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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Resale Value of A Roller Cam Kit

Value does not appreciate? Be keen to see what it goes for:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MG-TC-TD-TF-1250-cc-ROLLER-CAM-KIT-ROLLER-1-7-ROCKERS-/142132708017?hash=item2117c502b1:g:lowAAOSw8gVX3zWn
G Evans

I saw that listing last week while searching for some decent rod bearings. I see he has altered his description of why he is selling the kit.
L E D LaVerne

That's odd. I wonder why the 'old' cam needs dressing? I'm yet to run my engine which has the same cam installed. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter if the cam needs dressing then it must have been run for many miles.
John
John Walton

The ad used to state that the valve springs in the kit were way too stiff and caused lobe damage. Wonder why he deleted that.
Steve Simmons

Peter and I have had running conversations on that subject in the past. But frankly there shouldn't be any wear in that regard. Owner says the lobes have lost several thousandths. I'm trying to get more info from the seller

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W. A. Chasser

John this setup is relatively new. I don't see how it could have done the hundreds of thousands of miles that would warrant dressing the cam. Like Bill I don't understand the wear, which seems excessive & I'm very interested in the cause. Keen to see how this thread develops. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

No info on the sort of engine build it was in. Almost looks like some pitting on the lobe surface, as if caused by oil starvation. Would you need to dress cam if switching to lower spring rate?
D mckellar

The car was street driven not raced. Owner said he only put about 1k miles on it. Makes me wonder if the Rockwell rating on the billet is poor to have any wear at all be present. At any rate the cam is said to need reprofiling
W. A. Chasser

Perhaps Len can address this? It's his cam after all.
Gene Gillam

Yes I will be glad to.
laf48@aol.com
914 420 8699
Len Fanelli

I hope to put many miles on my 236/236 cam. Been struggling all year with non cam issues. Finally broke down and pulled the fuel tank off TD-4834 and doing a proper and thorough cleaning and sealing. Then it's back to cleaning the lines, pumps, screens and carbs and take the delivery system out of the equation. I am very happy with the cams performance thus far. Engine clearly likes The higher rpms when it does run without the yet to be properly diagnosed and vetted stumbling issue. Once I get the bugs corrected we'll get her on the road dyno.

Len I did swap to the LS 1 needles but it didn't make any significant changes to our issue which is why we are doing one last and complete servicing of the fuel system to correct any future fouling of the supply side. Did the needle change help your other customers race engine performance?

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W. A. Chasser

Bill, something isn't adding up. I just looked at the eBay site and spotted the seller as gulsonpower. The 'power' bit intrigued me. That led me to google 'gulsonpower' and I'm faced with an Australian Mini Moke Forum. Makes me wonder what sort of street driving that was. Bud
Bud Krueger

Be good to share the cause of this wear with the forum. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I'm with you, Peter. I'd love to know what engine the parts were installed in, what sort of vehicle the engine was used in, and what sort of care it received. Bud
Bud Krueger

Almost no one I know in the MG community, engine builders included, understand the valve spring pressures needed for a solid Roller lifter Camshaft:

"From Engine builder magazine"

"(Minimum Safe Pressures)

Up to .600? valve lift:  200-235 lbs Seat Pressure/600 lbs open pressure

Over .600? valve lift:  250-280 lbs Seat pressure /100 lbs pressure for every .100? of valve lift."

My springs are the same used on solid roller lifter Chevrolet engines.

My cams have only .430" lift and as a result will not wear out due to the 160# closed & 320# open springs included with my cam kits, which is recommended by http://www.andrewsproducts.com/.

More to follow on Mr. Gulsons' engine failure, when he sends back the complete cam kit.

Len Fanelli

Just checked on Ebay & the following appears. 'This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.' Seems it is being returned as the distributor states. Good to see Abingdon Performance standing behind their products. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Len I'm sure some of us would be interested in your findings upon inspection. Too bad it was removed as I had planned to bid on it.

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W. A. Chasser

I forgot to mention that he made a modification to the rocker pedestal by milling .250" off of the bottom of the pedestal. This may or may not have had an impact on the claimed damage to the valve train, but it is noteworthy. He also stated that the engine had crankshaft & cylinder wall damage. IMO the slight wear of the camshaft would not cause damage to the crankshaft & cylinder walls. In fact just the opposite; the crankshaft & cylinder wall damage would damage the cam.
Len Fanelli

I am at a loss to think no one has mentioned that the cause could have been a bad selection of engine oil being used resulting in the camshaft galling. Just something which needs investigating for the whole problem seems to me to be most unusual.
John
John Walton

John, my observation was the appearance of "no" engine oil used.
D mckellar

After multiple requests to return the cam kit for a quality control inspection, and offering Mr. Gulson a full refund on receipt of the cam kit, he sold it. The purchaser has told him the cam kit will be installed, and the car on the road in less than a week..........
Len Fanelli

D mckellar I didn't see that comment before. Where did it say no oil was used? The seller didn't mention to me all of the damage that Len stated. All he said to me was that he had problems with the pedestal mounting bolts stretching and pulling threads. He attributesd that solely to the valve spring tensions which I think is highly unlikely. I can see a problem if the hardware had worked itself loose and the subsequent thrashing then caused the fatigue or that the hardware was simply old, stressed and not up to par for the task. Either way it is doubful that the true nature to the sellers engine calamities was directly caused by the camshaft.
W. A. Chasser

My original no oil observation is speculation on my part from looking at the ebay pic's. Along with the visible wear lines on the lobes, it appeared some pitting was evident from the fuzzy pictures.
D mckellar

You will have to excuse my ignorance here but what is a roller cam and what advantage does it have over a standard cam. Thanks Darryl
D Lamb

Darryl please e mail me
laf48@aol.com
Len Fanelli
Abingdon Performance
Len Fanelli

As someone who sells unique MG parts, I urge you to trust that vendors really DO have every desire to make things right when there is a question or problem with a part. TALK TO THE SUPPLIER; don't just post something negative or that can be construed in that way.

A customer bought an oil-filter adapter from me for his early TD, and when there was a small leak at the top fitting, I asked him to bring the car by for a free exchange. He instead decided he would tighten it with a pipe-wrench, but since it is not threaded there, he ruined the part. Of course, he then expected ME to replace it with a new one which I did, because I stand behind what I sell 100%. A simple cleaning followed by an application of a Locktite sealant would have solved the problem, and I could have used it on another car, good as new.

The buyer of this cam should have worked this out with Len; by posting and writing about it as he did, he got less money for the cam, and also (without ever saying it outright) impugned Len's bona fides. Len offered him a complete and full refund. What more could a customer want?

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

I've spoken to Paul Gulson who purchased the kit new from the States. He is sending me some pics of the cam damage along with a brief history of his experience & of his dealings with the distributor. I'm interstate for a few days so I will post this info when I'm back in Sydney. Suffice to say it was a very illuminating conversation. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Both Len and Tom are fine examples of quality vendors who have spent countless hours and resources reengineering quality replacement parts for our cars. I have met both Len and Tom personally and consider them friends. We are fortunate to have such honest vendors with a great deal of moral integrity. I am quite active in many groups. The MGT people are among the finest people I have ever met.
It is very unfortunate that in our hobby, as in every hobby, there are a few antagonists who try to take advantage of such fine people. I have found it to be impossible to please such antagonists. The more you give, the more they take.
Be well,
David
D. Sander

Mr. Hehir,

May I respectfully suggest that you stay out of any contretemps between Mr. Gulson and Mr. Fanelli.
In the past you have shown that you do not have an unbiased position regarding Mr. Fanelli and therefore your comments would be suspect.

Please note that I am personally acquainted with Mr. Fanelli as well as being a very satisfied customer of his and in my estimation place him in the same category as John Twist and Joe Curto in knowledge of MG's.

I also respect your efforts on this forum to enlighten the members on your continuing restoration of your MG and suggest you constrain any further comments to that area of expertise.

Yours in Safety Fast,
James Neel
James Neel

WOW!!!
This post seems to have taken a wrong turn.
I agree with David Sander completely. I have met Len and Tom as well as other vendors in our MG community. Their experience, knowledge and customer service are of the highest quality. We are all fortunate to have vendors of their level of integrity available to us. Neither one of them have ever delayed in providing me with advice and high-quality parts.
James Neel, kudos on your commentary.
Mort
Mort 50 TD

James & Mort, my interest is solely in the preservation & restoration of T Types. I have one of the same cam setups & am concerned as the quality of the hardness has been called into question. Your suggestion is noted. For those who share my concerns please take the time to contact Paul direct, bearing in mind the time difference if phoning. He is happy to relate his experience. Simply google Paul Gulson. He is a knowledgeable, honest, respected & very experienced Australian racing driver & rebuilder of engines. Once the Rockwell test results are in I will post them without comment. I'm offline for about a week. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 30/09/2016 and 04/10/2016

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