I got the engine code off of the block and it is "12V(either 7or/)5872-L5361. From what I can tell from this website http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgccz/technic/codeseng.pdf on the second page the engine is a 1275cc. Any info would be great, I found out we had a few extra bucks so I am going to buy the coversion kit to fix it right.
also on page 6 of that website it says 12V is the prefix code for a morris marina 1300 which is also a 1275cc motor.