New guy here in New Mexico

george405 · March 26, 2013, 11:24:18 PM

My name is george I live in the usa, New Mexico. I have an 80 mgb rubber bumper car. I have it all apart to get ready for v8 power. My plan is to make a mini Cobra. any kits or ideas would be appreciated. thanks and good day.

kstevusa · March 27, 2013, 07:50:47 AM

Welcome George, The Blue Oval fits nicely in the late "B". SAFETY FASTER!

mowog1 · March 27, 2013, 05:57:15 PM

Welcome!

Be sure to peruse the "How It Was Done" section in the photos section of this BBS....lots of great information!

BritishV8 2014 will "kinda-sorta" be in your area that year...Colorado Springs....BE THERE with or without conversion!!!!!

billymgb1000 · March 27, 2013, 07:28:05 PM

Im not sure what the blue oval is

MGBV8 · March 27, 2013, 08:09:17 PM

That's okay. We're not sure, either!

Moderator · March 27, 2013, 09:31:05 PM

Welcome to BritishV8!

Blue oval would be Ford, whereas red oval would be... Peterbilt.

Pete Mantell sells a kit for installing small block Ford V8 engines in rubber bumper MGBs. Find his banner ad on our home page or in our vendor directory and click on it. When you contact Pete - or any of our other outstanding vendor sponsors - please make sure to tell them you saw them here.

By the way, this website has a huge archive of old articles. Surf around and you'll find way more tips than we can give you in this thread.

kstevusa · March 28, 2013, 11:59:04 AM

Carl is a "Bowtie Guy" he just couldn't bring himself to say FORD

dz8190 · March 28, 2013, 02:25:33 PM

How about putting a British v8 in it.... Here is the 2.5L in my 61 Daimler. Sightly overstock pushing 224 hp.
1 111338924026pg.jpg

rficalora · March 28, 2013, 03:36:12 PM

Here's a Ford 302 in a (ex-)rubber bumper B... Pete's kit wasn't available but using his kit would yield about the same result. Pretty sure Bill Guzman (Classic Conversions Eng -- also a sponsor here) also has a kit now too.
Heidi - MG Ford 302 - 2012-IMG_5141.jpg

BlownMGB-V8 · March 28, 2013, 05:49:24 PM

Extremely cool but a bit hard to find.

How about an L33? Used in chevy trucks since '05, all aluminum, weighs around 400 lbs apparently, junkyard pulls cost in the 1100-1900 range, rear wheel drive so starter and bellhousing are not issues. Not sure what heads it uses.

In the BOPR camp (British engine) the 300 Buick is a very good choice. Easy fit, plenty of sources for conversion parts, cheaper than the Rover by several hundred bucks (bellhousing and flywheel) stronger block (iron) 400 lb weight, and easily strokable to 5.7Liters (350 cid), very good aftermarket heads available.

Going big, there is the 455 Buick which makes a very nice package as we did with the MG-Roadmaster. Or the ultimate, The TA aluminum BBB block and heads with up to 700 cid, Fast Cars IFS, and Jag IRS like in the Roadmaster for stock car weight and perfect balance.

Jim

Spitfire 350 · March 30, 2013, 08:07:52 PM

George,
If you haven't yet looked at all of the How it Was Done articles for the B, please do so. Back in the late '80s, I put a 13B Mazda Rotary in my '73B. It was super quick up to about 85 mph, that is when my brother's Corvette would catch and pass me.That caused me to go the V8 route when I built my Spitfire, I don't regret it. I believe the easiest conversion will be th 5.0 Ford with a T5 transmision. The parts you need are all readily available from folks you can trust. Enjoy the build.