MG Car Repair: 1979 MGB, charcoal canister, crank case

Question
I just got my MGB back from University Motors after 3 years in storage and some new rear brakes and oil pressure fix and the engine is now burning a quart of oil every 20 miles. The only engine rebuild was 20 years ago but the car has not gone 5000 miles since. It has 59,000 original miles and has been stored off and on for most part of 20 years. Could the increased oil pressure be the cause? What is the average cost for an engine rebuild? I would think new rings, valves, etc. The two University Motors guys delivering it from Michigan to Ohio said it was throwing oil on the trailing car and they put 8 quarts in to make it here. The exhaust emits smoke so could it be a combo of oil leak(s) and engine burn?  Peter

Answer
Hi Peter,
Oil pressure is the amount of pressure built up because the oil pump can't push all of the oil through the bearings. Oil pressure has nothing to do with oil burning.
Oil burning is due to oil getting into the combustion chamber. The only way oil can get into the combustion chamber is either past the rings or past the intake valve guides. The job of the oil control rings (all rings below the top ring) is to scrape oil off of the cylinder walls and keep it in the crank case. Some oil can get into the combustion chamber by the intake guides but very little.
A quart ever 20 miles is extreme and means something major is wrong.
Things for you to look at and test are,
First be sure the crankcase is not over full.
Check to see that the crankcase vent system is ok and the charcoal canister/s are not clogged.
Do a Dry and a Wet compression test. If you are not familiar with the procedure let me know and I will explain how to do it.
You should NOT consider rebuilding the engine until you know for sure what is wrong.
Howard