So I finally decided to take a few minutes last Friday and do some work
on the M.G. that's sitting so forlorn in my garage. If you recall, Chris
K and I last left it with the engine installed but not hooked up; we'd
run into a snag in the form of one slightly off-center bolt hole in
the engine backplate (I remembered running into the same snag the last
time I installed this engine). So I filed off a few thou from the last
threads of a bolt and slipped this in to line things up; it did, and
with a little leverage plus some judicious banging with the wire-wheel
hammer, the bolt slid through. I capped it and started tightening up.
What a relief!
Then problem N+1 arose: the exhaust manifold. Anyone who heard the
Green Car run last knows that I have a slight (heh) exhaust leak at
the manifold-to-downpipe connection. While the motor was out, I
decided to take the easy route and tighten up the fittings at the
flange. I found all sorts of interesting P.O. hacks, the worst of
which was the use of a 1/4" bolt instead of a 5/16" stud at the rear-
most flange connector. Still, two stainless 1/4" nuts held that in
place, and I tightened the rest. It'd do, and there was no movement
when I wiggled on the exhaust system.
Which has just now come back to bite me. You see, the header is
meant to be loose so that you can fit it over both of the studs that
act as locating pins, the ones at the extreme ends (the rest of the
studs locate both manifolds, and therefore have cutouts but not
holes). With the header bolted down tight to the downpipe, I can't
get the header to align with both holes -- I can line up the rear just
fine, but no amount of levering or lifting will get the front to line
up. And I can't really get the front high enough even with the rear
stud removed. So (sigh...) I'm going to have to loosen the flange and
frob with the header before this car makes noise. Damn.
Of course, what I *ought* to do is just yank the stock system and put
in an LCB, right? Right... just before I move out of state.
--Scott "I can remember when a CARB used to make your car run" Fisher
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