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MG TD TF 1500 - Tappet Cover Gasket

There was an article in the recent Octagon Car Club Bulletin about tappet cover gaskets made of metal rather than cork. The idea was to prevent distortion of the gasket and also allow for better oil/oel flow. Does anyone have a source for such gaskets? I understand that the designer is no longer making them.

Thanks, Larry
LD Kanaster

Hi Larry,
They were actually made of 2 cork gaskets plus one metal sheet. They were available from John James. He was the late editor of the TT2 magazine. Alas, he stopped his activity in August 2023. At that time, he had only 3 kits left :
https://ttypes.org/bits-pieces-2/

You may get a chance to get one...

Laurent.
LC Laurent31

I sent a request off to John. Just in case he still might have one left. Bud
Bud Krueger

I received a positive reply from John. I'll post it as soon as I get an okay from him. Bud
Bud Krueger

Here's John's response to me:
John James wrote:

Hello Bud,



I am currently out of stock, but will order the last batch at the end of April when I know the likely take-up. In this connection the following notice will appear in the APRIL ‘Bulletin’ of the MG Octagon Car Club.



XPAG/XPEG Tappet Chest Gasket Kits

The February Bulletin featured an article on these kits by John James.

This project has been running for over 3 years, during which time hundreds of pounds from the sale of the kits has been raised for Paul Ireland’s charity, which provides books and pens, pencils, etc for children in two schools in Tanzania.

However, demand has noticeably slowed and it is now time to draw a line under the project.

So, this is a FINAL CALL for expressions of interest to be notified to John James jj@ttypes.org by the end of April.

Due to ever increasing costs (who said inflation is falling?) the final batch of kits will not be less than £17.00 plus postage.

A small stock of the nitrile bonded cork gaskets will continue to be held, but since these actually cost more than the steel gasket, the cost for the two is unlikely to be less than £9.00 plus postage.



As the gaskets take about a month to come through (there are two suppliers - one for the steel and one for the nitrile bonded cork) they won't be available much before June.



I have noted your interest and will contact you when I have the gasket ‘kits’ back in stock.



As far as payment is concerned I can take PayPal to jj@ttypes.org



Kind Regards,



JOHN

Bud
Bud Krueger

The relevant page from The Bulletin is attached with images to explain what this is all about.

Cheers

Tony

A L SLATTERY

Larry - Over the years, people also find that my thick silicone gaskets also work very well to seal up the side- and valve-covers.

See mgtrepair.net

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Reply from John, today, May 20th:

Hello Bud,
I now have the gasket kits back in stock.
The cost is £17.00.
I’m afraid that the postage is expensive.
The cost by Royal Mail International ‘Standard’ service is £23.50.
A less expensive service by Royal Mail ‘Economy’ service is £11.65, but as it goes by surface mail, it takes around 6 weeks.
Please let me know what you think.
Kind Regards,
JOHN

Bud Krueger
Bud Krueger

Cork gaskets have become pretty much useless over time. I have a couple old stock cork gaskets from a few decades ago and the difference is massive. They are soft, dense and have a rubbery feel to the surface. Modern ones are coarse and oil gets through them no matter what you do. Silicon gaskets are really the best way to go in my experience. I haven't used the metal gaskets mentioned but if they use cork as a sealer then I hope they've sourced a better cork than the other suppliers.
Steve Simmons

Steve...the advert that Tony provided says it uses a nitrile bonded cork. Maybe that is different and better than the old cork gaskets?
Jim Rice

This thread was discussed between 03/04/2024 and 21/05/2024

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