spark plugs for MG Montego Turbo- which one?

[The Professor]

I am preparing to get my car tuned up. I would appreciate advice on the correct spark plugs that should be used .My handbook says GSP 4452 or GSP 4352. GSP4452 is for efi but for turbo it lists both. Looking at past service bills i note that the rover garage used both. Ok so far. However when i look on Rimmer brothers they list NGK BPR6ES which is gsp6462 but their statement states that it fits mg/rover montego all models. There is then a link to the NGK catalogue which states GSP4352 should be NGK BP6ES not BPR. On looking at the plugs currently in the car i see the last ones fitted were NGK BPR6ES So you would think that's what should be fitted however i cannot make the assumption that what was fitted previously was correct. On next looking at another website for NGK BP6ES it tells me they are not suitable for my car? I would be interested to know what do other turbo owners use ? The R in BPR appears to stand for resistor so is there any difference between BP6ES and BPR6es. What i am trying to say is the BPR 6ES ok to use in my car?

[The Professor]

Further research and cross reference appears to confirm that BPR6ES is appropriate. I was aslo searching for other parts air filter etc and when i couldn't record vehicle as mg montego there was Maestro Turbo which is the same engine etc so job done.

[Jeff Turbo]

Further research and cross reference appears to confirm that BPR6ES is appropriate. I was aslo searching for other parts air filter etc and when i couldn't record vehicle as mg montego there was Maestro Turbo which is the same engine etc so job done.

I put NGK BPR6ES plugs in my sons MG Montego turbo Glyn, they work well. Is the car all done now?

[The Professor]

Is the car all done now?[/QUOTE]

I wish, it’s a long story. Its last chance saloon time . I don't suppose my garage ever contacted you or did they? Suffice to say i put the car back in the garage the middle of November . I was sick of it all and have had so many demands on my time since I have not been able to really devote any further time.. I recently contacted a tuner that I came across at one of the shows last year. Other than yourself after speaking with him I have every confidence he knows what he’s doing and f he is the first person to make me feel the car is going to the right person.. Don’t know where it’s going to end up but I am hoping he can sort it out but of course it’s a busy season for him due to shows starting. It’s been too long .
I had hoped to take the V8 to POL this year but that was not to be unfortunately.
Thanks for your input Jeff I know you can always be relied upon to give sound advice.
Hows the back , hope you are on the mend soon.

What colour is your sons Turbo? Is it red? If its the one i am thinking of did it previously belong to Andy from Nottingham?

[Jeff Turbo]

Hi Glyn, backs getting better mate. Yes my sons car used to belong to Andy who ruined it and stripped it. It's running perfectly atm and simply flys, starts easy when cold but needs a little throttle on hot, he's loving it. It's been hit when parked so the bumper is now damaged along with the front light and indicator but that will be done eventually. I've just finished redoing the head and gasket as he left the expansion tank cap off and drove it at near 100 mph racing other cars so it didn't do it any favours.
Your garage never contacted me so I couldn't help at the time. It's not rocket science as its a simple carb set up etc, last chance saloon?
As previous offered, if you remove carb I can rebuild it for you, offer is still there mate, also did you get the fuel ecu repaired/looked at from the company I gave you?

[The Professor]

Thanks again for the offer Jeff.. The carb was rebuilt last year and that took up too much time which is why i also missed out using the car last year. The autochoke was also found not to be functioning and the gears were mangled. They got a replacement Carb with a good autochoke mechanism and fitted that. It wasn't from a Turbo carb but was an su carb which i think was a montego. The fuel ecu was replaced through the company you told me about. They were very good and quick.They had some on the self which they selected and then rebuilt so i didn't have to return mine which made it a bit easier. The price though was not £30 as it showed on the web site and when i spoke to them( before getting it remanufactured) they told me that was an old price. It cost £126 for the fuel ecu. I think its about time i tried to attempt some the mechanics side of things. .I'm beginning to think i couldn't do a worse job. and there is lots of info out there on the net. I think i might start with the V12.

[Jeff Turbo]

Thanks again for the offer Jeff.. The carb was rebuilt last year and that took up too much time which is why i also missed out using the car last year. The autochoke was also found not to be functioning and the gears were mangled. They got a replacement Carb with a good autochoke mechanism and fitted that. It wasn't from a Turbo carb but was an su carb which i think was a montego. The fuel ecu was replaced through the company you told me about. They were very good and quick.They had some on the self which they selected and then rebuilt so i didn't have to return mine which made it a bit easier. The price though was not £30 as it showed on the web site and when i spoke to them( before getting it remanufactured) they told me that was an old price. It cost £126 for the fuel ecu. I think its about time i tried to attempt some the mechanics side of things. .I'm beginning to think i couldn't do a worse job. and there is lots of info out there on the net. I think i might start with the V12.

So what's the issue with your car now Glyn? And I'm guessing you're also on the twosixties site?

[The Professor]

You did ask and I said it’s a long story.
When the carb was refitted I wanted them to put a fuel filter in place before doing anything else and before trying to start the car. I had tried to syphon any old fuel out of the tank but couldn’t get any out. It was getting low anyway and had about 2 gallons in . I then put some fresh fuel in so if nothing else it should be fresh and add to the old fuel. He put the carb on but didn’t want to fit the filter ,he wanted to get it to the garage and then work on it and set it up. He was concerned in case there was a fuel spillage and a fire hazard. Although I did want it doing before anything else because I didn’t want muck in the system getting to the carb I understood his concern and to be fair he was doing me a favour coming out to my car as he’s not mobile so I had to go with it. He tried starting the car and was in too much of a rush in my eyes and flooded the carb. He then took the plugs out to dry out the fuel . He turned the engine over and showered me in fuel. The car was then started and it was running rich, he adjusted the idle but couldn’t get it running properly and the fuel ecu appeared to be not working as the temp gauge was up and down and flashing red light. We also replaced the coolant temperature sensor. The revs were running too high and the emissions coming out of the exhaust were getting thicker and thicker and it was over fuelling and petrol pouring out underneath.
I got the new fuel ecu and we started again. The car was driven down to the garage and I left it with him. I had asked if/when he got the emissions right would he mot it. When I called back later in the day nothing had improved, it was running but the emissions from the exhaust were overpowering and quite acrid. I called back the next day early 7.50 with some more fuel as I was concerned it had lost so much fuel it didn’t start sucking up any rubbish from the tank. I arrived as they were trying to get my car out of the way so they could mot another vehicle. They couldn’t get it started and it had run out of fuel. I had to leave it with him and he also advised me there was no adjustment screw. On speaking to the carb rebuilder he confirmed that it had emissions blank and shouldn’t be adjusted and he had already set the carb up and it should be ok. The garage removed the blank and with the spare carb I had they used the adjustment screw from that. Left it with them and I also supplied a workshop manual so they had all the correct settings. I returned again after a couple of days, they had other work so were fitting this in between. He was fed up, he thought it was running right tried to mot it and the emission’s clogged up his analyser and he spent half an hour trying to clear it out. Suffice to say it failed an mot. He had adjusted it again but still couldn’t get it running right. It seemed better but he couldn’t keep it running, one minute it was ticking over ok and the emissions were better but it would then just stop. It was though it had run out of fuel but it hadn’t. It was still spewing fuel out He didn’t know what else he could do and it was decided that I would have to take it home and put it back in the garage until I decided what to do with it.
As I said the car has remained garaged. I started it in January just to make sure it was running and moving. I then called the other day and although it took a little while to get it to started it did start and seemed to be running a bit better and the revs were running about 800 but climbed to 1500 after it was running a while. Should be the other way round. The emissions were not choking me either but it is still running rich and after I had switched off a pool of fuel appeared under the car from the vent pipe.
I don’t know, it could be the float needs further adjustment or the jet could be clogged or need adjustment and anything else. As I say, I saw a tuning guy at one of the shows last year and thought he may be able to help me(this was before I had the carb rebuilt ) anyway I had the carb rebuilt. The other day I contacted a local restoration company to see if it was something they could take on . The discussion determined that £1000 was only going to get me 2 days labour and they didn’t think that would be anywhere near enough time to get to the bottom of it. He said they would have to work their way through the issue .I had hoped to have someone to take a look at it to just try and give me a diagnosis of where the issue lay. I mentioned the tuner to him and he said he had a customer who had used him and it would probably be better to use him as he does this day in and out where as they had never worked on a montego and would spend more time looking things up. i now have spoken to the tuner again and he is going to come and look at it. I was faced with trailering to him about £175 and if he couldn’t fix the issue the same to return so I opted for his mobile service.
When I said last chance saloon it was because as much as I love the car I cannot justify continuing to keep just throwing money into it. It gets to a point where you say enough is enough. I have every confidence that the tuner will be able to give me a resolution to the issues. It all depends on his findings, worst case scenario it may be that it ends up at Mathewson’s as a project car for some gifted amateur who can afford to spend the time working on it. Labour rates are expensive (what isn’t these days).
Yes I am on the two sixties andzt/75 onwers group under JJAY.
I have been following your progress with your clutch. It’s amazing what you have been able to tackle and I’m impressed at how you have been able to remove and refit the engine and gearbox as you have at home. It’s a big engine and box. The subframe looks nice . It should be good now for another 155,000 miles.

[Jeff Turbo]

Glyn, do you want to get the car delivered to me in lincoln? The carb isn't set up correctly if its continually flooding and something isn't right here, it could also be a blockage in the return to the tank/swirl pot so there would be too much pressure . To deliver the car to me would only be about £200-280ish from shiply then I can have a proper look at it for you and go from there, or you can hire a transporter/trailer. I don't do this often on other people's cars but I'm sure I can fix your issues and it won't cost you £1000s. Up to you mate but the offer is there. I will also put a filter on it as from what you say no one else wants to do that, and I don't need to look things up as I know the system. Could be a simple fix once I've looked at it You have my number if you need it
As for my v8, Steve came up with a great idea using a pump truck and I took it from there.

[Jeff Turbo]

I've asked for quotes to delivery to me from Shiply from Redcar to lincoln. Started at £470 now down to £259 so not a bad quote Glyn, leave it with you

[The Professor]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you.
Thank You Jeff for your kind and most generous offer I very much appreciate it.. I had already booked the tuner so I will see where that takes me but if things don’t work out there I will consider your offer if that still stands? I'll let you know how i get on. Thanks again.

[The Professor]

As for my v8, Steve came up with a great idea using a pump truck and I took it from there.

i thought it was pure genius.

[Jeff Turbo]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you.
Thank You Jeff for your kind and most generous offer I very much appreciate it.. I had already booked the tuner so I will see where that takes me but if things don’t work out there I will consider your offer if that still stands? I'll let you know how i get on. Thanks again.

Not a problem Glyn. Let's hope the sorts it for you. Nice tourer BTW, that a V8?

[The Professor]

. Nice tourer BTW, that a V8?

Yes. One of 8 RHD connoisseur se built. It was the first production V8 Tourer built and the only one in BRG. It was the factory's car. Currently 19800 miles.

[Jeff Turbo]

Yes. One of 8 RHD connoisseur se built. It was the first production V8 Tourer built and the only one in BRG. It was the factory's car. Currently 19800 miles.

No mileage then, mines on near 160,000. Looking good there though