Lagondaforum

Subject: LG 45 Engine

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I am looking for a Sanction 2 ,3 or 4 LG 45 engine - or at least the main bits of one. If anyone knows of anything available I would be very grateful.
Many thanks for any input.

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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There was a Meadows engine advertised in "The Automobile" magazine fairly recently. The ad stated it was suitable for Lagonda/Invicta, so presumably not an engine originally fitted to a Lagonda. Might be of use though, at least for most of the parts.
Laurence

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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Thanks very much Laurence. Yes, I saw this and know the seller. Unfortunately it was M45 not LG.
Thanks anyway.

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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Dear Bill,

I've a Sanction 3 engine sump that was damaged and which was trusted it to a chap who said he could repair it. He couldn't. What's more he made a bit of a hash of it so I took it away from him and bought a new one. However, in the right hands I suspect it could be repaired or lined so let me know if it's of interest. I've been holding on to it for that time in the far distance when I've time on my hands to sort it out - ha! It would be nice to see it put to use.

David

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Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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David, thanks very much for that and I will bear it in mind. Whereabouts is the damage on the sump ? Was it just bad welding or was it the impurities in the metal which was the problem ? I understand that the Meadows casting material was very poor during the 1930s for both engine and gearbox. Is it possible to effect an engineering rather than a welding solution ?
Thanks again.

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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Not a great deal of help and a bit of a long shot. Ebay had parts of an LG45 engine for sale - a block and possibly a head (?) plus some other parts. They were listed separately. I don't believe they found a buyer. However it was probably over a year ago and ebay's completed listing search doesn't go that far back. The parts were in France but unfortunately that's all I can remember. Might jog someones memory who might know who the seller was. . . maybe they still have them. . . .

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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It's a sorry story really. It was a perfectly good sump but I wanted to modify the chassis lubrication system so that the lubrication pump took clean oil from the jacking oil tank rather than dirty oil from the sump. This was pretty straightforward but needed the oil path from the sump blanking off. On the Meadows engine you drain oil from the sump via the same port as the chassis lube take-off so I needed a new sump drain.

The welder was confident he could weld in a threaded drain boss but he clearly didn't know what he was doing and had too much localised heat so the casting split. He chased the crack and made it worse and worse. He even tried welding in a small alloy plate to cover it up but it was a mess. By the time I found out about it it had gone too far for me to live with so I bought a new one from David Ayre.

I suspect years of oil in the casting and poor quality porous metal made welding tricky but think that if the whole casting had been placed in a furnace to bring it up to temperature, and then returned to the furnace after welding and allowed to cool down really slowly, it would have probably been fine.

I think that now it needs cutting out and a repair plate screwing in place from the inside but it will never look pretty - not that you can see it unless you're underneath. It could even be lined with fibreglass (GRP).

There you have it...

The chassis lubrication mod works a treat by the way. The sumps drain boss was eventually bolted through the new sump instead of welded. I couldn't risk that again!

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Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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Thanks David for that. Yes, it sounds a very sorry (and expensive) tale ! With all your other problems with the car I dont know how you have remained sane. Well done for all your persistence in completing such a lovely car.

Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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Thanks Bill. That's what engineering is all about I guess. Learning from things that didn't go well and persevering. The end result is important but the path taken is equally so. Good luck.

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Subject: Re: LG 45 Engine

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I turned down the M45 engine bits a year ago. Not only do I not need them, I do not think they not particularly usable.

M34