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I emailed Andrew Bradley, owner of Bradley Conversions in Washington state. I wanted to learn more about how professional MG V/6-8 conversions are done, and Andrew provided very good info.
Andrew says he's a former aerospace engineer, but "got better". Interesting guy.
I asked him approximately how much it would cost to perform a good conversion job on an MG, here's what he said, below. I hope it's useful to those who may have interest in these conversions:
<span style="font-style: italic">I can give you a pretty good general cost, but there are many variables. Ideally, you can give me a shopping list of exactly what you want in your dream car.
For a ballpark guess, you can budget around $10k for a complete, top-notch V6 conversion, installed and ready to go. Fuel injection, computer, fuel supply, wiring, etc. I use Dann Wade's (British Car Conversions) parts and use FWD engines. This is by far the cleanest and most elegant way to do things, but it does cost more. This would involve piggy-backing an additional wiring harness on to of what is already in the car. In the case of a full restoration, I generally build a full harness from scratch, with everything new in it.
Transmission cost can be as little as several hundred for a used T5, up to $2200 for a new World Class T5. A 700R4 set up for a little British car costs about $1500 to build, and we have to find a V6 tranny core to work from. These are not available new, but it is not that hard to find a good core, usually under $200.
There is also the budget route, a la Bill Guzman of Classic Conversions. He is developing some higher end stuff, but primarily he is set up for supplying home builders.
On top of that, there is a huge list of possible options, such as suspension upgrades, rear end mods, interior options, new seats, seat heaters, sound system, alarm, and general upgrades to wiring, lighting, etc. Heck, it goes on and on.
A very nice MGB restoration is in the range of $15-20K, depending upon what we are starting with, and where we are heading. This would entail some minor rust repair, stripping all the old finish and doing fresh bodywork and paint, new seals and rubber, chrome bits, windscreen, and assembling the car to factory standards (or better). At this point, you can drive it right to a show.
It really does help if you have a firm idea of what you want. As an example, I had one customer who changed his mind on several major themes in his car, and by the time we got it where he wanted it, he had over $50K in it. Not having a clear plan cost him over $10 in engineering time and re-doing work that was, for all intents and purposes, done. As you can imagine, this is frustrating for both the customer and for myself, since I do not like to do work twice.
For example, do you want stock wheels, wire wheels, alloy knock-offs? Standard or wider tires? If you go with wide tires, you might want power steering, so that you can keep your little Moto-Lita steering wheel, but still be able to crank the wheels to park it. Installing PS over the regular rack is not that much labor, but the parts do add up and the minor welding involved makes it beneficial to decide early, before the sub-frame gets powder-coated. Do you see what I mean?
I admit that the website is still rather young and a work-in-progress, but have a look around and make up a list of what you definitely want, what you might want, and maybe a few sky-high goodies that will make the Mrs. happy. Then we can take it from there and come up with a plan.
You might want, say...
H4 headlamps, fog/driving lamps and a relay system
Running lights, Stops and Turns converted to 3W LED bulbs.
Seat Heaters
Original style seats, new leather covers.
Tube Shock Conversions
Panhard Rod
Uprated brakes
Alarm, with remote door locks
Stereo with iPod kit, component speakers and rear speaker, sub, amp box, trimmed to match carpeting.
3.4 engine and new WC T5
MARC front cover/mount assy, billet mechanical water pump
95A alternator
Narrowed S10 rear end, 3.5 gears, limited slip, 5-bolt hubs
Matching pattern front hubs
Bolt-on Alloy Minilite/Panaposrt/Superlite wheels ...and keep going, down to the color of the gage faces! Looking forward to working with you.
-Andy
Andrew Bradley
Bradley Restoration
14093 Riverbend Rd.
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
andy@bradleyrestoration.com</span>
Andrew says he's a former aerospace engineer, but "got better". Interesting guy.
I asked him approximately how much it would cost to perform a good conversion job on an MG, here's what he said, below. I hope it's useful to those who may have interest in these conversions:
<span style="font-style: italic">I can give you a pretty good general cost, but there are many variables. Ideally, you can give me a shopping list of exactly what you want in your dream car.
For a ballpark guess, you can budget around $10k for a complete, top-notch V6 conversion, installed and ready to go. Fuel injection, computer, fuel supply, wiring, etc. I use Dann Wade's (British Car Conversions) parts and use FWD engines. This is by far the cleanest and most elegant way to do things, but it does cost more. This would involve piggy-backing an additional wiring harness on to of what is already in the car. In the case of a full restoration, I generally build a full harness from scratch, with everything new in it.
Transmission cost can be as little as several hundred for a used T5, up to $2200 for a new World Class T5. A 700R4 set up for a little British car costs about $1500 to build, and we have to find a V6 tranny core to work from. These are not available new, but it is not that hard to find a good core, usually under $200.
There is also the budget route, a la Bill Guzman of Classic Conversions. He is developing some higher end stuff, but primarily he is set up for supplying home builders.
On top of that, there is a huge list of possible options, such as suspension upgrades, rear end mods, interior options, new seats, seat heaters, sound system, alarm, and general upgrades to wiring, lighting, etc. Heck, it goes on and on.
A very nice MGB restoration is in the range of $15-20K, depending upon what we are starting with, and where we are heading. This would entail some minor rust repair, stripping all the old finish and doing fresh bodywork and paint, new seals and rubber, chrome bits, windscreen, and assembling the car to factory standards (or better). At this point, you can drive it right to a show.
It really does help if you have a firm idea of what you want. As an example, I had one customer who changed his mind on several major themes in his car, and by the time we got it where he wanted it, he had over $50K in it. Not having a clear plan cost him over $10 in engineering time and re-doing work that was, for all intents and purposes, done. As you can imagine, this is frustrating for both the customer and for myself, since I do not like to do work twice.
For example, do you want stock wheels, wire wheels, alloy knock-offs? Standard or wider tires? If you go with wide tires, you might want power steering, so that you can keep your little Moto-Lita steering wheel, but still be able to crank the wheels to park it. Installing PS over the regular rack is not that much labor, but the parts do add up and the minor welding involved makes it beneficial to decide early, before the sub-frame gets powder-coated. Do you see what I mean?
I admit that the website is still rather young and a work-in-progress, but have a look around and make up a list of what you definitely want, what you might want, and maybe a few sky-high goodies that will make the Mrs. happy. Then we can take it from there and come up with a plan.
You might want, say...
H4 headlamps, fog/driving lamps and a relay system
Running lights, Stops and Turns converted to 3W LED bulbs.
Seat Heaters
Original style seats, new leather covers.
Tube Shock Conversions
Panhard Rod
Uprated brakes
Alarm, with remote door locks
Stereo with iPod kit, component speakers and rear speaker, sub, amp box, trimmed to match carpeting.
3.4 engine and new WC T5
MARC front cover/mount assy, billet mechanical water pump
95A alternator
Narrowed S10 rear end, 3.5 gears, limited slip, 5-bolt hubs
Matching pattern front hubs
Bolt-on Alloy Minilite/Panaposrt/Superlite wheels ...and keep going, down to the color of the gage faces! Looking forward to working with you.
-Andy
Andrew Bradley
Bradley Restoration
14093 Riverbend Rd.
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
andy@bradleyrestoration.com</span>
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