Dan Beck's 1957 MGA with Small Block Ford V8
Owner: Dan Beck
City: Prescott Arizona
Model: 1957 MGA Coupe
Engine: small block Ford
Conversion performed by: Owner
How It Was Done
| Engine: | Ford Racing crate engine part number M-6007-X302 (306 cubic inches, 340 horsepower).
E303 camshaft, 0.498 lift, 220 degrees duration, 1.6 aluminum roller rockers.
M-6049-X306 cylinder heads.
Edelbrock 2121 Performer intake manifold.
Edelbrock E-Street EFI, version 1, map 35094.
Mallory Unilite distributor p/n 3744501.
Accel ignition coil.
CVF pulley set.
1-wire 100 amp alternator.
5-quart, dual-sump oil pan.
Oil filter relocated to front, with custom lines.
|
| Cooling: | 11"x17" 4-core brass radiator.
11" Spal electric fan.
Moroso fill and overflow tanks.
Moroso 16 psi radiator cap.
Short water pump part number M-8501-E351s.
|
| Exhaust: | Sanderson shorty headers part number FF5.
1.5" primary and 2.5" collector.
Dual exhaust.
2" custom pipes, locally produced.
|
| Transmission: | TKO 500, part number TCET5201.
Center Force 10.5" clutch.
Ford Racing M-6392 scatter shield.
Ford Racing M-4841-A driveshaft yoke.
Custom, locally produced driveshaft.
Dual MGA master cylinder.
Wilwood 260-1333 slave cylinder.
|
| Rear End: | 8.8" third member from Lincoln Mk 8.
3.73:1 ring and pinion.
Limited slip differential.
|
| Front Suspension: | Fast Cars Inc. front suspension, custom fitted to MGA frame front.
53" hub-to-hub. |
| Rear Suspension: | custom independent rear suspension, based on 1994 Lincoln Mk 8 parts including
3rd member, knuckles, calipers used. Owner produced upper/lower control arms,
custom locally produced half shafts. 53", hub-to-hub.
|
| Brakes: | (master) new replacement dual MGA cylinder from Moss motors. (front) Wilwood brakes, supplied by Fast Cars Inc. (rear) Lincoln Mk 8 calipers. Aftermarket rotors. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Enkei J10 wheels (16x7 with 5 by 4.25 Lincoln Mk8 lug pattern.)
Dunlop Direzza tires, 215/50/16 tires.
Briefly used Uniroyal Tiger Paw 225/55/16 tires, but they caused a tire problem.
|
| Chassis Mods: | significant amount of 1/8 steel plate welded onto frame.
16-gauge steel floor boards.
Owner produced 16-gauge steel gas tank with in-tank fuel pump.
Stock MGA fuel leveler. |
| Interior: | restored stock MGA seats.
Stock accelerator linkage.
Stock clutch/brake pedals.
EFI computer behind dashboard.
Owner produced DOM tube roll bar.
MGB shifter bezel and boot.
Owner produced shifter handle.
Plug valve used for emergency brake.
|
| Exterior: | Alamo Beige paint (an MG factory color from 1959-1962).
|
| Instruments: | original, restored by West Valley Instruments.
Electronic tachometer.
Custom clock with matching font in accessory dash.
Oil pressure/water temp gauge works great!
|
| Electrical: | Optima red series group 35 battery.
1959 Radiomobile tube radio that works great with MP3 input placed by owner.
USB charging port in accessory dash.
Scratch built wiring harness.
|
| Weight: | 2320 lbs, full tank of gas. |
| Completed: | July 1, 2017. 1200 miles driven since completion, as of March 2018. |
| Dan's Comments: | I used two cars to produce this MGA V8.
Both were in such poor condition at time of purhase, they could almost have been considered landfill.
Yet I still have enough left over parts to produce another chassis! I just need to go find another IRS.
The IRS in the picture was from a 1995 Thunderbird. The diff cover on that assembly was discovered to have a hole. Back to the parts yard, I found a third member from a Lincoln Mk 8. Lincoln Mk 8s, T-birds, and Cougars from the mid 1990s used the identical IRS, but with different 3rd members. It's quicker than my stock 1968 MGB, and my 2003 Subaru WRX! In September 2017, I entered my completed MGA V8 in the International Concours competition at the Telluride Festival of Cars and Colors in Telluride, CO. I actually won the competition! The 2017 Telluride Festival of Cars and Colors, and my car, will be featured in the May 5th, 2018 showing of Dennis Gage's show "My Classic Car". |
Engine Installation
M-6049-X306 cylinder heads. Edelbrock 2121 Performer intake manifold.
Mallory Unilite distributor p/n 3744501. Accel ignition coil.
Edelbrock E-Street EFI, version 1, map 35094.
Ford Racing crate engine part number M-6007-X302.
Short water pump part number M-8501-E351s. CVF pulley set.
Laying out firewall plumbing.
Moments before the first firing of the engine.
Air filter projects through the MGA bonnet.
11"x17" 4-core brass radiator.
Front Suspension
Fast Cars Inc. front suspension, custom fitted to MGA frame front. 53" hub-to-hub.
Removed MGA front crossmember.
Rear Suspension
Stock Ford caliper, knuckle, and aftermarket rotor.
8.8" third member from Lincoln Mk 8. 3.73:1 ring and pinion. Limited slip differential.
Owner produced upper/lower control arms, custom locally produced half shafts.
1995 Thunderbird rear suspension including 3rd member, knuckles, and calipers.
Interior
Handsome custom MGA interior.
Original gauges, restored by West Valley Instruments.
Building up the dashboard with new wiring featuring Weather Pack connectors.
Restored stock MGA seats.
Installing carpet. The EFI computer (in a red anodized enclosure) can be seen at right.
Optima red series group 35 battery.
Storage compartment cover.
Custom central armrest.
Assembling and Restoring Bodywork
Dan started with two rough donor cars to produce one excellent MGA V8:
A white MGA, and...
A red MGA.
Starting to put pieces together.
Collision damage repaired.
All straightened and smoothed out.
MGA body viewed from the side.
Dan's MGA project, viewed from another angle.
Cleaned up and modified boot (i.e. "trunk").
Fenders and doors were removed again for painting.
Sound deadening material added to the floorboards.
Refined grille surround details.
Preview of the front suspension.
Preview of the engine bay.
Radiator support, etc.
MGA apron.
MGA rear bumper and taillamps.
Assembling a Custom Chassis
Before you can rebuild an MGA chassis, you need to remove the body.
And then remove everything else, piece by piece.
Down to just the frame.
Real clean.
Make sure key components will fit.
Test fitting a Ford Racing M-6392 scatter shield. (Apparently too tight for comfort.)
Bolt the transmission to it, then begin planning mounts and tunnel requirements.
Transmission mounts coming together.
Reality check.
Provisions for mounting floor panels.
Floor reinforcements.
Trial fitting the prop shaft.
16-gauge steel floor panels.
Forward floor panels.
Transmission tunnel starts coming together around a TKO 500 gearbox (part# TCET5201).
Starting to weld it together.
Continuing to build the tunnel.
Fitting a heelboard.
Continuing to weld pieces together.
Test fitting the seats.
Planning footbox details.
Throttle pedal linkage details.
Nearly ready for paint.
Floorboards are held in by fasteners, not welds.
Paint applied.
Foil backed sound deadening material.
Fuel Tank Details
Owner produced 16-gauge steel gas tank with in-tank fuel pump.
Service access to the fuel pump.
Service panels.
Exterior
Alamo Beige paint (an MG factory color from 1959-1962).
MGA brightwork.
Owner produced DOM tube roll bar.
