My L.E. 'O' series Project (LEO)
As I said on some other threads you must make a car the way you want it to be. In one way or another virtually every MGB has been altered and improved on over the years but the basic DNA of the car has remained.
As you will know I am very guilty of this but like the car to look as standard as possible until either the engine is started or the bonnet lifted.
Having now got an L.E. I have spent a lot of time researching and after lots of deliberation and discussuions with Don Hayter plus as my L.E. is a bare shell I have decided to follow the natural progression of the B and fit an O series 2litre under the bonnet.
I have since purchased a complete rover SD1 engine, not easy to find these days, (with twin 1-3/4 SU's) and a sherpa back plate which means that the engine will go straight in using the standard B gearbox. This set up is good for around 110BHP as standard but bare in mind that the engine weighs over 20kg's less, runs on unleaded, and is much smoother and quieter it should be a much more noticeable improvement over the B series lump. The other massive plus side is that it is a much more fuel efficient engine and will be much easier to get through an MOT than my Jube was with her 1800.
As I said I will intially be putting this set up into the B (as this is what was planned for the U.K. market had the B still been in production in 1982/3-with the States getting the less powerful efi version) but I am also looking at seeing how difficult it will be to fit the montego/maestro turbo version in which came with 152BHP as standard:D:D ,has bags of mid range torque, and is easily tweaked;)-for those who don't know this too was destined for the 'B' and Don Hayter even has a set os side decals for it in his garage. If I can manage to fit this unit in it will be easily tuneable (dump valves, larger coolers etc) to push this figure up a bit but I would want to try and keep the lag to a minimum so as to make it as driveable as possible.
Obviously this will be a very slow burn project (got to build and install a bespoke twin plenum efi system to my roadster first-but as some under bonnet mods will be needed I'll be test fitting the 'O' to the L.E. before she goes for welding) but it will be nice to work on something a little different for a change.
Can I ask you all to keep your eyes and ears out for any complete turbo engines that come to market?
Uploaded files:
I am also looking at seeing how difficult it will be to fit the montego/maestro turbo version in which was good for 152BHPsmileysmiley but has bags of mid range torque. If I can manage to fit this unit in it will be easily tuneable (dump valves, larger coolers etc) to push this figure up a bit but I want to try and keep the lag to a minimum so as to make it as driveable as possible.Many years ago I had a Montego MG turbo, very nice too.
I could be spoilt for choice here, V8 or Turbo...:p
Let us now which way you go and all the gory details 🙂
Cheers
Col
How about a V8 Turbo:o the only thing is that most of the inner wings would have to go plus the axle would rip itself away from the floor:(
I will definitely go with the O series as I want something a little different but the turbo will all depend on how much has to go in order for it to fit-we'll see. Got to arrange a trip to Cardiff now to pick up the lump-yet more spare parts:o
Jubilee-Man wrote:
I am also looking at seeing how difficult it will be to fit the montego/maestro turbo version in which was good for 152BHPsmileysmiley but has bags of mid range torque. If I can manage to fit this unit in it will be easily tuneable (dump valves, larger coolers etc) to push this figure up a bit but I want to try and keep the lag to a minimum so as to make it as driveable as possible.Many years ago I had a Montego MG turbo, very nice too.
I could be spoilt for choice here, V8 or Turbo...:p
Let us now which way you go and all the gory details 🙂
Cheers
Col
How about a V8 Turbo:o the only thing is that most of the inner wings would have to go plus the axle would rip itself away from the floor:(
I will definitely go with the O series as I want something a little different but the turbo will all depend on how much has to go in order for it to fit-we'll see. Got to arrange a trip to Cardiff now to pick up the lump-yet more spare parts:o
That's a point actually, how much extra stress would be put on the chassis with these engines? I know a V8 would probably induce a similar sort of stress but would you have to beef up the chassis rails etc. It would be interesting to find out whether the MGC chassis was beefed up or modified any where to take the 6 cylinder engine.
What about anti-tramp bars? Otherwise you may find that you can't get the power down from a standing start maybe?:)
It would be interesting to find out whether the MGC chassis was beefed up or modified any where to take the 6 cylinder engine.
It's all about torque at the end of the day and the C's lump isn't nearly as much as a V8 or that of a Turbo
I think this is a fascinating idea - I used to have an MG Montego when I was young and my main recollection of it's engine was how it hated to be running at high revs - I changed to a Toyota MR2 and that had an engine that only worked at high revs. As an MGB project it's really in keeping with the natural progression of the design and even fits with my "keep it original" personality.
I want to build a fast road MGB at some point and maybe this is the way to go rather than an tuned 1800?
Please keep us up to speed with what you have to do to make this work as it's a bit unique and that's unusual with MGB's these days.
Hi Ken
In a previous life I worked within a the Unipart Group and back in the late 80's/early 90's all the company cars (which were replaced every 3 months or 4000 miles) were Montego or Maestro. I had a varied range over the years (diesel, diesel Turbo, 1.6 & 2.0 petrol carb and a 2.0 GTI but never the turbo:(. The GTI definitely revved the best but I know what you mean about their lack of keenness to do so. However they were pretty good on torque,very smooth and really quiet plus economical.
I'm not re-inventing the wheel though as quite a few cars have been converted, mind you I've not found a turbo version yet so could be a very good reason for that, ( see http://www.kewengineering.co.uk/upgrades4mgs/Engines/omt.htm) but most people go for the 16 valve versions as they are more powerful/superior however I want to work with the same parts bin that the factory would have had back in 1980.
Sounds really interesting Colin, keep us posted on what you find out:) Wouldn't it be nice if it just dropped straight in;) but there's always 'sods' law to consider.:)
Cosworth power is the way to go!
See this months MG Enthusiast mag due out this week.
Fits nice and snug and awesome performance.
Chris Falla was the first to do it and others have followed.
I have also seen Nissan Turbo engines in MGB's, I have a video/dvd somewhere.
Hi Peeps... Been doing some fact finding and with the help of the following purchase (which is rare and thus must be an omen:D) and speaking to a chap who used to hill climb the turbo 'montys' and has loads of spares have learnt the following-
The good bits-
The standard engine is easily tuneable to between 180bhp & 200bhp and that's only with a better air filter, freeflow exhaust and carb needle change/tune:D-if I get rid of the fuel ecu then that figure should rise slightly more. With these mods the engine still remains tractable and with little in the way of lag.
Bad bits-
Will it all fit?-should do but I am hopefully going to get hold of an exhaust manifold and turbo in order that I can get an idea of their size and location with reference to the B's engine bay to see if there are any problems-remembering that the 'monty' is a transverse unit so exhaust manifold angles and carb heights may be an issue.
O series homologation- Can I fit the innards of the turbo engine into the block/head of the sd1 inline unit? If I were to use the 'monty lump (which used the O2 block) would result on the carb/exhaust all moving over to the drivers side of the engine bay where it will be too tight on space plus the distributor moves to the end of the camshaft and will seriously foul the heater.
Fuel System- is basically an efi setup but with a few extras like vapour seperator and carburettor vent valve.
Intercooler-Quite where to fit a decent size one/will I need an oil cooler as the monty doesn't have one and it doesn't have any easy means of attaching one? If not then I could fit a double depth intercooler where the oil cooler normally fits. although thinking about it I can still relocate the oil cooler to the chrome bumper location.
Obviously this is far from an complete list and is only based on what I have read thus far. Once I get to Cardiff and pick the lump up I will then be able to get a much better idea.
I know that fitting the standard twin carb engine in, having done some mild tuning would, be much simpler and should offer around 125BHP but I still fancy the whistling 180bhp (conservative) of the turbo so will look into things further-don't tell the missus though;);)