check my progress

MGB SS · April 10, 2008, 07:50:54 AM

Marc

Sorry to hear about the hiccup but I think all conversions go through them. On the good side you will now be able to see what the 3.9 gear behaves like and know what you want for the new rear and not just all of our opinions. I drove my 302 on the stocker it held up better than I would have imagined, you will be fine.

Joe

kstevusa · April 10, 2008, 09:34:04 AM

Doc, hope to see you & your car in Wisc. on the subject of R/E ratios, my 24.1" tires (205-50 X 16) are on Focus wheels. The R/ E was narrowed by Moser Eng. and retained the MG lug pattern. there is also a 1" Alum. spacer with the 4 lug Ford 4 X 4 1/4" used. the 3.55 is great with the T5-Z, but i began by planning for the std Mustang T5 with 3.35 1st gear. the 3.27 or 3.31 would be my choice due to the gearing in the std. Mustang trans. my R/E gears are comparable to Graham's in RPM @ 80mph. Didn't hurt i got 27-30 mpg going to Cleveland last either. our headers seem to exit near the same place, we has to slant the front edge of the floor to turn them to rear. are you going to run the efi? i like you intake plate used to pull the engine. i made a std. plate and them had to make one for the GT 40 style later.
Look like a jam-up job.
SAFETY FASTER!

Doc Hopalongfoot · April 11, 2008, 10:12:45 PM

Hi Kelly,
I'm kind of bummed out, but I had to make this decision or there was no chance of having the Bv8 on the road this season. I'm a bit worried that the rear will hold up, but Joe says not to worry, so....I also got a ride in Joe's beast, and if he didn't kill the rear the way he flogged it then my grandmotherly driving won't do it. Bobby V, told me the only thing I'd probably want to do is start off in 2nd gear, instead of 1st. This should push the project ahead and one obstacle will be a custom fuel tank. I am staying with the EFI, so the tank will have to have a high pressure
fuel pump. The next step is to pull the motor and detail it with paint, new gaskets, plugs and wires and figure out
the water pump situation. It looks like the standard water pump will not fit and the shorty isn't short enough. We
were going to go with an electric, but its the same length as the original. Any advice would be appreciated. I have a set of Miata seats but the one in the B are pretty comfy so I'm leaning toward keeping them. They are also in
decent shape. We're planning to use Dynamat or Hushmat under the new carpeting, boy that stuff is expensive.
I'll probably be heading over to Windsor to see whats happening next week. With the nice weather I have trouble
staying on this side of the river.
I'll keep everyone up to date and take new pics when I can.
Marc

MGBV8 · April 11, 2008, 10:40:33 PM

Make a list of every thing you want to do before the V8 Meet. Put an * next to everything you HAVE to do to make the Wisconsin Meet. As the date draws nearer & it really gets down to crunch time (go or no go), it's amazing what moves to the "do before the next V8 meet"!

No reason to be bummed out if you can drive it to the Meet. Even if your windshield is cracked. Again.

MGB SS · April 13, 2008, 10:58:19 PM

Marc
I am not sure what motor you are using (out of what) and I am not sure what Kelly used but I do know that the T-Bird, later mustang and I think the Lincoln have a shorter timing cover - water pump set up. You cant just get the water pump you have to have the whole cover, pump, balancer ect maybe even the oil pan I am not sure but I know it is a considerably shorter set up.

Joe

rficalora · April 14, 2008, 03:02:06 AM

Marc, you should have enough room with the short nose water pump. It would be hard to mount the motor further forward than most have done -- basically where it straddles the steering rack -- balancer right in front of it & oil pan right behind it (even grinding a little bit of the front lip of the pan for clearance). If that's where it is, you'll be fine -- several others have already done it & the short nose pump fits. Now, that's assuming your radiator is in the further forward location like the later cars -- '77 & later. You can also make some brackets that move the radiator even further forward, but you shouldn't need to.

Joe may be right about the timing cover being different for the short nose water pump, but I don't recall it from when I was researching. You will want the accessory brackets, pulleys, etc. from a short nose car to go with the short pump or things won't line up (unless you're making your own brackets of course). The balancers on the 302 are all 28oz (early engines) or 50oz (later engines). They switched over in '81 if I recall right. Also, I think the 28oz are 3 bolt. The 50oz are 4bolt so the crank pulley needs to match. Beyond the right size, you also need to be sure you have one that'll work with your ignition timing set up. Some have timing marks; some have other mechanisms designed to work with optical or magnetic (I think) sensors. Your EFI may be that type -- Kelly would be way more educated on that than me.

Rob

MGB SS · April 14, 2008, 05:57:01 PM

Rob

The Later Mustang (after the fox body) the T-Bird (mine was a 91) and the Lincoln (I Think) have a shorter set up, the water pump has a complete different bolt pattern than the Mustang (Fox Body) and so it only fits on the shorter timing cover. The intake was also lower on these Models.

How did your cowl turn out are you ok or do you have to widen it out?

Joe

rficalora · April 14, 2008, 07:40:38 PM

Yeah, I went back & checked my notes... I didn't realize the bolt pattern was different, but I did have a note about needing a different timing cover when switching from long to short nose pump... I didn't have to do that because I picked up a FMS crate 302 that a shop bought for a guy's 55 tbird --- I got it for about 40cts on the dollar when they were liquidating the stuff they'd bought for him when he went through a divorce & couldn't do the project. The motor had been used during some fab work, but never run... still had the FMS packing paper on it.

RE: my project -- I think i'm going to be ok. I'm in California for work -- had to leave for the airport about the time I re-measured & compared to Jim, Jake, & Paul... I'll test fit the windshield & at least one of the fenders to be sure. Worst case I think the amount it pulled in will be small enough that I can fix it w/o major changes to the firewall. Should know by the weekend.

Doc Hopalongfoot · April 17, 2008, 09:30:41 PM

Hi All,
More discussions with Bobby V. The plan is to not use my Miata seats(stock ones are pretty comfortable)
and build a "roll cage" type roll bar with double hoops(1and 5/8 tube), two sets of 2 hoops attached to each other,
going from the rear cross brace and running along my left leg to the fire wall. The time impact should only be 2 days(according to BV). In our early discussions about this project I wanted a car that was fun and safe, this is the safe part. I saw some interesting numbers using the new e3 spark plugs. Anyone have any experience with them? Going back to Canada next week to bring parts and check progress. Will give an update then.
Marc

MGB SS · June 25, 2008, 10:01:46 PM

Hey Marc,

Haven't seen any updates but I have been gone a bunch, hope all is well, give a shout

Joe

t.lay · June 27, 2008, 12:32:26 AM

don't forget to match counterweights at the flywheel as well. You're probably with a 50oz balancer/50oz flywheel. Joe is right on with the later mustangs, t-birds and lincoln marks for the pump. I think explorer/mountaineer v8s have the short set up - explorers also have a more compact (narrower) serpentine set up - but can be hard to source - the early bronco crowd covet these setups.