MGB Heater Valve / Hot Water Take Off - now 50% off!

The MGB Heater Valve that takes hot water from the head and routes it through the "heater core" radiartor leaks sometimes... and when it does it leaks directly onto the distributor or squirts a stream onto the alternator - neither a good choice for an endurance race car. 

The one pictured below, from a 1978 MGB-GT, leaked onto the distributor. Time to go. But what if you're too cheap to buy a $15 nice looking blanking plate for it? pfft.

Follow Gormless Racing's easy 5 step process.

1) Remove said craptastic valve, mock liberally:

 

2) Hack saw into two pieces, removing the 'crap' part and leaving the 'tastic' part:

 3) File, Grind, Cackle, Tap (that only counts as one step, but you can use up to a full case of beer if done correctly):

4) Douse with thread sealant, use lock washer, bolt, and newish gasket:

5) Install, enjoy:

Unreasonable English Engine Studs

After measuring the compression of the cylinders as 150/110/100/100 and finding water in the valve cover area it was obvious that, at a minimum, the head gasket needed replacement. Sounds simple, until the you realize the engine in question may not have ever been disassembled since 1978, and all the bolts are fuzed to the block.

Those that gave their all in attempting to remove the head from the engine block:

MGB Engine Head - Stubborn as a British Tory

Autocraft Stud Remover - only partially accurate :-(

MGB Center Head Stud - Snapped; air injection holes plugged.

Finally - after many injuries and curses - the head is removed; the head gasket looks less than optimal - perhaps we shall not reuse it:

MGB Head Gasket is less than fantastic

Well now that the head is removed.... I can't get ANY of the seven remaining head studs out of the block. You can see the center stud is a bit shorter than the others, mostly due to its upper part BEING STUCK IN THE BLOODY Autocraft Stud Remover And Snapper(TM). As we have a race in about three weeks, I shall decline to snap the remaining bolts and let a professional snap them. They will probably be quicker - took me a few days to just snap one!

Seven Angry Studs