I reckon you ought to ask Butch Taras.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

Aluminum corrodes nicely - I send my old iron ones to Mark Frappier of Agawam, Massachusetts, and have them sleeved in stainless. They last forever. He cannot do TC master cylinders, due to their construction.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

So the question is whether anyone has ever modified a late TD/TF horizontal-filter oil pump to use a vertical TC/early TD oil filter? If anyone will know, it will be Butch Taras.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

Steve - as I remember (it's been some time since I did this, with the later spin-filter adapters so readily available): 1) remove the bypass valve from the block 2) plug the block's oil inlet where the external filter pipe attaches 3) remove the oil filter bracket, and 4) put in shorter bolts to fil...

If it is any help, XPAG9404 was originally supplied in TC8771.

Can you give us any further information, or photos? There are indeed VERY convincing T-series scams out there, so do beware. Any further information can help us determine the nature and status of the car.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

I hate to tell you, but you are really just putting a band-aid on your engine by JUST doing rings. If you have bad rings (and your readings do indicate that - I am suspicious of anything below 145# dry), there are so many potential engine weaknesses associated with your cylinder wear. The rings are ...

I would use Mark Frappier of Agawam, Massachusetts over anyone else. He does all my sleeving, and is EXCELLENT!

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

Perhaps a better title might have been "Wire Wheel Replacing." I have tried straightening and re-lacing wire wheels, but have found that they are far more trouble than they are worth. Stainless spokes alone cost nearly as much as a new wheel, and straightening requires a 100-ton press. I now buy new...

Not quite, Thierry - the early TD used a cable clutch linkage that was replaced by rods; the remains of both the cable base and the pivot or fulcrum pins for the rods will be on either side of the sump. The TC used a chain hooked directly between the pedal and clutch operating lever, so there will b...

Steve is right about engine tag location. It does appear that someone has grafted the TC tag onto a later block. Many - not all - later blocks had the engine number stamped on the block itself, across the top of the plinth. The digits are often painted over, but scraping may reveal them. There is no...

Remember that oil leakage at the rear hubs is the mail reason why the rear brakes stop working. Get the hub nuts with integral seals.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

Using DOT5 silicone brake fluid in a new TC master with a bronze bore (or a more expensive cast bronze master cylinder and bronze wheel cylinders) is a sure way never to have brake failure. A dual master cylinder is not of much help unless you truly isolate the front and rear brake systems as two se...

The factory torque recommended for head studs is 50#, which is the limit of the materials they used - fairly soft. Even at that there can be considerable stretch, causing uneven torque. The ARP head studs I have made and sell, of superior materials and with rolled threads, are torqued to 60#, and ar...

Silicone brake fluid is another of those subjects on which you will get polar opinions. I have used it for years, and strongly recommend it IF the system is entirely rebuilt/replaced, and IF you flush the system with alcohol first. Dot5 does not like air bubbles, so agitate as little as possible and...

Chris - washers are not helpful on T-series engines, unless you have an aluminium head or unusually high compression with an iron head. Are what you used hardened steel, parallel ground washers? If not, they could well yield incorrect torque figures. I would re-torque the head every hundred miles fo...

The head stud holes are blind holes, and do not lead into any water passages. That means you have water coming from a water passage in the head and/or block, which means you have a sealing issue, probably based on torque. Did you replace the head studs? They are an object of considerable stretch - t...

Tom - a related topic: was the bonnet rest material originally webbing or rubber on the TC?

Thanks. Tom Lange
MGT Repair

If you are not burning oil, you must be leaking it past worn or incorrectly-fitted components. I would remove and have the oil pump checked over by someone else. You also don't mention replacing and fitting new rocker bushes, which, when worn, can certainly contribute to low oil pressure. Tom Lange ...

The way your OP is fluctuating speaks to worn components. As the oil heats up and gets thinner, and is leaking past worn areas. What was done to the engine - how deep was the rebuild? Turned crank? New bearings? What about the rocker gear - new shaft and bushings? 10 lbs pressure per thousand revolu...

How "correct" do you wish to be? There are certainly TC distributors floating about (look on eBay), and there are many visually-exact distributors for other cars with a correct date code, that can be adjusted to fit. A Pertronix can be fitted to a worn distributor, but a rebuilt one is obviously bet...