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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Small Chevy into a C?

I was looking at an engine-less CGT shell and thinking, hmmm, that car was designed for a 700-lb. motor, couldn't one just install a Chevy 350 with a T-56 behind it and be done with it? I mean, obviously there are complex issues to sort out, but there is about as much room in a C's engine bay as you can possibly get ... and by rough reckoning, she'll fit. Has anyone ever tried this? I mean, I do truly love the Rover V8, but a small block would simply be divine.
Ted

Hey Ted,I was able to do it to a MGB I am sure it can be done to a C,I say GO FOR IT!!!!!
Dave

check mine out!!!
http://pages.prodigy.net/chevy_dave/mgb.html
Dave

Super! Surely you can bag that inconveniently positioned distributor and just put a crank trigger on there, no? You must have had to seriously re-rig the front suspension to deal with the weight. Your car is certainly neat; I was going to try for a bone stock exterior & interior just for the hell of it (maybe a little more meaty tires!)
Ted

Ted, check out the C threads about how these cars handle with a 700 pound engine up front. Not bad, but not a quick and agile as a B. There should be plenty of room for almost any V8, and a small block Chevy is about the lighest except for the Rover/Buick. If you're not completly power hungry, think about another inline 6. A 4.0 Jeep six and 5 speed from a 2wd would fit well and look almost original and still weigh a lot less.
Bill Young

Don't know the present engine weights, but an iron head SBC was 550 lbs. and an iron head SBF was 450 lbs., but it's cheaper to hop-up the Chevy and it's weight is concentrated farther aft than the Ford. The Ford is about an inch and a half narrower, but the sump and oil filter are awkward. You'd have to install an old Mopar hemi or early Olds if you wanted to maintain the original weight.<G>
George B.

I'VE HEARD OF THE GM V6 BUT A JEEP INLINE TELL ME MORE
AND WHAT OF A NISSAN 3.0 I'VE READ THAT THIS IS A VERY
WELL ENGINEERED MOTOR.
ANY COMMENTS
JEFF

George B -- that's it, a Mopar 440 Magnum 6-pack in a CB B with a Dana 60 4:10 Sure-Grip rear end!!! But seriously, I wonder if any living human being has ever tried shoving a Mopar into an MG. Two of the coolest things in the world ... not sure the combo would be so cool, but heck you never know and it would be un-American not to give it a whirl sometime.

(Jeff, we appreciate y'all's enthusiasm but keep them Japper V-6s out of it ... talkin' 'bout V-6s in this forum's like wearin' a beanie inta church on Good Friday ... it's like parkin' yer Yamaha scooter outside a Harley bar. OK, so I don't win no PC points, butcha get muh drift.)
Ted

ah ted did you see bill's comments and the only reason I think v6 or inline 6 is no cutting required
just in case I decide to get anal and go back to original spec's and v6 offers that cheaper too
jeff

bill you sent me something but can'nt seem to open it try again
jeff

Speaking of Mopar engines in MGB's, today I was offered the chance to drop a built Dodge 383 into my B. I've had bearing trouble for awhile and am unsure of what to do about rebuilding/replacing the engine. For awhile I thought I'd keep it stock, but I want more power without having to extensively modify the engine. However, I think a 300-hp 383 might be a little bit much.

Does anybody know anything about putting a 383 into an MGB/C? It could fit with new motor mounts and with the radiator moved forward, but would require a hood scoop due to the height of the carbs.

I park my B next to a friend's project Barracuda, which is the car that has this engine in it. He said he'd give me the engine and trans (auto) for whatever I wanted - but other than the B I'd have no place for such an engine (My other cars are a Peugeot 405 and a Renault R4).
Alex

Alex, you have to go for it!!! How can you not?
Ted

Put it in yhe R4.
Derek Nicholson

Putting the 383 in the R4 would create a car that could beat a McLaren F1 in a drag race - but it would also be virtually impossible to control (1300 lbs, designed for an 850cc four) and deadly in a crash.

Plus, the R4L is extremely rare in this country (never officially imported) and the car is fantastically original - including its bi-plane bumpers. The 383 is also too wide - the R4 has steel inner wings that are structural and can't be easily cut.

However, I am toying with the idea of actually doing this to the MG. Does anybody out there know how difficult it would be or what kind of front suspension modifications I'd have to make? Such a car would be Group-B rallycar kind of fast but would be very hard to control. Also, would I have to flare the rear fenders out to accomodate enough rubber to put the power down?
Alex

Ted started this thread with an MGC in mind and my comments about using an old Mopar hemi (394, 426?) in order to maintain the original weight were somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The B is not nearly as robust in the front end as the C, and using an engine weighing in excess of a hundred pounds more than the original four might make a great dragster, but would take a major engineering feat to make it handle in corners. I personally don't like moving the radiator forward to fit an engine, preferring instead to move the firewall back, making the change irreversable. This can drop the resale value of the car. Fitting a free engine in the car will probably cost considerably more than rebuilding the original engine. I am a fan of engine swapping, but there are a lot of caveats.
George B.

Well, at the moment it's an idea that's *very* far from happening. Personally, I think anything over 300cid is just too big for an MGB, but a free engine and gearbox, especially ones that are freshly rebuilt by a pro, are hard to resist - but not so hard that I feel beholden to do this. I also treasure my MG for back roads, if it turned it into a dragster it'd just be a Camaro in a pretty costume.

I don't necessarily agree that moving the radiator forward or aside can't work, but in this case I do agree. The Lancia Fulvia has it's engine in front of the front axle, and it's a world-renowned good handler.

Don't worry though, the 383 isn't my dream engine. I'd rather put a supercharged Buick 300 in it, since that engine weighs less than the Rover V8 and delivers 100 more hp stock. Unfortunately it's also a $3000 engine and for that much I could have a perfectly rebuilt, performance-tuned B-series installed and ready to run.
Alex

Sorry, that should read "Buick 3.8 liter supercharged V6".
Alex

I am Looking for moreinformation reguarding the 350 chevy into a shoebox....B. Have Motor and 400 trans. Motormounts and exhausts info would be grand.
John

This thread was discussed between 28/11/2000 and 11/12/2000

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