The BritishV8 Pub

Hi folks!
I've been a British car owner, off/on for over 40 years. Daily drivers (to work) includes 61 Alpine and a TR3-B but kids and changing family needs altered the plan along the way. Life happens!

Nearing retirement, I took on a 9 year, frame-off restoration of a 1935 MG-PA. While I think she's a real beauty, 37 hp, mechanical brakes, a non-syncro crash box, etc. left me longing for serious performance.

I'm now deep into a 71 MG-B mod with a V-6..T5 setup and the plan is to drive it to Texas next May. Had a blast in the Smokies as navigator in Bill D's black "rat rod" MGB-GT last year and observed track day in Indy in 2010.

Don

HI.

I,am daz from halifax in the uk. I,ve just got myself a 3.9 v8 rover engine to which i will be starting to fit into my mgb 1980 soon,
what iam looking for is as much info and pictures as possible and it looks like this is the site for this information

Also any local meets in the yorkshire area

one of the first things looking at is what box to fit

cheers all.............. DAZ

Hi ,just found your site and was instantly hooked on the cars ,one in particular .A 3.5 red de trimmed stag . I woud like to know how bmw mini alloys fitted the car ?,they look great so i tried to fit one of the wheels from my wifes cooper s but found that the wouldnt fit !!! .If anyone can inform me as to what i would need to do ,that would be great .
Many thanks steve

Hello, my name is Willard Moore from Geneva on the Lake, Ohio. Believe me, I'm the only Willard there. The town is only 3 miles long. First of all, I haven't fooled with hot rods since I was in my teens. I'm turning 57. I've been riding and collecting motorcycles for over 30 years and decided I'm tired of them. I was looking to trade my Harley Road King for a Roadster, T-bucket or hot rod. My girlfriend didn't like that plan. I looked for a stock MGTD that I could afford or trade my bike for, but I found that most people that have an MGTD are older and would rather have money than a motorcycle. I decided to make the girlfriend happy and bought a kit car, happened to be a 29 Mercedes with a Chevette motor. I still wanted to have a hot rod and found a '48 Hillman Minx convertible to convert to V-8. But just a week ago, on Craigslist in the middle of the night, I saw a 1950 MGTD with a V-8 in it, local and affordable. It hasn't run in over 30 years. So I guess what I'm asking is: Where do I start? What do I change? Can I keep it old school hot rodding as it's set up now? I'll start a photo journal asap.

Welcome Willard. Looking forward to the photos.

Welcome everyone!

---

Willard, that TD is VERY cool. I like the paint (patina!) as it looks now. I believe I'd be tempted to just get it running and drive it a bit before making too many decisions about what to change. Make sure to take lots of "before" pictures... and of course lots and lots of in-process photos. It'll be a very interesting project. Did you buy the Minx too? They're so nifty! (Please post your follow-ups in the MG and/or Other-British forums so we can keep this here thread from going too far off the rails.)

What engine does it have?

JB

Hi all, my name is Rick Parent and I have been a race fabricator / mechanic / engineer / designer / crew chief / and on and on including chief dog poop picker upper since high school. I am looking forward to the forums here. Some of my current projects include a dog ring gear box for Spitfires and several race motors.

This is one of our cars... [www.britishracecar.com]


Rick

Hi, Jim
To answer your question about what engine is in the car at this time, it's a mouse infested 400 somewhere in the 70's. It had a 6-pack on it that was removed long ago. The mice also climbed the upper radiator hose and built a nest in the original radiator. It's hooked to a power glide. It has a 9" Ford posi that has not been cut to fit under the fenders.
I'm going to clean it up, mount an intake and carb on it, change the oil and try to start it. This motor was put in here 32 years ago, prior to that it had an early Corvette engine. Thanks for the interest -- talk to you later.

welcome aboard Rick.

Hi,

My name in Winston Wood, and live in Houston, TX (Clear Lake suburb). I just purchased this little beast and am in the process of getting it shipped to me:

[cgi.ebay.com]

I'm glad to be joining the community and hope to participate in some meets soon! I understand that the British V8 2012 meet is here in TX (why during the work week?), as is the 2012 national Triumph meet. I'll be spoiled with everything so close during my first full year of ownership :)

You got one heck of a deal there Winston!
Now that you have the dates and venue for British V8, you can start planning now.
Hope to see the new set of wheels in Palestine next May.

Nice find Winston. I'm amazed that they got the SBF in there and got the hood shut on it, and I suspect somebody spent some serious time to make that happen. Anyways, welcome.

JB

Welcome aboard Winston. Looks like you got a great deal! I'm up in Cypress, will PM you my email. Maybe we can hook up at an event around town... I almost drove down to the balloon fest last weekend but my son had a marching band competition and someone had to chauffeur.

Thanks for the warm welcomes! I'm really excited about getting the car. There will be a few projects right off the bat, but it will be good fun. I'm glad you guys are in agreement that it was a good deal. I thought so. I doubt that I could build it for less money given the nice condition of the base car (before all of the modifications), even if the labor was free.

-Winston

P.S. Rob, I'd certainly like to get together at some point. That's half the fun of having a cool car!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2011 10:36AM by Winston.

Hi. I'm a newbie, a 71-year-old retired toy designer in Southern California. I've owned a number of engine-swapped cars, but none of them British. I've owned a few British cars, but none of them swapped.

I don't need a new project now, because I have a couple of active ones as is, and I don't have the energy or money to manage more than 2 at a time. But I've been thinking that I'd like a V8 MGB-GT, and it's never too soon to start thinking about it.

Here's one current ride, which is more modified and faster than meets the eye:



...and here are a couple of past pleasures, just to indicate a bit about my tastes:





If anyone cares to offer gratuitous advice regarding a V8 BGT, I'm all ears.

WELCOME,
With a GT, you won't have to "put the top up". Seriously, I think you wil like the GT. I have a Hardtop and use it during the Winter, You know,"our winters are Extreme". temps drop below 15 degrees sometimes! :)

Hi, I'm new to the group and have a '61 MGA with a Buick 215 aluminum block V8 which was allegedly built by a fellow with the nickname of Gyro Gearloose.

Hello, all. i have been a british car fan since a child. well, actually any interesting car. my current ones 1976 mgb whith Rovers SD1 and Rover 5 speed. 1968 mgb gt 1.8lt with nissan 5 speed, Lotus seven replica with toyota 3tc and 5 speed, 1930 ford model A pick-up waiting restoration.
Mi name is Romney and i live in Boise Idaho.
JUst joined this fantastic forum.

Brian, I don't remember where, but I've seen pics of that car somewhere before. Recall the Gyro Gearloose name and the frenched in tail lights. Seems to have been restored since because I don't remember it looking that good!

Romney, welcome aboard! I haven't been up that way in a long time, but HP has a facility there. The one time I did go up there it was Steelhead season so I took a few days off and made a side trip to the Clearwater river. Had a blast. Can't wait to do it again!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2011 10:25PM by rficalora.