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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - inline 6 in 1971 mgb gt

has any one ever held or send any one put a datsun L28 inline 6 from a 240z in an mgb gt think it will work
alex

Alex,

it might work on a 1978 on car but i doubt that it makes sense on a earlier modell. Considre upon the wight of the Datsun engine and you will see that here are other Ebgines that are lighter and more powerfull ones that fit under the hood.

Doing a swap it is also usefull to know about the other bits that will be needed to finish the job and there might be some difficulties to find them for a Dadsun Z 240 installation.

I never heared of this combination finised in a MG B. Different V6 and V8 engines have been put inside the B very sucessfully but a straight 6 will need to have the frontend and steering altered radically and different changes to the bulkhead area of the car will also be necessary.

You should have a look upon the pics at www.britishV8.org first and find out what has worked well.

Keep us posted, please

Ralph

Ralph

Alex, spend some time with a tape measure and the engine. There are three dimensions that are critical in determining wheither or not an engine will fit without major work. These are bell housing diameter, engine length from bellhousing flange to front pulleys, and height from crank center line to top of engine. I think you'll find the Datsun/Nissan engine a little tall for hood clearance, although a C hood might fit, and too long. You need an engine that will fit between the existing firewall and the steering rack, if you have to move or modify either of these you're in for a lot of work. I've never taken the time to measure the compartment in a B, but the MGA engine compartment from firewall to steering rack is similar and I had to move the firewall back almost 10" in the A for an inline 6. Not easy in the A, but much easier there than in a B.
Bill Young

Hi Alex

I have to agree with Ralph and Bill on this, you are undertaking an almost impossible mission!
I have fitted a k-Series engine to my car that is slightly longer than the 4 cylinder and even the V8. This involved cutting out ALL of the heater sections right back to the bulk head, moving the radiator forward (I have a 1968 car) to the later rubber bumper position and then the biggest part, scalloping out the cross member and re-creating it with internal honeycomb to retain its strength!
I have about 1 inch of cross member left, therefore with a straight 6 it would have to go completely and then are then getting into re-engineering the whole front end, one hell of a job!

I have recently been looking at taking an MGC and putting a BMW M3 engine and box into it! Should fit and with 326 BHP from the box, would make for one hell of a B......

Good luck and by all means give me a buzz if you want any pictures of the engine bay on my car to show you how tight it would be!

Ed
Ed Braclik

thank you all for your help my goal is to up grade the power of my mgb with out changing the handling and with out going to efi on the engine and i just happen to have that 240z engine lying around .... i did some measuring and the bell housing would not work with out mod and the same with the hood
alex

Alex, I don't know what state of tune your B is in, but there is a lot available in a stock B engine, and from what I've heard conversion to a GM V6 or Rover/Buick V8 isn't detrimental to the handling either. I'm glad you took another look at the
Datsun. I've seen too many conversions run into extreme cost or get abandoned because the owner thought he would save a buck by using an engine he already happend to have. Some things fit easily, some don't and making those that don't work takes lots of time and money. That's not to say they shouldn't be done, just know what you're in for before you begin so that the project doesn't get hacked up and of no value to anyone and then abandoned.
Bill Young

This thread was discussed on 26/03/2007

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