MGB V8 Conversion
Discussion
100 IAN said:
What size tyres have you chosen to fit?
With the Hoyle front suspension kit can you adjust the ride height?
Being a '77 rubber bumpered shell have you kept the higher ride-height or dropped it down to that of the chrome bumpered cars?
Tyres 195/65VR15. The Hoyle suspension is ride height adjustable + other adjustable settings. The final ride height will be a proprietary set-up i.e. mine. I have retained the rubber bumper front cross member but have included some JWR kingpins. These combined, together with adjustable ride height and 195/65VR15's will give me a ride height very near to a CB car and with slightly better compliance and no bumpsteer. The design is to have a correctly working suspension set-up/geometry without having to rely on excessively large grippy tyres...this, of course, is limited by the rear wheel arch inner lip. I want the car to handle correctly without being over tyre'd. There are many conversions out there that look good but don't handle as well as they could/should. With the Hoyle front suspension kit can you adjust the ride height?
Being a '77 rubber bumpered shell have you kept the higher ride-height or dropped it down to that of the chrome bumpered cars?
Looking at your profile you too have a V8 Roadster. Let's see some pics/tech-specs...
v8250 said:
Hi Alex, thank you...and I do hope you are inspired. What about some pics of your old girl?
With pleasure:
The first one was when during this year's first drive, one of the fans decided to cut out, causing some overheating in town)
The second one is with my two V8s: the one in the back was bought years ago, with the plan to restore it. Never happened of course and some quick (man) maths inspired the acquisition of the one in the front. The one in the back was sold shortly after this picture was taken, as far as I'm aware, the new owner has taken it apart and is going to do a slow but complete rebuild.
Edited by Church of Noise on Friday 22 August 23:08
Church of Noise said:
With pleasure:
Splendid. Had a surprise the other day. A neighbour's friend arrived who lives in France. He arrived, parking up in front of my garage, in a very very original white GTV8 with only 66,494 miles from new. It was originally his father's car and sounded perfectly 'on song'. But the best surprise was the paintwork and interior; everything was original. I've never seen such a clean headlining and the paintwork...it had that sharp crisp cleanness that only original well cared for paint can have...you know, when the paint's near flawless, part flat but with a deep shine from many years of polishing. Marvelous!
Hi Alex, yes read with interest your engine swap dilemma and sounds like a jolly expensive distributor! I have PM'd you with my view...that is, just go for it. Of course, in changing the engine you'll find loads of other jobs to do whilst your there and the engine changeover will take three times as long.
Q1 If you're going for a bigger engine, what gearbox are you planning on using?
Note, which I hope will help, lining up the clutch to gearbox can be very difficult with an MGB V8; simply, there's no room to grab hold of the engine. If suitable, it's far, far easier to install the gearbox to engine and then install the two together. If you have an engine hoist with leveller/stabiliser bar this will help enormously. Any Q?'s feel free to ask...
Q1 If you're going for a bigger engine, what gearbox are you planning on using?
Note, which I hope will help, lining up the clutch to gearbox can be very difficult with an MGB V8; simply, there's no room to grab hold of the engine. If suitable, it's far, far easier to install the gearbox to engine and then install the two together. If you have an engine hoist with leveller/stabiliser bar this will help enormously. Any Q?'s feel free to ask...
Sir,
Just saw your email, many thanks for that, will get back to you shortly!
To answer your questions: I'll stick to the original gearbox.
The suspension was already slightly modified (lowered springs, parabolics at the rear), so I'll try to keep the changes to the engine for now...
Thanks for the tips, I'll probably have a few Q's in the near future
Just saw your email, many thanks for that, will get back to you shortly!
To answer your questions: I'll stick to the original gearbox.
The suspension was already slightly modified (lowered springs, parabolics at the rear), so I'll try to keep the changes to the engine for now...
Thanks for the tips, I'll probably have a few Q's in the near future
Here's a little update for you all...have had to remove engine and gearbox as had an issue with the clutch fork not sitting correctly. This is now re-fitted with engine & gearbox re-installed. The following pics don't appear to show much progress but there's been a mass of small fiddly work done, plus, remote oil mounting & cooler fitted, heater unit & motor completely refurbished and looking like new, inlet base & plenum modified, carbon trumpets modified & installed, throttle linkage modified and installed, alternator mounting modified and installed, fuel pump and filter installed, gear lever and extension modified and installed...the list goes on and I'd like to think the to do list is getting shorter...but in reality it always gets longer as the little tasks add up. Have now installed the wiring distribution/relay panel and started routing the new wiring looms...
Edited by v8250 on Monday 22 September 19:08
Arcnewal said:
Just spent the last hour reading through this thread and I must say the work you're doing is fantastic, the engine bay looks terrific.
Thank you, "the engine bay looks terrific"...and so does the rest of the car 
I'm perhaps a little overdue with a PH update so current state of play is as follows:Collect modified radiator from local fabricators tomorrow. The is an oversized alloy MGB V8 unit c/o Peter Mulberry at Mulfab. These radiators are beautifully made and used in many V8 racers...400bhp John Eales engined cars. Will be drilling out correct mounting holes this weekend.
Have spent a lot of time recently re-designing the air filter, MAF and oil catch tank location. Fabricated a special mounting plate for these together with a heatshield box for the MAF.
Continuing with exhaust and engine temperature management, have finished exhaust wrapping the manifolds with Thermal Velocity's 'Magma Wrap'. This material is bloomin' marvelous...I've never had exhaust wrap that's made from Volcanic Lava before; seriously...volcanic lava!! Magma Wrap has thermal resistance of 980degC [direct] & 1370degC [radiant]. This together with the overall cooling control design will keep the engine bay at sensible temperatures. My objective behind this was to keep the air intake -to- plenum and air trumpet inlets as cool as possible and therefore the smallest air molecule size. This, combined with separate oil ventilation not fed back into the plenum, will give the cleanest air fuel ratio possible :. cleaner, greater combustive output per bang
Currently up to armpits with the new wiring looms...about 80% complete.
Have rebuilt/refurbished the brake cylinder housing and modified the servo mountings today.
Also, have had to remove the back-end, again, as the diff' cover is not sealing correctly. The plan is to drain oil, fit a helicoil drain plug to the rear cover plate and hand make a correct gasket from Klingersil. Why the Ford Cosworth diffs' didn't do this originally, I don't know. Once done, back-end back in and very carefully align the rear end.
Will post some pics' when I get some time...
v8250 said:
Alec/All, here are some 'teaser' pics taken this morning...and it's been a slightly expensive morning as ordered new 6x15 wheels and tyres, lightweight starter motor and alternator, hydraulic boot stays, early rear lamp assemblies...plus the ACT plenum trumpets arrived in post this morning
...so is that an IRS set up there? AC43 said:
...so is that an IRS set up there?
It most certainly is It's the very well designed John Hoyle IRS system. It's available to take both 7" and 7.5" Ford Sierra, Granada, Scorpio type differentials. Available in multiple spring and damper ratings depending upon your preferred driving style/application. Coil and dampers are fully adjustable. I've installed the viscous LSD on mine, though for most this isn't necessary. Easy to install and align/set up. If you want more info' just ask.http://www.hoyle-suspension.co.uk/index.html
task said:
That back end is almost pornographic, more than a little jealous! Perhaps one day, if I keep my car...Keep up the great work and keep the photos coming 
Thanks Task...and what do you mean, if you keep your car? There are plenty of fellows who've installed Hoyle Suspension on their GTV8's. You see, the beauty of this design is that it fits with no modifications to the existing body meaning should an original GTV8 owner ever want to return the car back to original front and rear live axle...well, off you go.All, pls excuse slowness in adding some more
Below, the new Mulfab V8 alloy radiator...you can also see MAF location and refurbished brake servo and brake/clutch master cylinders and housing. All completed 'a la main'
This shows the extended depth of the radiator. Overall it's 4" longer than a standard unit and will provide first rate cooling whilst retaining perfect ground clearance.
Below is the home brewed mounting plate for the MAF, K&N, oil catch tank...and if you look closely you'll see the Blue Peter Production of a twin walled heat deflection plate + to the rear the n/s Magma Wrap'ed st/st manifold
Here, a better shot of the Magma Wrap...and it's as lovely to install/look at as it looks on their website...
The following two pics show the injection/swirl pot fuel tank installed. You'll also notice the homemade alloy exhaust mounting brackets, and at just how close the rear baffled exhaust pipes are to the fuel tank. Here, I wanted to reflect any radiant heat away from the tank so have covered with Thermo Velocity's heatshield material; good for 90% radiant heat reflection...even though new, I've repainted the fuel tank with two coats of chassis black and two coats of stone chip for good measure...
Edited by v8250 on Thursday 6th November 20:18
Gassing Station | MG | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff