MGA 1600 Race Engine - Part 2 - And other Misadventures
 

Well, I don't know if this deserves a new thread. But you asked and I deliver.

The first few posts are a rehash of what I have already posted on the Track Days thread. But I begin. ...

I've been racing my '59 MGA, mostly with the VSCCA in Southern New England, since about 2009. A few years ago, a fellow in Greenville, South Carolina, named Hap Waldrop built me a new engine and my summer and winter adventures have been chronicled on many threads.

A link to Hap's engine build thread. http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?2,2749462

Well, this was supposed to be the season where I pull out the engine, baby it over the winter and give it a gentle refresh. But first, my last race.

Mr Osprey, very unfortunate happenings with the engine failure! I would have been furious! What is your plan going forward in regards to an engine build? I briefly looked at the track days thread, does there appear to be any damage to the block, or primarily the rotating assembly? Also what if we just dressed up a F20C to look like an MGA motor and jam that in the chassis?! :LOL:

Shiv, keep following and I will detail.

On the MGA forum, stuffing something like an F20C motor into the car (it would work better on an MBB due to space constraints) would mean my banishment to the "Dark Side". They too have their own forum within the MG Experience.

Analysis while I'm breaking down the engine reveals that the crankshaft broke between the #4 connecting rod and the #3 main.


Attachment 150209


It looks like the oil pump took a major hit. It has a big gouge in its side, and it doesn't want to spin all that freely. I suspect internal damage and anticipate that I will be replacing the entire pump and drive spindle.

Attachment 157581


Attachment 150210


And maybe the camshaft took a hit as well. A few teeth on the distributor drive spindle are partially sheared. These ride on the same gear on the camshaft as does the oil pump.

Attachment 157582


Surprisingly, the engine can spin and so far the connecting rod looks straight.




On a little side note, inspection also revealed that my clutch was failing. I had a sense of a slightly slipping clutch when I was turning right and driving over the curbing with my right wheels. The plate that the friction material attaches to had a hairline crack and seemed to allow flex. I suspect it was only a matter of a short time before that might disintegrate and in fact, that was my delusional hope when the engine blew.

Subscribed. Good luck El Jefe

I’ll be looking forward to the updates

Thanks for starting. The thread. GL with the rebuild

Jeff - have you talked to Hap since the kerblammo ? Has he offered an opinion? I skipped to the last page on your MG forum thread, but did not see any further discussion about the engine mishap. So I was wondering what he had to say?

Also after reading what Shiv said, I'm wondering if you should indeed go over to the 'dark side'. If not an F20C, then can a Miata engine fit into that engine bay? It's not a lot more HP where you have to upgrade the suspension and wheels and brakes, but enough power to startle quite a few cars on track. I know the VSCCA would frown on that - are there other friendly vintage car associations that would be welcoming of such a car?

I just googled to see how much MG engines would cost. There seem to be some options out there but not sure how reliable or good they are.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

There is a big sale on some of the basic engine parts ending tomorrow and I called him yesterday to ask him whether he wanted me to order the parts through him. Not enough money in it to make it worth his while, I suppose, but I thought I would ask.

Otherwise, we're not reaching any conclusions until I progress further.