2019, July. New engine work back on track

When we got back from holidays I could get on with building the new engine. The pistons and exhaust manifold had been machined so I collected them from Alex at Maynards.

Modified pistons, height reduced and pockets re-cut.

 And now they don't come above the block face!

Modified pistons fitted and more like it should be.

I sorted through my various spares to find the best set of sprockets and guides to use and fitted a new tensioner making sure it was a trusted type - not one of the dreaded Rolon ones that regularly shed the rubber pad like the one is this picture.

Typical Rolon failed tensioner, the rubber pad has come off

I chose the best ones to use out of this lot

Chain fitted with new tensioner, note spacer to aid setting up.

 This was all to do a test fitting so I could make sure there was enough clearance between the valves and pistons when the engine turned over.  I used some Blutack in the valve pockets to act as a check, if it got squashed too thin I would have been in trouble, but all was well.

Blutack in valve pockets to test valve clearance.

Having checked the valves would not hit the pistons I could now fit the head and timing chain stuff properly.  This went well until I checked the camshaft timing marks.  I tried setting the chain in different places on the sprocket and also tried turning the sprocket 180 degrees but there was no way to get the cam lined up properly.

Timing marks are close but not correct.

Next thing was to try using one of my other spare cam sprockets to see if that would give a better result and look what I got, a perfect setting!

That is more like it! Spot on.

Starting to look like an engine.

Next thing with the head on and torqued down was the water pump and cover.  I had a new old stock 12 vane pump which slotted in very easily and a new cover to match so they went on with the gaskets chosen to give the correct clearance .

Heater outlet plate on rear of th head

The distributor that came with the ex rally car engine looked pretty scruffy but testing the shaft for play it seemed in reasonable condition so I thought it would be worth stripping and cleaning to check. Turns out it was in very good condition with no noticeable wear in the shaft so after a good clean up it all went back together and into the new engine.

Looks a bit rough?

But the shaft is in excellent condition.

And no wear in the bearings.

The distributor also had Lumenition installed and it tested OK when I connected it to an amplifier module so that is a bonus.

Distributor and water pump fitted.

Next job was to sort out the inlet manifold for the twin 45DHLA carbs that goes on the engine.Its a new one so has never been used before but a test fit found that it fouled on the water pump outlet. There should be a small gap between the top of the water pump cover and the underside of the manifold.  There is a short link pipe with O rings that fits inside them and joins the two together. I had to file about 1/16" off both the manifold and the pump cover to achieve the gap required.  Best to find out now rather than when the engine is in the car!

Picture showing correct small gap after filing.

I found a piece of steel in my scrap bin that fitted perfectly to hold the flywheel while I torqued up the bolts and fitted the clutch cover.

"special tool" from the scrap bin holds the flywheel

The clutch went on with a new cover and a new old stock competition friction plate that I had bought several years ago and the engine is now ready to fit in the car.

NOS competition clutch plate

STR 0415 NOS competition clutch plate

Engine ready to fit

2012 Sprint engine project begins

So having decided not to spend money repairing the old 8-valve engine I had to find a complete Sprint engine more or less ready to go in.  Some asking around on forums turned up an engine in Chipping Sodbury, only a few miles from me, which sounded suitable.  Speaking to the owner I found out it actually came from a TR7 which had fallen apart around it!

When I went to collect the motor I found out just how heavy these things are - or it may be I am getting old!
My long suffering mate Chris came with me and we only just managed to lift it into the back of my estate car.

I had borrowed an engine stand so we got the engine set up on it to have a good look at it.

First impressions not too bad but a couple of concerns soon arose.
The seller had told me he could never stop it weeping oil around the back of the sump and I quickly found the two bolts into the aluminium crank seal housing would not tighten - the threads were stripped.  Easy to swap the housing but that needed the flywheel taken off and I couldn't do that on the engine stand.  I have since seen a neat trick using a modified engine mount on the side of the block so its possible to get to all parts with it on a stand - next time then.
With the sump off the bottom end all looked good so it went back together and I turned my attention to the water pump.
Taking off the cover I found a 12 vane pump, excellent - but it was a 6 vane cover !!!  Again easy to swap but I started to wonder about what else I would find.

The carbs looked pretty dusty so I decided to give them a good going over with an overhaul kit.

Grimy carbs as received

I also got rid of the old waxstat jets at the same time. It was quite a nice and satisfying job completely stripping and cleaning the old carbs and they ended up almost good as new with their new butterflies, jets, needle valves and gaskets.

One of the fiddly bits to putting the Sprint engine in a TR7 is to sort out the heater pipes. My new engine still had Dolomite heater fittings so the previous owner had obviously bodged the pipes somehow ( yes, another bodge) but I wanted to do it properly. 
One heater connection joins to the water bypass pipe that runs along under the carbs.  I just used a standard TR7 bypass pipe here, only had to swap the olive fitting where it screws into the manifold.


The real factory TR7 Sprints had a special outlet casting fitted on the back of the head but these are super-rare so most folks use a made up version. Rimmers or S&S Preparations will sell you one which is just a standard Dolomite Sprint blanking plate with a standard plumbing outlet screwed and/or welded to it, see picture below. It looks a bit crude but works really well.

The picture shows a standard TR7 heater outlet and the modified Sprint one. You will need to re-use the screwed in outlet from the TR7.  After one failure which came out with all the aluminium thread I found I had to heat it up on a camping stove to avoid stripping the thread of the outlet.
Now all you need are some standard TR7 heater hoses to join it all up - simple.






Looking at the distributor I found it already had a Pirhana electronic ignition fitted so I would need the amplifier module to go with it. I also tested the vacuum unit by the good old sucking method and found it didn't move at all.  Searching around the web I found a Pirhana module on Ebay at a good price but the vacuum units proved to be nil stock at all the usual suppliers.  More searching and I eventually found a new old stock one at Mick Dolphin. Nice genuine bloke and good to deal with.

So finally I had a Sprint engine fully assembled and ready to fit

Please ignore the Speedograph air filters, they were just some new ones I had lying around and put them on whilst the engine was being fitted.  The engine runs on K&N filters now its in the car.

( The Speedographs are new and for sale in case you know anyone wants any for a Spitfire/MG/ etc )

The engine came with a scruffy but OK mild steel exhaust manifold so that went on.





Having experienced how heavy the bare engine is  ( around 140kgs I read somewhere )  I decided to buy myself a decent hoist to install it, especially bearing in mind it would be going in with the gearbox attached to it as well.
I decided to buy a 1 ton folding crane which cost £150, because I think when you have 200kgs of metal swinging in the air above your shiny paintwork you want to trust it to stay there. It also came with one of those adjustable leveller gadgets which are essential to tip the engine to the steep angle you need.
Trusty mate Chris assisted again and it all dropped in pretty easily leaving me to connect up all the fiddly bits over the next couple of days.

IT FITS !!