Can not leave well enough alone

[Paul Slice]

Hello all,
Finished the restro on my 78 B around two years ago and have enjoyed driving it every chance I get. It has been as trouble free and dependable as my Japanese cars, but there were some changes that have been rolling around in the back of my mind. Well after I finished my 80 Spitfire, I guess I got bored and decided to act on my wishes for more improvements on the B. The areas that I wanted to improve were to the 4-speed transmission, more power of course and to get rid of the Weber carb. Well the parts have arrived and I have a week of vacation next week, so the engine and tranny are out and on the garage floor.
Here is whats on the agenda:
1) install 5-speed conversion from Jim Hall at 5-speed
2)head ported and polished to fast road specs from Sean Brown at flowspeed
3)change Weber DGV to dual modified HIF4s
the mods to the SUs are: change to solid throttle plate and convert to earler fixed needles #6 Rich, vacume modified by Mike Brown to work with my Eurospec distributer
4)install high torque starter and do GM alternator conversion
5) had Peco Header Jet-Hot coated inside and out
5)install chrome bumper conversion on rear
These changes should transform the B to a different driving car, allowing me to drive it on interstate road trips.The carbs and head work should allow full use of the Piper 270 cam allready installed. I will post some pictures as work goes along, wish me well

 

[Banjo]

wow, that's quite a list. Good luck Guv'na. Sounds like you're going at it the right way.

 

[John Moore]

Sounds great! I've heard nothing but good things about the Browns and their work. I would like to get my head P&P'd someday too. Before I put my SU's back on, I'm also going to lose the poppet valve.

Sounds like you have a good plan. Have you already lowered the car?

 

[Paul Slice]

John,
When I did the restoration I used chrome bumper height springs on the front along with poly bushings and uprated shock valves and a 3/4 inch sway bar. On the rear I used poly bushings on 1 inch lower leaf springs but it was still jacked up in the rear, so I also added lowering blocks and kept the lever shocks with new oil in them. It now handles almost as good as my Spitfire(go cart)without a harsh ride like the Spitfire has.
I cannot say enough about the job the Browns have done with my head, looks so smooth and good that I almost hate to run gas thru it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. I will post about the change in power when i get it all installed and running.

 

[Paul Slice]

Well finally got all the work done and have 90% of the gremlins or bugs worked out after all this work. Any of you that are condemplating a 5-speed conversion I will tell you that it is well worth the money. I took the B out on the intertstate yesterday and actually passed other cars in a 70 MPH zone instead of getting blown off of the road by everyone else like when it had the stock 4 speed. The transmission is much quietier and the shift lever does not vibrate like the old one and the Ford unit has a short throw between the gears almost like a short shifter. Oh by the way the Sean Brown flowed head with the modified HIF4s give a real improvement in the power department as well and they changed the sound of the exhaust to a growl from a purr.The alternator conversion was easy and looks like it should be there, if anyone is interested in the part numbers or particulars of the conversion I will be glad to help with the info. And last the gear reduction starter is a very quiet and small unit, when I went to prime the motor before starting I thought that I had not wired the starter up properly and that it was not turning as it was so quiet compaired to the Lucus unit that it had replaced but when the oil pressure came up I realised that it had been turning the motor over.
All the upgrades are nice but the 5-speed is the topping on the cake, now I can drive my B anywhere for any distance comfortably.
Paul

 

[John Moore]

Cool, Great to hear! Thanks for the follow up!