MG Sports Cars

...led Merv Hagen to replace a perfectly good 215 with a hot new Ford "Boss 302" crate motor!

See all the details here: Merv Hagen's 1966 MGB with Ford "Boss 302" V8 Crate Motor (29 photos)

preview:

Outstanding job. Very good looking setup. I'm impressed that the stock hood clears the distributor cap. These Ford V8 swaps could be the better choice. There are plenty of Ford T5 transmissions available with bellhousings to match. Simplifies things a little.

The idea of a crate engine has its appeal, but, since this is a custom/bespoke installation seeking more power, I'm a little curious to know why it wasn't stroked.

Also, the gas mileage seemed a bit poor, but that must be because of the cam and induction used. My stock 86 Mustang GT gets well over 25 mpg (5 speed, 2.?? rear gears). Massive torque in these roller cam engines.

I haven't seen much use of SEFI on the Ford/MGB V8 swaps. That's a pity, it's an excellent system. I think the Thunderbird intake manifold is a lower profile item and could help with hood clearance. That's the route I'd try to take if I do a Ford swap.

I read a report about the early roller blocks having thicker cylinder walls. A shop had done a sonic survey, then bored the engine out to at least 4.100". Also, a twist on the Ford configuration - aluminum Cleveland heads, just for the bragging rights. On a bored and stroked Windsor, that would be pretty intimidating. Edelbrock makes the 4 bbl intake for this swap.

Stunning............!

The T-Bird SEFI fits under the stock hood Nicely

Nice looking install

Joe

Ford Racing claims this setup puts out 345 hp (I assume at the crank). Yet your car only dynoed at 258hp with 268ftlbs of torque at 6000 RPM at the wheels. That's a lot of drivetrain loss. What do you think caused the difference?

I'm new to this game. Are these numbers normal?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2009 07:17PM by motek.

Ford's #'s are very optomistic and are flywheel ratings. Merv's had only 500 miles on the engine and no tune. The Ford crate engine had the E-Cam and the Z heads. That combo could show 300+ hp at 5000 RPM at rear wheels. The std. crate motors rated at 340 flywheel usually show around 260-270 RWHP. Drive Train loss on a std. trans usually is 15%-18%. Ford's figures are Best Case #'s. They do not usually show up outside of factory tests.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2009 08:11AM by kstevusa.

George, Possible explanation for Dyno reading, is the fact that engine, trans and rear end were all still brand new (about 2,500 miles) .

When I picked MG up from Pete, the paint was still drying and due to time constrains and new drive train, I am quite sure that engine never had a chance to be tuned, other then initial requirements to get it running.

Basically I only had time to put 500 miles on MG, so that I could change the break in oil and then I left for British V8, so this trip was actually drive trains maiden voyage, and the 1st time MG did 6000 RPM was when it was on the Dyno,

Pretty sure that now that I have around 11,000 miles on drive train, that Dyno readings might be better, but either way it doesn’t really matter as this drive train combo is such a joy to drive,

Joe's comment about FI is well taken, as engine was not real happy when it got over 12000 feet on Pikes Peak.

Merv

Thanks. It sure is a pretty build.

George