Hi listers!
I started to send to the list a very long list from an auction sale bill but
I thought it would be better (much shorter) to send a web site link instead.
http://www.biddersandbuyers.com/ads/032401curvey.htm
I have absolutely no financial interest in this auction, except that I may
attend myself to see if I could pick up an engine for my TR2. I received
this as an email from a friend with the Prairie Octogon MG club of Illinois.
This is a large offering of various British car items. Here in the mid-west
rust belt there may not be a great demand for many of these items and there
could be some bargains. One never knows how these things will go.
This auction will be on Saturday, March 24, 2001 (10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.) and
on Sunday, March 25, 2001 (1:00 - until all is sold). The location is 204 W.
Vine St. Taylorville, IL.
Earlier this week I did pick up (for free) an engine for my TR2. My car is
#7690 and my engine was TS15848E. I now have engine #TS72xxE. (I forgot
the exact number but it was in the 7200 - 7300 range. When I opened up the
engine I found a mouse nest in the oil pan. It was very rusted inside.
There were no pistons or connecting rods. The rod journals on the crank
were badly rusted, but some naval jelly removed most of it. When I did get
the crankshaft out, the main journal bearings were stamped with some numbers
and the letters "std." Would this mean that this crankshaft has not been
previously ground (at least the main journals)? The head was missing one
valve and the valve springs look brittle from corrosion. The head is
already at the machine shop and it will be stripped down, cleaned and
inspected for cracks tomorrow. I hope it is a candidate for rebuild as my
own had cracks beginning at both center stude bold holes. I am also hopeful
that the crankshaft can be recovered as the one from my engine was
previously ground and is now too badly worn to be ground again.
----- Now for the questions. -----
I think both of the engines I am working on have removable camshaft
bearings, but I am not sure. My Bentley manual says that the early TR2
engines had the cam turning inside a carrier that was machined into the
block and that excessive wear would require block replacement. It also said
a change was in the works for a replaceable bearing. Has anyone changed
these bearings? Are the "bolts" in the bulge on the side of the block some
type of "set screw" holding these bearing inserts in place? Are replacement
cam bearings that I see in the catalogs "finished" in terms of machining?
Can they simply be inserted and secured in place with the "set screw bolts"
and then receive the camshaft?
If my crankshaft and cylinder head could have been rebuilt (or now if those
from the "donor" engine can be), I was thinking of reusing the 15848 block
that was "running" in my car when I tore it down. (It actually ran well, but
with little to no oil pressure.) The man at our local machine shop said he
thought my pistons, rings and cylinder sleeves looked ok, (he did suggest
new wrist pins). The engine had good compression (175 - 200psi) except on #3
which we knew had a bad valve. The machinist knows I am trying to limit how
much I put into the engine as my car really is not a first class candidate
for restoration. In considering using the same cylinder sleeves, pistons
and rings, is this a case of "false economy?" If I were to go with new
cylinder sleeves, pistons and rings, (for which the extra $$ would delay the
job to next summer) should I try to rebuild the #72xx block instead of
#15848? Since neither engine is the "matching number" engine for my car,
does it really matter? On the older, rusted engine, someone has tried to
remove one the old sleeves and there is a chunk of iron broken out from the
bottom of the sleeve. Would this procedure likely have ruined this block or
would the excessive rust inside the block have ruined the "grooves"
preventing a seal for a "figure 8" sleeve gasket?
Again, I am new at doing engine rebuild work. We are too distant from any
local club to seek regular counsel. For the most part, this list IS my local
club. Any and all advice will be sincerely appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Rob Blubaugh
Rensselaer, IN (home to IPE-GAGG, TR2 #7690, born 18 August 1955 in
Coventry, England, UK)
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