Greetings,
Having finished the engine rebuild, brakes overhaul and in the midst of rebuilding the rear suspension I came upon "Minor Mania" looking for tire information. Thanks BTW.
HJB 800 is a 1952 MM saloon purchased, used, in London in 1983. It was transported to Montreal, PQ and driven to my brother's home in Wisconsin. I inherited the car in '84 and drove it home to Massachusetts where it has been since. The car is original and un-restored. The Alta OHV cylinderhead was installed in 1953 by the original owner who sold the car a number of years later and then re-purchased the car. The car was in the O/owners estate when my brother purchased it.
After "giving up the ghost" at 122,000 km the engine was rebuilt. I was able to purchase new pistons, rings and bearings and manufacture all the gaskets needed. The engine is now top notch and running smooth and quiet. I've only had a few short runs (it's the dead of winter here) but I am very well pleased.
The car has been well documented with original inspection certificate, letters and pictures from the family. There's a great picture of the car on "holiday", another in London's center, etc. The original Handbook and workshop manual with handwritten notes.
I do have pictures of the car and the engine and will post them soon.
Thanks for the forum, it has been very helpful.
Marc
Pictures:
The Alta cylinder head on the 1952 Morris Minor MM. The first is a "head on" view of the engine as installed in my MM. The engine was rebuilt at the school where I teach Auto. Repair Technology. All of the engine machine work was done on site except the crankshaft. My students and I did all the assembly and fitting / sizing. The OHV cylinder head is fitted to the sidevalve engine with a modified head gasket. The pushrods are in two pieces, the lower rod fits into the original valve guides (valves removed) and the upper rods sit into the lower and actuate the rocker arms. The original cam followers are used but must be adjusted to the shortest length. The original distributor mounts into the head and uses and extended driveshaft fom the cam drive gear.
Right side engine. Showing the "Alta" TM in the rocker cover. The engine now has a water pump. The original engine did not. No heater BTW. The radiator hoses had to be altered and the cover, with petcock, at the center base of the engine can be seen here. The fan was moved from the generator (dynamo) to the water pump.
The right side close-up shows the following:
"Alta Car & Eng Co Ltd" "Surbiton" "England" "No 16/194"
The left side of the engine. Sorry about the ugly fuel hose, waiting for a replacement. The exhaust pipe flange adapter can be seen. It was needed to allow for the extra height of the Alta head.
I hope you enjoy the picture as much as I've enjoyed rebuilding this engine. A MS Power Point Presentation was made of the engine rebuild and is used to promote our Auto Tech Program. Our students were very proud of their work and it shows.
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