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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Newbie Here...

Okay, I'm pretty new to the whole MG V8 conversion scene, so please tell me if I'm saying/doing something stupid. I purchased a 73 MGB GT in stock form and am doing some minor restoring to the engine and body to get it roadworthy again (so I can drive it and enjoy it). While doing this, and after she is driveable again, I am going to get the things together I need to start a V8 modification. I am considering either a Ford 289 or the Ford 302 for aftermarket support here in the states. Any recomendations on a better/different/easier to install engine? I was going to start my search for a cheap donor in an 80's Mustang with a 5 speed. Any thoughts or recomendations from the conversion battlefront?
D. T. Barnes

First....WELCOME!

Whilst I am not a Ford person...this does seem to be a VERY popular conversion here in the States.

I would *probably* recommend the use of the 302 over the 289, primarily due to the availablility and cost of aftermarket parts and upgrades (supply and demand).

Get on Summit's mailing list....you'll see what I mean!

I'm sure that some of the Blue Oval crowd will soon be responding to your post....Pete Mantell, Graham Creswick, Steve Carrick, etc...

Safety/Faster!

rick
rick ingram

D.T, welcome!

I guess I'm part of that blue oval crowd... My car has the 289. The Ford 221, 260, 289, and 302 are dimensionally identical. The 260 is a bored 221, the 289 a bored 260 and the 302 a stroked 289! (There are other differences, but not important for what we're talking about here) If you're partial to Fords, your engine search should probably be for a late model 302 as they are very common, easy to build serious horsepower, etc. I chose the 289 for a very simple reason: I got it for a 12 pack of beer! All small block Fords have excellent parts availability and even the smallest of displacement engines will make the stock engine's power seem silly by comparison. If you're not dead set on Ford power, there are many other options including Chevy V6 and the ever popular Buick/Olds/Pontiac/Rover 215 V8 or variant. The latter 2 are a little easier to install, and for the BOP engines, books and videos have been made on the subject. A very popular transplant indeed! Some argue that the 215 is the best choice because it's the same engine that the factory used in the MGB V8 GT. This also makes the car seem more "acceptable" to the regular MGB crowd it seems for this reason.

I myself tend to get misty eyed thinking of Carol Shelby transplanting that wonderful Ford 260 into the AC Ace and creating a supercar or when he turned the underpowered Sunbeam Alpine into a head snapper with the same engine... Small British cars with Ford engines go back a long way. They are a good combination. I have my personal bias, as do most people.

Do a search of the archives here, as there is an incredible wealth of information in it.

Good luck with your car.

Scott
Scott Wooley

First, plug "ford 302" into the archives search. That will give you about a days worth of reading! It's a little more work putting a ford into a chrome bumper, but that pretty much holds true no matter what engine you use. The rubber bumper just has a little more room to work with. If you go ford, are you planning to use a carb or fuel injection? I'm trying to keep my gt stock looking from the outside, but if you are okay with a hood bulge/scoop you can use pretty much any intake.
Ryan Reis

DT,

Go to http://www.britishv8.org and have a look-around. You'll find a few Ford powered MGBs on that site.

Then, Download the May-August 2003 issue of the V8 newsletter, which has an article on using the Ford in an MGB.

And whatever you do, if you are really serious about this, come to Townsend, TN, June 18-21 for the British V8 meet and take a look at a whole bunch of modified Bs - Ford V8, BOP/R V8, Chevy V8, several V6 options, as well as who knows what else. You'll learn more about the subject in those few days than you will in a year or two of research otherwise. And you'll have an absolute ball doing it.
Dan Masters

Yep WELCOME from me as well.
Emjoy your stay.

Cheers , Pete
Peter Thomas

Thanks guys, just a couple of minutes after I posted this I went rummaging through the archive and found tons of info. I am still unsure which way to go, probably the first engine I come across in the condition I am looking for will dictate the project. I would really like an engine that has a 5 speed already associated with it (i.e. 302) but I do know that most 5 speeds out there can be made to work. Thanks again for all the info and thank you for starting a quick dialogue with me, I know you guys probably get sick of hearing the same old questions...which engine, this one is better, that one is faster, etc. But thank you for bearing with me.
D. T. Barnes

This thread was discussed between 14/11/2005 and 15/11/2005

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