MGB V8 and Morris in Lockdown
Posted: February 6th, 2021, 1:23 pm
Dear all,
Just thought I’d post a few shots of the state of my lack of progress during the lockdown and the sorry state my poor cars are in.
Unfortunately I don’ have a garage of my own so have to do all my build work at my parent s which is why no progress has been made since lockdown started. So my Morris sits languishing in its temporary shelter used usually just for winter and next to it the project I managed to complete just before lockdown, installing a V8 in an MGB. I managed to complete the MGB V8 conversion just before the start of lockdown last March. As you can see it has to sit on my car trailer as I don’t have any other space and it really needs a clean.
The engine is a Rover V8 3.5 Litre, with a slightly hotter cam (though I can’t remember the exact make) and SD1 heads. I also utilised the RV8 exhaust headers and these run down through the inner wing rather than the block hugger type. The front benefitted from grooved and drilled discs and stainless hoses with reconditioned V8 brake calipers. It also benefited from adjustable coil overs at the front and adjustable anti roll bar. Whilst the rear got a telescopic damper conversion. One thing I didn’t change was the diff to the recommended 1:3.07 ratio, so far this hasn’t been an issue as I don’t see this as a long cruiser for me but then again I’ve hardly been able to drive it.
Couple of photos of the build below. The main issue was the previous owner was going to fit a Sebring kit and had cut out the rear quarters and this had to be fixed. Plus to fit the Rover V8 gearbox (LT77 or R380) requires the gearbox tunnel to be cut and raised by around 2 inches. Other main problems are the gearbox selector plate is very sensitive to positioning and, as I discovered, if not properly aligned means you can’t select all the gears. Bit of a disaster when first encountered before you find out about the selector plate positioning.
Use of the RV8 exhaust headers, I thought, was going to be easier than installing the block hugger exhaust because avoids running ridiculously close to the chassis rails, the engine itself and right past the starter motor. However, whilst avoiding these issues it has problems of its own not just from having to make cut outs to the inner wing, which due to routing of the manifold end up being bigger than you think. There is also some potential conflict with the front brake pipe mountings and pipe routing that needs adjustment. Along with the fact that you can install rover exhaust manifold gaskets the wrong way round and have a blowing exhaust, all a learning experience for me.
Other problem areas include the oil filter housing on the rover V8 as this has to be replaced with a new item to avoid issues with the steering rack.
Radiator and fans for cooling also takes a bit of thought as the room for the fan blades is tight and the top hose route can be tricky. You can see mine is still a bit of a mess.
Easier items are the propshaft conversion as there are plenty of engineering firms that can do this and converting the Rev counter to V8, which you can do yourself but again there are good companies who can do this at a reasonable cost and I chose that route.
Any way you can see the engine below and some build pictures:
Regards,
Wal
Just thought I’d post a few shots of the state of my lack of progress during the lockdown and the sorry state my poor cars are in.
Unfortunately I don’ have a garage of my own so have to do all my build work at my parent s which is why no progress has been made since lockdown started. So my Morris sits languishing in its temporary shelter used usually just for winter and next to it the project I managed to complete just before lockdown, installing a V8 in an MGB. I managed to complete the MGB V8 conversion just before the start of lockdown last March. As you can see it has to sit on my car trailer as I don’t have any other space and it really needs a clean.
The engine is a Rover V8 3.5 Litre, with a slightly hotter cam (though I can’t remember the exact make) and SD1 heads. I also utilised the RV8 exhaust headers and these run down through the inner wing rather than the block hugger type. The front benefitted from grooved and drilled discs and stainless hoses with reconditioned V8 brake calipers. It also benefited from adjustable coil overs at the front and adjustable anti roll bar. Whilst the rear got a telescopic damper conversion. One thing I didn’t change was the diff to the recommended 1:3.07 ratio, so far this hasn’t been an issue as I don’t see this as a long cruiser for me but then again I’ve hardly been able to drive it.
Couple of photos of the build below. The main issue was the previous owner was going to fit a Sebring kit and had cut out the rear quarters and this had to be fixed. Plus to fit the Rover V8 gearbox (LT77 or R380) requires the gearbox tunnel to be cut and raised by around 2 inches. Other main problems are the gearbox selector plate is very sensitive to positioning and, as I discovered, if not properly aligned means you can’t select all the gears. Bit of a disaster when first encountered before you find out about the selector plate positioning.
Use of the RV8 exhaust headers, I thought, was going to be easier than installing the block hugger exhaust because avoids running ridiculously close to the chassis rails, the engine itself and right past the starter motor. However, whilst avoiding these issues it has problems of its own not just from having to make cut outs to the inner wing, which due to routing of the manifold end up being bigger than you think. There is also some potential conflict with the front brake pipe mountings and pipe routing that needs adjustment. Along with the fact that you can install rover exhaust manifold gaskets the wrong way round and have a blowing exhaust, all a learning experience for me.
Other problem areas include the oil filter housing on the rover V8 as this has to be replaced with a new item to avoid issues with the steering rack.
Radiator and fans for cooling also takes a bit of thought as the room for the fan blades is tight and the top hose route can be tricky. You can see mine is still a bit of a mess.
Easier items are the propshaft conversion as there are plenty of engineering firms that can do this and converting the Rev counter to V8, which you can do yourself but again there are good companies who can do this at a reasonable cost and I chose that route.
Any way you can see the engine below and some build pictures:
Regards,
Wal