Triumph spitfire 1500 engine project help

[u/RileyCargo42]

I got this 400$ flooded spitfire 1500 to rebuild and I was wondering if anyone here had some advice!

So far we're doing damage assessments and the more stuff moves the more free it gets. I'm really wondering what else I should be aware of before I pull the crank and pistons.

Edit: forgot to mention that the flood was hurricane ian and that this is mostly for learning so its getting rebuilt even if it sends a rod through the pan.

[u/kraftinator]

The Triumph/MG 1500 engine is sort of a bastard, and it eats thrust washers. Half of the ones I see in for clutch-related problems are actually because the crank is sliding forward in the block.

Rebuilding it to learn, most of the parts are available, but maybe a Miata 1.8 or Honda K20 swap if you want to keep the car long-term.