Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi everyone,

I am currently rebuilding a 1098 engine for my girlfriends Morris and the head is currently away for hardened valve seats to be fitted. One thing i am wondering though is if the standard valves are ok or if i need hardened valves as well for a true unleaded conversion? Most sites only talk about hardened seats but i have just noticed that hardened valves can be purchased as well.

Well - you are wasting your money......'unleaded' is not necessary unless high/hard mileage is planned. But yes - you will need the later spec hard exhaust valves - and these have a different collet and cap arrangement - so you will need 4 caps and 8 collets to suit. Whatever you do - set exhaust valve gaps to 15 thou and check/reset every 3000 miles.......

Well the car did over 7,000 miles between the last 2 MOT's and is used to blast up and down the A1 twice a week so i believe it is necessary, plus the misses can't open the child caps on the fuel additives

I will get the new valves ordered up

Also when you refer to the collets, these are the type on the head at the moment, are these the right ones to use for the hardened valves?

http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... ucts_id=14

NO! That's the point - you will need the later A+ type and caps to suit. And 'additives' are a waste of money anyway......
See here for the valves - and ask them to supply collets and caps to match. http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx? ... 367&title=

You MUST NOT mix up collets/caps/valves of different types - dropped valve disaster will follow.

Sorry to be a pain with more questions but the hardened valves on ESM look different to the mini ones with the triple groove collets

Here are the ones that i saw on ESM:

http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... fa41aab088

Or they do a complete kit here:

http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... fa41aab088

How many different types of collet are there?

Note the price difference......at £3:50 I would SERIOUSLY doubt the quality of these valves - there's a reason the Minispares ones are priced higher...... But yes - they say they use the early collets, so go that route if you are willing to run these valves. And yes - there have been many different collet designs over the years !

Got the head back this weekend and built everything back up. Hopefully the new engine will be fitted next week if the weather clears up [frame][/frame]

Probably worth replacing the bypass hose with the solid type before you fit the engine in the car.
The type you have fitted tend to be a bit fragile in service.

Looks very nice!

However, I'd ditch the K&N-type air filter if the engine is otherwise standard. To avoid possible lean-running issues, you'll need to have the carb set up properly (most probably with a different needle). They also tend to be quite noisy, and doesn't have an inlet for the rocker cover breather.

MarkyB wrote:Probably worth replacing the bypass hose with the solid type before you fit the engine in the car.
The type you have fitted tend to be a bit fragile in service.

Thanks i did think that but the hose i have fitted is a thick silicone one which i have had good success with in other cars as opposed the regular hose that has left her stranded in the past

chrisd87 wrote:Looks very nice!

However, I'd ditch the K&N-type air filter if the engine is otherwise standard. To avoid possible lean-running issues, you'll need to have the carb set up properly (most probably with a different needle). They also tend to be quite noisy, and doesn't have an inlet for the rocker cover breather.

Thankyou

I am going to have a go with the k&n style as i fancy a bit of induction noise and i am a bit of an engine tart If i do find that the fuelling is a bit off where is the best place to get other needles as i don't mind having a play about. And i have something planned for the rocker cover breather