The MGB GT

The engine!

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:32:59 -0700

This is ridiculous. The nose of the Camaro is about 15 feet long, and the rear four cylinders of the engine are embedded in the firewall. There's no reason for this car to have such a stupendous nose other than overcompensation. Of course, you could say the same about the cowl induction hood on this particular car.
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While walking past the Opel GTs parked in the shop at work, I took a closer look at the shape of the fenders.

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:24:43 -0700

This might work. They're nice and round without the flattened edge used on the Golf. And there's a good donor in the shop as well - a parts car that is destined to be chopped into pieces.
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I stopped by a local scrapyard today and picked up a pair of fenders.

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:23:13 -0700

They're from a square-headlight Rabbit - one of the ones made in Pennsylvania. We tried to pull one off a German-built cabrio but it was built with much more enthusiasm and far more seam sealer so we could not remove it without damage. One nice thing about living in western Colorado is that the cars are almost rust-free.
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A lesser-known alternative to the Omni flares is ones from a Mk1 Golf - aka Rabbit.

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:52:27 -0700

There's not as much information about them out there, but they have a better shape in my opinion. I'm going to pick up some Rabbit fenders that are in a junkyard locally and see for myself. I like the hood louvers on this car as well, I suspect something like that will be necessary to keep the temperatures under control.
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We have the drivetrain.

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:44:01 -0700

While I was in the middle of trying to figure out just what an L33 would need to convert it into something closer to my needs, I spotted an ad for a 1998 Camaro on Craigslist. The whole car was going for about the usual price for an LS1/T56 combination. So there was a change of plans, and now there's one very evil looking black car parked in the driveway. I could have driven it home, but with the forecast of snow in the mountains I decided that it would be better to give it a ride.
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After some rough sketches and much thinking, I'm leaning away from narrowing the Miata suspension.

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:26:08 -0700

The roll centers won't be as well controlled as I thought - thanks to Jensenman on the GRM forums for making me take another look at this.
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A serious piece.

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:12:30 -0600

I found this vintage V8 badge that I believe came off a Nova. I might have to mount it on the car for a little hint as to what's underhood.

I measured the maximum fender width of the MG at 58" front and 57.5" rear.

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:39:57 -0600

That's a bit approximate, and it assumes the fenders are fully rolled. Measuring a complete Miata subframe with 205-series tires came up with 61" front and 62" rear. So I don't need to narrow things as much as I'd feared, as long as I don't do anything too foolish with wheel and tire choices.
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Of course, a power upgrade of this magnitude will have implications that reach throughout the car.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:37:24 -0600

One victim will be the rear axle. I could cut down a rear from a Mustang or something similar - but why not go with an independent setup? Much more my style. And the obvious choice is a Miata one. I have access to cords of Miata parts, I know how well it works and I can use my access to aftermarket parts to tune the handling.
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Sharp eyes will notice the giant "LS2" on the last engine.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:33:50 -0600

Okay, so I cheated on the picture. And here's the engine I'm really considering. It's marketed as the "Vortec 5300" and it's found in late model Chevy Silverado trucks. But in the 1500 extended cab 4wd versions, it's a special high output version called the L33. Unlike the usual truck motors, it has an aluminum block so it's a lot lighter.
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A new plan.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:19:53 -0600

The original intent was to install a Ford 302 into the MG, as it's cheap and readily available. However, that was before I got mixed up with transplanting an LS1 into a Miata. I fell in love with not only the performance, but also the packaging and the (relatively) light weight of the engine. So I've switched plans. It's going to be an LS1.

The Targa Newfoundland is over.

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:39:42 -0600

It was a lot of work getting the Targa Miata built, tested and out to Newfoundland and back. But that's done. And while some post-race analysis continues, it's time to turn my attentions back to the MG. This site is about to come back to life, as is the little black coupe.

It's been pointed out that I never actually updated the results of the shock swap.

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:41:31 -0600

Well, the car bounces. That's about as far as I've made it. A few other projects got in the way so the GT went to sleep for a while. Until the Targa Newfoundland car is done with the race, the MG will always be a lower priority.
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It's about time.

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:09:14 -0600

I've been waiting for this manual for over a month. Now I can sort out the weird wiring bugs. British manuals are really good.

Either a really stupid idea or a stroke of genius.

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:07:14 -0600

The holes in the lower shock mount can get ovaled out and I was seeing the first signs of this. The threads on the bolt were getting damaged as well as doing damage.
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Step two - drill out the bushings.

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:07:14 -0600

They're sized for 12mm metric bolts, but the MG doesn't speak metric. A bit of time with a 1/2" drill, problem solved.

First step towards installing the shocks - cut down the bushing.

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:59:07 -0600

I cut it a bit too far - a touch longer would have worked better with the bolt length. Nothing an extra washer couldn't fix though.

The new vs the old shocks.

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:59:07 -0600

The new vs the old shocks.

The shocks have been selected.

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:39:29 -0600

Most of my early selections turned out to be for various one-ton vans, with an expected stiff damping. The Mitsubishi Cordia of the late 80's has some shocks that have been used in the past, and they looked to be a good match. There's also a Corvette application that looks interesting, but the 1986 Corvette wasn't exactly known for ride quality!
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The mystery of the terrible ride has been solved.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:46:33 -0600

In several ways, actually. I had a suspicion that the shocks might be involved, as they were the most likely candidate for restricting any bump travel. So I lifted the rear of the car up to have a look and whaddya know, one side didn't drop at all. I supported the spring, loosened off the shock and this fell out. It's jammed at full compression. So not only was it preventing the suspension from compressing at all - due to the way it was mounted - but it also was preventing it from moving. So, problem 1 solved.
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