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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Cost of factory V8

Hi all

How much should you pay for a reasonable example?
I'm looking at a factory v8 chrome bumper, I think it's Teal Blue. Externally it looks quite good, internally the seats are a bit shabby and the whole interior could do with a tidy up, but it is quite suitable to use without any work. I know this may be a vague question but there are few factory V8's over here in Aust. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Also, are these cars similar to normal B's with regards to everyday use and normal maintenance?

Cheers

Leith Harwood

Leith,
I could tell you what it cost to completely restore one here in the States, but that wouldn't be much help - it's a bunch more than they are selling for in the UK!

Oh, well, it's a fun hobby and it keeps me out of the bars. Luckily I never tried to convince my wife that we could make money on it!

Cheers,
Paul Kile
Paul Kile

In UK a guideline would be 5000 to 6000 pounds sterling.
David

The prices I've seen in Sydney range from about Au $22,000 for a car in reasonable condition to about AU $32,000 for a concourse winner.
HTHs Barrie E
Barrie Egerton

I agree with Barrie, above, the prices are not as high as they used to be. 10 years ago you could probably have added 8.000 to 10,000 to these prices. I am talking private sale, dealers will tell you differently.
Ian Buckley

David's about right for UK prices, depending on condition you could pay more though (or even less!). Furthermore there seem to be quite a few out there.

Ian Thomson
ian thomson

In answer to your last question maintenance is much the same, one difference that sporings to mind is that the gearbox takes Hypoid 90 and not engine oil. Cooling is pretty marginal, even in a UK summer.
Paul Hunt

Thanks for all the responses guys, now I'm more confused than before!

Ian T: you mention there are quite a few out there, do you mean chrome bumper models or just in general. Are they not as desirable as they used to be? Over here converted V8's are few and far between and very expensive if they're around.

Paul: Is there much that can be done with the cooling probs without going too crazy? My B has a thermo fan and it does the job I assumed the twin fans would have been more efficient??


Thanks in advance
Leith
Leith Harwood

Leith, I mean in general. I haven't done any type of study on which type they are. I just see a fair no. in the ads in Safety Fast and such like places. I would agree with Paul that there is v. little difference in maintainence, though the greater degree of modification on the V8 cars does mean that you need to know what spares you need. The cooling system is a case in point, often having been uprated in some way. There is a lot about this in the archives.

Ian T.
ian thomson

Leith,

I would concur that maintenance is similar to a 4-cylinder car, with a few exceptions. As Paul H. noted, the cooling system is marginal (here in California, mine has problems in the summer, especially at town speeds in traffic).

Minor mods that can help include an uprated radiator (larger core or aluminum), an uprated fan thermo switch from Burlen Fuel Systems in the UK (It switches on at a lower temperature than the original), and a thermo switch manual override in the cockpit. Other more radical mods can help, such as louvers at the back of the bonnet or installing vents at the rear of the engine bay.

Certain maintenance/repair items on the V-8 are more difficult, simply because of the larger engine. Changing the starter can be a 4-6 hour job, because the RH exhaust manifold needs to be removes to get the starter out. The engine mounts have to be unbolted and the engine lifted ~1 inch to allow the RH exhaust manifold to be removed. The Factory exhaust manifolds are also a problem, prone to cracking and leaks, and they are virtually unobtainable now. Many cars now have aftermarket headers installed.

Cheers,
Paul Kile
Paul Kile

Paul K - interesting you should say that about the starter, I picked one up from Clive Wheatley this morning for change probably tomorrow. To my shame I have to admit that I have bought a Nippon instead of a Lucas. Although the motor is smaller (more powerful permanent magnets) the solenoid is larger - in fact the same size as the motor! Clive also reckons it requires significantly less battery current for the same cranking speed, and quote 'never goes wrong' unquote. As it is a bolt-on item I did decide to depart from the factory original, being relatively easily to 'restore' in the future if required.

(I usually (yes, it has been a few times) get the RH manifold (tubular) out by unbolting the track control arms from the stub axles and pulling the rack. Even tubular manifolds can be a pain cracking-wise, I replaced mine as I got fed-up removing and rewelding them. OK, my welding may not be to aircraft standards but I reckon they shouldn't have done it in the first place.

I also have a 25% uprated rad from Clive - same overall size and appearance as the original, and this improved cooling. But the biggest difference to cooling came from measuring the volt-drops in the cooling fan circuits. I found I was losing about 3v at each fan - partly because of bad connections in the 12v feed that wouldn't have been present from new, but about 1v was from the ground wires in the loom. While the feed wires are pretty thick the ground wires aren't. Providing an *additional* ground from a bolt-through terminal under the mounting bracket of each fan made an audible difference. As a temporary bodge to 'overcome' starter motor problems I also recently added a thick brown wire from the 2nd, unused big spade on the alternator to the starter relay. As this again audibly increased fan speed I shall leave it in-situ even when I have replaced the starter. For those who wonder how an additional wire to the alternator can help cranking when the alternator isn't charging, the two big terminals are connected together inside the alt, and the 'other' big terminal goes back to heavy-current cable with a very thick wire, giving a lower-resistance path back to the battery. This also helps the fans, of course, by being a direct connection to alt of just a few inches, instead of several feet and several connections.
Paul Hunt

Thanks for all your comments guys. The cost of the car I'm looking at is in the mid 20's (AUD.)
Now I just have to work out whether to bite the bullet and go V8 or save my money and stay with what I have!

Cheers
Leith
Leith Harwood

This thread was discussed between 23/04/2002 and 29/04/2002

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