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Based on that statement, you want torque not power. A high powered n/a engine needs to be reved hard. A 1275 with a small turbo (t2, gt1548 etc) would meat your needs well.

I am happy to have sold my turbo. Oil for turbo bearing cooling needs to be thin. But on an A-series engine you want thick oil for the gears. So depending on the oil you use, your block will eat turbo's or gears/camshafts/crankshaft. I used semi synthetic 15W50 and I wore out the crankshaft and camshaft. It only will work on an A-series if you have 2 separate oil systems, so it can have 2 types of oil. I just spent 1900 euros on my engine (luckily sold all turbo bits for 1500 euro)and hope it will have 90bhp in the end. More hp needs a grey clutch diapraghm, until 90bhp an orange will work fine and will expand the life of the crankshaft. I hope my engine will have lots of low end torque, bhp is not really interesting. My turbo had 120 to 160 depending on the pressure setting, but it was useless. Until 3000rpm nothing, above that a huge kick in the butt and lots of torque steer. Not useful for daily use.
I've seen Ed's engine in his blue coupe with about 90bhp and it's a masterpiece and very quick. Just a matter of finding a proper MG engine and delicate tuning. He has added a lcb, twin carbs and an airbox. That's at least an extra 15 bhp. Using an electronic ignition would ad even more. In 2009 we took our cars to Stoneleigh. On the motorway en route we'd like to chase eachother a bit, but he beat me every time.

Hans Efde wrote:...
I've seen Ed's engine in his blue coupe with about 90bhp and it's a masterpiece and very quick. Just a matter of finding a proper MG engine and delicate tuning. He has added a lcb, twin carbs and an airbox. That's at least an extra 15 bhp. Using an electronic ignition would ad even more. In 2009 we took our cars to Stoneleigh. On the motorway en route we'd like to chase eachother a bit, but he beat me every time.

Is Ed's engine just a standard MG Metro A+ with the addition of the LCB, twin carbs, and airbox, Hans? Do those three things comprise the "delicate tuning", or has it had any additional work?

Also, do you know what final drive ratio he uses?

I suspect my engine may be pre-A+; I had a look for an engine number today, but the little plaque is, surprise surprise, missing. Also, the cylinder head has been painted blue - I've never seen a blue CH on an A series engine before. It may just have been on the whim of the engine builder, or it may indicate a specific source for the head...

So if I put stainless exhaust lcb and new filter in my current engine would that make much difference

b1zbaz wrote:So if I put stainless exhaust lcb and new filter in my current engine would that make much difference

An lcb regardless of stainless helps, as does air filter but not by much. You are limited to mods you can do before lifting the engine out however a bit of head work would go nicely. Gave a nice kick to my old mini 1275 engine

b1zbaz wrote:So if I put stainless exhaust lcb and new filter in my current engine would that make much difference

Yes, if you have the standard MG stuff like the inlet manifold, HIF44 carb, there is a good basis for tuning. I think Ed rebuilt the head or got a new head at a certain stage, not sure if it's a stage 1 head. But basically that's it. here's a vid of his car. Rolling road testing with a proper needle selection will do the trick:
http://youtu.be/_8XSE7XKca8
This is one of the first rolling road he did. Still not there yet.....

Hans - did you have oil pressure and temperature gauges fitted? It sounds like you where overheating the oil and making it too thin. An a series engine needs a good quality 20/50 oil with lots of zddp in it, millers ctv is a good choice.

As for your turbo, it sounds like a T3 from a metro turbo. This is a big old dinosaur of a turbo and will take time to build boost. A more modern or smaller turbo will make the world of difference for low rev's driving. Did you rebuild the turbo before fitting it? It's quite likely to be 30+ years old so was bound to be worn.

apbellamy wrote:Hans - did you have oil pressure and temperature gauges fitted? It sounds like you where overheating the oil and making it too thin. An a series engine needs a good quality 20/50 oil with lots of zddp in it, millers ctv is a good choice.

As for your turbo, it sounds like a T3 from a metro turbo. This is a big old dinosaur of a turbo and will take time to build boost. A more modern or smaller turbo will make the world of difference for low rev's driving. Did you rebuild the turbo before fitting it? It's quite likely to be 30+ years old so was bound to be worn.

Yes I had the lot,you can see them in my video's. I have now Millers 20W50 in my car, but that stuff is like syrup when cold. Much too thick for the turbo bearing. My turbo engine was a MED 1293cc turbosprint with new T3 turbo. But it didn't have an oil cooler when I bought it, so you may be right concerning the overheated oil. The first thing I did was to install the oil cooler. It had quite low oil pressure, no surprise when I took the oil pump out.Lots of grooves in it. Main bearing was in pieces like a puzzle when whe took the crankshaft out. But turbo was as new with no play on the bearing and I sold it for good money, as the inlet, carburettor, dump valve and turbo dizzie.
I am glad I got rid of it. A lot of cooling is needed under the bonnet. I had a hose running to it from the front. When in motion all was fine, but in a traffic jam my brake fluid would boil, even when the pipes were shielded from the turbo by heat shields.

Interesting. The oil would need to be like water or overheated for an extended period to cause terminal damage to the main bearings.

I would always recommend fitting an oil temp gauge, then you can see exactly what the oil is doing and if you need a cooler or not.

I have had mine rolling road tuned at Minisport the exhaust is blowing its nuts off in two places the cherry bomb and the knuckle joint thingy which is really getting on my nerves as I keep sealing it gonna hopefully get a stainless steel one with my birthday money off peeps I'm bloody 30 in less than 2 weeks omg