Good job, well done on having a go. A couple of little tips, if you think the valve feels slightly tight but you aren't sure, it's better to adjust it slightly. It's better if the valves are slightly loose (not really loose) than tight, as tight there's a risk of burning a valve. Also it's easier to turn the engine if you pull the plugs out, you can also check that each valve is definitely at TDC if you aren't sure by putting a screwdriver down the bore and checking the piston is at the top of its stroke. I was taught 'a slappy tappet is a happy tappet' 🤣

I was an apprentice when these were born, and never saw anyone put the gasket over the valve cover to get it back to shape. Great idea. Every days is a school day. :-)

That trick using the alternator on a tightened pulley just saved me! 🙏

If it matters, there’s a 50 something year old dude in NY thats proud of you Ed

Good job Ed. You explained the process very well. It's so good to have cars that you can fix. All these jobs can make a big difference to the running of the engine and carrying out the work yourself helps you to understnad how the car actually works. Nice.

Good to see you getting your hands dirty, itl still run if you get it wrong lol 1000s have cut their teeth on an A series

Re Turning the engine over. You should take all the spark plugs out. Then jack up one side so 1 front tyre is just off the ground. Pop gearbox into 4th gear. Then just rotate the wheel which is off the ground and the engine will turn over easy. On FWD cars its perfect as you can just turn a wheel with one hand and keep an eye on the rocker movement. RE Feeler Gauges. Your after a slight "Dragging" feeling when sliding the feeler gauge.

My first time adjusting clearances was on a 1992 peugeot 106 (my first car) which I passed my test in 2018 (I still have that car)... wasn't a hard job and I found it thoroughly satisfying

Well done, Ed. Lovely job. Back when I had to do the valve adjustment on a pushrod engine the gasket came smooth and flat on the package. Cork gaskets are notorious for leaking, but with the frequency of adjustment being what it is, cork is cheap and cheerful. Melody is going to be a great car by the time you are done. Great job.

Excellent video! I've never seen a valve adjustment done so this was very educational and entertaining as well.

your clam demeanor while doing the maintenance is amazing...great job taking us through this.

well done ed, yes you are right the rule of 9 mean when you do 1, 8 is open, 2, 7 open etc. they are a really easy engine to work on

Thanks for sharing. The rockers look nice & clean, and great job done. Excellent that melody is serving you well as a daily.

Considering this task was new ground for you, that was well explained. The number 9 is the key here. 1-8, 2-7, 3-6. 4-5 etc. Bought the first new MG Metro and 1.0L in 1982 / 3 for the family fleet. Great little cars and mid-40s mpg all day long. I removed all the Spark Plugs and with car in 4th Gear, would pull and push the car ( very easy with lightweight Metros ) and watch as each valve is fully depressed open so the "Rule of Nine" pairing enables adjustment on the valve fully closed. I changed the oil at half the manufacturer recommended intervals. As I always do when servicing our cars. That MG Metro had a hard driven life with four family drivers, Both my then schoolboy sons learned to drive and use all the car controls in the MG Metro. Both passed their tests at age seventeen. The little Metro started to fall to bits thirteen years and over 100,000 miles later. It's strong engine lived on in another A-Series car. Engine Oil is far less expensive than Engine and Gearboxes are to repair. The 1275 MG Metro engine was/is a popular power upgrade for Mini 1000s. My oldest son is now in his late 30s and the Reg Plates from that MG Metro are screwed to the rafters in his garage. One of my sons' car mad friends has the finest MG Metros I've ever seen. It is a Y-Reg car in the same Cinnabar Red as our one. A real beauty and cosmetically, it is in better condition than my one was on day one new despite fast approaching its fortieth birthday. If only modern cars were this easy to run and maintain.

Fair play! This has made me brave enough to try this myself!

Thanks for the video. It reminds me of doing the same work on my two A series Minis.

This brings back memories Ed. I remember setting the valve clearances on my old Minis and my 1.3L Metro just leaving the car in gear using the rule of 9. My best friend who has unfortunately now passed away helped me out a huge amount setting the point's gap and timing as well during the 80's on car mechanics. Back in the day the clearances used to be 12 thou in imperial measurements and if I recall correctly it was a 1/2 inch ring spanner for the locking nuts. If doing the clearances static it's sometimes worth considering slacking off the spark plugs a turn so a little less push against the compression strokes of the engine. Great video Ed and well done. Somewhere I still have and old xenon Gunson timing light that was great for measuring the ignition timing and vacuum advance simples with the engine running (you can also use crock clips and a 12V bulb to set it static if I recall correctly, it was 40 years ago). There should be a scale and a notch on the crankshaft pully for measuring this. Use some Tippex (correction fluid, not sure if it's still available) or a dot of white paint to mark the pully notch and the baseline and advance positions on the timing scale if using a timing light. Great video.

This reminds me of when I worked on my Morris Minor the difference being the Moggy was not a transverse and had a starting handle so it was much easier ;-)

I needed a refresher course, it's been 30years since l last did it.

One of the jobs I didn't mind doing on my GT when I had it. I found it quite satisfying just getting it right.

Fair play, great to learn & good job

This is everything I needed today

Take your plugs out, engine will turn easy

Easier than the "rule of nine", put the cilinder you are working with on TDC of compression stroke (piston all up, rotor pointing in the direction of the cilinder you are working in the distributor), then you can adjust both intake and exhaust of that cylinder, then go to the next cylinder in the firing order and etc. Rule of 9 it's a bit faster, but this way it's easier (you dont get lost).

Great video. I'm predicting that you are the next Jeremy Clarkson or Quentin Wilson.

The problem with trying to get the timing "bob on" as you describe it, is what you mean by that. If you mean going by the original car manual for 10 degrees BTDC (or whatever degrees the Metro manual states) you need to appreciate that info was back in a time when we had full leaded 4* petrol available. Not the case today with the crap fuel we have now. So it's just a case of getting it running the best it can ignoring any printed data from back in the day. Fuel quality won't affect valve clearances of course. I'd have erred towards the loose end of the range (0.33/0.34) than the tight end. You did a fine job anyway.

Congratulations! Another first, and well done. I know it is a relatively simple thing to do but I just don't seem to be very good at it. I don't know why. I get there in the end but it can be a fiddle. It's much easier with an east-west engine compared to the north-south engine in my Austin A60. The rear most tappets are quite a stretch although I do have a crank handle to turn the engine over. Hope Melody is running sweetly now. 😊

nice relaxing vid, thumbs up.

I was taught to adjust the tappets with plugs out which then allows you to put something like pencil down the spark plug hole and then you can better see when the you get tdc.

Really good video for the novice home mechanic 👍

If you do adjust the clearances on an idling engine , as someone has suggested , then you need special feeler gauges that are hardened. If you use standard feelers they will be thinned and ruined by the pounding between rocker and valve stem

Just a comment on the general condition of the mechanicals under the rocker cover - from what I could see, it looks really good! For a car of this age especially. Usually there is going to be a fair amount of dirt, carbon and general crud that deposits itself, but it looks like this might have had pretty regular oil changes. The lack of wear on the cams / rockers / valves probably agrees with this theory. If I had bought a car with an engine top-end that looked like this, I would be well chuffed!

First learned to do this on my old Moggy Minor

Great your learning on the job Ed. Like I did. Get some AF spanners!

You're like a young Chris Goffey.

Inlet and exhaust should have different clearances on a 1275 due to valve overlap,82 to 83 specs are 12/15 inlet exhaust 15/17. Exhaust has more heat so needs a larger gap.

The A+ engines did run a little lean. If its detonating (pinking), then I would go for maybe 97 or 99 octane, if the price is reasonable !

Brilliant job Ed. The engine should sound smoother too 🙂

Nice

As well as the 'rule-of-nine', there's the 'rule-of-thirteen' for six cylinder engines. It works the same way.

Good video! Exactly what I need to do to my Maestro, btw I sent you a message on IG asking if you fancied taking my Maestro for a spin on video as it’s one of the rare Apple 2000 ones :)

Always best to do valve clearance on a hot engine as each cylinder can run at a different temperature and thus expand a different amount

I know you have dione the job now but to make lifer easier take the spark plugs out and turning the engine is much easier.

Those valves seem to be numbered like engines on an aircraft. That’s to say that number 1 is on the left when you are facing forwards. It seems the ‘wrong way’ when you are looking at the car from the front. If you are in one of the seats looking forward number 1 is on the left. On a more-than-two-engined aircraft engine 1 is on the left when you are in the cockpit facing forwards. Does that make sense?

Great job, Ed. I need to check the valve clearances on my Dolomite but I've been putting it off as it's an OHC engine and should adjustment be required, it's a bit of a faff messing around removing the camshaft and playing with shims. Cheers!

ed number 1 was a bit loose. a good way to tell is there should be a little resistance when moving the feeler gauge back and forth

Ah, adjusting the timing and adjusting the mixture; reminds me again why I love modern computer controlled engine so much

The valve lash must be adjusted because it's using solid lifters. That is not necessarily the sign of an old engine; Honda has used them up until very recently and maybe they still do in some models

Is the lower end of the tolerance preferable? Or did you just pick that because it was convenient with thr gauges?

Did you not figure out that a 13mm spanner would have been absolutely fine on those 1/2” adjuster locknuts ? The reverse is often true… a mangled 13mm nut / bolt can sometimes be shifted by banging on a 1/2” socket, etc… Nice steady progress but please get some paraffin (or degreaser) and a paintbrush and clean up the oily cruddy top / front of the engine !

M the best

Keep up the great work Where are parts 1&2?

I wonder how many metro are left? 🤔

Good job! I find it quite peculiar that the valve clearances are done with a cold engine in this case. I'm much more used to see them calling for a working temp engine. The '53 Volvo PV444 even calls for an idling engine in the service manual, which must be a typo

1:28 i'm sorry 45mpg?!? i keep getting 30-35 mpg from my 1987 austin metro 1.3l

Adjusting a single jet SU carb is a doddle. Get yourself a Colourtune to get it spot on.

When you do a service and change the spark plugs anyway, it’s then easier if you check the valve clearances with the spark plugs out, the engine has no compression and turns easier. Just a tip !

Buy some bloody spanners. :)

Sorry but those wiper blades do not suit a Metro! Maybe an adjustable spanner would have been better/easier in the absence of an imperial one. Good video though.