Engines.

[Kilroy]

Dear all.
I have managed to achieve 26 years use from 2 Marina Estates involving 690,000K's - yet both engines are still performing well but the bodies have succumbed to more rust than it is economic to repair.
So I wish to talk about engines.
I spent some years in the company of a good friend who is an A Grade Engine Reconditioner, and he taught me a great deal.
I might add that at the time we met he was driving a supercharged Wolseley 6/80 whilst I had a modified Austin A40 Devon.
Hardly surprising that we became aware of each other.
Thanks to his input the A40 Devon soon featured an overbored BMC 1800 block and was capable of 120MPH plus.

But - to matters at hand.
I have noticed several threads on this forum where engines have been discussed and some rather extreme measures have been suggested.

The very basics of engine health are related to the crankshaft journals and bearings.
If you should ever be tempted to dig this deep you should engage the services of an engine reconditioner who can give you straight answers.
This involves measuring the size of the journals of the crankshaft - where the bearings run - and comparing those measurements to the actual internal size of the bearings.
If these tolerances are too great, then the crankshaft will need to be ground down and undersize bearings employed.
This is an exact science, so no need for emotion - simply how it is.
Having said that - these parts are capable of tremendous mileages - as I hope my opening statements might suggest.
There are numerous factors that can make an engine sound and perform badly - but most of them are relatively minor.
Unfortunately - most Engine Experts will hardly turn down the offer of lucrative work - so will often offer the most expensive option rather than the most expedient one.
Hence the need for "straight answers".

In my opinion, the order of importance in engine health is;
- crankshaft/bearings
- bore/pistons/rings
- camshafts/followers
- valves/guides

Obviously there are considerations for oil pumps, water pumps, distributors and carbs - but as they are add-ons I place them in a different category.
I run my engines on synthetic oil . I believe that is how I seem to defy the odds when it comes to life expectancy.
There is another reason when speaking on this UK based forum.
Here in NZ we have a 60MPH open road speed limit.
That limits our engine revs in a Marina to around 3500RPM.
If you regularly exceed 4000RPM you are doomed to suffer high ring and bore wear.
This is simply a fact of gearing versus engine speed.
Our engines have quite a long stroke thus piston speeds at high revs equate to extreme ring and bore wear.

But to the basics.
Any engine that is being totally stripped for reconditioning should be accurately measured and only then can any decision be made as to whether the crankshaft needs grinding - or the block needs boring - which necessitates the use of new pistons - and the sum total of all of these measurements will dictate how many of your hard-earned will be spent in the process.

Once again - these engines are capable of very high mileages, so often it is only the wearings parts such as bearing shells and piston rings that need replacing - rather than the "gold plated" option that would have you fit a brand new engine in a car that might only manage 1000 miles per year.
It is simply the wrong answer.

I am hoping to reassure new owners that their engine may require much less expensive attention than they have been led to believe - an engine reconditioner worth his weight will simply measure everything and act on the findings.
His employers may well enforce a different course of action that will maximise their revenue.
Thus it is supremely important that you find the right people - and be guided by the information from people on this forum who have already been there...

Most of all - enjoy your ride...

[locost_bryan]

Well said. Always trust the voice of experience.

[Kilroy]

Cheers Bryan - if only I could get the bodies to last half as long as the engine...

Guess I am on the lookout for some tidy but worn out Marina.!

[marina12]

Good peice. Good point on not driving an engine too hard. Oil used in Marinas back when owned and in current non Marina which was a daily but now simply due to being kept is now becoming a classic is not the most expensive and best that can be bought but is good but was/ is changed at 2000 miles, along with the filter. Becoming classic is now on 160k miles and engin'e's good- driving technique is let things take thier time where possible and don't race the engine.