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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Push rods

I was going to add this to another thread which AFAIR was talking about rocker pedestal heights. But I lost it.

Anyway,I have a 948 gold seal engine which has been sitting undisturbed under my 'workbench' since my Frogeye arrived on a trailer and in boxes in 2005. I thought I would drag it out and clean it up a bit, possibly for sale sometime. Or maybe I just fancied a bit of light spannering.

I then found the head was only loosely fixed, 4 nuts, and there were no pushrods in place. Brain immediately referenced the Pringles tub at the back of a high shelf and sure enough it contained a set of pushrods. Only when fitted and with the tappet adjusters backed right off the valves still arn't closing. It seems that the pushrods are too long or the rocker pedestals too short.

I'm not even sure if I have the right Pringles tub. Maybe pushrods come in different lengths and these rods actually belong with my spare 1275 head. Now I don't even know if the 948 ever had pushrods. I mean not since I had it, I imagine as a gold seal engine, they did at least reinstall them in Abingdon.

As you might gather, its wet in Cumbria today.
GuyW

1275 pushrods are longer than the small-bore engines, as the block is about 1/4" taller.

I can measure some pushrods for an exact length.
Dave O'Neill 2

That will be it then Dave. Thanks.

So the next mystery is whether I had already removed the 948 pushrods myself and hidden them away somewhere. There could even be TWO Pringles tubes! Who knows!
GuyW

OK, some quick measurements with a tape measure, so as near as...

948/1098 etc., 8-15/32" or 215mm - part no. 2A14

1275, 8-23/32" or 221mm - part no. AEG314


I find that Pringles tubes are also very handy for storing arc welding electrodes.
Dave O'Neill 2

Various good ideas for things to do with Pringles tubes, do you actually eat the Pringles? I can remember when they first came out in the 1970s in the US and a mate and I went down to a local store and bought a tube and weren't impressed after all the hype, like eating slightly flavoured cardboard and they haven't improved much since IMO. I'll stick to a normal crisp, ready salted.
David Billington

Agreed David. We don't get them often, but obviously enough over 20 or so years to store at least one, possibly two sets of pushrods.

More recently grandson has taken to raiding the store cupboard for the Pringles tube as soon as he arrives. He always makes a Donald Duck beak with the first two. Now I wonder where he got that idea from!
GuyW

I read about Pringles recently. Apparently they are 'pre-digested' in the manufacturing process, which means they don't send a signal to your appetite that you've had enough.
Haven't been able to touch them since.
Nick and Cherry Scoop

BTW Guy - I've had a spare 1275 Gold Seal on my shelf for about twenty years. Still waiting for the urge.
Nick and Cherry Scoop

Nick

That’s some shelf 😮
Dave O'Neill 2

Well spotted, Dave. It's actually on the bottom shelf, which doubles as a concrete floor.
Nick and Cherry Scoop

My 948 was on a shelf. 1/4" plywood. It was a huge packing case that a replacement windscreen glass for my MKIV came in from Moss. They charged £20 deposit which I thought was quite a good deal for what has served me well as a workbench down one side of the garage for 30 years. And the 1/4" thick base is supported on a couple of 2 X 4" to keep it and the engine off the concrete floor. At one time it also housed my spare t9 until I sold it on to someone in NZ.
GuyW

Excellent recycling, Guy.
Nick and Cherry Scoop

Well after some exploration of the garage I find 4 sets of pushrods, and that is not counting the two sets installed in the 2 Sprites. All 4 sets wrapped separately, are of the longer 221mm size. Except one bundle has 8 rods at 221mm plus 2 extra at around 215mm. Not sure what they are doing mixed up like that. So as things stand, I am short of 6 shorter rods!
There is more garage space and more boxes of parts to investigate tomorrow!
GuyW

This thread was discussed between 02/09/2026 and 08/09/2026

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