Jack Pease's Ford 302 powered 1980 MGB with Tremec 5-speed
as published in British V8 Newsletter, Volume XV Issue 3, December 2007Owner: Jack and Judy Pease
City: Champaign, IL
Model: 1980 MGB
Engine: 1990 Ford 5.0 V8
Conversion by: Pete Mantell at Mantell Motorpsort
| Engine Mods: | Edelbrock Power Package 367hp, 340 ft/lb RPM heads. Edelbrock RPM 7122 cam.
Comp Cams roller rockers. MSD 8579 distributor. MSD "6A" ignition box, and MSD
"Blaster" coil. |
| Induction: | Edelbrock "Performer RPM Air Gap" manifold and 600cfm Edelbrock carburetor
(electric choke). Holley "Red Top" Fuel pump (fits perfectly in the stock
location!) |
| Exhaust: | RV8 style headers from Coyote Conversions, with Jet Hot ceramic coating.
Dual Mantell Motorsport exhaust system. Flowmaster mufflers, exiting
through twin pipes at the rear on driver's side. |
| Cooling: | Mantell Motorsport aluminum radiator, Ford Motorsport short-neck regular-flow
water pump, and Flexlite low profile electric fan with shroud. |
| Transmission: | Tremec T5 Super-Duty Z 5-speed. Custom driveshaft. Ford Motorsport clutch,
aluminum flywheel, CNC slave cylinder, MGB master cylinder. |
| Rear Axle: | Chevrolet S10 10-bolt (from D&D Fabrications). |
| Front Susp.: | Fast Cars Inc. front suspension. 7/8" sway-bar, and Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. |
| Rear Susp.: | lowered 1". Tube shock conversion. Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. |
| Brakes: | Wilwood (from Fast Cars Inc.) |
| Wheels/Tires: | American Racing 16x7 wheels, BF Goodrich 205/55R16 tires. |
| Body mods: | stock MGB hood with Mach 1 hood scoop (reversed). BMC "Special Tuning"
front air-dam. Chrome bumper conversion. |
| Interior mods: | Fiero seats with Mr Mikes leather kit. Auto Square 4-point harnesses. Grant steering wheel. |
| Electrical mods: | Autometer gauges. Advance Autowire wiring harness. |
| Cost of conversion: | approximately $15,000. |
| Comments: | I've had many street rods and collector cars over the years, but this car is special. It has attracted more attention and comments than all of the others. Judy and I just love this car. It's fun with a capital "F"! Here's a story about the car: I only had the car back from Pete's shop for about a week and decided to take it out for another spirited drive. (Like a new toy, I couldn’t leave it alone.) The sound, the feel of the car hugging the road, it was a driving addiction I could not let go. While driving back into Champaign I pulled up alongside a Porsche at a stoplight, the owner didn’t even look over. "Time for another victory," I thought to myself. The 911 driver blipped has throttle in anticipation for the light change and I blipped mine too. "That got his attention," I thought. He looked over, and down his nose through his Oakley sunglasses, as if to say "What’s that?" The lights changed to green, both cars surged with power and tire squeals: 1st gear, neck and neck. 2nd gear, still driving along side each other. Then into third and I pulled away!!! The Porsche owner was left scratching his head and reading my license plate: "MGB V-8". When I got my car home and parked in the garage I noticed that she sat slightly lop-sided. Holy cow, I had bent the drivers side rear leaf spring! Time for a suspension upgrade I think. |
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