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MG TD TF 1500 - What valve /tappet clearance?

Good Morning all!
I want to set my valve clearance today. My car is a 1952 TD with a replacement engine #8507, I think from the factory. The tappet cover says .019 in. The WSM says .019 in. engines prior to engine # 24116. The maker’s plate says the orig. engine's # 13841 and WSM says to set valve clearance to .012 in. after #24116. My question is do replacement engines use .019 in. or .012 in.? Is there a way to find the build date of engine #8507? It has the larger clutch plate. I know someone out there has the answer. Thanks in advance, John
John Hambleton

John,

Over 60 years of T-Series ownership, I've selected valve setting that suit my need. They may not be for everyone, but I set my TF valves at .015" warm.

Setting the valves at too small an opening, whist nice and quiet, promotes wear. Valves set are large clearances will be noisy but the marginal increase in performance is questionable.

With modern fuels that ignite quickly, you must consider closing the valve as quickly as possible. Whilst this is normally a function of the cam lobe, setting the valve clearance to a tight setting, can help. Hence my selection of .015" set warm.

It only takes a few minutes to set the valves, so try to find the optimum setting for your TD.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

John - By now, the vast majority of T series cars have the newer cam shaft that requires 0.012" of clearance. But I am sure that there are still some of the older cams lurking around. E-mail me at SUfuelpumps@donobi.net and I'll send you a procedure for determining which cam you have. Cheers - Dave
D W DuBois

John twist of university motors used to suggest .015" across the board. Regards, tom
tm peterson

Agree with Gordon's assessment & Tom's recommendation. Any article from Dave DuBois is well worth reading. Absorb any & all info from John Twist. What a great guy! (Spoke to him a couple of days ago re my TD oil pump). His videos are first class & he has to be the closest thing you yanks have got to a living treasure! (Thanks Mort). My research suggests that tight "lash" results in bottom end torque while loose lash produces a slight increase in top end horsepower (by decreasing the duration). I've got the roller lifters & am going with .016" hot. Hope this helps you John. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

My 55 XPEG is set at a loose .012 and runs beautifully. Set this way when I got it and only 10 hrs running time since total rebuild, I decided to leave it alone for now. PJ
Paul S Jennings

My engine is 8529 and my car is a 51. car number 8105. if that is any help
Tom Maine

Posted this a while ago and it disappeared? Remember that Crane Cams have been used in T-series cars since at least 1988, all use 18-20 thou clearance. George
George Butz

Here it is, George. Bud

Bud Krueger

Thanks all, Gordon's answer solved it. I set them at .015 runs like a champ and with more power. John
John Hambleton

This thread was discussed between 18/07/2014 and 20/07/2014

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