as with my old engine. I will upload a picture if I can, I'm having a few problems with this at the moment.
Best wishes,
Mike.

Picture at last, as you can see there are two indentations where a plate carrying this number was previously riveted to the block, possibly lost the last time this head was skimmed, at which point it was stamped into the head using a dye (correct spelling??).
Hope this is of some help.

[frame][/frame]

[Tim M]

Great, yes that's where I got the 86162 EP10785 with the letters AA stamped underneath them from. It is different to what is on the V5 so I guess over time the engine has been swapped out. However the chassis number is also not what is printed on the V5 and I have no plates with the car...should I worry now??