MGB & GT Forum

I'm building an MGB GT for daily street and tour useage, as well as fun competitive club events. Does anyone have horsepower and torque comparisions for a nicely tuned 1.8L carburetted, the same engine with supercharging and the typically nicely built BOP V8 or other V8s which fall into the same weight category and relative ease of conversion of the aluminun BOP 215ci V8 or Rover variants?

I am reckoning on around 110-115 hp on my 76 B motor bored 30 over with twin inch & half SUs and a 285 degree cam. I don't know what kind of torque to expect but more than stock. Zero to 60 about 10 seconds, hopefully a tad under.

What would I be looking at with a Moss Supercharger with the head machine-mated to the manifold, big valves, and the same cam?

What are the numbers of a nicely prepped street reliable V8?

After doing a lot of prep work on my GB engine and installing the Moss blower, the power numbers are are close to 140 flywheel HP and a huge increase in torque. A '67 will require a lot of cutting to install the 215 BOP engine and it won't be reversible. I put 13 hours into porting and polishing my head as well as matching up the manifold ports. The biggest challenge was in setting up a flexible ignition system that delivers good power when running NA as well as when under boost. I went with a GM based HEI distributor made by Davis Unified Ignition systems in Tennessee. This, coupled to a MSD Boost Timing Master, gives me excellent control of spark advance under all conditions and prevents detonation. In fact, I rarely down shift anymore. I simply go into and out of OD when required. RAY

easiest and cheapest way to a fast MGB.......

Or a fast GT.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-MUSTANG-GT-SHOWROOM-FRESH-ONLY-27K-MILES-SAVE-BIG-/270695005811?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f06adfe73

I would imagine the hp of a v8 to be 140-150 hp with 180-190 torque.

With a V6 you can achieve that and more!

I did the SC conversion on my B about 10 years ago. I bought the SC from HI-FLOW in
Australia and have probably done 50K since installation. It took one week-end to install and about 1 week to fiddle with mixture/timing etc. The absolute BEST change I made to the car. It's not about horsepower but TORQUE - it feels like a steam train and just pulls and pulls. I rarely have to go about 4500 rpm - the best feature is the acceleration from 40mph onwards without cahnging gear - works great on the freeway when you have to get around somebody. I had it dynoed a few years ago at 96HP at the wheels.

in my view - this is a real alternative to to a V8/V6 conversion.

just my 2 cents

gerry

...but who wants to haul all that fiberglass around

at least when I install tires big enough to handle the horsepower....it doesn't look like a Hot Wheels toy........

Har, Har Lloyd.

(Of course Corvettes coming out of the factory have always looked like Hot Wheels, just not as finely detailed.)

Thanks Ray and Gerry for the input. Looks to me like the path will be normally asperated, get her on the road, hopefully by early summer. (Been shoveling 8 inch of fresh snow out of my drive-quit laughing Lloyd) Drive it until I save the pennies to make the jump to supercharging (or get involved in some other project). Certainly the performance gains seem to be relatively the same as a BOP V8 and the cost of doing the V8 conversion properly begins about $2,000 higher and will take me a year longer than just adding the supercharger. I also appreciate the 50K reliability report, Gerry! This is my biggest worry with the B Motor. I like my British cars to be as reliable as possible. That may be because I've never owned a new one.

We put a modified Olds in our 79 last year. We started with a high compression engine that was factory rated at 185bhp, the addition of Land Rover cylinder heads, fast road cam, headers and free flow exhaust will have improved that although we haven't dynoed it yet. We only have a few 1000 miles on it so far but a couple of days ago, at 11 degrees F, after sitting for 6 weeks it fired up at the first turn of the key.

---

Nulla tenaci invia est via



1971 MGBGT, overdrive, Limey relay and fuse kits, Rick Ingram struts all round, Jeff Schlemmer points distributor, mgccars.com alternator, Basil Adams camshaft and side cover, Eurospec tail lights, 1976 dashboard and console, 1999 Chevy cavalier seats, GM heater motor and fan with Ford 3 speed controller, Ford Merkur/Sierra parcel shelf, cruise control.

1979 B, Olds 215 engine with 1996 Land Rover heads, Carter AFB, Camaro T5 gearbox, Limey relay kit, Rick Ingram struts all round, mgccars alternator, Jeff Schlemmer distributor with Petronix, Eurospec tail lights, cruise control, 99 Pontiac Sunfire seats.

1969 MGBGT, Miata seats, late centre console, apart from that it's stock!

Purpose-built supercharged B, 150 HP, 150 lbs/ft.

Ford 302 crate motor, 340 HP, 310 ftlb, weight very close to the same as the B engine with SC, costs a lot more, takes a lot more work to install, but OMG is it fun!

150/150 with a SC would be a lot of fun too.

So would a V6, or a BOP/Rover V8.

Come on over to Townsend, TN in May and have a ride in one of each, talk to the folks that own them, and then decide.

See http://www.britishv8.org/British-V8-Meetings.htm for details

Another Supercharger MGB here. 143 Horsepower and 145 ft-lbs torque, BHP/Flywheel. On the street: 114.3 Rear wheel horsepower and 128.1 ft-lbs of torque. As stated, it is the Torque that makes a supercharged MGB so fun to drive.....

Ray

Here you go...

ROVER 5.5 LITRE

8 THROTTLE DRY SUMP WITH HALTECH
SPORT ECU
515HP AT 7200RPM
415FT 1LB TORQUE

And it will just drop into your 'B.



http://www.triumphroverspares.com.au/page.asp?parentid=8&parent2id=34&productid=648


My little 1.95 litre dyno'd 110 at the rear wheels

Eric, with over 400 ft lbs, what have you done to the rest of the drive train? Must be a real blast to drive.

---

Don Nicholls
Ontario Canada
1970 MGB Roadster "mellow"
1940 Chev Street Rod
1965 Chev Pickup restored
1965 Chevelle Malibu original

"I get to drive them when the wife says I can"