Bill is definitely correct in that a V6 is ideal for these cars.
A number of years ago I put a '85 Camaro 2.8 V6 (145 bhp) into my MGA
coupe and it worked EXCELLENT. I used the automatic-OD because that is
what the donor car had. Subsequently, I converted to the 5-speed. Both
versions are nice - although my personal preference was for the manual
gearbox, my wife really liked the automatic. She actually drove the
car!!
I used a 3.9 MGB tubed axle in the car, mostly because I had a spare
one, but I also ran it for a while with the 4.3 MGA banjo axle. Both
worked fine, although the 4.3 gears were too short for the engine/tranny
- the 3.9 was very good.
This coupe is now back to its original 1500 MG engine (for various
reasons), but it was fun at the time.
Dave Q.
As and Bs
>From Bill WSpohn:
>> This is not an easy conversion to do right, but if you keep the V-8 in
>> the 150 HP range you can probably get by with your LBC tranny
>> (preferably OD) and rear end, but forget about boosting the power any
>
>
> 1. - the driveline will take more than 150 bhp, although it will obviously
>shorten the life of the components (my MG race engine puts out more than
>that).<
>
> 2. - it is torque and the way you drive, not horsepower per se that can be a
>killer - drag racing starts will rip it up in a fairly short time.<
>
> 3. - if you are going to limit yourself to 150 bhp, why bother with the size
>of the V8? Better to install a nice 60 deg. Chev V6. You can get anywhere from
>2.8 to 3.4 sizes and from 110 to 160 bhp (maybe a bit more on the late Camaro
>motors).<
|