Engine rebuild or not

I have a question as a newbie MG owner.. im tidying up my 1978 MG Midget 1500 its now stripped & ready for paint. so im about to start work on teh engine block

In your experiance what would be the minimum maintenance on this engine while the engine is out.. what should I replace?
The engine has done 60.000 miles runs but heavy a blue..ish smoke would cause a minor cloud continusly
The spark plugs where all even with a black carbon build up.. indication it was running rich.. & the oil smelt like gas

I have a newley rebuilt webber carb & new headers to put onit.. so the old carb is longer an issue

I guess what im trying to say is there a seals kit or what would I need to replace other than rings and boring the cylinder heads

Cheers

Id do a propeper rebuild

Over bore the cly, new pistons, rings, bearings, seals, gaskets, cam, valve guilds, have the valves cleaned up and new seats cut. new rhrust brarings, look over the clutch ...replace if worn...head. leaned up and reworked

But thats me

Prop

If you did not clean that engine up before you took the photos I'd say thats one of the cleanest engines I've seen w/60k+ miles on it. Normally I would have thought to see some oil leakage. A basic rebuild would be to replace all gaskets and seals while its out of the car and yes you can buy kits for both gaskets and seals. Contact Robert Kirk, a fellow member, and he can hook you up with better gaskets then the kits sold by Victoria British. Once you have the head off, take a look at the cylinders to see if they need reboring or the top of the pistons to see what crud and in what amounts have built up. I think its a really good bet to replace the thrust washers on the 1500s like Prop said above. Get yourself a clutch rebuilt kit while you're at it since you have to pull the engine again, :X, if it goes later done the line.

Jason

All go advice
I already have a clutch kit & all top end gaskets in a complete kit
Im not sure of where the thrust washers are located though.. or how many

Yes it has been preasure washed as with the whole car... im not going to do the engine rebuild myself I think im going to try and find a mobile mechanic & get all the parts first.. just wanted a feeling of what I could get away with. I work with computers all day with four walls & no windows.. so im really enjoying the project.. just hope I dont fall into a money pit.. just a little nervouse

Isn't blue smoke worn rings or valves.

Maybe get the head checked out or do a leak test on the head to see if the head is ok, what was the compression before removal? I had the gas smell, no smoke and my rings and cylinder walls look like someone through a grenade down the piston. Compression was like 70 although it still ran ok and got 23 mpg. But boy did it stink out that tailpipe, had to change when I would work on it. I am doing a complete rebuild.

I'd be weary of the electronic unit on the car, that kind usually like to go. Although the one on my 75 parts car is still kicking so who knows. Maybe if they work now there not going to kick the bucket.

Thrust bearings or thrust washers as they are known are shims between the crankshaft mains and the edges of the crankshaft journals...it keeps the crankshaft from moving forwards and backwards...no need to check them, just replace... They are notorious for wearing out on the 1500s and have a life of about 60k miles

A good guide that helped me understand the basics, whihc is where I'm still at BTW, is simply by looking at both the VB and Moss books I get in the mail for free. They were like Playboys to me for the better part of one year. Once you hear a part, simpky grab the VB book since its got a more detailed table of contents and look it up and study the photo. Not sayong buy directly from them but at least you'll become more familiar with the terms and part names.

I 2x what Jason says about the catalogs , I have learned more from catalogs about how things are made and go togeather than any manual, and not just cars. Those exploded drawings realy help some times when you are not sure where a part went that you just found on the floor.

Since it appears you have time...

Open it up. See what's going on and plan on at least gaskets, seals, rings, bearings, thrust washers and a head freshening (guides, valves, seals and seats).

Once you see the innards, then plan on what else may be necessary. Order what you need and have at it.