The Classic'Y'
Issne No-143 APril ,gg8
The Newsletter of The M.G. 'Y" Type Register
EDITORIAL
YE$, there g cnlysix pagesthistime, l'm afraid.
lrlost readerc rxill rerall that in October tgg4 I ran s*rort of material for "The Classic Y' and
t1at, far a time, it uras puhlidred at irregular intenrah Thh didnt really work urell aither for
youi editor o, io, silhscribem ts the newsletier. I lcst a iex regular *rhscribersat that'time
ilndsubtadly becarm {rere was confusian m ta wlren the next issre would appear. Had they
mgd 36 ls$e? Had they failed to reneur*reir*kription or had tte magarine heen lost
ir the pasf? So nsril, faccd with flre slame prohlem, I am going ta try ana{rcr alternat3ue: ffte
2lltk nf each alt*maL month wilt rsmain retfte pdng date u befEre {February -April -
June - August - Octaher - pscember|, hut ths ne$tdctter rxill nut atrrays eontain&e eight
pigsu*ri*t have been *re nonn since Fehruary tffi. -Brr! &h is a price risa under ano{rer
naire., you might salr, and in sffeci lrou rnrould he right I frare nt wish to raise$re standard
Lt"lt. sgrbsriptisn ahs$s Slll, hut photocopying co* increased hy a ihird a few Jrears ago'
and posrage continue$to go up from timi to time. l{euerthelesq if thi$ traucity af material
continues and future lssu*tuin outto he suhsfiantially lesthan the 8-page nofin, it might he
pusshle to adjust or extend subscriptionsto mnlpensts.
A carredion for the lmt lsue is ttat it i* Jimmy Enowles and nat Dr.Dsrman who b shawn in
the photograph on page 3 (rot thatSmu can see ttat mu*lt of hims.
Dave Lawrencc has pointed outto me that *ngrr dkconery' Ho.tE4 - YBE?$4 {p.{ of
TCY144 is also featurgd on p.S as part of ffre 'Guirantee Plate lsre Ledgens'llsiling. As
slch it wauld appear to be the onllr knaum left-handdri*e YE to have heen built I look
forurard to rece'ruing csnfirmatitn of its prouefiange from America-
S,PARES FOR SALE
260190 Retr wings fYA"I dlrnamoe Tt' Iight lens; rear seat {hryjltbl {bsigalea&e{; Il{:s 'odds t ends-. Canta* Ian Shelmerdine,
-'
Netrrslefier Editor/Re gisran J -G- Laumn, .- Live rpoal, JU.lt. Spares Secretary fi{ew Spard: A.Brier,
-Yotrt,
ilU.lt. Spares Co-crdinatsr (Second-trand
-'*ryL
TFre Clmsh'Y" is pr.&li# by Stycol Pt"ddbdims
-{ -
GUARANTEE PTATE ISSUE
chaasl.8 No- Englne llo- corpl.etlon Date
LEDGERS
cba8al.s tf o. Bng.Inc
WE YB . ft.D{.
Corplctlon Date
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2
No- EnqLne !fo- CorPAetlon Date ctrassI.s lfo- Bngl.n. lfo' Corpl.et1on Dat'Chass I s
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3
THE MILLENNIUMAND UNLEADED PETROL
By now, the vast majority of car owners with engines designed for leaded petrol, which by the
wiy includes nearlyall-gritisn cars from 1925 tq 1990, not just 1950s classic cars, will be
,e[ aware of the pianned demise of this fuel. To remind you.... "Tetra-Ethyl-Lead was added
to boost the octane rating to permit higher compression ratios, and was soon found to protect
exhaust valve seats. So manufacturers soon reduced the valve seats to the cheap base
metal, most often grey cast iron".... Why waste money fitting a hardened steel valve seat, ifthe plain nnetal will do?
Although "Lean-Bum" engines were well advanced, and a far better cure for pollution than
the exlpensive, and potdntially dangerous, "Catalytic Convertef', our wonderfully easily
wayed politicians weie convinieO Oy tne Green Lobby to insist on the "Cat" being fitted to all
newca*. Some countries even tax non-cat cars heavily, like Germany' So, by 2000 there is
rumour there will be no more lead in petrol. Lead ruins a catalyst anyway.
With this is mind, I have modified allthree of my M.G. saloons. The YB was done nearly two
years ago, and has done about 5,000 miles on uhleaded. Whilst some people say this fuel is
iespons'inte for a drop in power, I have not noticed any loss. I might add this 'head does have
the slighly larger TF vaives of inlet 36mm, exhaust 34mm diameters. Normal TD/YA /Bsizes ire inlet 33mm and exhaust 31mm. The reason for writing is to point out that it does
NOT cost a fortune to modify your engine, if you are happy to do most of the mechanical
labour yourself. I have only jirsi finished modifying a 1300 M.G. Metro, the total cost being
just t1i0, including postageto and from the engineering shop. You need to remove yourihead and strip it oui to just tne 'head (i.e., remove all studs, valves, etc.) Phone up the
engineerc, arrange collection, wait the thiee or four days it takes, and meantime buy a 'head
gasket, valve slem seals, rocker gasket, and manifold gasket.
-5-
I purchased the exhaust valves from the company who fitted the hardened seats for me, and
reassembled my own 'head, and refitted it. Just like a drawn-out de-coke, really' The,,aromatics" in modern petrol do cause it to vaporise easier than before, especially in our
recenly warm summeis. As before in these pages I have mentioned fitting a Morris
1Oo0/Austin A.35/A.40 fibre block between the Y's s.u, carburettor and cast iron manifold.
This reduces heat transfer, and adding a heat shield keeps rising exhaust manifold heat off
the carb' body. Road congeslion does nothing to help an overheated carb'. Once you have
stalled, it takes ages to re-start the engine, if you leave the inlet manifold uninsulated from
the carb'. The photo shows I went further, and re-routed the fuel pipe from the S,U. pump to
the float chamber, to remove it from its route over the top of the exhaust manifold. Neat, tidy,
and effective. A practical approach that no doubt will offend all Concours Judges. Good job I
do noi carel
The vapour lock so often talked about is simply vapour in the jet and float chamber. AND the
feed pipe. This has to be shifted before the car will start. Many of you will have had
"kangaroo petrol" for a minute or two after re-starting. ln an emergency, just douse the carb'
noOy*in cool water, but NOT the hot manifold. Cooling the carb' will condense the fuel, and
you should be able to re-start the car in the middle of the traffic jam you stalled in. Never
fiappens on winding, empty, country roads, does it? Fate always ensures there is a ready
audience for you.
Actualty using unleaded fuel is a bit of an anti-climax. There is nothing to see! Though the
price per litre is lower. No one has yet run up to me shouting, "No, No. that's unleaded
petrol!" when I shove the green nozzle in the flller'
Where did lget my Metro'head done? Ring Mike Tanski at Ferriday Engineering,01902-739690, fax 739691. Excellent service, no sales patter.
Neil Cairns.
-6-