The MGB will have a new engine later this year !

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:47 pm

The Rover V8 is being rebuilt to as new spec and will be up for sale when its done. Complete with the blower assembly.

The MGB's new engine will be a SBC lump. I have finally given up on the Rover now. She has done well and if I had fitted the wheelie bars last year when I should have done it would no doubt have run a high 8 pass on the strip on its last pass.

The new core enngine is a 4 bolt 350 lump. I now have a dual quad tunnel ram inlet with two 600dp's + MSD Digital 7 ign + gear drive for the cam + MSD billet dissy + a pair of Brodix race heads on their way from Jegs. The next purchase will be a forged 383 rotating assembly with pistons to give me 12.5:1 CR.

Then when I have saved more pennies the roller cam + lifters and rockers will be ordered. This will mean that the engine can be assembled. Then I will need to save to buy all the little bits like starter motor, sump pan, alternator, rocker covers, water pump, the list goes on a bit

But at the end of the day I should have an engine that will do what the Rover lump did without even taking a breath. Then i can turn the wick up a bit and roll into some serious numbers on track without stressing the engine at all

Perry

Blown v8 · Post by **Blown v8** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:32 am

Good luck with all you do

volospian · Post by **volospian** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:26 am

Sounds exciting! How much work will the engine swap be? Fitting it in, mating it to the existing 'box, etc.?

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:30 am

Awesome sauce mate!

That engine sounds wicked and your old rover should fetch a pretty penny for sure.

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:42 am

volospian wrote:Sounds exciting! How much work will the engine swap be? Fitting it in, mating it to the existing 'box, etc.?

The long term plan from 2006 was always to end up SBC powered. The MG already has a Chevy autobox fitted so the new engine will bolt straight on.

The plan is to fit the gearbox and lower the whole lot in so the box can be fixed to its mounts. Then we will see where the engine mounts need to go

ChrisJC · Post by **ChrisJC** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:52 pm

I can't believe you are spending all that dosh, but still having a bloody distributor on there!

Philistine!

Chris.

P.S. Are you going to do any body shell mods?, to stop it corkscrewing it?

Eliot · Post by **Eliot** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:56 am

Not tempted to run forced induction then?

bigaldart · Post by **bigaldart** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:05 pm

Perry,

Sorry to see the Rover give way to yet another heathen chevy

But you will need a blower to get the same thrill! Keep it blown because everything else sucks lol!

Alan

Cobratone · Post by **Cobratone** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:24 pm

I went from a 300+bhp NA Rover to a 450+ NA chevy, best thing I ever did

Eliot · Post by **Eliot** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:06 pm

Cant help feeling you are going to want forced induction at some point not very far away - that c/r isn't going to let you.

SimpleSimon · Post by **SimpleSimon** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:36 am

I cant blame you to be honest at this level your at the RV8 is maxxed out and why not move on then are so many nice alternatives from the states, in fact I take my hat off to you for staying with the RV8 so long and achieving what you have done

cammmy · Post by **cammmy** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:21 am

Eliot wrote:Cant help feeling you are going to want forced induction at some point not very far away - that c/r isn't going to let you.

Methanol

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:13 pm

cammmy wrote:
Eliot wrote:Cant help feeling you are going to want forced induction at some point not very far away - that c/r isn't going to let you.
Methanol

ERM!!! NO

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:38 pm

The build spec has drifted a little now ?

As I have decided to take the year off racing I'm saving pennies each month as I'm not buying fuel and nitrous + food and drink and paying track fee's etc. Actually its about £200 a month as an average.

SOO!!
I've bought a pair of new Brodix 225 heads which look awesome

I'm going to hog out the block and throw in a new 396 all forged stroker kit as its the same price as the 383 kit but gives me an extra 200 + cc for free, but I will need to make room for it with the die grinder. I wont be able to choose the rotating assembly until the block has been checked and the bores tidied up as I dont know what the final bore size will be yet ?

So far the build spec I have planned thanks to Kiwicar AKA the Brainworm should be capable of handling 1000hp. With the carbs alone the na figure should end up around 700hp if all goes to plan. The top end will be build with twin nitrous plates as spacers for the time being. And I have a new pair of 250hp solenoids in the spares box now ??

If I win the lotto I would love to throw out the tunnel ram setup and put an 8/71 on top of the engine. But I cant see that happening anytime soon as the funds are being soaked up by the work on the house with a conservatory being put in + a new wc downstairs and a conctrete base required for my new 10 x 13 shed so i can clear my garage and actually get the MG back inside for the first time in 3 years !. Then theres the cost of three 6 yard skips to clear all the garden crap out.

I have bought all i can for the Chevy now. I need to get the new built Rover up for sale so I can buy the rest of the Chevy parts I need.

I do have to admit that I am looking forward to dropping the Chevy in at the end if August this year so I can work out and fabricate engine mounts and then plumb it all in for a fire up

I have already bought the zoomies so Martin will not want it on the dyno which is a bummer. I would love to know what it puts out after it has been run in a little. So i guess I will need to see what happens on the track in 2016 ??

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:59 pm

I guess one thing I should say is:

The Rover V8 has been a really great engine for me over the last 13 years. I say "the Rover V8" but by that I mean the generic engine, not this actual engine. This actual engine is the 9th new build for the MGB. And its the one that has turned out the best as it has a lot of custom made parts inside.

I have learnt a lot by trial and error. I have learnt a lot by reading what others have done over the years with their Rover V8's. This is both professional tuners and diy guys like myself.
I am happy to say that if I had not made the mistake last September that the MGB would no doubt have run 8 seconds on the strip. But that would have been with the Rover running on the ragged edge as usual with the next failure just around the corner.
So its time to rebuild the Rover to its old spec and move it on to someone who can have some fun with it as it will be a great engine for a hot rod project who wants to run good times on the 1/4 mile.
In order to put the Rover back in good order I have a new crank being offset ground and a new set of chevy rods being altered the same as my old rods so they will fit as two of the rods showed heat marks on the big end caps due to two spun bearings. The rotating asembly will be balanced as well. The refurbishment will be around £1500 all in.

I will be offering the engine up for sale on here when its done. I wont bother putting it together as I guess the new owner would like to bolt it all together himself ? The refurb will be around £1500. I will be putting the whole engine up for sale for around £5k. That will be a loaded block + heads and roller rocker and cam gear + the inlet manifold and 4/71 blower + a big Edelbrock carb and bug catcher scoop. The blower alone is £3600 to buy so this with a new engine should be well worth £5k I reckon ?

What do you guys think ?

The V8 Owners Forum -

The MGB will have a new engine later this year !

The MGB will have a new engine later this year !

Another one down the path