Morris Minor Owners Club

Well the engine transplant went well bar catching the rad core on the fan and holing it.........oops. so set the tappets to 19 thou as in the haynes manual and wow it sounds clattery, anyone want to suggest a better clearance ??

see here for a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li6rg1YHNhg

Where on earth does it say 19 thou??? I guess that's why it is known as HBOL - Haynes Book of Lies!!
Set inlets to 12 thou and exhausts to 15 thou. Do make sure there is oil reaching the rockers........

0.019???
My Haynes book for Spridgets (same engine) says 0.012 - 0.015

It may say 19 thou for checking the timing.......

Valve rocker clearance (timing only) 0.019

Thanks Roy knew I could rely on you. I think it was page 15 but can't find it right now it might still be in the van and it is after midnight. I was amazed how easily it started on the handle, usually takes quite a few pulls, Must have been low on compression for quite a while.

Whilst the Haynes book is weak in a many areas, it doesn't say 19 thou for valve clearances as far as my copy is concerned! It does say 21 thou for timing (p16) but sticks rigidly at 12 thou cold for the inlet and exhausst clearances for both 948 - p14 and 1098 - p16). Think our friend must have had a speck of grit in his eye when he read that. No wonder it makes a racket!

Whilst on the subject of the Haynes manual (easy Roy!), I can't understand why they haven't revised it so that it is more user friendly. My Haynes MG Midget/AH Sprite version is actually really good and a massive improvement on the Minor edition. I know the Minor was one of the first they did but you would have thought, with tyhe cars popularity and longevity, it would be worth a makeover.

At the same time, no one appears to have produced an alternative modern version of it either - one that could be really helpful to those just beginning their minor DIY experience. Strange really!

They have - it's called the Morris Minor Workshop Manual!

Nice one Roy

Yes OK I accept the WSM is a great publication and everyone who wants to work on their cars should have one. I also accept that its probably hard to better in terms of taking you through the official way to repairing your car but - lets be honest, good though the line drawings and descriptions are, they are not step by step procedures and there is quite a lot of room for uncertainty, especially for those who are new to the game.

My point is that I'm just surprised that there isn't or hasn't been a modern equivalent - with colour digital photo's of, say a complete strip down and rebuild of engine, gearbox, final drive etc. in any publication. Lets face it, we always ask those posting on the site for photo's if they can send them. Good photo's combined with clear descriptions would give even the newest member the courage to have a go. Just a thought really

You will find much of the engine rebuild stuff on You tube

I am building up a collection of photos

Out of interest - has anyone EVER 'checked the timing' by setting the valve gaps to 19 (or 21) thou... ??

yeh....me! lol

Aye - right......

There is always one! .
There is nothing about resetting the tappets on a sidevalve. 0.018, TDC and road test.

Which is strange - because the valve operation on th SV is so direct - I'm surprised they specify such a large gap. For example on my TR7 where the cam directly operates the valves - the gaps are ~ 6 thou.