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is this a good price?

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ahpook

ahpook

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I've a chance to get an entire 1500 powertrain from a 79 Spitfire. The Engine and tranny are fine, seen the car drive,
the salvage yard wants $500 for everything back to and including the driveshaft. Is this a good price? I'd love a spare engine to work on over the winter, and I'm hoping the
Spit 1500 is pretty close to the MG 1500. Am I right?
Thanks in advance, and Happy Whatever you celebrate....
George
 
Price depends on location - but, why would you want a 1500 Spitfire drivetrain unless you own a 1500 Spit?
 
Someone with more brains than me will jump in I'm sure but I don't think the Spit & The MG 1500's are interchangeable. I have a vague recollection that some componants are on opposite sides. I suspect $500 should buy an entire 1500 project car. They are neither rare nor expensive.
 
For the most part a 1500 spit drive train fits right into the midget. (Not the drive shaft). I'd think $350 would be a good price. But if it is convenient, then you may want to pay the extra.
 
Does the trans work in a Midget?
 
Sitting side by side, it looks like a swap could be done, but I have never done it myself. I know there are some slight differences.
 
well, it's sitting 1/4 mile from my house, and I haven't been able to find an MG 1500 anywhere within 1000 miles.
 
George, welcome aboard.
It should be a bolt in swap. $350 sounds like a fair price, but as mentioned, you don't need the propshaft.
If you plan on building it, be choosy about where you source your engine parts from.
I raced a 1500 Spit for 6 years.
Jeff
 
My Dad and I went the other direction. I have a 1275 Sprite but he has a 1500 Spit. He lost a rod through the side of the block. We purchased a Midget 1500 and it bolted right in the Spit. Even used the Spit tranny and kept the Midget tranny as a spare.
 
Jeff -
Where should I start to build a streetable, but still fast engine? Are there specific mods you'd suggest I begin with?
thanks for the advice...
 
George, it all depends on how far you want to build it. Do you just want a bit more performance, or are you planning on building a "killer" engine.
Probably the easiest thing to do to the 1500 right off the bat is to increase the compression by milling the head. They have HUGE chambers, and you can take a bunch off the head. A cam change will go along with this, and carb changes and a header won't hurt.
As a wise man once told me, "Son, it costs money to go fast. How fast do you want to go?" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Jeff
 
George
I have a 1500 engine & tranny out of a 77 Midget.
It turns over, I was told it ran when parked 12 years ago.
There is no carb or dizzy with it.
1/2 price but you have to come to NJ to pick it up.
 
NH - NJ..they're both up in the NE, eh? hehehehehe
 
Here's an idea, why not buy a 1275 and ribcage tranny for the 1500 Midget, since you're looking to replace.
 
My '78 Spridget racer has a '78 Spitfire engine.
The main difference is the oil pan and oil pump pickup. If you forget to swap the oil pump pickup, the oil pressure will drop in turns.
Note that the 1500 and 1275 trans are completely different.
I would think that for a street car, the 1500 is fine.
Be sure to check the crank and *always* put new thrust washers in, even if the old ones look OK. Rod bearings are a weakness too. I swap thrust washers and rod bearing every 25 hours of use.
Jeff's idea of trimming the head is good. You can take off 0.100" easily. But be sure you don't mind running high test gas.
For a street car, you may be best to leave things almost as-is and not go too crazy...9:1 pistons, a crank regrind, very mild (or stock) cam, new timing chain, gaskets....that sort of basic stuff.
These engines will grendade if pushed too hard.
Swapping the single ZS car for a single SU is a nice swap. The twin SU Euro/Canadian is better, but hard to find in the US.
Don't plan on revving this engine too much unless you are planning on a full balance-job and regular bottom-end repairs. Use 6000 RPM as an absolute max, with 5500 max being preferred (for a standard engine).
A header can help if it is a good one....the Pacesetter header is low-quality and not very good (in my view).
A nice touch is using the Spitfire overdrive trans. It can be fitted with some drive-tunnel pounding.
After five years, I'm fitting a 1275 to my car....but I'm keeping the 1500 for my street car.
 
Nial, I'm pretty sure that the Canadian market didn't get the twin HS4 setup either. The bloody ZS was all that was offered for North America.
Are you sure about the oil pan and pickup? I thought they were interchangeable as long as you stuck with the original style. Straight vs angled pickup.
Jeff
 
I think the angle versus straight pick up is a year model/inventory thing and not a spit versus midget thing. I have an early spit 1500 motor with the straight pick up, and my 79 came with the angle pickup. I believe BL thought the angle pick up was capable of circulating more oil. But certainly at the price of pressure drop on hard corners and stops. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

As far as I can tell, the pan's are interchangeable.
 
Morris, the last race engine I built for the Spit originally was out of a Midget, and other than doing the performance upgrades to the pump and pan, nothing was changed. I don't see why it wouldn't work going the other way.
Jeff
 
Jeff,

Could you speak more about your upgrades to pump and pan?
 
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