[Mgs] BGT problems

Max Heim max_heim at sbcglobal.net
Mon Oct 15 11:49:07 MDT 2007


on 10/15/07 10:28 AM, RampantNM at aol.com at RampantNM at aol.com wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 10/15/2007 11:23:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
> max_heim at sbcglobal.net writes:
>
> I
> have to say I was curious why, if you thought it might be a timing
problem,
> that you bought a new distributor and set it at exactly the same  timing as
> the old one. I would have thought the logical first step would be  to
change
> the timing on the existing  distributor.
>
>
>
> The old vacum advance was toast, and I worried that if it was bad,  the
> weights, springs and such might be just as bad, as they were just as  old.
> The 11
> degree BTDC is what's on the sticker on the car, near the  bonnet latch.

OK, you didn't mention these issues. I was thinking a 74.5 would have less
initial advance. But then, I think this distributor is set up for "vacuum
retard", as opposed to the early ones.

>
> John Twist suggested 15 degrees BTDC at 1500 RPM.  I'll try that  next.
>
> As for the head gasket, wouldn't that cause water in the oil, or oil in the
> water, or some sort of contamination or at least water vapor smoke out the
> tail  pipe?

I was thinking you might have compression blowing into the water passages. I
just encountered this, helping a fellow entrant in the California Melee. His
1951 Kaiser flathead 6 was overheating and blew a seam in the top tank. It
wasn't a result of lack of cooling, but a blown head gasket pressurizing and
heating the coolant. Following the car, one got a strong whiff of burning
oil, but no visible smoke, except occasionally on overrun. This lack of
smoke may have been partly due to being filled with pure water by this point
(no antifreeze left).


--

Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires



>
>
> Regards,
>
> Robert B. Houston
> 63 TR4
> 74.5 MGBGT
> 73 MG  Midget
>
> 
Reminds me of my safari in Africa, somebody forgot the corkscrew  and for
> several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. W. C  Fields


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