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MG MGB Technical - ARP Head studs

Got the head off my B GT. I was actually quite pleased to see how clean the engine is for an original 67 GT with 90,000 miles. Minimal carbon on the pistons, water jacket holes are clear. Head as I expected shows a burned valve and it is off to the shop for rebuild.

I am ordering the Payen head gasket kit but as this is a stock engine, I am wondering if I need to spend the bucks for the ARP head studs/nuts?

Bruce-C

IMHO the stock studs and nuts are perfectly acceptable for a 'stock' engine - after all they were designed for it! ARP studs and nuts need only to be considered for an uprated engine.

JohnT
John Turner (Midget & MGB)

However, The studs in production today are showing up as inconsistent from one batch to another. Chris Betson, when replacing a head, has a supplier who makes studs just for him. I'm sure you can order a set from him or use the ARP studs. When I reinstalled my cylinder head last year, I figured that the added cost of the superior studs outwieghed the risk of having to repeat the job. This is indeed on a supercharged engine, but the principle is the same. Your original studs are over 40 years old and certainly have been stretched over time. RAY
RAY

Bruce-
I have to agree with Ray. Sadly, today's supply of generally available supposedly Original Equipment Specification head studs is of unreliable quality. Unless you know the source, you're making a gamble. The studs sold by Chris Betson are a safe bet for a stock engine. You can contact Chris through his website at http://www.octarine-services.co.uk/ If you're hopping up the engine, then go with the ARP items.
Steve S.

Thanks all

Happy to send Chris the business. He has added a lot on this web.

I also had a pleasant surprise when I took the head to the shop. A PO had the head rebuild with hardened seats so not a lot needs to be done to get it ready.
Bruce-C

IMO, the studs that have worked perfectly well for 90,000 miles will continue to do so. Why change? Has anybody ever had a stud break 'in service' ie as opposed to when taking one out???

Neil
Neil

I recently replaced the head gasket and used replacement studs. Snapped two of them when torquing to 50 foot-pounds. So I tried the studs that came with the car - snapped one of them. Finally used the ARP studs and nuts. Worked fine. Went through a total of 3 Payen head gaskets.
G.E. Bulwinkle

If the ARP studs are made of 'stronger' material then they are indeed less likely to break than standard studs. It's just that you don't hear a lot about broken studs - 50lbft is not a massive torque... if the threads are lubricated, as they are supposed to be.
Neil
Neil

Does anybody know the part number(s) for the ARP stud kit? I was recently looking thru a ARP catalog and did not see them listed?
Mike
MK Mike

Mike. The ARP catalog leaves something to be desired. You can purchase the parts from Advanced Performance Technology (APT). I do not have the website available, but found it myself with a Google search using the full name. Prices on the APT on line catalog are out of date.

I have been quite happy with the studs received from Chris Betson myself.

Les
Les Bengtson

Or you can get the stud kit from Brit-tek.
G.E. Bulwinkle

GE. Brit-tec supplies the "Rover" brand studs. I had one of these, supplied by Brit-tec, break when installing.

Les
Les Bengtson

I purchased mine directly from the ARP website. At the time no one else had them in stock. The set sent to me, at that time, was the only set that they had left. This was 1 1/2 years ago. RAY
RAY

I installed ARP studs 10 yrs ago and have had no problems since then. However, the ones they replaced were the OE studs from 1968 and, probably due to fatigue, several were showing signs of stretching. Having installed the ARP studs on a 1950cc MGB engine in an MGA previously, I just went for the ARP studs as the most trouble free choice.
Bob Muenchausen

You can get the BMC B-Series ARP stud kit from Summit Racing, or just call ARP and have then send you the kit directly. It's about the same price either way. The stock studs available today are just not up to the job, especially with the wide variances in torque vs bolt stretch that can occur. Dave DuBois has posted an outstanding summary of the issue on the MGA page. Original studs have so many heat cycles on them that they are not really up to the task at hand. IMHO, using ARP is very cheap insurance against having to do it over.

Make sure you pay attention to the torque specs vs lubricants that come with the ARP studs!

Paul K

This thread was discussed between 25/01/2009 and 03/02/2009

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