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UK Jubilee (1975)
Quote from
Colin on 28th March 2019, 9:10 am
What an interesting project to share with us.
The B's shell was originally designed for a V4 or V6 engine so thats another feather in the design cap.That GM motor sits even further back than the B series so the handling will be improved and there is plenty of room between the crank pulley and cross member.
Ober 200bhp in a B's shell will transforem things (double the power) but there are plenty of tuning mods ro push that figure upwards of required but like you say the first thing is to upgrade the suspension & brakes. Are you going period princess 4 pot clipers/vented discs or more modern , the rear drums should be fine ?
looking forward to tje next chapter 🙂
What an interesting project to share with us.
The B's shell was originally designed for a V4 or V6 engine so thats another feather in the design cap.That GM motor sits even further back than the B series so the handling will be improved and there is plenty of room between the crank pulley and cross member.
Ober 200bhp in a B's shell will transforem things (double the power) but there are plenty of tuning mods ro push that figure upwards of required but like you say the first thing is to upgrade the suspension & brakes. Are you going period princess 4 pot clipers/vented discs or more modern , the rear drums should be fine ?
looking forward to tje next chapter 🙂
If it ain't broken don't try to fix it as if you do it will definitely break
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 28th March 2019, 10:58 am
Well, Princess calipers are getting rather tricky to find and they're not cheap either. And, other than the fact they just bolt on, are probably not the best choice in 2019. There's already a very good DIY conversion for the rear brakes using Nissan discs & calipers so I'd be surprised if there isn't a similar way to upgrade front brakes too. There's plenty of cars using 4x114.3mm stud pattern.
https://www.mgexp.com/journal/Charles-Durning.2966/MGB-DIY-Rear-Disc-Brakes.16358/
Well, Princess calipers are getting rather tricky to find and they're not cheap either. And, other than the fact they just bolt on, are probably not the best choice in 2019. There's already a very good DIY conversion for the rear brakes using Nissan discs & calipers so I'd be surprised if there isn't a similar way to upgrade front brakes too. There's plenty of cars using 4x114.3mm stud pattern.
https://www.mgexp.com/journal/Charles-Durning.2966/MGB-DIY-Rear-Disc-Brakes.16358/
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If you build it, they will come
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 28th March 2019, 1:01 pm
Having said that, this "MGB 4 POT Brake Kit H532/1/2" from MGOC looks tempting. https://www.mgocspares.co.uk/acatalog/MGOC_SPARES_Brakes_804.html
Having said that, this "MGB 4 POT Brake Kit H532/1/2" from MGOC looks tempting. https://www.mgocspares.co.uk/acatalog/MGOC_SPARES_Brakes_804.html
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 31st March 2019, 8:03 pm
I spent the entire weekend making engine mounts.
First things first though, get the engine back in the engine bay. I worked out how to do this with the garage door closed so I could leave the engine in the bay, propped up by blocks of wood & a trolley jack. Once the engine was where it needed to be, I checked sump clearance, bulkhead clearance, and bonnet clearance. Once the engine was sitting exactly right, I could attack the engine mounts.
The std chassis mounts were too far forward so I carefully cut them off & moved them back (temporarily, with sticky tape). I then made some cardboard engine mount templates. I then transferred the cardboard templates to 5mm sheet steel. Some might say that's a bit weak but it's thicker than the standard mounts, and once properly braced, should be incredibly strong. I was amazed at how slow the process was of getting the engine mounts perfect. It took me literally the entire weekend to do this and I still don't have them welded up properly. It's not going to be permanently welded into the car until at least next weekend.
On the plus side, I did work out why my welder was struggling with thicker metal. Seems the earth wire was way too thin. I replaced it with a much beefier wire and now it welds so much better!
I spent the entire weekend making engine mounts.
First things first though, get the engine back in the engine bay. I worked out how to do this with the garage door closed so I could leave the engine in the bay, propped up by blocks of wood & a trolley jack. Once the engine was where it needed to be, I checked sump clearance, bulkhead clearance, and bonnet clearance. Once the engine was sitting exactly right, I could attack the engine mounts.
The std chassis mounts were too far forward so I carefully cut them off & moved them back (temporarily, with sticky tape). I then made some cardboard engine mount templates. I then transferred the cardboard templates to 5mm sheet steel. Some might say that's a bit weak but it's thicker than the standard mounts, and once properly braced, should be incredibly strong. I was amazed at how slow the process was of getting the engine mounts perfect. It took me literally the entire weekend to do this and I still don't have them welded up properly. It's not going to be permanently welded into the car until at least next weekend.
On the plus side, I did work out why my welder was struggling with thicker metal. Seems the earth wire was way too thin. I replaced it with a much beefier wire and now it welds so much better!
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 5th April 2019, 7:22 pm
Spent some time this week perfecting the engine mounts. Got one mostly completed so far. It just needs final welding. The other will be done later this weekend.
Spent some time this week perfecting the engine mounts. Got one mostly completed so far. It just needs final welding. The other will be done later this weekend.
Uploaded files:If you build it, they will come
121 PostsTopic Author
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 7th April 2019, 6:45 pm
Today another milestone was reached. The engine mounts were welded up with the help of a friend and now the engine is finally in the engine bay without extra support! We also sorted the gearbox mounting. As another example of how easily this engine is fitting into the MGB, all we had to do was to remove the MG gearbox mounts from the gearbox crossmember and drill some new holes for the Omega gearbox mounts to fit. We didn't have to manufacture a new crossmember because the MG one is actually in the correct place. Perhaps we might need some spacers to adjust the height of the gearbox tail but that's for another day when we measure the diff angle.
I'm real proud of the work that myself, my son Robert and my friend Nick have done so far. To be honest, it couldn't have gone better and so far, looks like this engine was designed to be there. There are some challenges coming up, but I'm convinced we can overcome them and make this a true success. I'm even more pleased that this appears to be a first of its kind. I've never seen one done before like this, and if we get this right, it might be the swap of choice.
Today another milestone was reached. The engine mounts were welded up with the help of a friend and now the engine is finally in the engine bay without extra support! We also sorted the gearbox mounting. As another example of how easily this engine is fitting into the MGB, all we had to do was to remove the MG gearbox mounts from the gearbox crossmember and drill some new holes for the Omega gearbox mounts to fit. We didn't have to manufacture a new crossmember because the MG one is actually in the correct place. Perhaps we might need some spacers to adjust the height of the gearbox tail but that's for another day when we measure the diff angle.
I'm real proud of the work that myself, my son Robert and my friend Nick have done so far. To be honest, it couldn't have gone better and so far, looks like this engine was designed to be there. There are some challenges coming up, but I'm convinced we can overcome them and make this a true success. I'm even more pleased that this appears to be a first of its kind. I've never seen one done before like this, and if we get this right, it might be the swap of choice.
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If you build it, they will come
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UK Jubilee (1975)
Quote from
Colin on 9th April 2019, 1:22 pm
Wow things are coming along well.
Did you decide to relocate the mounts a second time from the chassis rails to the crossmember?
Wow things are coming along well.
Did you decide to relocate the mounts a second time from the chassis rails to the crossmember?
If it ain't broken don't try to fix it as if you do it will definitely break
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 9th April 2019, 4:38 pm
Yes I did move the mounts because I wasn't happy with them. I'll cut off the old ones next time the engine is out. I'm quite pleased with the new ones though! They're millimeter perfect and are both at exactly the same angle. The engine is perfectly aligned in the bay.
Yes I did move the mounts because I wasn't happy with them. I'll cut off the old ones next time the engine is out. I'm quite pleased with the new ones though! They're millimeter perfect and are both at exactly the same angle. The engine is perfectly aligned in the bay.
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If you build it, they will come
121 PostsTopic Author
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 17th April 2019, 8:32 pm
I spent all evening measuring the diff angle and getting the gearbox output flange at the same angle. Apparently they have to be parallel with each other (but not so the prop is dead straight). I measured it with an app for my phone & found I needed to add about 1 degree. I started by making some spacers to fit between the gearbox and the gearbox crossmember. This helped but wasn't enough. So I found some box section, cut it into a slight V shape to match the shape of the gearbox crossmember, drilled some holes, welded it in & that did the trick. It took me almost an entire evening to arrive at a solution that turned out to be very simple but I'm happy that it's done properly now. This seems to be the story of almost every fabrication job on this car.
I spent all evening measuring the diff angle and getting the gearbox output flange at the same angle. Apparently they have to be parallel with each other (but not so the prop is dead straight). I measured it with an app for my phone & found I needed to add about 1 degree. I started by making some spacers to fit between the gearbox and the gearbox crossmember. This helped but wasn't enough. So I found some box section, cut it into a slight V shape to match the shape of the gearbox crossmember, drilled some holes, welded it in & that did the trick. It took me almost an entire evening to arrive at a solution that turned out to be very simple but I'm happy that it's done properly now. This seems to be the story of almost every fabrication job on this car.
Uploaded files:If you build it, they will come
121 PostsTopic Author
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UK Limited Edition Roadster (1981)
Quote from
Ian Cass on 20th April 2019, 5:24 pm
I've spent the last few weeks wracking my brains on how to actually mount the alternator. The breakthrough came when I found some hidden unused mounting holes behind the front cambelt shroud. So I've spent the last few days creating various brackets & trying various alternator mounting options . After lots of trial and error, I've almost got it perfect. There's a few adjustments to the shape of the bracket and to the depth of the spacers but overall, I'm happy with the belt path, the alternator location and the tensioning arrangement. So far, I've made the mounting brackets using wooden dowel and plywood and once it's perfect, I'll replicate with proper metal brackets.
I've spent the last few weeks wracking my brains on how to actually mount the alternator. The breakthrough came when I found some hidden unused mounting holes behind the front cambelt shroud. So I've spent the last few days creating various brackets & trying various alternator mounting options . After lots of trial and error, I've almost got it perfect. There's a few adjustments to the shape of the bracket and to the depth of the spacers but overall, I'm happy with the belt path, the alternator location and the tensioning arrangement. So far, I've made the mounting brackets using wooden dowel and plywood and once it's perfect, I'll replicate with proper metal brackets.
Uploaded files:If you build it, they will come
