Yup, it was the crankshaft. This time all the rod bearings went away at the
same time, very unusual. A couple of times in the past I've lost the #1 rod
bearing only, and then only after about two years of very hard use. These
were all new bearings just 4 months ago and on a freshly reground crank.
Main bearings aro OK, but the rod journals are already at minimum size, so
no more regrinds.
My best guess is that it was an oil starvation problem this time, happened a
few seconds after a long, very hard left turn at high rpms, felt like hitting
the brakes hard while at full throttle. The oil level was down about 3/4 qt,
but it's been a quart low before and never presented a problem. Also my race
tires aren't holding up as well this year as before, so maybe I'm just
getting more agressive in the turns. The incident happened one lap after I
earned the Fast Time of Day Index trophy. Nice trophy, but I'd rather have
the engine back.
Well, one more time. DOES ANYBODY OUT THERE HAVE AN MGA 1500/1600 CRANKSHAFT
TO SPARE? If necessary I'll take a short block or complete engine along with
it. You become god for a day if it's within a day's drive of Chicago.
Barney Gaylord -- 1958 MGA
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