http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG Stuffing a big V8 into a poor little MGB. en-us Copyright 2012 Keith Tanner. All Rights Reserved. keith@miata.net (Keith Tanner) keith@miata.net (Keith Tanner) Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:43:26 -0700 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:43:26 -0700 Keith's RSS generator http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/images_sml/RSS.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG 88 88 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=634 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=634 No no no, not the V8 one. The parts car. I'm thinking I'm probably done with it, and it needs to move out to clear some room in the driveway.
(more)]]> Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:08:57 -0700 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=633 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=633 Janel spent most of the day running around town in the little car, and seems to have quite enjoyed it. The car still has a tendency to pop out of reverse (and will continue to do so until I pull the transmission to fix it) so she planned her stops as pull-through only.
(more)]]> Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:47:36 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=632 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=632 I was at the track testing the Targa Miata, and Janel stopped by with the MG. It garnered quite a bit of attention - all you have to do is park this car with the hood up and it will cause some double-takes.
(more)]]> Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:36:16 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=631 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=631 (more)]]> Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:51:50 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=630 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=630 Beautifully. I'm not sure what's changed from the first time I had this combo on the car, but the car has a beautiful fluidity over bumps and a well-controlled ride. It's as if I've discovered some secret suppleness setup. It's not perfect yet - the car is a bit disconcerting on turn-in. It's almost as if the rear takes a moment to catch up to the front. I think part of the problem is very responsive steering and too much power assist. If the steering had a bit more heft to it, it would be more in line with the way the rest of the car works. This is something that's been on my to-do list for a while. Soon!
(more)]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:50:10 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=629 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=629 (more)]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:46:44 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=628 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=628 I wanted to see if I could fit a rear sway bar. Then I decided to look for the point where the exhaust was touching the body. And while I was at it, I gave the whole car a good look-over.
(more)]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:27:11 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=627 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=627 (more)]]> Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:22:04 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=626 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=626 I hadn't seen it outside the garage since all the sanding and the complete assembly. I gave up on trying to fabricate excuses and just took off.
(more)]]> Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:26:59 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=625 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=625 Targa Miata race car, not the MG. If anyone was expecting me to start rallying the MG, well, no. The rally car does have the same power/weight ratio, though...]]> Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:27:34 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=624 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=624 This one, a Peltor FMT120, has a few features the old FMT100 didn't. Aux in (for a phone), separate volume controls, etc. Most importantly, it has an audio out. When combined with the new video camera that arrived last week, this means we'll be able to have Janel's instructions as audio for the in-car footage instead of just engine noise. That should make it a lot more interesting to watch.
(more)]]> Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:30:47 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=623 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=623 Well, hopefully useless. If all goes according to plan, these will never do us any good. But given the performance of the car, it's better safe than sorry.
(more)]]> Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:23:39 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=622 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=622 The fitting on the right is a push-on fitting that allows me to connect a braided fuel line to the factory fuel rail. The plastic connector is the same sort of thing used by the millions on factory cars.
(more)]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:17:39 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=621 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=621 But in the meantime, the back of the new panel was beefed up with the same Cool-It that was used elsewhere in the car.
(more)]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:02:43 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=620 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=620 That's the outer skin you can see, along with the backside of the welds for the rear flares. A previous owner had cut out part of the inner panel in order to fit a speaker as well.
(more)]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:00:25 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=619 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=619 Yes, I think the interior should look better.]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:58:50 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=618 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=618 A complete door. The panel design isn't identical to the original (assuming the previous cards were the original ones, which may not be the case) but it looks good. So I may not win at Pebble Beach. I'll cope. It looks so much better than before, though. The only part visible that was on the car when we got it is the door latch, and Janel's asked me if I can make it look better!
(more)]]> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:16:04 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=617 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=617 But I had to reinstall the door panels, and what better time to install the new ones? The main door card went on easily enough with just a bit of fiddling around. The pad at the top of the door, on the other hand, needed to have the new vinyl wrapped around it. Not a hugely challenging task, but one that takes time to do it right. So I spent the rest of the day upholstering four chunks like the one in the picture. But man, do they look good now. ]]> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:13:14 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=616 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=616 They all sealed well enough, but there's both primer and black paint on the old one from previous paint jobs. Again, dingy. A couple of new parts make a big difference.
(more)]]> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:08:26 -0600 The MGB GT http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=615 http://www.slowcarfast.com/MG/diary.php?UID=615 So I had to trim it. The trim is actually stainless steel, not chrome-plated plastic or some other shortcut. Nice work MG. So it cuts and trims pretty nicely.
(more)]]> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:06:51 -0600 The MGB GT