BritishV8 Forum

Hi folks. I've got a V8 conversion in the works; nothing that hasn't been done before but I thought I should make a thread to get some input from the community here.

The donor car is a chrome bumper 1974 MGB GT that I got at auction for a little bit of nothing. Power will be from a Ford 302 from an 85 mustang running a Holley carb mated to a T5 from the same Mustang. Funny enough both were pulled from an unfinished MGB V8 conversion.

I wasn't thrilled about the limits on photo uploads here so I put together a quick little web site to log the build and some of my other projects.

https://calebnewcome.myportfolio.com/mgb-gt-v8-conversion

I've been pretty well blown away by the work here and I'm hoping some of that can rub off on me.

Cool! We love build photos!

Well Duke, early '74 still has the low ride height so there's that, which is pretty cool. You may have to do a few mods in the engine bay to get it to fit but those aren't bad.

Jim

The Project Journals section has a much greater capability to upload photos. You might want to check it out.

Thanks Jim and Jim.

I'm excited to figure the firewall modifications out and play with my new MIG.

I might give the project journal section another look, but I definitely wanted to have something here as well.

Looking forward to it!

Caleb, aka Nukem... I see what you did there!

Hah, that internet handle has been with me for a while. I guess I thought I was clever 10 years ago.

Any advice on extracting a stuck crossmember "bolt". One of the four which secure the subframe to the chassis is pretty well locked in there. The other three dropped out without too much effort. One took some heat and a BFH while the other two dropped out without any fuss.

Hi Caleb, and welcome!

I can already tell you'll have a great time with your priject.

One suggestion... looks like you're using sanding disks to remove paint.  Paint strip discs will get the paint but leave the metal.  Here's an example https://www.amazon.com/pack-Replacement-Paint-Remover-Stripper/dp/B06WVBF5QV

Yeah, I grabbed a couple to try a couple of days back, one for my big grinder and one for my die grinder. Of course, I managed to get the wrong arbor size.

Mostly been cleaning up surface rust so far with the flap disks. I'll definitely grab some more paint removal disks though, I'm liking the little one for my die grinder.

QuoteI'm liking the little one for my die grinder.

You can get bags of 50 pretty cheap on Amazon or eBay.

Try removing the nut from the bottom to get the crossmember out, then you can heat the bottom of the tube and should be able to drive the stud out.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I did manage drop the crossmember like you suggested. I'll give heating from the bottom a try

Does anyone know where I might be able to dig up some additional build pictures from Scott Wooley's build? I'm planning on mounting my motor pretty far back similar to Scott's car, and some additional reference material would be great to have.

Hello Caleb, Did you check out scotts how it was done journal. If you have maybe you can try to contact him directly. good luck.
Bill G

If you mean what is in the photo gallery section then yes.

http://www.britishv8.org/MG/ScottWooley.htm

I just took a quick look at your build Bill, and the firewall modifications you did look pretty close to what I'm looking to do actually. I'm going to take a closer look now.

Hi Nukem;

I have this as a screen saver, you might like it.

Been a little bit quiet but I've been slowly getting some stuff done, like my first real bit of metalwork on my front crossmember.



I've started reading through Scott Cotsanzo's build, getting some good ideas regarding firewall and steering column modifications for the engine set back I want to achieve.

I've made some good progress in the firewall and transmission tunnel modifications, but I'm still sorting out the driver side, specifically clearance for the back exhaust port to the steering shaft.

I'd welcome any thoughts.

I see you bought into the idea that you had to set the engine back. Too bad. Might want to look at weight and balance figures from the meet reports.

Jim

Here's some corner weights.

http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/BV82013-WeighInResults.htm

Good to have your insight Jim, and thanks Carl, I don't think I've spent too much time on that page yet.

Not really thinking it's necessary, but I thought it would be fun  so I figured I'd give it a try. This is mostly an excuse for me to play with power tools and sheet metal. Cutting big holes in the firewall had definitely provided that.

Nothing is really nailed down (on the car or in my head) at this point so going a bit forward is still in the playbook. I've already notched out my cross member to allow for it to move forward if necessary.

I'm also considering changing up the steering shaft flange location at the firewall similar to in Dan Masters' car.

Terry Schulte's car caught my eye: http://www.britishv8.org/MG/TerrySchulte.htm

His modifications to the steering are about what I had in mind.

Terry's car is a good example of a minimalist installation of the Buick 300 where the stock hood closes on the engine. I don't think the builder had to do much other than move the firewall mount for the steering down about 1-1/2" and that was done with a minimum of cutting. Probably had to trim the right side shelf back a little for head clearance as well but I don't remember. Lucky it's a GT so you had no need to brace the doors before cutting all that out. Just remember this, Virtually every bit of extra space you take for the engine will end up coming out of the area for your right foot. Which pretty much has to stay on the gas pedal. That can make for unpleasant driving if not carefully thought out.

Jim

I believe you two are talking about two different Terrys & two different GTs.

I think you are correct.

Changing the subject a little: glass is out and all the brightwork is off. I'm contemplating having the shell media blasted, but I've started peeling back some of the layers of previous rust repairs, bodywork and resprays anyway.

Most of the previous rust repairs were not carried out properly, with the patches welded in over the original rusted panels in some cases. Overall the shell is in reasonable shape though, not nearly as bad as some of the pictures in my Haynes restoration manual.