Re: engine dismantaling, plastic disintegration

[Craig Perry <cperry@fw.waterpik.com>]

David, 
First, get some good manuals, Haynes or Bentley are mentioned frequently. I use 
a Haynes all the time, not realy a preference, just the only one I have. Covers 
things pretty well...
I don't think time is so much a factor as where the parts are stored. Just keep 
the parts in a dry, safe place where they won't be scattered to the four winds 
and you should be okay.  As to remembering where the parts go, take photos!  
Take photos of the engine compartment before anything is removed : both sides, 
front views,  closeups of carb linkage, distributor side, emissions stuff, etc. 
After you get the engine out, take some photos as you go about dismantling the 
engine. Just make sure to keep track of the nuts/bolts and where they go. Some 
people use plastic bags, like glad bags, and put the different sets  in 
separate bags.  
As for the plastic, no help there, sorry. 
Good luck, and welcome to the world of Brit cars (and Lucas, Prince of 
Darkness..)

Craig Perry
'69 B,  '77 911S

>>> David Tulchinsky <tulch@ccsalpha3.nrl.navy.mil> 07/14 7:07 AM >>>
Hi,

I just bought my first MG (a 77B).  At the time of purchase I knew there was
something wrong w/ the engine, but the rest of the car was in decent shape so
I went ahead w/ the sale.

At this point, me and my mechanic are somewhat afraid to run the engine and
have decided that a complete rebuild is probably in order.  No problem, just
a question  of $$.

With that in mind, how problematic is it to rebuilt the engine over the
course of
several months, instead of days.  Aside from forgetting were all the parts go,
will parts rust and be ruined.  I don't have the time of money to do it all
at once,
so I figure I'll slowly take it apart, figure out what wrong, and
replace/rebuild
as required.  However, if this will cause more harm then good, I'll have to
take another approach.

Any thoughts out in list-ville??

Second question:

Does anybody have a remedy for plastic disintegration of all the the various
plastic parts??  It seems that every time I take something out of the car,
if its made of platic (for example hazard switch, light switch, wiper
switch) the
plastic is sooo brittle and dry that it just disintegrates.  Is there a
solution for
this aside from complete and total replacement.

Thanks.

-Dave Tulchinsky
77B, leaking, not running, but still the apple of her owner's heart.