At 01:06 PM 5/5/98 EDT, DANMAS wrote:
>In a message dated 5/5/98 12:34:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ccrobins@ktc.com
>writes:
>
>> How anybody can't see that running the car in OD results in fewer
>> engine revolutions per mile, and thus less wear, is beyond me.
>
>Charley,
>
>That's because engine revolutions per mile is but one factor in engine wear,
>and a relatively minor one at that.
Well said Dan.
This thread is really a question of how to make an MGB engine last,
and I think there are a lot of places one should spend money to achieve
that ends other than an overdrive swap.
To actually achieve this goal, you have to ask:
how much HP do I want?
how often do I drive the car?
how do I drive the car?
how much do I want to spend?
how long do I want to go between rebuilds?
As far as actual wear is concerned, I'd be willing to bet that driving
back and forth to work causes more wear on my engine than my long high
speed stints. Geeze, sometimes I think driving around in SoCal traffic
is worse on my engine than the autocrossing I do!
You guys who are so concerned about longevity, I have to ask: how many
high speed miles do you actually do a year?
Taking that (probably low) number into account, I think the od conversion
bucks would be better spent on a serious balance job when rebuilding the
engine. What? You don't want to rebuild the engine? But you're going
to pull the engine to swap gearboxes. Hmmm.....pull the engine out to
swap gearboxes to make it so the engine will last longer but don't freshen
up and balance the engine while it's out....is this a question of having a
cool gizmo next time you go to a show or the MG club meeting?
I think the official drivers handbook also has a blurb about "for extending
cruising above 90 MPH..."
My personal theory is build the engine right, drive it like a sports car, and
when you pull it every couple of years for a clutch job, re-ring it, maybe
new bearings. If you aren't putting a new clutch in an MGB every few years,
then you're not driving it enough to really worry about how long the engine
will last.
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary http://www.teamsanctuary.com/
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