Kevin Richards' Factory-Original 1974 MGB GT V8

Moderator · November 24, 2007, 04:45:00 PM

You guys might get a kick out of these photos of one of Abingdon's finest::
http://www.britishv8.org/MG/KevinRichards.htm
(Click the link to see all 57 photos.)

mowog1 · November 24, 2007, 06:04:03 PM

Um.......there's no radiator?

Does look sweet here, though!

Moderator · November 24, 2007, 07:29:58 PM

that's explained in the write-up... it was out getting re-cored

302V8 · November 26, 2007, 10:07:39 AM

Rick,

It was the factory car that VW had some input on, they removed the rad to try and make it aircooled!!

Pete

Edd Weninger · November 28, 2007, 12:26:12 PM

Man, I've been biting my tongue, but the induction system on the factory V8s has got to be one of the ugliest systems I've ever seen.

I don't think it can be very efficient either. Perhaps the reason for the low output from 3.5 Liters.

Sorry if I offend anyone, but.............the rest of the car looks great.

Edd Weninger

Bill Young · November 28, 2007, 01:44:08 PM

Edd, I have to agree, but they used what was at hand and that was SUs. Couldn't just buy some carbs from the US, had to use the standard British performance equation, just add SUs or Strombergs until you get what you want. Did almost the same on the TR8 and it's a real PITA to work on the induction as I've heard.

Moderator · November 28, 2007, 02:09:32 PM

They probably COULD have bought a U.S. carburetor (Sunbeam did for the Tiger, and even MG installed Delco alternators on the MGB V8)... but the British were very proud of those SUs.

What I can't get over isn't the carbs... it's that silly air filter scheme. Just how many bits and pieces are there? There must be at least two dozen stamped sheetmetal parts. The carbs seem to be pulling from a common plenum - so why did they want dual filters?

The intake manifold is obviously aluminum... but can someone please confirm for me whether the V-shaped adapter that supports the carbs is aluminum? It's painted black, and referred to only as "cast" in the literature. (Usually the British literature says "alloy" if something is aluminum.) That adapter isn't really cast iron, is it?

BlownMGB-V8 · November 28, 2007, 06:14:11 PM

Not only that but they only used two carbs. Now correct me if I'm wrong but on engines between 2 and 3 liters didn't they use 3 carbs? So why not 4 on a 3-1/2 liter motor? For a manufacturer it doesn't seem that would be any more difficult than that nutso system they put on it and it certainly would have looked better.

mowog1 · November 29, 2007, 11:41:27 AM

BlownMGB-V8 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not only that but they only used two carbs. Now
> correct me if I'm wrong but on engines between 2
> and 3 liters didn't they use 3 carbs? So why not 4
> on a 3-1/2 liter motor? For a manufacturer it
> doesn't seem that would be any more difficult than
> that nutso system they put on it and it certainly
> would have looked better.

The MGC, at just under 3 litres, only had two HS6 carbs as stock. Upgrades to a triple SU or triple Weber were available to boost performance.

Moderator · November 30, 2007, 01:40:29 PM

Here's another one... VERY nice!

Dave Wellings' Factory-Original 1974 MGB GT V8: http://www.britishv8.org/MG/DaveWellings.htm

(This one isn't for sale.)

filospinato · January 18, 2008, 02:31:06 PM

The black V shaped upper manifold piece is aluminum, I have an original one. The airflow path looks terrible.