My MGB GT V8

CastleMGBV8 · Post by **CastleMGBV8** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:17 am

I got the bug to do an MGB with a RV8 after driving my friends V8 roadster, and lo and behold I was talking to my nephew who said he was emigrating to Australia and had to sell his 1975 MGB GT, so you can guess what happened.

Any way it turned out to be a rock solid shell, with only a couple of bit of surface rust and grotty black paint, I acquired an engine and box from a late SD1 together with a pair of 4 pot calipers and we set about the conversion. The 3.5 engine was rebuilt to fast road spec with stage 1 heads 9.75/1 compression a Hurricane cam, steel timing gear Edelbrock 500 carb anf performer manifold, MGRV8 exhaust system and the bottom end was treated to an ARP mains studs Kit to keep the crank in place,

Thats how it stayed for a couple of years because unfortunately sfter finishing the initial conversion I got Cancer and had a major operation and it took me nearly a year to recover, so the MG was just parked in the garage apart from a short run every couple of weeks to keep it in good order.
In the last year with renewed enthusiasm,we rebuilt the front suspension with a fully adjustable double wishbone and coilover system and the rear was given a pair of reverse spring eye rear springs which have lowered the rear 2" and transformed the ride and handling. I also ditched the rear anti roll bar as this made the back end too stiff and caused sudden oversteer.

Finally the car got a new, back to bare metal paint job, and Sebring valences front and rear. the colour is Jaguar Alpine Green metallic two pack and I am absolutely delighted with it, it took me about three months of looking at colours to make a decision but I think I got it right.

And of course I went and bought a pair of Buick 300 heads which meant I had to build a bigger engine!!!

Heres a few pics of the car from the early days and how it looks now.

Kevin Jackson.

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e258/castletine/

ChrisJC · Post by **ChrisJC** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:19 am

Nice.

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:54 am

wow that is a nice colour for a 'B! Sebring valances don't half transform the front end.

Any more details on the coil over conversion? Very impressive!

CastleMGBV8 · Post by **CastleMGBV8** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:35 pm

Olly,

The front suspension is a Moss Kit, I wasn't planning on using their kit but one came up unused on e-bay for £225.00 so I grabbed it.

It's probably not quite as good as the Hoyle kit but is a reasonable upgrade and gives adjustable ride height and damping, the coil over units are Gaz and seem to be of good quality. I certainly wouldn't use Spax anywhere on the car.

I got hold of a spare crossmember, did the small mods to allow fitment of the kit then had it stripped and powder coated, then built it up at home ready for fitting, the front anti-roll bar is 7/8" and we also fitted the Brown and Gammons castor reduction kit to reduce the weighting up of the steering at low speeds and tight corners. The car is now well balanced and handles and grips very well.

Kevin.

JC. · Post by **JC.** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:05 am

I know this car, you submitted some photos to upgrades4mgs.co.uk
Looks a nice tidy conversion.

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:51 pm

Stunning Kevin.!!

CastleMGBV8 · Post by **CastleMGBV8** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:46 pm

Thanks for the kind words, I need all the inspiration I can get, especially at this time of year.

Yes it's one of the cars featured on the Upgrades for MG's site. the guy who runs the site saw some pics I put on the MGB Experience BBS, and asked me if he could feature the car and have a few lines describing the fitment of the Sebring valences.

Kevin.