The BritishV8 Pub

Bought a '77 B in September and just finished installing new leather seat covers. They look great!

Also, just bought a '78 B with a TR-8 V8 engine and transmission. The engine runs but it looks like the clutch is gone! It is red with black interior. It has real nice slotted mag. wheels.

Hi everyone,

I finally got around to registering of the British V8 website. I've always admired the British Sports Cars and especially the cars of the people associated with this website. I'm still working on the wife about getting a British sports car & keeping the Vette as many of you know. See you all soon.

Kelly don't forget to save some of that Dickle for me & Scott.

Artie Clark

Artie, i'm working on a way to ship some out if not availble in the Mountians. One would expect the locals to have top notch drinks :-). Maybe they have 7-ups there?

"Bout time you finally got around to joining the party, Artie! :)

Good day folks,

I'd be Jim Deatsch (deech) and I'm a British Car nut (more's the pity). I've a small business selling used Triumph and MG pieces and bits.

This is my retirement job after many years toiling for Xerox.

I've just purchased a lot of new and used 215 pieces and will be offering them up as I sort through everything.

I'm available at jdeatsch at rochester dot rr dot com for any enquiries, rants, raves.

Many thanks,

Jim

Welcome to BritishV8, Jim!

"a lot of new and used 215 pieces" Hmmm... Did you find any cool "aviation" parts in that mix?

I suppose that remains to be seen Curtis. Once I've gotten that whole pile sorted I'll be sure to let you know.

I'm curious: Is there a setting on your forums that notifies me when there are replies to my threads?

Thanks,

Jim

quote: "Is there a setting on your forums that notifies me when there are replies to my threads?"

Yes. When you start a new thread, there's a box you can check to receive the replies to your thread via e-mail. However, there isn't an option of "subscribing" to a thread that someone else started.

HI!
I'm an old guy who has always loved anything mechanical. However, up to when I retired, my job was either over-demanding or I was under-capable of doing very much with cars and motorcycles. I now have two on-going projects, my '74 Chevy Laguna S-3 454 (a long term job), and a '59 MGA coupe, nearing completion.
I LOVE that MG! I bought it in Davis, CA for $250 in 1969. It had a blown engine, but otherwise was a clean, complete, straight car. Perfect for rodding! If I had done the sensible thing, I suppose I could have restored it... it would have been a good candidate for that... but no, I wanted a Cobra on the cheap, so I traded or sold hundreds of $s of its valuable parts in the pursuit of creating a dream machine.
The car is presently being painted, with the wiring next (I do that), then the interior, by a gentleman who knows what he's doing. This is a radical, but not totally insane car: a Chevy 383 stroker (410 HP) with a TKO600 5-speed trans, a beefed chassis and suspension, and a lot of glitter. On my next posting I'll send along some pictures which do show how well most things worked out for me, mostly through trial and error over too many years. I feel glad to be a part of this website where ingenuity and passions rule. JON

Welcome John - can't wait to see your car.

Hello, My name is Curt.
My first car was a 1960 MGA. Purchased it in 1971 while in high school for $280.00. Sold it 4 years later for $800.00. Thought I had made some money. Forward a few years and got a 1969 MGB. Ended up taking it all apart, painting it and replacing about anything that would make it look better. Ended up selling it to a friend who gave it to his new wife as wedding present. I've always loved the looks and sound of Cobras throughout the years. Stumbled upon this website about a year ago. Liked the idea of getting another MGB with a V8. I've been watching and looking for a while. I live in California so have to deal with the Smog laws. I've been watching for a 75 or older conversion. I finally saw one in June of this year and ended up purchasing it. The person that I purchased it from was the second owner. The first seemed to do most of the mechanical and I believe painted it. He replace some of the interior. He did not know much about the car other then it was supposed to have been built by someone in Texas. Both other owners were also from Texas, Here's what I know after having it for a few weeks. It's a 75 with a 1962 -215 buick, Block code (Hi) , 11 to 1 compression, GM 5 speed. I believe the stock rear end. I've already had several conversations with D&D fabrication.Had one heck of a oil leak from the dip stick hole. Also discovered it had a 600 cfm carb. Horrible gas smell mixing with the oil leaking on exhaust while driving. Now has a 500 cfm rejeted by D&D. also added a PCV valve. Oil leak all but stopped. Fuel mileage went from 12 to 23 MPG. I've attached a couple of photos. Might find out who did the original work.

Very nice looking. Welcome to the group.

Thanks for the add, 65 year old motorhead with a 76 TVR and 62 Jaguar MK II, TVR is Ford Powered and the Jag will soon be. Twenty three year veteran of the US Navy, Submariner, diver and smal boat guy. have been there and done that (no really) and hope to get good info and maybe contribute a pearl of wisdom or two.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2014 10:19AM by blurooster.

Hi all - new member Bill (aka Kernel-K from my military days) here. Had been a 20+ year motorcyclist until 2008 when I had a bad accident and totaled my Harley (fortunately w/out totaling my body), sold the other bikes and diverted my petrochemical mischief to 4-wheels.

I have a 1945 Willys MB military jeep I drive around in parades and for fun and just bought my first MGB a few weeks ago (1977 RB wire wheel with 68K original miles).

I have two years to plan my project (working overseas) with the intent of taking the MGB back to simpler times cosmetically (chrome bumper, clean interior, no side lamps) but hiding a neatly installed 302 crate engine under the hood. I want a total sleeper with 250hp lurking about for street fun. My son is a Ford diesel mechanic so this will be a nice father-son project.

Been doing my homework and enjoying the gallery and how-to's here on the site. Here goes:

Q: Mantell Motorsport 302 kit (modified front crossmember, headers, etc...) Worth the $1995 ? I'm a bit reluctant to hack apart the cross member on my own. I've rebuilt a number of bikes but have little welding experience. The peace of mind seems worth it.

Q: I'm 90% certain I'll go with 15x6 Minilight disk wheels after all but giving up hope that chrome 72-spoke Dayton Wire Wheels would withstand the V8. Thoughts? I thought chrome rims with anthracite powder coated spokes would be too sweet...

Thanks!
Bill

Bill - welcome. You'll get more feedback in the suspension sub-board, but there are a lot of guys with V8 swaps running wire wheels. Check out the pics from the British V8 meet a few weeks back in Colorado - at least 5-6 with wire wheels. Dayton 72 spoke do appear prefered over stock MG wires though... [www.britishv8.org]

Bill..

In the Driver's Handbook you will find a diagram that show how to properly fold/stow the hood. Your top will last a LOT longer if you follow the instructions found within.

Here's a John Twist video of same topic: [www.youtube.com]

Cheers!

Hello all,
I've just joined the forum. I'm just starting the final build of my long delayed Marcos Mantula. It currently has a 3.5 V8 from a Rover P6, but that's going to make way for a new 4.6 Thor V8 as fitted to Range Rovers.

My main project for the engine will be to create a lower profile inlet manifold, perhaps by moving the throttle body position or even fitting twin throttles.

I can't wait to get the Marcos on the road, it should be a great car to drive.

Ian

Welcome to BritishV8, Ian! Mantula 4.6 sounds like a great project.

You'll enjoy building that custom low-profile manifold. I used a 14CUX lower manifold, topped with a home-made plenum - but I considered using a Thor lower manifold. I liked the Thor fuel rail's construction, but its "returnless" aspect seemed more difficult to deal with. Also, the earlier thermostat position worked nicely for me. One cool thing I noticed is that the earlier (14CUX or GEMS) "trumpets" are still the right diameter to possibly work with a Thor lower manifold. Of course, their spacing/pattern would be different, but you could easily use them inside a custom plenum. Here's what I ended up with:

(14cux trumpets inside a custom plenum, for use with a bolt-on throttle body)

i did my first austin healey conversion while stationed at ft sill ok in 1968. it was a 1959 BN6 big healey!.i sold the six cylinder motor and transmission to pay for the ford 289 and three speed manual. i drove the car for a number of years and sold it. i recently found the car in the Nasty Boys registry. i tried to buy it but the owner was not interested in selling. so i am an old guy who loves austin healeys...modified ones. i have a factory bn6 and a 63 bj7 with a 383 sbc and a 200r4 aol transmission. i bought the car in the cincinnati area a couple of years ago. i had to do a lot of work on the car but it is solid and streetable and fast! i do like the automatic and especially the overdrive gearing. i also have a couple of porsches with v8 conversions. one is a 71 911rs look with a dart all aluminum 434 cubic inch sbc with efi...bout 575 chp. i also have a 78 930 with a mast motorsports ls7. this motor is a little over 700 chp! i did both of the porsche conversions.so i am a hotrodder at heart but at 74 years of age starting to slow down a bit. and speaking of slow, the 1958 bn6 is really slow but i love the two seater big healeys!!





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2014 08:19AM by maxwedge5281.

Welcome Larry, the cars look great. Age does tend to intefere with the fun :-) SAFETY FASTER!