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I've been slowly uprating the performance of my 1500 Midget over the
past few months, so far I've had a fast road cam, K+N air filter,
PECO exhaust system (inc manifold), blank throttle disks in the carbs,
and new needles to give more fuel.
I've been happy with this setup for sometime now, but I'm now hungry
for more power and can see that the next stage is to fit a
performance cylinder head. I have been quoted 310 + vat pounds for a stage
3 cylinder head, this cost is likely to rise to around 400 + vat due to
the need
to get everything set up correctly via a rolling road and new needles
etc.
My questions are, is this a realistic price for a performance
cylinder head of stage 3 variety, and also considering the rather
large outlay, how much more power will this be likely to give me?
Thanks in advance.
Rob 79 Midget 1500
P.S Yes I have fitted an oil cooler!
Hi there,
I have read that oil coolers were offered as an option for
1275 Midget's but not the 1500's, but it is the 1500's that
really benefit from it. Would a 10 row radiator be enough
and the pipes go from an oil filter adapter as shown in the
Heritage cat. is that how you did it?
The 1500 certainly does benefit from an oil cooler, the car was
not originally designed with the 1500 engine in mind, therefore
natural cooling to the engine is limited.
Ever been for a fast motorway run (70mph is enough), and come of
to see your oil pressure warning light flickering at idle, well
that's because the oil has been well and truly cooked, and has
about the same consistency as water. I've never had any of these
problems after fitting an oil cooler.
The oil cooler I fitted on my midget was a 13 or possibly 14 row
cooler. The original cooler I was offered, which came in a kit was
a 10 row cooler, but MG International upgraded it for me at no
extra cost when asked. I think the extra cost is only a couple of
pounds anyway, so you'd be well advised to go for that.
The cooler does indeed fit in the way that you describe, and is
relatively simple to do. The only problem is where to channel the
hoses, you can channel them inside the side chassis rails, but I
just put them through alongside the heater hose. The best place to
position the cooler, is just alongside where the horn is situated
as there are already some existing holes on which to bolt the
bracket for the cooler. The only other problem is which way round
to put the adaptor so the pipes can be postioned correctly, I
postioned mine so that the two hoses straddled the oil pressure
switch.
I've added an oil cooler to my 1500 midget - about 10 years ago.
Always use an oil take off adapter with an oil thermostat in it.
It will improve the life of your engine oil.
A Maniflow exhaust manifold, stage 2 or 3 head and freeflow air filter
with the right carb setup will give good performance.
If your worried about the bottom end - MGB bigend bearings are supposed
to fit in the 1500 rods, but the regrind size is only 9 thou undersize.