MGB engine swap
joe brown
Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
Jason Weir
joe brown wrote:
> Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
>
I saw a B with a chevy 350 in it... not sure of any of the particulars
but I think that he had used an automatic tranny with it just for ease
of installation.. other than that all I know is that he said that the
stock rearend held up fine unless you really got on it.....Another swap
that I have heard of but never seen is the Rover V-8 which is all
aluminum so there is no front suspension problem.... I have been
restoring MG's for a while now and it would be easier to keep the same
motor and spend your money on upgrades to it if its more power that you
want.. I put a header and a webber downdraft carb in my 75 midget and
you wouldnt believe the power that little 1500 has.. depending on the
year your B probably has an 1800... that motor has 5 main bearings which
makes it real strong... You can get quite a bit more power out of it
without swapping to another motor..And besides its alot cheaper..... If
you have any more questions feel free to ask..... Jason
James Mekis
In article <6969j0$ntt$1...@usenet48.supernews.com>, joe brown
<prof...@cysource.com> wrote:
>Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
>
>prof...@cysource.com
Hello Joe -
The two most common swaps into the MGB are either the Buick/Olds/Rover
aluminum V8 (yes the Rover engine started as a GM product), or the Capri
V6.
If you are interested in additional info on the V8 swap, the best Web
reference is Dave Vale's V8 Conversion Company, with info at:
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/v8conv/v8convs.html
I drive a '77 roadster with a V8. It's a lot of fun taking it out for its
excercise. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that
acceleration is brisk.
The other swap I have seen is the Capri 2.8L V6 engine & trans. John's
Cars had a kit for this a few years ago. (John's Cars make some of the
best Chevy into Jaguar kits around.)
Take Care,
- Jim
====================================================================
James Mekis jme...@george.com
George Lithograph Voice: (415) 715-2135
====================================================================
SNOWMAN629
I never seen but heard of one particular conversion...they put a big block into
the MGB...I should say they put the MGB body onto a custom frame with a 454.
I guess thats really a body swap...well I just thought I'd add a story to the
thread ( I can't verify this was even actually done or if it was just a story
...I will let you decide ).
J. Benedict
In article <19980112061...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
snowm...@aol.com (SNOWMAN629) wrote:
Oh, I can believe it!
Anybody who read Hot Rod and drew pictures of cars on their notebooks
during really boring classes in Jr. High has drawn at least one of
these.... VW bugs with Rolls-Royce Merlin airplane engines- now *there's*
a favorable power-to-weight ratio!
Some people have actually followed through on the designs. I remember one
I drew up- a VW van with a subframe that turned it into a mid-engine
design with a V8 between the front seats- kind of like the Dodge vans of
the 60's. Reading through the newsgroups, I read a story of a guy who
made such a thing... Guess it was possible.... ;)
An MGB on a custom frame makes some sense- this would be a lot like the
Cobras and their kit-car brethern. Not sure that it needs a 454,
though... Most of the horsepower is going to be wasted and it is going to
handle like a slug. Better to use something smaller- some of the V6s for
modern engines or the 215 Aluminum in the older engines (or, if not in the
US, the Rover version). Things like smallblocks (either Ford or
Chevrolet) would make an overweight car. Another possibility would be the
Mazda rotery from the RX-7. I've seen this in an Austin-Healey 100-4 and
it worked well without hacking *anything* up. This combo also makes
something called the "Frankensprite"- a Spridget (or Bugheye) with the
RX-7 Rotary.
Jeff
------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Benedict - ra...@olympus.net - "Too Much is Not Enough"
------------------------------------------------------------
dc...@erols.com
On 9 Jan 1998 22:50:08 GMT, joe brown <prof...@cysource.com> wrote:
>Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
>
>prof...@cysource.com
I've seen small block chevy and Ford V8s and one guy who put a 292
inline chevy 6 in one complete with side draft carbs, headers, and a 4
speed Muncie. It wouldn't fit under the stock hood by the way.
I also seem to remember some of the MGB-GTs (the hardtop hatchbacks)
were offered with a factory V8, probably the Rover aluminum V8. There
are a couple of outfits that offer kits as well, including one out of
Texas I believe. I haven't seen their ad in a while.
The rearends and transmissions in the 4 cylinder cars are a bit weak,
but the frontend should hold up OK. In fact, some of the Cobra kit
car people use the MGB frontend. You'll probably need stiffer springs
with a cast iron V8.
Don Kuhlman
Hampton Virginia
----
Spam Stopper: remove ! from email address
JCranegt90
>ersion). Things like smallblocks (either Ford or<BR>
>Chevrolet) would make an overweight car. Another possibility wou
You are wrong about the small block Ford . haveing done that i can tell you
that it is not that heavy and handles very well. Jamie
jcranegt90
Nathan J Nagel
Excerpts from netnews.rec.autos.rod-n-custom: 12-Jan-98 Re: MGB engine
swap by @erols.com
> On 9 Jan 1998 22:50:08 GMT, joe brown <prof...@cysource.com> wrote:
>
> >Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
> >
> >prof...@cysource.com
>
> I've seen small block chevy and Ford V8s and one guy who put a 292
> inline chevy 6 in one complete with side draft carbs, headers, and a 4
> speed Muncie. It wouldn't fit under the stock hood by the way.
>
> I also seem to remember some of the MGB-GTs (the hardtop hatchbacks)
> were offered with a factory V8, probably the Rover aluminum V8. There
> are a couple of outfits that offer kits as well, including one out of
> Texas I believe. I haven't seen their ad in a while.
Exactly right, it was the Buick-based Rover V-8.
>
> The rearends and transmissions in the 4 cylinder cars are a bit weak,
> but the frontend should hold up OK. In fact, some of the Cobra kit
> car people use the MGB frontend. You'll probably need stiffer springs
> with a cast iron V8.
>
Didn't the original Cobra use some MG front end parts (at least the
steering rack?) Or was it Triumph?
nate
> Don Kuhlman
> Hampton Virginia
>
D.J. Johnson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Mon, 12 Jan 1998, Nathan J Nagel wrote:
> Excerpts from netnews.rec.autos.rod-n-custom: 12-Jan-98 Re: MGB engine
> swap by @erols.com
> > On 9 Jan 1998 22:50:08 GMT, joe brown <prof...@cysource.com> wrote:
> > >Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
> > >prof...@cysource.com
> >
> > I've seen small block chevy and Ford V8s and one guy who put a 292
> > inline chevy 6 in one complete with side draft carbs, headers, and a 4
> > speed Muncie. It wouldn't fit under the stock hood by the way.
> >
> > I also seem to remember some of the MGB-GTs (the hardtop hatchbacks)
> > were offered with a factory V8, probably the Rover aluminum V8. There
> > are a couple of outfits that offer kits as well, including one out of
> > Texas I believe. I haven't seen their ad in a while.
> > The rearends and transmissions in the 4 cylinder cars are a bit weak,
> > but the frontend should hold up OK. In fact, some of the Cobra kit
> > car people use the MGB frontend. You'll probably need stiffer springs
> > with a cast iron V8.
> > Don Kuhlman
> > Hampton Virginia
> Exactly right, it was the Buick-based Rover V-8.
> Didn't the original Cobra use some MG front end parts (at least the
> steering rack?) Or was it Triumph?
> nate
As it was explained to me...the 221/260/289/302 Ford weighs the same
or a bit less than the little four cylinder that originally came in
the MG's. The small block Chevy's weigh 100 pounds more than the sb
ford and cool much better due to the thin-wall casting.
An example of the thin-wall casting as a weight saver, a recent rod
magazine stated that the thin-wall 500 cubic inch Cadillac V8 only
weighs fifty pounds more than a 350 Chevy small block.
dj
Bambi
On Sat, 10 Jan 1998 22:26:20 -0800, jme...@nospamGeorge.com (James
Mekis) wrote:
>In article <6969j0$ntt$1...@usenet48.supernews.com>, joe brown
><prof...@cysource.com> wrote:
>
>>Anyone know of anyone that has put a different motor in the MGB?
>>
>>prof...@cysource.com
>
>
>Hello Joe -
>
>The two most common swaps into the MGB are either the Buick/Olds/Rover
>aluminum V8 (yes the Rover engine started as a GM product), or the Capri
>V6.
>
>If you are interested in additional info on the V8 swap, the best Web
>reference is Dave Vale's V8 Conversion Company, with info at:
> http://www.mgcars.org.uk/v8conv/v8convs.html
>
>I drive a '77 roadster with a V8. It's a lot of fun taking it out for its
>excercise. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that
>acceleration is brisk.
>
>The other swap I have seen is the Capri 2.8L V6 engine & trans. John's
>Cars had a kit for this a few years ago. (John's Cars make some of the
>best Chevy into Jaguar kits around.)
>
>Take Care,
>- Jim
>
>====================================================================
>James Mekis jme...@george.com
>George Lithograph Voice: (415) 715-2135
>====================================================================
I put a 2.8L V6 into my TR4, I chose that engine because I woldn't
have to hack up my Triumph to get it in. I suspect that the MGB has
more room in the engine compartment tho. I had to get headers custom
made to maintain the stock engine compartment. One thing I would
caution you to watch out for is the gear ratio of the MGB differential
if you mate it with the V6, the ford/merc V6's aren't designed for
high revs but they are very strong on the low end.
Good Luck,
Blunc Idiotski
Gary L Lawson
What an imagination.......yes....it has been done....I've seen it...there
was a British kit using a small Rover V-8 back in the 70s for MGBs and
they also made the MGC which was an ohv 6 cylinder....I've restored
several MGBs in the past few years...I often wondered what it would be
like to put a CHevy 4.3 & a 700 R-4 in one. FInd yerself a good
welder/fabricator in your area.....engine mounts aren't hard to make.
THere's a company named Victorias British that makes complete bodies for
MGBs from the original dies in the US>
s
Boxtop427
The rearends and transmissions in the 4 cylinder cars are a bit weak,
but the frontend should hold up OK.
Well actually the rearend is fine and very similar to the cobras. The front end
is easily and cheaply upgraded with the V8 kingpin bushings that are commonly
available. As far as weight is concerned, man Ive never seen anything as heavy
as the 4 cyl MGB motor myself and several friends lifted out of a parts car
years ago. Unbelievable. The most common swaps are rover style aluminum V8's
(the most practical), small block fords (I came this close to torching a 64 to
install my 302, but when two brits offered me $400 for a rusty junker i got for
free, well that was that) and 2.8 chevy V6's. As far as upgrading MGB stock
powertrains, well, theyve got nothing on the ungodly balls out power a midget
motor will make. Go to an SCCA parking lot meet sometime. Now if you are
serious about swapping in some spunk, you mustnt try to use a wire wheel car.
If you do try to find the 152 spoke wheels that were also used on 289 cobras.
Otherwise, a steel wheel car and an automatic will work fine. Best of luck.
Ti Bask
And on a more practical and curious note, the Datsun 4 bangers from the 2000
roadsters etc, were utter knockoffs of the MG engine and reputedly bolt in.
Hows that for trivia?
Kenneth Moon
For an easy swap, a turbo version of the Ford 2300 or the Dodge 2.2 or 2.5
should be almost a bolt in job. Mustangs and T Bird turbo coupes had the
2300. You would have to get a 2.2 from a Dakota truck to get the
North-South transmission, but a turbo w/intercooler (175+ HP), would give
you plenty of power as well as retaining the MG handling. Rear end would
probably hold up also.
J. Benedict <ra...@olympus.net> wrote in article
<raoul-12019...@news.olympus.net>...
macino
I helped stuff a 327 into a bugeye'd AH Sprite in 1964, what
a rocket! The 215 V8 looks like a reasonable fit in a 'B'.
Saw two of then at the British Carfest at Indianapolis in
October. One guy from Angola, Indiana had a metallic purple
'V8-B' that was realllllllly cool! Sounded reallllly cool too.
Jim