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"B" to "A"

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SilentUnicorn

SilentUnicorn

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will a 18V884ALL00688 (block number), with OD transmission fit in an "A"?


cant seem to find a list describing how that number breaks down. the car is an 80 B that i just bought at a yard sale (couldnt resist) put in the aftermarket napa pump and drove it the 5 miles home.


and in general what other parts of a "B" will bolt acrross?


Thanx
Mark
 
From an 80? Almost nothing. Seriously. There are parts that can be made to work (like much of the front suspension) and if you try hard enough you can get the engine in there, but generally speaking by 1980 very very little will transfer straight across.
Anyway, the engine you CAN shove in, once you sort out motor mounts and such. The tranny won't go in without modifying the transmission tunnel, which means you'll probably want to mount the 1800 engine up to the early crashbox, which probably (but I'm not sure) means getting the early 3-main engine mounting plate.
Actually, if you find a early B engine (the 3-main, with crashbox) you'll be way ahead of the game.
 
According to the Victoria British cat, that engine series started in '77. I don't know if it was unique to '77 or carried on through the end of production. Up to that point they changed codes every year. Otherwise whatever else Baxter said is good. Bob
 
It will go in, I did it to a A coupe. A 70s 5 main with a 4sp LH O/D. Baxter is basically right, earlier engine/trans combo a better choice. I just did it cause I had the parts. Wouldnt want to do it again the way I did it, cause I made the change AFTER I had restored the car to show. I put the trans in from inside the car after I had already put the B engine in months earlier, reason? the A trans kept popping out of 3rd/4th.A supposedly R/B A trans. I don't call me Box o Rocks fer nutten
 
Been many years and only helped do with a '67 engine/tranny in a '61 MGA, but one issue is to remember your tach is mechanical in the MGA, electronic in the MGB. Finding the ground point that works was the trick. Seems it was the fuel guage that the tach had to ground to. Any other shade tree mechanics remember that?
 
The earlier 3 main engines work easier. Did one on an A MANY years ago. Fun car. Scared the heck out of both A's and B's. Seemed to remember starting in 2nd gear a lot since 1st gear in an A is so low. Trade someone for the earlier engine and it is a bolt in, if I remeber right.
 
Thanks ,

so i take it, i can retrofit the front suspension across. How about rearends?

and here is a pic


mark
 
I wouldn't say retrofit, but parts of it can be made to work, and there's a reason you'd want to do so, although I can't remember what it is. Contact Carl Heideman at Eclectic Motorworks... (https://eclecticmotorworks.com/). At MG 2003 his stand had the setup. It's not a straight swap though.
Rearend also won't be a straight swap. Early Bs had the A-style rear, but that changed in 66 or thereabouts. (cant' remember the exact year.)
 
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