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

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3

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sf+rle fictitiou!?-4

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-