Tommy's new one, 1970 Morris 1800 mk2

Maybe worth having a look at the rocker shaft as the primary culprit. Crabmaster posted an excellent photo of the wear he found rocker shaft and I've read about similar issues on MGB forum.

Regards

David

EDIT: Sorry, I've just re-read your post so the rocker shaft isn't the primary suspect but still worth checking. When you rotate the pushrods did you free them from the tappets or are they turning too perhaps and part of the issue?

David

Hi Tommy

I can almost feel your frustration which I understand. I guess many of us here have been there! It's a pity I just can't pop round to try and give you a hand. Seriously though, are there any (reasonably)local mini or MGB clubs with tuning experts? Do any of the garages have the old style CRT Sun style diagnostics equipment which could almost instantly show up the problem to an experienced operator. In the meantime I think it is time for a few beers, but not cigarettes. . Did you ever get the Peter Burgess cylinder head?

There IS a solution, sleep on it.

Regards

David

EDIT:

If your car is down on power climbing hills and you are absolutely sure there is no fuel starvation then it is either an ignition - probably timing - fault or the engine which is basically an air pump isn't taking in sufficient air /fuel.

The timing can be checked against the crankshaft pulley with a timing light at say 3,000 rpm AND double check that the pulley TDC mark really is correct and that the harmonic damper rubber hasn't failed allowing it to twist.

As your compression is good at cranking speed (cold) and you have double checked the tappets the next thing to check is that the camshaft lobes aren't worn, not common on genuine BMC camshafts but possible. You can check this by observing and measuring the rocker arm movement. Worn lobes won't normally show up by changes in tappet clearances as you take the measurement opposite the lobe.

Finally are you sure the exhaust isn't partially blocked, look at the vacuum gauge for clues.

You have probably done all this many times but if not I hope this helps ....good luck!

Thank you so much, Dave! I needed that, and the beers...

Well, it's advertised, but the ad says "Thinking about selling".. I just don't think I can manage to see it go.. After all, the car is 44 yrs old, and it's actually been on duty everyday for a year. With little problems, all in all.

I took it to a Cars&coffee event today. Lots of MGs, Jags etc as it actually was a "British" day. It had lots of attention, and I spoke to lots of nice people and made some contacts with people who are really into UK classics. Great, as I've really missed some other enthusiasts to discuss things with when facing car trouble. By all means, forum is great, but real life is something else.

So, a great day. It ran very well today, even overtaking a XJ 6 uphill in 80 kmh:-)

The fact that it changes is quite frustrating. I think I'll have to get a head serviced by Burgess. I haven't got around doing it yet. I'm quite sure there's a valve/ pushrod etc playing up still.

I changed the pushrods on those valves with valve clearance issues, so perhaps it's improving. Could be a valve sticking occasionally.
I'll install a vacuum gauge permanently, and watch it on the road. What I noticed today, when it ran fine, was that it had a more even exhaust note at idle. Felt it with my hand. When it's playing up, there's more of a regular sound which seems to match the tick of a valve.

All in all, I may be over picky.. I thought of that while watching the other classics. Lots of ticking and rattling, petrol and exhaust smell and some really lumpy idling sounds..

An MGB owner said the 1800 ran as sweetly as a Rolls:-) Happy with that, but I want it to do it's best all the time:-)

Updates will come:-)

Tommy

I had a fair few of the symptoms you mention on my brand new engine, Distributor Dr Dizzy, brand new SU carb from Burlen etc !
Cured them all on a rolling road in an hour - it was just setting it up - difficulty is not finding rolling road, but someone who knows A/B series tuning inside out - there are not as many around as you would think!
Good luck, don't sell!
Cheers
Andrew

Oh dear, I am a bully now . I like to think of it as structured encouragement a bit like old fashioned teaching, Tommy, if you read your history books!

Chris is right, we need to remember these cars are 40 years old. I see Andrewa used a rolling road to set his car up. This is an expensive and in my view an unnecessary outlay for a standard Landcrab engine, but his car has a non standard cam and other mods which more than justifies his decision as he is concerned with performance. He noted it was difficult to find people with A and B series tuning experience but there is nothing to be frightened of.

My experience, over too many years, with A and B series engines is that the standard single carb Landcrab B series engine is extremely tolerant and actually very easy to set up. It may take a bit more skill to get the best out of it, but easy to get running pretty well. However, the ignition system components especially must be in good condition which I know can pose an issue nowadays. I have noted previously I have run cars with 200K miles or more on the original carb, of course with leaks on the throttle spindle, original distributor and head. Yes, they burned oil and that was really the only symptom, they ran well with no spluttering and not that much loss of performance even up long hills. I always checked that the carb piston ran free and converted spring carb needles back to the original design to avoid jet wear.

Before any attempt is made to tune any engine the first task is to measure the compression and this is true of the Landcrab too. You cannot achieve the impossible; a worn engine will show lower compression but as long as it is reasonably even across the cylinders (10% is often quoted but this engine can accept more in my experience)then you are not wasting your time.

As Chris says, apply logic - eventually you will get there - even in the case of Chris' Wolseley's occasional misfire

I have just had a problem with the engine on my Toyota D4D that only shows for the first 30 seconds on start up. Nothing shows on reading the fault codes or computer monitoring the engine running, so it's back to basics again. Just that I have to wait at least 12 hours between checks for the engine to cool down completely, so I fully understand the meaning of the word "frustration" and applying logic. The electrical system manual runs to >1000 pages so great fun. This morning it started with no symptom, have I cured it; I don't know!

So, hang in there Tommy!

David

Cool - glad to hear - had similar problem of old tank/fuel/muck in float chamber on an old motorbike.....running it under load with the choke out seemed to clear it, but I'm sure there's a more professional approach!
Glad you're sort of back in love.
Andrew