Milwaukee Midget

[Milwaukee Midget]

Hey, Terry -

After Mark gets done with the modeling, we're going to be looking at cam combinations that are available, and only if there's nothing workable will we be considering a custom grind.

As to align honing/boring the cam bores, probably not wise.

This is the ladder that holds the cams in place.  Yet another light-weight casting, and there's not a lot of material to work with.  The overall thickness is .300 . . .



. . . but the flip side shows the casting - what - relieved (?) - another .063, leaving only .237 of material to work with on the top side.  As the design has the cam turning on the casting with no bearing, and as we're going to be using a heavier set of springs, the idea of taking material out of this area doesn't seem prudent.



Also, the new oil pump arrived.  I'm going to take the old one apart and see if I can't make an adjustable pressure regulator for it.







Hey, Podunk - I still owe you some money for shipping the plate.  Drop me an e-mail, I just got paid.  

[fordboy628]

 Are camshafts going to be one offs?       If so bearing diameters could be made to suit.

Cams are probably going to come from the extensive inventory of Brit OHC designs.    Piper seems to have concentrated on cams for K series DOHC engines.   Want to use a "high intensity" grind to maximize torque and keep the torque curve as flat as possible in the intended rpm range.

Even with a "custom" bearing journal diameter, stuff still has to fit in the limited "packaging space" available.

"Packaging is everything."  Keith Duckworth

 
Fordboy

[fordboy628]

midget,

Spoke with Apex about their Tobin-Arp cam align bore machine.  Currently in service.   The cutter bar is 15/16ths diameter, so the minimum bore diameter they can repair is ~ 31/32nds, say .969"    They were not thrilled about the prospect of milling the cam ladder in prep for the align bore.   

I'll measure up the journal size on one of the cams, but I'm not optimisty about the size . . . . . .   

Back to beverage evaluation . . . . . .  before the Winter Lager turns . . . . . . .

 
Fordboy

[fordboy628]

Also, the new oil pump arrived.  I'm going to take the old one apart and see if I can't make an adjustable pressure regulator for it.

midget,

Looks like all that is needed is a threaded adjuster and a mating threaded plug to replace the existing stock plunger spring plug.   A bit of thread measurement, some rudimentary math, some material and an accurate lathe gets it done.     Piece of cake.

I have some threaded adjusters made up for a different application.   But they might work.   Machining up a special size, with say a metric thread, just to keep the engine's threads "unified", shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

HEEEY, maybe you should use a Whitworth thread.   You know, just to pay homage to the MG heritage . . . . . . .  

I think I need another beverage . . . . . .

 
Needametallatheboy

[fordboy628]

midget, Podunk, et all,

I measured up the cam journal Ø on the used cams that are @ the "ranch":  .963"/.964"  (24.46mm/24.48mm), so I am going to conclude that the mating bore Ø should be 24.5mm/24.52mm (.9645"/.9653").

Seems like it might be "just" possible on the Tobin-Arp, and likely a giant pain in the keister to actually accomplish.

Here's hoping that having to utilize the 2nd head is an unlikely possibility.

On a limited look at the damage to the head casting and the cams, it appears that a batch of "trash" was pumped through the engine's oiling system, damaging many load carrying surfaces.   It is unknown what the source of the trash might have been, let's just say this particular engine probably had a hard life.   And this is the bane of the K series engine: elegant and efficient design coupled with above average sensitivity to "lack of maintenance".   Unperformed maintenance, in this instance, is an engine killer.   Too bad that in the stock form it has to compete with all those un-named "rice grinders" that "Take a lickin" and "Keep on tickin".

I submit, for your approval, that the nickname for the new engine, engraved tag by SSS, should be:  TIMEX

 
Stillfluentinmetricboy

[Milwaukee Midget]

Yes, and engine name - the name "Grenade" came out of a description of an A series engine that Peter Egan wrote about a number of years ago.  Hands down, the greatest living automotive columnist in America. 

"Kettle" seems to be the preferred nickname in Great Britain, due to the engine's notoriety to boil over.

We could confuse ALL of the MG folks and simply refer to it as "the Twin Cam" - let 'em think we're actually crazy enough to pull a 1600 cc B engine variant out of one of the most collectable MGs ever produced - That could alienate a lot of my purist friends. 

"Special K" is too easy and obvious.

I had thought "1KK", but that's one "K" too close to being in total opposition to my basic principals, morals and upbringing.

"MGK" is the monogram for "Machine Gun Kelly", and I'm not a fan of Rap.

I'm thinking "Carol", as in "Carol Kaye".  One of the most prolific bass players in pop music, a member of "The Wrecking Crew", worked with Glen Campbell, Phil Spector, Frank Zappa.

I don't think anybody's ever nicknamed an engine after her, but she's certainly powered a number of records. 

[RichFox]

When I was in High School I delivered photographs and picked up rolls of film for developing from drug stores. Usually in English Ford cars. But once the Anglia was being serviced and the boss had me take his twin cam MGA to make a quick delivery. i thought I was just the coolest thing around foe a few miles.

[Milwaukee Midget]

I love my MGB, but the MGA is just beautiful.  I've got a friend here in the MG club who has been restoring a Twin Cam.  Actually, a buddy of Fordboy's is doing the engine build.  They have their challenges, and the engine had a poor reputation with respect to reliability, but when properly assembled and maintained, it's a sub-2 liter world beater.

It's the engine that MG used to set FIA records with Ken Miles, Phil Hill and Sterling Moss at Bonneville in the late 1950s.  About a half dozen still stand.

[Stainless1]

Midget... I kinda like K1K.... maybe the engine will have a little kick....

[Podunk]

How about hone cam bores to cleanup. Chrome camshaft bearing journals and grind to suit. Chrome is pretty slick too.

[fordboy628]

I love my MGB, but the MGA is just beautiful.  I've got a friend here in the MG club who has been restoring a Twin Cam.  Actually, a buddy of Fordboy's is doing the engine build. They have their challenges, and the engine had a poor reputation with respect to reliability, but when properly assembled and maintained, it's a sub-2 liter world beater.

It's the engine that MG used to set FIA records with Ken Miles, Phil Hill and Sterling Moss at Bonneville in the late 1950s.  About a half dozen still stand.

Would that be the infamous DCB?

Or perchance does the owner have the sense to take it to Wild Bill @ Apex?

Just askin'.

 
Fordboy

[fordboy628]

midget,

Saaay,   I was looking at how the cams fit into both heads, and there is about .080" (~ 2mm) of end play. (?)   I know that the cam ladder is dowelled to the head for precise location of the cam bearing bores.    Is the cam end play controlled more precisely by the thrust surfaces in the ladder?   If you have any cams in Beerhaven, take a quick look and measure the end play please.

 
Fordboy

[SPARKY]

 I kinda like K1K.... maybe the engine will have a little kick....

How about  KaK       Kick   K

[fordboy628]

Yes, and engine name - the name "Grenade" came out of a description of an A series engine that Peter Egan wrote about a number of years ago.  Hands down, the greatest living automotive columnist in America. 


I'm thinking "Carol", as in "Carol Kaye".  One of the most prolific bass players in pop music, a member of "The Wrecking Crew", worked with Glen Campbell, Phil Spector, Frank Zappa.

I don't think anybody's ever nicknamed an engine after her, but she's certainly powered a number of records. 

Too bad she didn't play on the A-Team theme music!!

BUT, since she played the bass on 'Pet Sounds', the greatest album ever of "American Pop",  I'm in with the choice.

BTW, thanks for pickin' a "backup" musician . . . . . . . . .

 
Formerlybassboy

[tortoise]

You'd better learn the chords:

Oh! Carol
 I am but a fool
 Darling, I love you
 Though you treat me cruel