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MG MGA - HRG alloy head on ebay

Hi All, Just appeared on ebay - an alloy HRG head - could be just what the racers amongst you need - or could be warped and fit for scrap!! - cheers Cam
ebay listing number 260252600979
Cam Cunningham

Looks like it's been frozen at one time,look at the core plugs in the rocker area,it's been welded. Also the outer head bolt seats? have been spot faced.
gary starr

Yup, it's been welded OK. And those are the early Weber manifolds for 40 DCOE and THEY look like they may have been welded on the manifold flange.

See unwelded ones at http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/i/non-rhodo/40.jpg

Seems like a pretty high price for an unknown. Guy says no obvious cracks - is he blind? And bases shipping cost on it being cast iron - Hello.....

I'd want to know which version it is, what valve sizes, if it has been dye tested, what the thickness measurement is.......
Bill Spohn

Gary, Bill - you both got good eye sight - it now has 15 bids and up to £410 - hope that the bidders have spotted the welds - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

I contacted the seller and his reply is :he builds Couventry Climax engines and this was a piece he got in a large purchase.He knows nothing about MGA's or HRG heads. Manifolds are welded steel/properly made and fit well.The welding around the two big plugs on the head is there and he does not know weather it is normal or not. He does not claim to be offerring anything more than what you see and is not in a postion to offer an opinion about the head. He says it looks usable to him.

Sounds like a very straighht forward HONEST answer and I agree. Gordon

Gordon Harrison

An engine builder knows standard procedures and knows that core plugs are not normally welded in. That being the case, it sounds as if he doesn't trust it himself and by giving an accurate but non-committal answer, he cannot be held to a higher standard by his engine building knowledge.
mike parker

Cam,the reason I noticed is because that was what was wrong with mine. My manifolds are the same also,but with a balance pipe.
gary starr

The core plugs aren't welded into anything. They are made of steel and the head is alloy, so doing so would be a neat trick. The welding is adjacent to the plugs, which are almost completely unscrewed form the head fo some reason. They are normally screwed down on flat fibre washers. See the attached pic.

That head has had some serious damage, either from overheating or quite possibly from frost, and it has been broken in two places. See the sample pic of an uncracked head to see what they are supposed to look like.

BTW, the deck there is very thin and there aren't many threads, so pulling those plugs is something you only do if you absolutely need to. If you pull the threads when you do it because they have become bonded by corrosion to the plugs, it isn't as easy as sticking in a Helicoil.....

I was incorrect in talking about his shipping BTW - I misread his reference to the cast head.

Those manifolds look an awful lot like the cast alloy versions, but the fact that he says they are steel accounts for the welding bead - not damage repair, jusy sloppy welding.


Bill Spohn

It just went for £553.00.

So much for a global recession! ;-)
G Hudson

This thread was discussed between 17/06/2008 and 27/06/2008

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