How To: Restore a Morris or keep fit

[Chris Collins]

no worries Mike, looking forward to seeing this project evolve!

[Mike K]

I managed to remove the old valve guides , these were slightly worn and I've seen a lot worse. But anyway I decided to make some new guides . I bought a length of 2P grade cast iron and machined it to size but my first attempts didn't go to plan .

I revised my setup and now have worked out the method that is producing nice concentric guides . My old ex tech school lathe has its quirks but it can still produce nice work !

[Lynn Eades]

Too late now for you Mike, but I understand that flathead v8s that sit for long periods tend to stick valves. One answer (as I understand) is bronze liners.
If the morris is also prone, then maybe starting with bronze instead of cast iron is a good move for anyone tackling this in the future?

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Too late now for you Mike, but I understand that flathead v8s that sit for long periods tend to stick valves. One answer (as I understand) is bronze liners.
If the morris is also prone, then maybe starting with bronze instead of cast iron is a good move for anyone tackling this in the future?

hi Lynn

Yes I did look into bronze but don't know where to get it, its a special manganese bronze they use. I got the cast iron bar from Flocast , at North Coburg . The iron they make is a machining grade , it does not have the superhard skin that will blunt your tools !

[Mike K]

I received an update from my engine man today, my CS8 engine block needs to be bored to +40 thou and I've only got the new +20 thou pistons . We discussed the options and I said I would have a look at another engine I have here , I removed it from a PU Morris , I will measure the bores for wear - hopefully it will be useable.

After all the effort of removing the studs and the work stripping it down, it was a wasted effort

At 300 bucks each I'm not buying new made in South Aust. JP brand pistons . My Morris friend in the UK has informed me the JP pistons are not up to standard anyway, he fitted them and after experiencing oil burning problems, he discovered the ring grooves have caused issues . JP overdid the ring groove taper , it should be .001" but on measuring, they are something like .010" .

The theory is: as the piston heats up the ring grooves change shape , ever so slightly . A tiny taper is made in the grooves to allow for the change.

[Dave Mills]

Hello Mike, have you considered having the engine sleeved and bored to accept the .020" OS pistons, may be a cheaper option. Just be sure to shave a little off your head to keep the compression ratio up.

It seems a shame not to use NOS if you have it.

Dave.

[hrpearce]

Hi Mike, are sleeves an option?

[Ganmain Tony]

Mike,

This might be bad advice but I'll throw it out there...

There are pistons perhaps that arent Morris but may still be what you need.

A chap from Wagga recently restored a 1912 Daimler Bus and discovered a Fiat
tractor piston was exactly the same and used them in his engine rebuild.

Another local resto on a Matchless motorcycle used Bedford pistons.

Thinking outside the box? May save some bucks