Learn me: 1975 MGB

Thanks to the no good, terrible, downright awful person who suggested searching "project " on Craigslist I stumbled upon a MGB.

It seems like an interesting car and it's only $500. My plan would be to swap in a turbo 4G63 converted to rwd with a WC T5 and a custom bell housing and drive the car on the street. I've already had that drivetrain up and running in a Chevette setup for chump car and want to put it into a street car now.

What do I need to know about these cars? I'd prefer to not die in an electrical fire, so any help avoiding that fate is appreciated.

Thanks, James.

Car in question: Craigslist ad

Rust, rust, and rust. Look everywhere. As I understand it, if you find any signs of rot(bubbling paint) on the pinch welds, odds are the inner rocker structure is gone.

CarRacer wrote: Thanks to the no good, terrible, downright awful person who suggested searching "project " on Craigslist I stumbled upon a MGB.

That was me. Oddly enough, I also owned a 75 MGB at one point.

You might have some electrical issues, but fires are more of a Lotus thing. 75 is not the best year for any car, but if it's solid and you're planning an engine swap anyway, that shouldn't be an issue. The lever shocks seem a little odd these days. I actually like the rubber bumpers, especially on black cars.

That was a GREAT CL ad. More to the point, will your intended turbo setup work with RHD, or are you going to switch the car to LHD?

Oh, sweet. What does he mean when he says "the front wings are loose"? Can the chassis handle ~200whp? The electronic of the mitsu motor are nicely contained, it only needs switched and constant 12v and a ground. The chassis would only need to handle the car stuff like headlights, signals, and whatnot.

Turbos setup is pretty platform agnostic at this point. I can also cut and weld to get around whatever issues do come up.

"Wings" = "fenders" in Britspeak.

aren't the wings welded on in an MGB? If they are lose, you have some rust going on

Going to leave this here for you... http://www.fastcarsinc.com/mgbv8.htm

Woody wrote: You might have some electrical issues, but fires are more of a Lotus thing.

Probably because fiberglass burns better than steel

I think '75 will get you the brake booster, which is good. They have more room for V8 engines than the chrome bumper cars as well, apparently. Doesn't matter if you hollow out the engine bay with a sawzall, though. You know, if you like to do that kind of thing.

Get thee to britishv8.org.

If you struggle with British car terminology, pick up any old(like pre 1980) Haynes manual, they have a convenient translation chart in the front.

The two best (easiest) swaps for the MGB are the GM V6 (60 deg. family - 2.8, 3.1, 3.4, 3400, 3500, 3900) and the Rover alloy V8s.

The chassis are well up to the job of handling up to 400 bhp or so, assuming they aren't rotted to a fare thee well.

I run a 200 bhp 3.4 V6 in my rebodied MGA.

Best and easiest are not the same I've driven a Rover-powered one. It made a glorious noise and accelerated like a stock 1.6 Miata. Which was good, because I don't think the brakes were up to much IIRC.

Search for "An MG Is Born" (on streetfire, I think, is where I watched it) and you'll learn a lot about the restoration process, what to look out for, etc.

In reply to wspohn: we need to hear more about this v8 MGA. I have a 56 with a tired motor in it.

Chris

mad_machine wrote: aren't the wings welded on in an MGB? If they are lose, you have some rust going on

No, they are bolted on.

I know you can fit a 22R with an auto in one very easy

2jz fits apparently....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJqQBzsWEeg

4g63t good

What about a Volvo 2.3L turbo with a 4 speed + O/D. Might even look stock on the inside with the O/D button equipped shifter.

I see a relatively solid MGB shell with brand new lowered suspension and uprated bushings front and rear. That alone is worth the price of the car.

The bolts protruding from the floor suggest one of three possibilites:

1-The seats are not MG and needed random holes drilled

2-The seat holes rusted out and the seat was moved up a bit to a solid bit of floor.

3-The car has new floors installed and the person doing the work did not realize that the mounting points were not included and had to be fabricated before the floor was installed!

I do not see any rust in the sills or under the car.

The rear ends will live with V8 torque for quite a while if you are not ignorant about the whole thing. Gear ratio of 3.9 is a bit high.

In reply to NOHOME:

I'll bet option 1

or option 4, they used longer fasteners

cdowd wrote: In reply to wspohn: we need to hear more about this v8 MGA. I have a 56 with a tired motor in it. Chris

Sorry, V6. The 3.4 V6 and 3.5 Rover are pretty much equivalent as far as easily produced power are concerned.

The V6 is in my Jamaican bodied 56 MGA which I've mentioned several times before.

One of the worst things you'll have to deal with if you retain much of the original wiring harness is poor switch gear. The original Lucas parts were not reliable and the replacement parts are much worse. Since you're going to modify it I suggest giving some thought to replacing them with NAPA generic switches on a custom dash.