The `rumour' about six MGB Twin Cams got me going - and having come
across other cars which have had a factory involvement claimed for them
which, after a little detective work, turned out to be fake (e.g. a
road-registered Daimler V8 engined MGB) I decided to ask a man who
should know - Don Hayter.
Don confirms that no twin cam MGB was ever built by MG at Abingdon; he
said that although the packaging was investigated in the early days, the
problems with the engine ruled it out; there were piston problems and
the fact that the engine required high octane fuel, which was being
phased out and was in any case hard to get in some markets, militated
against it. If someone has a twin cam MGB, he says, it isn't one of
ours.
The MGB was originally going to have the 1,622 c.c. engine (as per the
MGA Mk.II) but as you may know this was soon changed when it was found
that the 1600 MGB was slower than the 1600 MGA, and that the ADO17
saloon planned for 1964 would also need an 1800. I doubt that there will
be much enthusiasm in our ranks for building a 1,622 c.c ohv MGB.....
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