I'm about to dip into a 1954 XK 120 and will welcome any help in locating parts suppliers in North Eastern America.
I particularly will need a new water pump, timing chain, carb rebuild sets ( together with a spare/used carb piston and matching vacuum chamber if possible), Pertronix ignition system, HT wires and a front oil seal. Does any guru know if it is possible top replace the front crankshaft seal with a modern lip type by solely removing the crankshaft sprocket or is it necessary to get further into the engine.
Your basic answer is Yes you need to get more into the engine. In order to replace the timing chain you will need to remove the head so you can get the timing chain cover off the front of the engine. All these XK engines are basically the same from 1947 to 1987 with some minor changes over the years. Usually you can re-build the water pump yourself for far less than a new one. By the time you are done buying the re-build kits for the carbs, however, you will be better off having a shop refurbish them. Especially if you need a new matching dome and piston. Just the jet kit alone will run you $60 per carb. Then you have the butterfly assembly and seal kit which is another $75 per carb. Pertronix igniters are for sale all over the place. Make sure you get Positive ground unless you have converted. I bought my HT wires from Magnecor but had to convert to the push in style rather than the original screw in type.
There are parts suppliers all over the US. You need to hook up with all of them so you can shop for prices to get the best deal. Don't discount buying from the UK. The shipping is outrageous but the difference in the prices of parts makes up for it. Besides, I get parts from the UK in 2 days. It takes a week from California. From the sound of it you are not in any hurry for parts. Soon you will be like the rest of us and working on year 8 of a 1 year project.
XK's in California is/was pretty good. Barrett's in New Hampshire is also pretty good. Terry's in Illinois is the best for engine re-builds and parts.
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