Dan and all,
Ok, this is one of my favorite preaching points. All the time I
get questions and comments: "Why not put a 300ZX V-6 in? It's
cool! It's high-tech! It makes lots o'HP!"
Well, yeah, true.
Why the Rover?
The factory MGB GT V-8 and the MG RV8 where powered by it. If you
choose to do what I'm doing and start with a "rubber bumpered" MGB,
the *only* chassis mod you have to do is add about an inch of height
to a part of the tranny tunnel (if you're using the TR-8/SD1 'box).
I don't really know of anyone offering a conversion kit, but if you decide
to go Rover, a lot of the bits are there: radiator hoses, brackets,
a lot of stuff you have to fab if you go with a non-Rover powerplant.
Also, it's been done so many times by everyone from the MG factory to
guys named Bubba, there's a wealth of knowledge out there.
Why not use a V-8 on a 'B conversion? The Rover engine weighs less than the
original cast-iron four, I think the 3.5 is something like 330 lbs.
In my case, I want a go-fast MGB that I can also drive every day. (Hey,
I'm in southern California!) I decided on the Rover engine because of
the power/weight consideration and the aforementioned parts and knowledge
well. I also want to keep the car all British, admittly not a concern
for everyone, but I like the idea of having a row to park in at the
Brit car shows.
Another reason for me is that certain modified classes in SCCA events
allow engine swaps, as long as the engine came from a product line
offered by that manufacturer.
I've got a lot of MGB plans, and they all involve either the stock
engine or the Rover V-8. I personally don't see any reason to go with
a different engine, unless it was just for the exercise of "what if...", or,
if one was building a drag-only car, and in that case (drag) I wouldn't
know where to start, and to be honest, I don't care to know anything about
drag cars.
Now, if you want to talk MG Midgets and Mazda RX-7 engines, that's a
whole different ball of wax. There's no really mean factory-type swap
for Midgets, and the '75 sitting in our garage next to the RX-7 looks
just too inviting.
HP-wise, getting around 200BHP *at the rear tires* has been demonstrated
on many 3.5 Rover 'B V-8 conversions. And I've been told that a properly
built EFI 3.9 will scoot a 'B from 0-60 in under 5 seconds. All that in
a powerplant that requires very little engineering to drop in and doesn't
upset the weight balance of the car.
Just my tuppence worth, and I admit it would take a *lot* to convince me
to use a non-Rover engine in an MGB swap.
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary http://www.teamsanctuary.com/
At 01:53 PM 11/20/98 -0800, DAN_GRAVES@hp-roseville-om3.om.hp.com wrote:
>
>
> Just curious. For those of you building MG's with R/B/O V8's, why
> that particular engine? Is it because its closer to the original
> factory setup, or maybe because of conversion kits available? I
> admit, I know next to nothing about those engines, but I've heard that
> they don't put out all that much hp. With today's engines putting out
> much higher power to engine size ratios wouldn't it be easier to drop
> in a V6? If cost isn't too big of an issue I can think of 4cyl motors
> that would be great for a high-output swap. If I were to do another
> engine swap in an MG I'd probably use something other than a V8.
>
> Dan Graves
> '64 MGB-Ford 289
>
>
>
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