MG MGB GT

Glad folks are following along!

Today I ordered a handfull of laser cut parts and got to thinking about e-brake cables...

I have a replacement MG e-brake cable that predates all the scope creep, so I'm hoping to use that in some combination with Ford 8.8 cables.

The MG cable is a single piece that is intended to go from the handle to both rear wheels, and the ends look like this:

The ends of the Ford cables have just a simple crimped end:

I've never messed with crimping these before, but I do have a Hydraulic crimper for battery cables that I might be able to put to use.

I also pulled my e-brake handle from the parts box and discovered my shifter turret sort of interferes with the handle.
For now I decided to just introduce it to the MAP torch and give it a good bend. I might revisit this later if I'm not happy with the ergonomics.

It's all the stuff like cables etc that you don't think about that take forever!

Plan B for the Airbox is a 3D printed version:

I don't know if the hood vent will actually vent very well while you're moving.

The area near the windshield is a higher pressure zone relative to underneath the hood due to the "pile up" of air hitting the windshield.

The MGA's two vents actually drew more air in than out due to their positioning.

https://mgaguru.com/mgtech/history/hs130.htm

And the Dr. himself.

slightly off topic but I found this and thought it looked cool when I was thinking about v8 swaps.

In reply to MNIMWIUTBAS :

I have the same thought / concern re: high pressure at the base of the windshield. I think I'm going to proceed and see how it turns out. If it ends up working more as an intake than as a vent that is probably ok, but I might need to play with some other underhood aerodynamic tweaking to get it to do what I want.

Even if the aerodynamics don't work well the hood vent should still serve the purpose of replacing fiberglass in close proximity to the turbine housing with aluminum which I think is a win.

I've not seen that particular GT before (having scoured the web a lot to look at GT V8 builds), and I like that one a lot; it's even the same MGC hood which I have. I was already playing around with the idea of a front hood duct in my head.

I'll probably give this a heavier think next time the motor is back in the car.

In reply to Nukem :

The important part is that it will look cool even if it doesn't work as expected or isn't needed in the first place.

While the fiberglass itself shouldn't have an issue with the heat (barring a catastrophic turbo failure) any paint in that area would probably start to have problems.

I think a hood duct that you could open and close would be super slick (granted much more complex).

Here are some other venting ideas I have saved.

Off to Daytona shortly for the 24, so expect some non-project-car stuff here the next few days.

Air hammer is my favorite

Also, I cut a hole

Yeah, once I figured out that the air hammer/chisel can decimate all spot welds, I really wondered why people spent so much time being tortured by a drill . . .

I am so thrilled to see someone else doing a crazy build on a GT. I too have a BGT that is getting a planned LS swap, albeit much further behind than you. Fantastic work so far and I will be following very closely for inspiration!

A little bit of progress for the first time in a while.

First, I bought a little wing from 9Lives scratch and dent auction

And I finally got around to welding the radiator support and clutch bracket

That slave bracket turned out really nice!

In reply to gumby :

Thanks! If you or anyone else wants one, I did get an extra cut. Happy to send it out for 1 beer worth of US dollars.

Also for the price of free, the CAD

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/53dbdbf749ad2e4e9df8d11e/w/eacfee6e0b1830f02dcbc9d9/e/47a93760986538a8a0be59de

Still not making a whole lot of MG progress, but I did add some shade to the roof deck of the camper for Lime Rock this weekend.

You can kind of see it in the drone footage:

Doing some stuff...

Axle housing + axles + new seals + rebuilt calipers + new rotors + new parking brake bits + custom parking brake baking plate are on.

I struggled for a long time but I managed to get it up and bolted in and threw the "new" wheels w/ less backspacing on to check fender clearance.

Its a lot closer but still a little pokey.

Nice!

Epic! I love those wheels

I'm starting to more seriously noodle over what it would take to widen these fenders a bit... Any of you fiberglass peeps have opinions / tips / thoughts?

Nukem said:

I'm starting to more seriously noodle over what it would take to widen these fenders a bit... Any of you fiberglass peeps have opinions / tips / thoughts?

Just catching back up with this thread. Your fenders are glass, yeah?

I would draw a contour line over the top from front to back, cut the fender, and then glass in a strip to fill the gap at whatever width you need. If you use woven mat instead of kitty hair, it will set up fairly easily and be plenty strong. Add gelcoat, smooth out, and paint. 

In reply to Recon1342 :

Yep, glass fenders all around (plus a hood).

I'm going to go stare at it now...

Any tips on where along the curvature is best to cut? This line is sort of "in the middle"

In reply to Nukem :

Along the top I would keep it closer to the fender lip; that will minimize the shaping you have to do once it's been widened. Shoot for a strip that's a fairly constant contour to minimize compound curve shenanigans, try to work with a straight cut line if possible, and remember that a bit of filler will go a long way to making a fair curve. 

Now that I've got the 3-link sort of mounted, I think I finally have to figure out how to control lateral motion of the axle.

Question as old as time: panhard bar or watts link? I'm probably going to flesh out options for both.

I found this re: panhard bar roll centers https://www.bedfordspeedway.com/toolbox_panhard.htm