Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rusty]

Can anyone tell me if 4 cylinder "B" series rocker arm assembly's are interchangeable ?
A friend has an approximately 1950 A 40 Devon based station wagon (countryman, I think you call them in UK), which has several flogged out rocker bushings and as such has probably damaged the shaft. I have several sets of rockers I can give him to repair it, but they are either to suit early 1200cc A 40 engines, or later 1800cc engines. His A 40 has at some time had a 1600cc engine and a taller diff put into it, so will either the early or the later rockers fit on an in-between engine. I don't know what the engine originally came out of, but I suspect either an A55 or series 2 Oxford.

Thanks blokes,
Graham in Western Australia.

[Keith D]

Hi Rusty,

I believe the three bearing BMC motors had interchangable rockers. I am not sure about the five bearing 1800 motors. The 1800 block was slightly longer than the three bearing motors. The orginal 1200cc A40 engine was NOT a 'B' series BMC. It was the basis for the 'B; series, but parts are not interchanable as far as I know.

My A40 tourer has a Austin A60 motor fitted. (1620cc)

Keith
_________________
1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Ray White]

[Rusty]

[Miken]

I run a 1954 A40 with the original type 1200cc engine which I rebuilt. I also own a 1500 B series engine that I have also rebuilt that I might (but probably wont) get round to fitting one day.
I can confirm that there are no interchangeable parts between the 2 engines. Even the threads are different BSF vs UNF.
Whilst superficialy similar the B engine is about 20mm longer and different in many other respects.
I suppose the spark plugs could be interchanged.

[Keith D]

Rusty,

The Morris Major and Austin Lancer were fitted initially with the 1500cc Series 'B' engine. The Major Elite and the very last of the Lancers were fitted with the 1620cc series "B". Almost all parts between the various 3 bearing series "B' engines were interchangable. The crankshafts were interchangable so the pistons were obviously not.

The series "B" three main bearing was available in 1200cc, 1500cc and 1620cc. I don't think there was actually a 1600cc. Engine size is embossed in the crankcase casting down towards the sump, from memory on the passenger side.

For UK forum folk, the Major and Lancers in Oz were BMC cars very similar bodily to the Wolseley 1500 and the Riley 1.5, but they were very basic. No wooden dashboards etc! The Major had a grill that went across the front of the car. The Lancer had a grille very similar to the Riley. The last Major Elite grew fins on the rear guards as cars were liable to do in about 1960.

Keith
_________________
1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Rusty]

Thanks Keith, it's good to get some input from someone who not only knows the marques normal details but also the things that were peculiar to Australia in otherwise well known "British" vehicles.
Michael is currently in New South Wales, and won't be back for several weeks, but when he returns, I will get him to have a look for the capacity marks on the block so I can give him the correct set to use.

Miken, Thanks also to you for confirming in more detail what Keith "suspected"! It looks like the 1200cc engines are only useful to someone with an original A 40.

Thanks to you both for taking the time,
Graham

PS
I would go out and have a look now myself to find out the size engine, but the "other half" has just come down with the current wave of covid, so I suspect I will be housebound for several weeks until its run its course with the pair of us !

[Keith D]

Rusty,

I had a look at my engine this afternoon to confirm where the engine size is shown. It is embossed on the passenger side of the engine near the front above the engine mount.

Regards - Keith
_________________
1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Keith D]

Ray,

The A40 tourer is not quite a pocket rocket as you suggest.

Because we have pretty empty roads outside of Perth I wanted a car that would cruise at 'modern' speeds. If I want to go into the city I use the train or bus which is free for us oldies. I do a fair bit of country driving in the A40 and I don't want to be all day getting to my destination.

To get the longer legs, I also replaced the diff with that from an A70 which gives me a true speed of slightly over 60km/h when the existing mph guage shows 30mph. (60 km/h = 37 mph which is our built up area speed limit.) From this you can see that the car has much longer legs when on the open road but decreases the acceleration to around that of the 1200 engine and original diff.

Wherever you go in Western Australia, its a long way, so you need a car with a decent cruising speed. The state speed limit out in the sticks is 110km/h (=68mph) My Austin can cruise happily at around 100km/h. I also fitted Austin A70 brakes which are 11" diameter drums, so she can stop better than with the originals.

Regards - Keith
_________________
1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Penguin45]

The 1600 "B" series was the twin cam, briefly and disastrously fitted to the MGA. Actual capacity was 1588cc. The other engines were 1498, 1622 and 1798.

Lyndsay Porter "BMC and Leyland B-series Engine Data" ISBN 0-85045-597-9 is the go to work for all things B series.

Chris.
_________________
'67 Wolseley MkI 18/85, '70 Austin MkII 1800 The Landcrab Forum.

[Ray White]

Hi Keith. I have started watching a TV series with Bill Bailey who is exploring Western Australia. It looks absolutely fantastic.

The A40 with higher gearing must be much more suitable for your roads. That the acceleration is not brilliant is not really an issue. Once you are up to speed you can expect to continue for ages on those roads!!

[Keith D]

Yes Ray,

I really appreciate our open empty WA roads, especially after spending the month of May this year driving the length and breadth of traffic choked Britain.

Regards - Keith
_________________
1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Ray White]

[Bitumen Boy]

[Ray White]

Yes, sorry...I think that's my fault. We have drifted a long way from Rusty's original question. I was interested to see if rocker shafts were interchangeable but as Miken has confirmed they are not.