James Bryan's 1971 MGB with GM 3.1L 60-degree V6
as published in BritishV8 Magazine, Volume XXI Issue 2, December 2013Owner: James Bryan
BritishV8 UserID: Jamesbryan62
City: Layton, Utah
Model: 1971 MG MGB
Engine: GM 3.1L V6 (RWD)
Built by: owner
Features and Specifications
| Engine: | GM 3.1L 60-degree V6 (RWD).
Ford EDIS-6 control module and ignition coil pack.
"3.4 SFI" style upper and lower intake manifolds.
GM 2.8L throttle body.
19lb fuel injectors.
MegaSquirt II version 3 (programmed for batch fire control).
Stock 3.1L V6 camshaft.
Classic Conversions Engineering pulley kit
(crank, alternator, and water pump pulleys plus alternator bracket.)
|
| Fuel system: | BMC British Automobile aluminum fuel tank.
Walbro electric fuel pump, submerged. |
| Cooling: | aftermarket aluminum radiator.
14" Spal HD fan.
Temp control is tied into the fast idle control, set at 190 degrees with 10 degree hysteresis setting. |
| Exhaust: | Classic Conversions Engineering headers.
Magnaflow Y-pipe.
Single Magnaflow stainless steel muffler.
2.5" exhaust pipe.
Chrome exhaust tip. |
| Transmission: | Borg Warner T5 five speed manual gearbox from a 1986 Camaro V6.
Chevy S-10 bellhousing.
Lightened S-10 flywheel.
Stock S-10 clutch and pressure plate.
Aftermarket replacement clutch master cylinder.
Chevrolet S10 external slave cylinder. |
| Rear End: | Ford 8" axle housing, shortend by Currie Industries to 51" WMS to WMS.
All new bearings.
3.07:1 ring and pinion. |
| Front Susp.: | Classic Conversions Engineering front suspension on coilover shock absorbers.
Stock 5/8" anti-sway bar, on polyurethane mounts. |
| Rear Susp.: | Classic Conversions Engineering 4-link rear suspension on coilover shock absorbers. |
| Brakes: | late model MGB pedal assembly converted to 6:1 ratio.
Chevrolet Corvette 1" master cylinder.
GM bias valve.
Wilwood 4-piston calipers (four places).
AN-3 fittings throughout. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Ford Mustang V6 16" 5-on-4.5 bolt pattern wheels.
Hankook ventus V12 evo 205-55ZR16 tires. |
| Electrical: | Advance Auto Wire wiring harness.
Inertia switch.
Custom engine harness to MS relay box.
Accel Lightening Power battery cables.
Delco alternator.
Optima red top battery.
|
| Instruments: | (left to right) Speedhut Legacy
coolant temperature gauge (120-160F),
oil pressure gauge (0-100psi),
speedometer (0-180mph),
tachometer (0-10,000rpm),
fuel level gauge (E-F),
voltmeter (0-18 volts).
Innovate Digital air fuel ratio gauge, mounted in console. |
| Interior: | Mountney leather wrapped steering wheel.
Custom dashboard and center console.
Lokar aluminum billet gas pedal w/throttle cable.
Aluminum shifter knob.
Pontiac Fiero seats, with custom covers from Mr Mike.
Roll hoop with built-in Lexan screen.
|
| Body: | MGB MkI grille.
Pieces of Eight bonnet struts.
Shaved side marker lights.
Shaved side trim strips.
Stow-away top.
Nissan Pathfinder red paint.
|
| Weight: | 2130 pounds with fuel tank 1/4 filled and without driver.
|
| Completed: | September 2013. Driven 200 miles so far, as of November 5th.
|
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Engine Installation
GM 3.1L 60-degree V6 (RWD).
"3.4 SFI" style upper and lower intake manifolds.
Chevrolet Corvette 1" master cylinder. GM bias valve.
Aftermarket aluminum radiator. 14" Spal HD fan.
GM 2.8L throttle body.
36-1 trigger wheel and VR type crank position sensor.
Ford EDIS-6 ignition coil pack, sourced from a 1998 Ford Explorer.
(The same Explorer donated its EDIS-6 control module and crank sensor.)
Classic Conversions Engineering headers.
Magnaflow Y-pipe.
Innovate Motorsports LC-1 heated wideband oxygen sensor.
Single Magnaflow stainless steel muffler.
BMC 18-gallon fuel tank. Walbro electric fuel pump, submerged.
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Front Suspension
Classic Conversions Engineering front suspension.
Adapters for five lug wheels (4.5" pattern, as used on many Ford cars.)
Wilwood vented brake rotors.
Wilwood 4-piston calipers.
Stock MGB steering rack.
This tubular front crossmember is part of the Classic Conversions system.
Rear Suspension
Ford 8" axle housing, shortend by Currie Industries to 51" WMS to WMS.
Classic Conversions Engineering 4-link rear suspension
Coilover shock absorbers.
Classic Conversions provides fabricated mounts. You weld them to any popular axle housing.
Optima red top battery.
Wilwood four-pot brake calipers.
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Interior
James stripped vinyl and foam off of his MGB's original "Abingdon pillow" style dashboard,
fiberglassed over its various holes, and then covered it with Rino Liner. The center
console will soon be similarly covered to match. It has an aluminum tread-plate fascia.
Speedhut Legacy instruments.
Aluminum shifter knob.
Lokar aluminum billet gas pedal and throttle cable.
Advance Auto Wire fuse and relay block.
MegaSquirt II ECU for electronic fuel injection. With a laptop computer connected to
this box's serial port James can fine tune VE tables, AFR tables and Spark Advance.
Foreground: inertia switch.
A Ford EDIS-6 control module is mounted at far left. In the center, a MegaSquirt relay board
provides a hub for attaching EFI system sensors. Specifically: Throttle Position Sensor,
Intake Air Temperature sensor, Coolant Temperature Sensor, Exhaust Gas Oxygen sensor,
Crank Position Sensor, and Idle Air Control valve stepper motor.) The relay board connects
directly to the MegaSquirt ECM by a 37-pin cable. The relay board also features three
relays; it provides a 12V supply for the fuel pump and fuel injectors.
The left-most module here houses a 60 amp fuse and a relay for the SPAL cooling fan.
The orange and grey wires come from the MegaSquirt Relay board. James has programmed
the MegaSquirt ECM to turn on the fan at 190 degrees and to turn it off again at 180
degrees as measured by the CTS (i.e. Coolent Temp Sensor).
Exterior
James' dad was the body shop manager at a Nissan dealership.
He did the body work seventeen years ago, and it still looks great!
Roll hoop with built-in Lexan screen.
Shaved side marker lights and side trim strips.
Chrome exhaust tip.
Ford Mustang V6 16" 5-on-4.5 bolt pattern wheels.
Hankook ventus V12 evo 205-55ZR16 tires.
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