Bara LSD, Rear Protechs and N/S Rear Wing

With everything now off the Midget and the parts for modification ready to be dropped off at Westfield it was time to finish off the winter upgrades on the SEIW.

Unfortunately the garage is now reasonably full so I needed some good weather to allow the bits taken off the car to be stored.  Replacing the diff is not the easiest of jobs especially on an FW.  First the ROPS and rear bodywork have to be removed which my case also meant the Carbon Mod rear wheel arch protectors.  Then the fuel tank needs to come out along with it's mounting bracket which requires the upper wishbone inner mount to be accessed so the seats and tunnel carpet needed to be removed - also needed for access to the prop-shaft.

The order of removal is important as the handbrake is required to hold the diff while the prop-shaft  bolts are undone on - no prizes for guessing how I know this! Once I had the diff all undo there was lots of big hammer/drift work to get the diff mount bolts out and back with all the correct washers and torqued up.  Next job was to replace the shock absorbers - I transferred over the springs and transferred the length measurements.  Before refitting the fuel tank I replaced all the fuel hoses cleaned out the tank filter, replaced the post pump filter and also treated a few areas of rust on the chassis with waxoil.

With everything refitted to the chassis next was refitting the bodywork include new n/s rear wing after it was damaged in France last year; after g-clamping it in place and a bit of fettling I transferred the holes with a scribe and drilled them 0.5 mm oversize to give me a little play.  Once I was happy with the overall fit I bolted the bodywork together and to the chassis, refitted the roll bar and reconnected all the rear light connections.




With the car back on it's wheels I drove it down to a flat section of the drive and adjusted the ride height with James providing ballast

Midget Rear Axle Refurbishment

Having removed the Rear Axle last weekend, this weekend I started the process of refurbishing it ready for fitting to the Westfield.

Before and after the wire brush

After breaking the axle into it's component parts I took a wire brush to the main axle and drum brake backplates.

After removing the worst of the rust I then treated all the component with rust stabiliser, after a couple of coat the treatment was washed off and the parts dried.

The rear axle will go to Westfield so has been left but the backplates were both given a few coats of satin black Hammerite smooth.

After leaving overnight the backplates I re-assembled them using all new components 

 

Midget Strip Down 4

The midget strip continues - the rear axle is now removed and stripped ready to go off to Westfield

 New 1&7/8 spanner used

And the engine has been dropped off at Hurley Engine Services in Bath with the following agreed:

If re-bore and/or new pistons are required re-bore x2 +0.040 for 1310cc or next size if it’s already been re-bored previously (was actual bored to +0.12 for 1380cc)

Replace head valve seats for unleaded
Increase inlet valves to A+

Light porting/polish of the cylinder head – remove flashing/shaping etc

Convert head and block to 11 stud
Lighten flywheel (fast road) and fit new starter ring
Regrind crank (only needed a polish)
Repaint MG Red/pulleys Black – masking none painted areas S/No/block plugs etc
Rebuild engine with MED RS Camshaft, Vernier duplex drive, lifters, springs, oil pump, centre main strap, water pump, 82 deg thermostat, alloy rocker cover
Balance crank, flywheel and clutch cover
Baffle to the sump

Hopefully the engine will be ready in early August