63 Oxford- will Wolseley 1500 carbs fit?

[Lankytim]

Spotted a VERY tender wolseley 1500 in the local scrappies. Its so rotten its literally collapsed in on itself. Roof fallen off, wings and doors fallen off e.t.c Looks pretty cool I think.

Anyway.......

Its got a set of twin carbs on its 1500cc B series engine. Will they go onto my 1622 Oxford after I refurb them? More to the point is it worth it? Guy wants £15 BTW, which for a pair of carbs, manifolds and air cleaner is good I think. Can anyone think of any other bits that are worth scavenging from its decaying carcass?

[Seth]

Well being B series stuff course they will fit! Having said that I don't know how the exhaust is set up on the Riley but chances are if it is single downpipe exhaust manifold it'll probably fit straight on to your downpipe.

Riley and MG Farinas had twin 1 1/2" SU's and I could dig out what needles etc these had which should be about right for your 1622.

Oh, and at £15 they are a bargain! Get to it! ;D

If there are gauges and/or steering wheel in reasonable condition it could be worth nabbing them. You might find that knobs, switches and other "generic" lucas parts might come in handy too.

[Lankytim]

Thanks Seth, Knew youd know....

Its got a single downpipe that looks the same as my downpipe so it should fit straight on. No way for sure of checking 100% without fitting it though.

What difference would a twin carb set up make to peformance? (if any!) Although corroded I can see that all cleaned up the set up should atleast look pretty snazzy.

Ive said that ill go get them on Monday, I hope there still there!

[Seth]

I wouldn't expect any leap in performance on an otherwise stock engine! Might add a couple of bhp I suppose. Will look cool though

It'd also be a good place to start with tuning the engine so before you know it you'll have a gas flowed head and race spec MGA cam in there ;D

[Lankytim]

seth said:

It'd also be a good place to start with tuning the engine so before you know it you'll have a gas flowed head and race spec MGA cam in there ;D

LOL, one step at a time I guess. I think i need to sort out the "standard spec" rust holes first.

Tracked down a cheap set of sills too. wooooooooooooooot!

[Nathan]

Humm if 1800 ones fit, I have a set of twin SU's taken from my B, they ahve the uprated needles and floats and Inlet.

If your interested I will see if I can dig them out.

[Lankytim]

I think the carbs themsleves will bolt on, but an MGB manifold wont fit without fettling the exhaust. I guess the MG carbs could be used on the wolseley manifold......

[Nathan]

I shall dig them out at the weekend and send you some pictures.

I am sure the heat shield is there too.

[Lankytim]

Ok, sound!

[dollywobbler]

Blimey, someone had already upgraded that Wolseley then as they only had a single carb from the factory (Riley's got the tyre-smoking twin carb set up but it'd be easy to upgrade a Wolseley - they do rather need it!)

[Lankytim]

dollywobbler said:

Blimey, someone had already upgraded that Wolseley then as they only had a single carb from the factory (Riley's got the tyre-smoking twin carb set up but it'd be easy to upgrade a Wolseley - they do rather need it!)

Actually.... it could be a Riley, the fronts fallen off and theres no badges at the rear so I cant tell what it is.

[Paul H]

Rileys had bigger front (drum) brakes than the Woofly, and also had extra goodies like a tacho & plusher interior. Not sure what internal engine differences there are but is it worth grabbing the whole engine?

[trg1984]

definatley buy em, even if u can use em u could sell a pair orf refurbed sus for alot more that 15 quid, its only a tenner for a rebuild kit isnt it??

[Lankytim]

I could remove the whole engine pretty easily, the chassis rails are so rotten its now lying on the floor! Its bound to be seized solid though, although I dare say it could be freed off with a bit of diesel down the bores. Are 1500cc B series engines worth saving?

The interior does look plush, nice red leather seats and a lovely walnut dash thats in suprisingly good condition considering the abysmal state of the rest of the car. The steering wheel looks classy, the rim is attatched to the hub by 3 sets of 3 thin chrome bars. Very 1950s! I think the car was pretty watertight before the scrap man tried to lift it by its roof and it fell to bits. Not sure if I spied a tachometer but ill take another look on monday, Ill bring a bag of tools and some cash too

[Paul H]

If it's the Riley & has a mechanical tacho, then worth grabbing imho, even if just for the tacho drive etc. Seth will know more about this than me

Also the diff will be a 3.9 (or is it a 3.7?), so in demand by Minor / Spridget owners if in good condition.

[Seth]

It's possible that the engine might have some parts in common with early 1500 MGA's or the Magnettes etc so might well be of use to an MG restorer.

I'd forgotten about the diff. Definitly sought after in A seres tuning circles. Should be a 3.7 I believe. (3.9's are more common as fitted to lots of spridgets...)

The steering wheel might well be the same as early Minor "banjo" wheels

[koppak]

The Riley came with a 3.7 diff the Wolsey a 3.9, the 3.7 diffs fetch good money now.

[Lankytim]

How can I tell if its a 3.7 before I remove it?

I might not bother removing the diff, unless its worth big money I might just post it on the Minor OC site.

[Lankytim]

Ok peeps, went to the breakers today, told the guy what I was here to get and got to work. Took off the carbs and manifolds, Found there is a mechanical tachometer and the engine isnt seized. The carbs looked very good under the layer of oil and dust and I couldnt detect any wear. Result!

Toddled off to pay the said carbs and walked into a bit of an argument between the boss's sons. all I got to hear was "but he came over and asked me, he didnt just take them off FFS!" Things didnt sound too good!

"sorry mate a guy came in saturday and said he wanted the carbs and a few other bits, he said he was coming back this week to get them, hes a mate of the boss so we cant say no to him"

curse word- I got the expected flannel about how if it was a normal punter I would have had them and how sorry they were (I think they were pretty sorry, more embarrased than anything) He even said I could keep the air filter If I wanted- not much use without the carbs! Bottom line is I didnt get the carbs, curse word happens so I'm not too bothered really...... good job the bits came off easy!

The engine is still there, 1500 with mechanical tacho drive and unseized, as is the rear axle I didnt ask how much they were as I was soaking wet and wanted to go home and nurse my grazed knuckles. If anyone is interested PM me and ill send the address.

[plasticorange]

All Riley 1.5's and Wolseleys had 3.7 diffs (sell it to Minor enthusiasts). Only the Riley had the mechanical tacho drive though and 68 bhp - upgraded cam and head along with twin SU's and different exhaust manifold. They were quite a pleasant torquey engine and had a close ratio box - a good one would do 80+ in 3rd. Same engine was fitted in Riley 4/68 and some MG Magnettes (some of these even had an oddball 1588cc MGA engine I think ).
1622cc engines were fitted to Riley 4/72 and equivalent year MG Magnettes
Of course, you could just get an MGB engine and get 95 hp out the box - 3 bearing if you want it to look original - and they are pretty cheap too.

Pete