MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Looking for an engine

This is a long shot, but does anybody know where XPAG engine number 35141 is? That is the engine number for TF5110. When I bought my car, it had an early TC block, #804 installed. This block has been bored .120 oversize and has a crack from the water jacket to the head stud.

Thanks



Rick

I wouldn't junk that block. I'd be inclined to do a bit of shallow grinding, then braze or solder the surface, drill & tap that one thread (why not all?) for 7/16" helicoil & head bolt. And yes, I've even soldered on a block deck.

For that matter, don't even bother brazing. I braze, solder, weld everything I get my hands on since I'm a welding engineer. Just do the helicoil. Run in the helicoil then torque the hell out of it as a proof test. What do you have to lose besides the price of a helicoil?

Old timers would drill & tap the crack and weld the crack across steel studs. Much overkill in this situation.

If the top of the block is welded, it would likely come back to haunt you trying to drill & tap, and then you'd have to look at having it decked. Machinists with experience might balk at cutting it if a nickel alloy was used as filler metal.

A generous amount of sealant of your choice in that thread and along the bolt will seal off coolant, espcially since these engines have unpressurized cooling systems.

I replaced the original head studs on one engine with 1/2-13 cap screws. I don't recommend that for the faint of heart.

Is it worth a drive up to Ann Arbor?

Jim
Welding Engineer
Ann Arbor Hydraulics

JIM N

Definitely don't junk it. If it comes down to that, just send it my way and I'll pay the shipping. I could use a TC block!
Steve Simmons

Rick I'm curious about the really big difference in numbers between the car number 5110 & the original engine number 35141. Usually they are reasonably close to each other, well within a couple of hundred on the TD. Was that the case with the TF? Or did the engine numbering just continue on from the TD & the car number start again with TF 251? My car is TD 5801 & the engine number XPAG/TD/5965. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

The numbers sound about right - I have TF2250 with original engine XPAG 32108.
Dave H
Dave Hill

Peter and Dave, Not only are the numbers quite large in comparison to the chassis number but they are hardly ever in order with some cars having higher engine numbers than cars manufactured after them. For example TF5098 has engine number 35092, TF5100 has engine number 35087 and TF5125 has engine number 35061. There must have been a big room full of engine blocks and the worker just picked the closest one to the loading dock door. Maybe they used the FILO method, First In Last Out.

Regards

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

Car numbers to engine numbers were pretty much all over the place. My TF 8353 has it's original XPEG engine 654.

Paul Jennings

Paul, it appears that they stared renumbering the engines with TF6951. I assume because they started using XPEG engines. TF6950 has XPAG engine number 36516 while TF6951 has XPEG engine number 785. Of course that doesn't explain why your car made on 12/17/54 has a lower engine number than TF6951 made on 09/08/54.

Regards

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

It's certainly well known that the engines were pulled in small batches in random order, for installation into T-series cars - that's why engine numbers are all over the place, with no relationship between engine and car. Odd engines installed quite out of sequence usually result from an engine being pulled from a car as defective before shipping, being repaired somewhere and somehow, and then made available again for installation into a much later car.

As for the high engine number in a low-number TF car, the XPAG and XPEG sequences are completely different. They began numbering XPAG engines in 1939 with TB0251 (XPAG 501) and continued numbering through TC and TD production, continuing the numbering when they began TF production (two early prototypes had later engine numbers). So TF0502 had an engine in the 30,000 range, as one would expect. The highest regular XPAG engine I can find fitted to a TF was XPAG 36516, fitted to the last 1250 TF, TF6950.

The first TF fitted with an XPEG engine, XPEG507, was TF6501, when the numbering of XPEG engines began all over again. Tim's information on re-numbering above is incorrect.

The Production Records provide this, and much other information. I'm always happy to try to provide numbers and information like the above.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Jim N

Thanks for the offer. I travel to Michigan from Cincinnati 3 or 4 times a year. My family live in Edenville. I am from Livonia and lived in Ann arbor for about 5 years. I will try to contact you on my nest trip. The block has been stripped and cleaned. It is very early since it only has 2 holes to hold the external oil filter. I looked into the LocknStitch crack repair, but to buy the kit is around $700. I am looking for a correct block for the TF.

Steve

If you had a Block for the TF, I would gladly trade.

Rick

Rick

Tom, actually my information on renumbering is correct, the engine numbers started over with the first XPEG engine and the XPAG engines continued as before. But you are right, I was wrong about which car had the first XPEG engine. I didn't realize that XPAG and XPEG engines were both installed in TFs for some time after the first XPEG engine was introduced. Thanks for the correction. Belated apologies to the OP for sidetracking the thread.

Regards

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

Rick - back about the first of November someone posted a note about OOPS1947@metalfan.com was taking orders for TD and TC blocks. They had about a dozen as I recall. I have a post it note hanging up but never dropped them a line to see. It is a long shot but you never know. Curt
TCs Curt

Rick, I have XPAG 31323 here which I believe came from a late TD or early TF. I'd like to sell that as a complete engine however. I do have another bare block here as well that I would sell or trade, but it's a bit earlier, late TC / early TD.
Steve Simmons

Steve

I wish you were closer to Ohio. Scare me with the cost of the engine and the blocks.

Rick
Rick

Not sure what the market is these days. Probably a couple thousand for a disassembled engine needing everything done? Open to input from the group on value.

What I'm ultimately after is a TC-correct engine
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 13/02/2017 and 15/02/2017

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG TD TF 1500 BBS now