Jim H

Ha, ha. Yes to all of that. You do realise that if you're that passionate about these points someone is going to give you the job of making it happen... Which might not be a bad idea since someone coming to a forum such as this does tend to ask all the common questions which have probably been answered numerous time before but get lost in the threads of time. As to the gathering of info I have photographed all my printed stuff and am happy to post it where it can be of some use. It's all old so I maybe covering familiar ground also but for what it's worth I have a parts list from 1995 for the 1.5 and 1.8 BMC diesels from AMC. No pictures or diagrams but the numbers appear to be original BMC ones. I also have an original Thornycroft operation manual for the T90 (marinised BMC 1.5 diesel) and BMC workshop manual for the engine but I think that's easy enough to find on line.

Thanks for the Calcutt link. I was going to try them on Monday. I wasn't getting any luck elsewhere but on the plus side I'm pretty familiar with the sites suggested earlier and what they offer. I turned up another tractor site called Charley and Sons (charnleys.com) that offer a fair number of engine parts. The tractor sites are certainly a lot more competitive than the marine ones... I'm not expecting to find anything tragic with the valves since they are being lifted later and dropped earlier than normal so will be cooled more than normal the problem may be with the angle the rockers have with the stems. I'll fine out soon enough. The pistons and bores look good and the rings are a bit out of tolerance so I might stick a new set in. Plenty to consider. As to your Panama experience I agree there is always a fair bit of debris in the water on the Atlantic side. The wind blows everything to this end of the Caribbean which is a pity. It affects the Islands especially.

Will do. Meantime the strip down continues. Pistons out with the good news that big ends look fine, pistons and bores likewise. I'll check ring wear but don't expect to see much there. I had started this rebuild expecting pump/injectors to be the source of my lack of power but it's looking likely that everything was down to the rocker gear being starved of oil and the resultant wear to the rockers causing valve clearances so big the valves barely moved. The remarkable thing is how long it's taken to get like this. Something like 15 years! A testament to how forgiving these old motors are.

Hi everyone. First of all let me thank you all for such a fantastic welcome to your forum. I didn't know what to expect but this is an amazing amount of great information. At first glance it looks like I have several options and I'll explore them all over the coming days. Perhaps there will be a solution waiting for me when I arrive in the UK. Fingers crossed. As anyone who has a BMC diesel in their boat can tell you the option of changing to something more modern is a constant nagging voice which gets louder every time the motor develops a problem. However, I've never been a fan of throw away culture and have "enjoyed" working on older bikes, cars etc over the years especially those that were designed to be maintained and rebuilt when the time comes. Between a limited budget, availability of alternatives in Panama and "better the devil you know" I think I'll stick with what I have for the moment and see how I get on. I have no plans to head across an ocean any time soon and will be happy if I'm able to hop along the coast to the San Blas islands one in a while. It's only a ten hour sail or motor (usually the latter) and I'm in one of the most beautiful cruising grounds. After reading your advice I feel much better about my chances of making that happen. Thanks again.

Hi there folks. Sorry to crash into your discussion but since yours is the most recent activity regarding anything to do with BMC 1.5 engines on the forum, I thought I'd reach out for some advice. I'm based in Panama having sailed here many years ago with a small boat fitted with a marinised BMC 1.5 diesel. (Thornycroft) I'm visiting the UK in the next few weeks and decided to pull the engine and do a bit of a strip down in case there were any parts needed I could bring back. Sadly I've discovered a bit of a disaster. Last head job the gasket was installed upside down with the result that the rocker shaft and rockers are completely shot. Beyond replacing bushes shot. I used to get parts from AMC but it seems like they no longer exist. I know it's an extremely old engine now but have you any thoughts about where I could try for new or used parts. Again, sorry for crashing your thread but I'm getting desperate and a bit short of time. Thanks.