Morris Minor Owners Club

where do those cork lengths go?

In the slots each end of the sump.
Soak them in oil first, or maybe water, overnight at least.
Then trim the ends so an eighth of an inch (I think) stand proud and level with the sump gasket.

Once you get them started, gland nut pliers make a nice job of folding the tabs.

David, That engine looks really good - I'm feeling inspired..

just a silly question, that little plastic sleeve that stops the dipstick going down too far

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Is it balanced there or secured in the hole somehow - it's just that mine is loose and falls on the floor (twice) every time I check the oil

Simon

IIRC it's just a push fit. You could glue it in with silicone sealant probably.

Yes it has about an inch or so that pushes into the block, maybe that part has snapped off, if not in may have just become a sloppy fit. In which case Alex has suggested a possible solution.

Engine backplate and chain cover, cleaned up and ready to re-fit, amazing what you can achieve with a drop of diesel. can't wait to see the brand spanking new pulley wheel fitted, its gonna look very nice.[frame][/frame]

"ooh, get you with your brand new pulley wheel", shame the rest of the engine isn't as new and fresh. Still its original and that counts for a lot in my book. I wonder if the Morris dark green engine paint comes in an aerosole spray can. the only one Halfords do is matt black.[frame][/frame]

Mine came in a tin.
You''l have to wash off the diesel before you paint it.

Land rover green is a really good match for the original and readily available

Landrover engine green paint, thanks I'll give that a go. The flywheel cleaned up ok with a the wire brush in my angle grinder, a drop of krust or two and a nice black flywheel was the result, trouble is, with all that crud out of the way, you can see the wear on the teeth.[frame][/frame]

I believe the ring can be changed! Probably by heating with oxy acetylene.



A couple of observationa:-

1) Did you get the engine block acid dipped to clear water and oil galleries? there looks to be a lot of corrosion in the hole where the water pump fits.

2) Core plugs- these are only £1 each. I would change them.

This is another case where we could do with a certain professional to add his words of advice- Jonothan, come back, all is forgiven!

The starter ring can be heated up in the domestic oven - and then dropped on to the flywheel which will of course have been stored in the freezer......... Do it when the coast is clear! Be sure to drop it on right way round - you won't get a second chance.
You remove the old one by drilling a hole in it - then splitting with a sharp chisel.

It dosent look too worn to me - the teeth are meant to be bevelled on one edge its when theyre flat it needs changing??

Can you do a closer pic of the worn teeth??

I thought the same from what I could see, in my experience usually the teeth wear only around a certain section of the ring, I suppose it's where the engine settles each time it stops, well that's what I've always put it down to!

the teeth are bevelled, aha, you learn something new on this site every post. Here are the teeth. This project thread moves on at quite a pace, sometimes I think it might be counter productive, posts are up, behind and forgotten before everyone gets to read them and comment, with the consequence for me of lost advice and info. Johnathon, chichenjohn and others have extolled the virtues of acid dipping cylinder blocks ect. There seems to be nobody in my area agreeing, all stating its now legislated out for health and safety reasons, but, my local classic car workshop's manager informs me of an in car engine additive that then requires a change to the oil filter and oil, and one for the waterways. This is added to a completed engine which is run for a few seconds/minutes. This clears the gunk out of classic car engines really well. Its the way I'm going as he says it works really well. At a fraction of the price of acid dipping too. Ive described my situation and he recomends it for this mucky old girl.[frame][/frame]

David

Black cat in a coal cellar comes to mind

From what I can see though those teeth look to be ok.

What do others think?

I think there's still lots of use on that. I've seen much worse!

Tha starter motor seems to throw in on the same part of the ring gear every time, that's where it wears, most of the other teeth don't get used. The area to the left in the photo shows the wear.

davidmiles wrote:-snip- Johnathon, chichenjohn and others have extolled the virtues of acid dipping cylinder blocks ect. There seems to be nobody in my area agreeing, all stating its now legislated out for health and safety reasons, but, my local classic car workshop's manager informs me of an in car engine additive that then requires a change to the oil filter and oil, and one for the waterways. This is added to a completed engine which is run for a few seconds/minutes. This clears the gunk out of classic car engines really well. Its the way I'm going as he says it works really well. At a fraction of the price of acid dipping too. Ive described my situation and he recomends it for this mucky old girl.[frame][/frame]

I think those companies were fobbing you off because they cannot offer the service. A cheap, safe and enviro friendly DIY acid dip would be very safe and cheap indeed involving 10% citric acid solution (fruit acid), in water, the block immersed in this solution overnight in a plastic crate.

Not difficult to do, but since you are well into assembly, I guess a bit too late. I hope the rust inside the engine does not flake off and cause problems when you start it up for the first time!

Not sure what acid it is, but we buy quite a lot for concrete removal (think even B&Q stock) it cleans up tools but need protection once removed as they then rust quickly. It is very strong and can burn if not washed off quiclky.

This place acid dips engine blocks; http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/index.html