It's not all bad.....
Discussion
Just read through the petrol price thread and thought i'd counter it with a more cheerful one 
After a 5 year bare metal rebuild and the insersion of a 3.5 Rover SD1 engine and gearbox my Dads MGB Roadster (now V8 ) passed its MOT this morning...first time!
I tailed him to the MOT station in my MX5 (both of us hood down of course) in the lovely sunshine and an hour later we were on our way with the magical green bit of paper!
I haven't driven it yet and will have to wait until saturday when we can tax it but from what i've heard (literally.....God it sounds good!) from Dad it's pretty damn quick! and he's driven some quick stuff! It hasn't been dynoed but given the engine tweeks its had done it should be around 190 BHP! which in a car weighing about 3/4 of a ton isn't too shabby!
I'll bang some pics up later but we're really chuffed, it's finished in red with full magnolia leather and wood interior! and has a a set of brand new 15" chrome wires to set it all off!
Don't know what it will do to the gallon but to honest we really couldn't care less!!
After a 5 year bare metal rebuild and the insersion of a 3.5 Rover SD1 engine and gearbox my Dads MGB Roadster (now V8
) passed its MOT this morning...first time!I tailed him to the MOT station in my MX5 (both of us hood down of course) in the lovely sunshine and an hour later we were on our way with the magical green bit of paper!
I haven't driven it yet and will have to wait until saturday when we can tax it but from what i've heard (literally.....God it sounds good!) from Dad it's pretty damn quick! and he's driven some quick stuff! It hasn't been dynoed but given the engine tweeks its had done it should be around 190 BHP! which in a car weighing about 3/4 of a ton isn't too shabby!
I'll bang some pics up later but we're really chuffed, it's finished in red with full magnolia leather and wood interior! and has a a set of brand new 15" chrome wires to set it all off!
Don't know what it will do to the gallon but to honest we really couldn't care less!!
How cool.
I had a '69 MGB roadster, running a similar engine; but in 4.3 Big Valve TVR spec (came from a totalled Griffith).
It was hilarious - hope you have as much fun in your Dad's as I did in mine. Sold mine to by my first flat - wish I hadn't sometimes; should have just borrowed the deposit and kept that car; it was fabuous in an overpowered, dodgy handling and NASCAR noise sort of way.
I had a '69 MGB roadster, running a similar engine; but in 4.3 Big Valve TVR spec (came from a totalled Griffith).
It was hilarious - hope you have as much fun in your Dad's as I did in mine. Sold mine to by my first flat - wish I hadn't sometimes; should have just borrowed the deposit and kept that car; it was fabuous in an overpowered, dodgy handling and NASCAR noise sort of way.
Harry Flashman said:
How cool.
I had a '69 MGB roadster, running a similar engine; but in 4.3 Big Valve TVR spec (came from a totalled Griffith).
It was hilarious - hope you have as much fun in your Dad's as I did in mine. Sold mine to by my first flat - wish I hadn't sometimes; should have just borrowed the deposit and kept that car; it was fabuous in an overpowered, dodgy handling and NASCAR noise sort of way.
Blimey Tiv spec!! excellent!I had a '69 MGB roadster, running a similar engine; but in 4.3 Big Valve TVR spec (came from a totalled Griffith).
It was hilarious - hope you have as much fun in your Dad's as I did in mine. Sold mine to by my first flat - wish I hadn't sometimes; should have just borrowed the deposit and kept that car; it was fabuous in an overpowered, dodgy handling and NASCAR noise sort of way.
Dad says the axel tramp when booting it from a standstill is quite amusing and it doesn't take much to make it get tail happy! Oh and the noise.....it's on twin pipes which look and sound awesome, even with a silencer box each side it still sounds awesome!
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/8OcqINgS.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/JmOyV7mE" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/JmOyV7mE.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/CwOW8G6M" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/CwOW8G6M.jpg)
soad said:
Cheers for those snaps - must say it looks very sweet smart. 
cheers After much pondering about which colour to go for (it was originally a vile green but has been red for the last 25 odd years) we decided it had to be red!
And after having driven it myself yesterday i can confirm it is stupidly quick!
That is a beauty!
Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
Kentish said:
That is a beauty!
Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
It's not a ridiculous amount of structural work, the transmission tunnel needs to be raised where the gear lever is to accomadate the taller Rover gearbox and also the bulkhead needs a little tinkering to accomadate the V8 bellhousing. In the grand scheme of the project these jobs were pretty minor!Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
Really glad we did it though, really worth the last 5 years of toil!
Yikes 5 years!
I would love a V8 lump in mine but I do feel it would be to much work for me to do alone and in a single garage at home.
I am going to take a course in bodywork restoration later this year so I may feel differently about the structural stuff after that
For now, I am thinking along the lines of an uprated Oselli 2ltr lump.
I would love a V8 lump in mine but I do feel it would be to much work for me to do alone and in a single garage at home.
I am going to take a course in bodywork restoration later this year so I may feel differently about the structural stuff after that
For now, I am thinking along the lines of an uprated Oselli 2ltr lump.
Kentish said:
Yikes 5 years!
I would love a V8 lump in mine but I do feel it would be to much work for me to do alone and in a single garage at home.
I am going to take a course in bodywork restoration later this year so I may feel differently about the structural stuff after that
For now, I am thinking along the lines of an uprated Oselli 2ltr lump.
It's been a "as funds permit" project so no rushing! Luckily the car was amazingly solid as Dad has only used it in the rain about 3 times in the 30 odd years he has owned her!I would love a V8 lump in mine but I do feel it would be to much work for me to do alone and in a single garage at home.
I am going to take a course in bodywork restoration later this year so I may feel differently about the structural stuff after that
For now, I am thinking along the lines of an uprated Oselli 2ltr lump.
theironduke said:
Kentish said:
That is a beauty!
Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
It's not a ridiculous amount of structural work, the transmission tunnel needs to be raised where the gear lever is to accomadate the taller Rover gearbox and also the bulkhead needs a little tinkering to accomadate the V8 bellhousing. In the grand scheme of the project these jobs were pretty minor!Well done indeed.
I have a 1969 B and I too want to put a V8 SD1 engine in but consensus is that it is best done to a later rubber bumper car and too much work to retro fit in an early chrome bumper car but yours is circa 1973 and you have done it, brilliantly!
Was it a lot of work, with mods to floor pans and transmission tunnel as I have read?
Really glad we did it though, really worth the last 5 years of toil!
ironduke - that care is exactly the same trim as mine: tartan red, cream interior, chrome wires! Only external differences were a wider track on mine, so Sebring arches, and the bonnet from a MGC (but fibreglass with extra vents). And a rather ropier paintjob - hadn't quite finished it when I sold!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Tuesday 11th May 12:46
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