E-type for E-type

XPAG TD engine

Going, but with a concern

Butch ran up the red MG TD which now has a full compliment of eight valves, an improvement over  the seven it had when we dismantled it.  We were pleasantly surprised when it fired on the first kick and ran pretty well, but it had a puzzling ticking sound that was inconsistent with normal XPAG engine noise.  Significantly,   Butch had also encountered some problems seating the valve cover.

If you take a quick look back at last week’s post you’ll notice that this car featured one of the myriad of aftermarket valve covers which were available for these engines.  This was suggesting a hither to fore unrecognized chain of events.

XPAG aftermarket valve cover

Weird scene inside the goldmine

So we pulled it off, and because XPAG’s flow a veritable ocean of oil to the valve train, Butch put a red shop towel across the rocker arms and fired it up again (the first photo was actually taken with the engine running), and Et Voila !   The noise was gone.  Now have another look at the valve cover.  Valve relief has actually been machined into the cover for #’s 1,2,3 & possibly 4.  But upon close inspection we realized that five thru eight also were showing contact.  This valve cover is now sitting on the work cart and my TC paint mask valve cover is currently in serice on this engine until the owner can get another one from Abingdon Spares.

compact "A" overdrive in an E-type

Yes, it fits

We try to put in about 42 productive hours every week, but this time of year especially, we seem to be on the go right thru the weekend, too.  Working downstairs on his own time, Patrick has conclusively proven that a late Jaguar 4 speed transmission equipped with the compact “A” series overdrive unit will fit into a series 3 V12 E-type without modification to the tunnel.  That overdrive unit is clearly visible in the rear of the tunnel in this picture.

Green E-type leaving

Outbound

A red series 2 E-type arrives

Inbound

On the seventh day I engineered a convenient series 2 E-type swap, leaving in the morning with a green one and returning in the afternoon with another one resplendid in the ‘Arrest Me Red” livery.  A brief road test of the red car suggests that some brake work may be in order as it definitely favors the left side of the road when footbrake is applied.  While I was out I also surveyed an Innocenti Mini on behalf of a prospective buyer from Seattle, and I’m guessing that by the next time you’re reading this it will be in Westminster, Vermont undergoing a thorough pre-sale examination.

Sequoia Cream MG TC

Why we live & work in Vermont. See this MG TC in the Car Corral at The British Invasion of Stowe

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