MGB Is there a fast MGB out there?

[FastMGB]

I think we may have it.
This is my fathers work in progress. It all started in the summer of 2003 when his 1974 1/2 MGB was giving him fits. The stock motor was having some severe blow-by issues. Not wanting to dump money into a 50hp engine he began to brainstorm which engine he would replace it with. Now there have been many V8 conversions into MGB's using a Rover V8's. My dad drove a few locally but was unimpressed with the installation techniques as well as the driving experience. Using a Ford 302 block in our garage he began to mock up a how he would want his MGB V8 conversion to look. Here is how it has gone so far with many things to do still.

You may be wanting specs so i will do the best i can to remember them all. With a car like this you need to look over it 4-5 times to see everything my dad has done.

Motor......
Ford 302 bored out to 307
10.5:1 pistons
Edelbrock Performer aluminum heads
Edelbrock RPM intake
Holly 650 cfm carb
Crane cam
CSI electric water pump
No front belt driven accesories
Kutz and Company motor plate (motor is anchored to plate)

Trans.....Stock World Class T-5

Clutch....FMS King Cobra

Rear...Stock MGB

If you have any questions just ask. Thanks for looking. :beer:

****It is FOR SALE**** If your interested in buying please send me a message.

 

[vping]

Welcome to the Forum & wasn't that for sale on ebay within the past 6 months?

 

[FastMGB]

Yes it was. He is back and forth as to whether he will keep it. Anything is for sale for the right price.

 

[FastMGB]

My father will be installing a new aluminum radiator and expansion tank to help offset the massive amount of heat generated in the engine bay. Just this past week he put four holes inline on down the center of the hood scoop to vent air from the engine compartment. With these two additions and maybe a Jet Hot coating on the headers down the road he hopes to cool the fire breather so he can sit in traffic if need be. Now he needs to work on the braking system. All go with no slow can be hazardous to your health. I will post more pictures here in a few minutes.

 

[FastMGB]

Old radiator out just waiting on a nice shiny new one!

On the shelf next to the new fuse box will be where the expansion tank for the cooling system will sit.

As my father is always thinking of new ways to get an already over powered car more power he is mocking up a cold air induction system. It looks like it put together from a 1950's sci-fi set but not to worry. As soon as he gets the radiator installed the car will be headed to the fabricators for a slick finished version.

The hood vents. How do you like them?

Here he has cleaned up the windshield wipers and the cowl vent. The holes are only temporarily filled for now. The car is getting repainted here before winter and he will have the holes filled along with the radio antenna hole and gas filler hole.

Thats all for now. Thanks for looking.

 

[Bugeye58]

Not to be brutal, but this car ceased to be an MGB long ago. It's an undoubtably evil handling Mustang masquerading in an MGB body.
Although I can't help but admire the way things have been done, it sure doesn't do anything for me.
Sorry, but that's just the way <u>I</u> feel.
(Insert standard disclaimer here This opinion in no way reflects that of the British Car Forum, its management, or the Emperor. It is only that of a person acting on his own, who believes that some items are sacrosanct, and shouldn't be messed with.
Basil, feel free to delete this if you see fit.
Jeff

 

[FastMGB]

Its ok. We run into the purists at the shows. He understands its not going to fit everyones tastes. Thats why he likes it so much because its his car and he has the final say as to what goes on it. All opinions are welcome. Hopefully I can get my dad to join this forum and interact with the members.

 

[jlaird]

Yep, it is no longer a LBC, however, I bet that is one fun sucker to drive and I know he really really enjoys his efforts, it shows in his workmanship.

Yes dear I'll go to the store, hehe. Vrommm, Vrommm. Hay I'm back.

 

[FastMGB]

[ QUOTE ]
Yep, it is no longer a LBC, however, I bet that is one fun sucker to drive and I know he really really enjoys his efforts, it shows in his workmanship.

Yes dear I'll go to the store, hehe. Vrommm, Vrommm. Hay I'm back.

[/ QUOTE ]


I can't tell you how many small trips he makes in this car. It is just like you described. Gone one minute....hear him go down the road for a minute....and hear him coming back a few minutes later. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

 

[Bugeye58]

Fast MG. don't get me wrong. The car is done to a wonderful level of craftsmanship, and your Dad should be very proud of it.
I guess it's just part of doing all this for 40 years that tends to make me tempermental, when I've rescued cars from the crusher to restore, etc.
To each his own, live and let live, yadayadayada.
Jeff

 

[Bruce74B]

Yea, I agree...it is no longer an MGB, but one heck of a nice little hot rod! I did see the lising on Ebay for it a few months ago and was sorely tempted to go check it out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

Nice little hobbie car and probably lots of fun for you dad /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cowboy.gif

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[rick_ingram]

The Ford 302 is becoming a very popular V8 conversion. I have a Rover V8 in my GT.

Your dad still has an LBC...it's just on steroids now!

(Look at the Stag, the MGB/GT V8, the Sunbeam Tiger, etc.)

We are doing now what the factory would have done if they had the technology available then.

FWIW - YOMV

 

[billspohn]

[ QUOTE ]
We are doing now what the factory would have done if they had the technology available then.


[/ QUOTE ]

Not quite!

They did have the technology - there is nothing new about that cast iron lump of a Ford engine. The factory installed the alloy V8 - same period as the Ford.

I disagree that many people are advancing on the old technology of the 70s when they do engine swaps. What's the first thing most of them do when using a modern V8 - they rip off all the injection and stick a carb on it. They haven't produced a car using a carb for 25 years or so. Time to get into the 21st century and you aren't going to do it by sticking old school V8s into MGBs and ending up with something that doesn't cool, ans spews out far more combustion byproducts than would be allowed for a 20 year old North American car.

That V8 MGB is nicely done, but when you state that it is any advance on what the factory was doing 30 years ago I have to disagree.

 

[jlaird]

So many differing opinoins, kind of neat.

 

[mgb4tim]

Wouldn't you benefit with some holes punched through that front engine plate? Get some air flow across the engine?

And why remove the wipers and fresh air intakes? Moving that ignition module looks like it would allow for the wiper motor and maybe a bastardized heater box.

Just my thought on keeping it street legal in my state.

 

[Jack_Long]

Very nice workmanship, but I suspect you are going to need lots more ventilation of the hood to exhaust all the hot radiator air that right now is slamming into a solid wall provided by the front engine mount. You might want to try fabricating some kind of exhaust duct onto the back of the rad that will vent either out through a slot on the forward part of the hood, or down under the car, or both.

 

[FastMGB]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Cooling is obviously a problem but we hope to sort that out in the following weeks. He doesn't want to jeopardize the structure of the motor plate with cooling airflow holes and is trying to work around that at the moment. I forgot to mention this is a permanent convertible. The top has been removed thus no need for wipers and a heater. Our winter drives are best done with layers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jlaird]

Seems to me that wipers are required for license plates, safety fast don't ya know. Same with horn, turn signals, headlights, seatbelts and such. Top or not.

 

[tony barnhill]

I don't see anything wrong with this discussion - nobody's getting personal yet we're all discussing a unique car from our viewpoint.

Heck, if anybody's taken an MG to the limits, its me:

As for the old Ford lump being what the factory tried to do, I don't think so. My built Rover V8 is pushing 300hp with 300 lbs of torque to its aluminum billet flywheel - and all the technology was there back when:

Now, to the cooling issue: there's no more heat produced with a Rover V8 than with the little MG engine...the heat just can't get out what with all the stuff that's in there....so, the problem is not the size of the stock radiator, its getting the heat out. I've solved that problem by figuring out where air wants to exit & making ways for it to do so...first was a forced air cowl on back of hood at the low pressure point:

Next, it was reshaping the inner fenders so air could flow smoothly across the headers to exit through the RV8-style holes in the fenders:

And finally it was cutting throgh the inner fenders & building a duct system that allows hot air trapped in the upper rear corners of the engine compartment to exit through the fenders themselves:

So, we're both tackling the same problems from different vantage points...neither way is correct, neither is incorrect.

By the way - nice car!

 

[FastMGB]

Ah thread jacker! Just kidding... looks like a heck of a project you got there Tony. You are correct that wipers are need to be street legal but we have retained the lap belts, turn signals, and headlights in working order. It so happens that the shop were my father housed the MGB during its build up also does state inspections. Wink Wink.