Hi All,

I have just brought a Mk2 Rossa from a well know auction site.

I hope to pick up the car next weekend. I have not seen the car in person, but have been in contact with the vendor. He seems pretty sound and honest.

The car has long MOT and is registered correctly, so I'm hopping it's a good un.

It has a 1275 MG Metro engine.

Any tips on what I should look for when I collect it?

Not even sure what its worth. I am paying £1500 for it.

Welcome! I was watching this on fleabay and wondered if the new owner would find his/her way here. It looks a nice car and I think the price is very fair considering how much it costs to renovate a scruffy one! Good luck.

Hi Richard & welcome.
Looks quite a good buy you've got there, quite a reasonable price for a Rossa with a long MOT.
See from your sig that you have a few old British bikes had a few myself over the years including C12, A7 & A10's.

Thanks guys.

I have looked up the reg number and it is registered with a 995 engine.

I collect it tomorrow and would like to know how to be sure that it has the 1275 MG metro engine. Can any one tell me how to ID it?

Hopefully it will still have the engine number on. Does the log book say 995 or 998 because as far as I know there wasn't a 995 A series. It is quite easy to tell the difference between 998 and 1275 but I think without an engine number, the only way to verify if it could be a MG unit is to remove the head and meassure the valves. Post some pics of engine when you get it if it hasn't got the engine number on. Does it have an electronic ignition or standard points?.

My Metro engine number begins with 12HE which signifies a 1275 with standard compression, I believe. It's all explained at the back of the Haynes manual. Also, does it have removable tappet chest covers on the back of the block or not?

Thanks for your replies guys.

I have got the car home now. The engine number is 12HD24U3155.

I have found several web sites that explain the numbering System. I bit of a mine field I feel. I was shocked at the number of variants !

I have managed to work out that it is a MG metro engine. It is a A+ as it has the shorter alternator bracket and the angled heater valve. I does not have the tappet chest covers.

I found a web site that you can put in the engine number and it gives you the engine spec. I'm sure you all know of it, but will find and post the address if any one wants to know. It gets me as far as the U in the engine number! The U is the only number that is stamped from the top of the plate so is indented. All the the numbers are stamped from the rear so are raised and in a different font. I am not sure if this is significant or just a bit odd.

I am hoping some one could tell me if this engine will run on unleaded fuel and if it will have the larger valves.

It was fitted to the car around 2002 and I have a receipt for £200. Bet you won't find a good MG metro engine that cheap now lol

Does any one know how to get the oil filter out, without dropping the engine out!

I was expecting the car to have a bit more power that it does. I may be expecting too much ! I checked the timing and it seams ok (10 deg BTDC at 1500 rpm vac pipe removed ). The vac pipe was missing and it does run better with it fitted. The car pulls to 80 mph with ease and has been geared up so the speedo is reading about 5% low.

At 70 mph the car did get a bit skittish over bumps. I found the front tracking was towing in a bit and the new tiers had sharper edges on the inside of the tread blocks. I put half a turn on the near side track rod. Now tow in is zero, by eye and the steering wheel is straight. Not checked the car at speed yet. Rear tracking is zero by eye and tiers have very slightly sharper edges on one side of the tread blocks. These tiers are quite warn and may have been fitted on the front in the passed so I have ignored the ware patten and left the tracking.

I had a ratty C12. I let a mate have a go on it. Then on my way home it dropped a valve Do you thinl my mate over revved it and bent the valve on the piston? I never asked him. I swapped the bike for the C15 that I still have now.

I think thats just British bikes for you!!
I snapped a con rod on my A7 whilst doing 50 mph.....it still ran on 1 cylinder for a while. By the time i got it home & stripped it, there wasn't anything left of use on the engine

Details for your engine number.

Source Vehicle : MG Metro
Engine type & CC : A+ 1275 cc Transverse mounted
Fueling :
Engine features :
Pre-engaged starter
1985 Requirements
1988 Model year
Breakerless (electronic) ignition
Gearbox features :
Std. Ratio Rod Change gearbox with Pot Joints
3.4:1 Final Drive

1985 spec on a 1988 car so I believe it should be unleaded. (providing it has original head) The engine that came with my rossa was the same engine code and was unleaded before I sold it to fit my newly built 998 unit.

12HD24 means that you have a 1275cc high compression (10.5:1) engine which is not unleaded. Unleaded engines were introduced with the HE and HF series which also had a slightly lower compression ratio. 10.5 is a bit high for today's pi55 poor fuel and you might need to listen out for pinking and use a fuel additive if you hear it. It's a bit confusing in the Haynes manual but you could try setting your ignition timing at 5 BTDC to see if it helps. Do you have a standard air filter as well as the one in the photo? I found mine ran a lot better with the standard filter on because the needle hadn't been changed to suit the fancy one.
Wheel alignment all round should be 1/16" toe in at each wheel which equates to 1.6mm toe in. Ride height measured at the lowest point where the sill meets the wheel arch should be 5.5" front and 5.75" rear.
Oil filter removal is a pain in the bahookey and I remove the engine cover first and struggle from there... I use a strap type tool with a long socket extension bar to loosen it and it comes out up the way. Have fun (but you know it's worth it )

Thanks for the info chaps. I am really looking forward to tackling the oil filter, NOT.

I will have to start putting lead replacement in the car. The ignition timing is 10 deg with no pinking. I will retard it and see if I loose any power.

No I don't have the normal filter. There are a few the turn up on ebay, but I also need the elbow fitted to the carb. Are the elbows all the same or do they differ with different carbs? I have the one that does not not have the remote float bowel.

I found this on the net. Can you explain the 2 dates (1985 / 1988)?

My engine dose not look like it has a pre engage starter.

Your carb should be an HIF44 which stands for Horizontal Integrated Float with a 44mm (1.75") throat so you need the elbow off a similar sized carb (either will do). I got mine from ebay as well.
Don't worry too much about the oil filter - it's not that bad, you just need long arms, small hands and a bit of dexterity

I've got an elbow for the HIF44 knocking about if you are stuck, I'm pretty sure I used it to practice powdercoating on so it'll be satin black from memory.