With the next step to be getting the engine and gearbox back in the car, I thought I would get the engine checked and the head gasket replaced as a bare minimum before the start of the season. Time limitations mean a full strip down is not going to happen this year but doing the head gasket and checking the internals is really a minimum.

This is really quite straight forward when the engine is on the deck in front of you and you have the experience having done the damn thing endlessly for 15 years! In line with the original K Series Designers and MGR recommendations I continue to use the original silicone bead single layer head gasket as opposed to the new MLS one I would use in any road car K series replacement. A genuine old stock one costs about £20 these days.

A couple of hours is more than enough for me to strip down the engine, remove the head, change the leaky exhaust cam shaft seal, clean up the faces (no need for a re-skim), copious amounts of well seal and reassemble the engine. Getting the new belts on is straight forward and she’s ready to be put into the new shell when I visit next!