MG Sports Cars

I'm thinking of doing a V8 or V6 swap in an MGB. 1969 and older MGs seem to bring more money, but does that matter when the car has been restomod. The next factors would be ease of conversion and suspension suitability. I would like to make a street legal track car. The few cars I have looked at seem to have splits in the metal at the vent window. What's up with that? I have found a running '69 for $2500 to a non running '77 for $500. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Chris, the later MGBs have some differences in the shape of the firewall and transmission tunnel from the earlier cars and are easier to install V8s or V6s into. The downside is that the Rubber Bumper cars are a bit heavier due to the bumpers and their supports and also were raised to meet bumper laws. It's generally easier to modify a later car and then lower it and remove the bumpers and convert it to a chrome bumper car than to start with a chrome bumper car in the first place. For a conversion you don't need a running car, so save yourself $2000 and get the '77 and use the money to convert it to a chrome bumper if you want. The swap will be easier and save you time and money on that end as well.
The cracks in the doors near the rear view mirror are fairly common, usually refered to as "the crack of doom" and pretty easy to repair with a bit of welding and a reinforcement placed behind. The movement of the vent window as the door is closed over time and the vibration of the mirror add up a to fatigue spot in the door skin.

Disclaimer: This advice is based on the assumption that both bodies are about equal in the amount of rust present. Rust is way more difficult and expensive to fix than any mechanical problems. The '69 might be a bargin if it's basically a rust free car and the '77 is well rusted.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2010 04:22PM by Bill Young.

Thanks Bill, sounds like good advice.