Ottawa MG Club

I have always been bothered by the “tick, tick” noise of engine lifters ever since my ’72 240z had an incurable case of the ticks. Now I have an MGB with a factory V8 (Oh-oh says Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor!) and that nasty tick/tick sound again. But wait the V8 has hydraulic lifters how can this be possible. Well, last winter I replaced the cam, the lifters and rods and used all the proper cam lube and stuff…and I still have the noise. Maybe it isn’t the lifters! Could it be the lower end? I’ve never tackled the bottom side of an engine before so a bit of trepidation was holding me back…even with having the engine out twice last winter I refused to flip it and look at the bottom end. I think that fear plays a large part into many of our stalled plans for our little cars. But that ticking noise has has pushed me over the edge!!

My neighbour, that oh so familiar British Cad that we love to prod and tease and then oogle over his cars (yes, Jordan S. Jones) happens to call me one day to mention that he has at hand a spare V8 of exact vintage to match my 74 V8 and would I perhaps be interested in purchasing it for restoration purposes. Well, that moment was upon me…do I look my fear in the face and say “yes” to buying the engine (pretty terrific price by the way) … or do I tuck tail between legs and decline?! I am now the proud owner of a V8 block and a box of engine bits!! So this summer I’ll slowly start reading up on the V8 rebuild process .. will likely tap into the Jordan “BrainTrust” across the way (I believe that my property value has increased just by living across the street from him) and will actually start at the bottom of that V8 block and will work my way to the top.

My goal is to have two look-alike V8 engines that I can swap in/out as needed between rebuilds. (I can now pull the engine in about 1.5 hours and get it back in about the same amount of time). But my motivation is learning and conquering the fear of the bottom end. I am convinced that once you do something once the next time is that much easier. I admit to being comforted by the fact the the MG club has many techno-weenies who love to offer their guidance and support and will draw upon that knowledge as my project proceeds.

I will document my progress as I remember to do so. I’ll try to take photos of the steps. I will not promise to be complete by a certain date…as you know I travel a fair amount and can barely make it out to club meetings. I hope to have some fun too and look forward to showing off a freshly tuned V8 that runs without that nasty “tick/tick”!!

Fun driving everyone!