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MG MGB Technical - Engine stand bolts

Im at the stage where my engine is almost ready to go into the new engine stand I bought. Ive done a couple of searches and the size of the bolts needed to mount into the backing plate holes is 3/8". The searches gave numerous different lengths and a few different ideas on mounting- directly into the block alternatively the backing plate. Now in my way of thinking the std head cylinder bolts are 3/8", long enough to use and high strength. I will be replacing the head cylinder bolts with new ones anyway so they are surplus.

Anyone else used cylinder head bolts?



JS Ahlund

I should add that I will be mounting directly into the block otherwise I wont be able to get at everything during the rebuild. The rear of the block has 3/8" holes.

Heres a link to a great source of engine bolt sizes that I think might be usefull to share:

http://www.custompistols.com/cars/articles/18vbolt.htm
JS Ahlund

JS. The cylinder head uses studs rather than bolts. None of the engine stands I have tried have worked very well with an MGB engine unless you are willing to make some new arms to attach to the engine and stand. Assuming that your engine stand will work with your block, I would mate the the rotating portion of the stand to the block (simply hold it up, then measure from the rear of the stand portion to the block. I would, then, turn a bolt into the engine and measure how deeply it goes. Combine the two measurements and purchase some hex head machine bolts of the closest length remembering that you can use washers on the ear of the bolt (between the bolt head and the rear of the stand) to get a perfect fit.

I build my engines on a bench, but, if you have found an engine stand that will work with a B series engine, it would be worth hearing about. It would be easier to build on a stand.

Les
Les Bengtson

JS, I tried to use cylinder head stud a few years ago. They bolted up OK with a lot of packing washes but I found some of them to be to long. I could not rotate the motor without then fouling the frame of the stand. So check for this and see how you go. Ken
K Stuckey

Thanks Les for the helpful info and the great website too,ive found it very useful. So far ive had my block on a pallet. I really dont have much room in the garage so a stand is the way forward for me as I need to play tetris within the space I have. Ive just bought a cheap stand that claims to hold 450 kg/1000 lbs. I have thought about making some jigs for mounting the engine. Ill try this way first and then take it from there.

K Stuckey, Cheers for the tip, I hadnt thought that far. With that in mind I think if need be I will whip the angle grinder out and pop off the excess.

I will put a pic up over the weekend with how I solved it all...That is if I do solve it :-)

/Jamie

JS Ahlund

I have been to 5 different places today in search of bolts. Here in Sweden they started using the metric system a long time ago so theres only actually ONE place ive heard of in Stockholm (capital city) that sells them and theyre closed saturdays.

What id like to find are shoulder bolts. I did find a bike shop that had hubs with the same thread but they only had one hub bolt in stock and I would have had to grind off the excess anyway.

Back to the drawing board...



JS Ahlund

Jamie, using the holes for the fuel pump blanking plate is a good way to go. Then you can mount the bare block and build it up from scratch.

Regards, David
David JM

Jamie. The engine stands I am familiar with have either three or four legs with rollers on them to allow movement of the stand and engine. There is an upright arm terminating in a circular piece of tubing into which another tube slides. The second tube has a plate attached with four arms on it. The arms are to be bolted to the engine. All of the engine stands I have been able to purchase work fine for a large V-8 engine, but do not work well with the B series block. It might be possible to custom make arms to allow the engine stand to be used, but I have not bothered.

Might I suggest you post a photo of your engine stand? That way, I can understand what you have and how closely it resembles the ones I am familiar with.

It would also be nice if you could test fit the block to the stand (assuming you have the rotating/removable piece) and see if the arms will mate up with your engine. That would, also, allow you to determine how long the bolts you need would have to be. With the required overall length known, the correct bolts can be had, via air mail, in less than a week. They are standard here in the US and should be available from the UK. But, until we know exactly what we are working with and exactly what we need to make the system work, all we can do is speculate. Good hardware store two miles from my house and the post office is about a mile away. Something can be worked out if the system will work with your engine.

Les
Les Bengtson

This thread was discussed between 06/09/2012 and 09/09/2012

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