MG Sports Cars

I first got the urge to swap a V8 into a Healey back in high school in 1967. Finally doing it now: [forum.britishv8.org] I saved some of my old magazines over the years involving V8 swaps into LBCs and have a scan from February 1969 Hot Rod of TV actor Monte Markham's 289 swap into an MGB. If you'd like a copy, shoot me a PM with your email addy.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2010 06:59AM by HealeyRick.

Quote:

......TV actor Monte Markham's 289 swap into an MGB....

No doubt influenced by JIm Stabe's 289/MGB conversion.
This was not an unusual swap back in the '60's. There was a BMC dealership in St. Catherines, Ontario that converted several - I remember seeing a brand new blue 1968 MGB GT converted with a 289, toploader 4-spd xsmn and Halibrand mags selling for the princely sum of $3500 in a Hamilton dealership showroom.
BMC finally stepped in and advised the dealership to cease and desist!

re: BMC finally stepped in and advised the dealership to cease and desist!

In their infinite wisdom.

Thanks for the scanned article, Rick! I'd seen a photocopy of that before, but I'd forgotten about it. Very interestingly, the article is actually about removing a previously-installed Ford 260 V8 and upgrading to a new Holman-Moody built 289. No mention of who or when that previous conversion had been completed. Markham's car may have been one of the very earliest MGB V8 conversions. Markham is still acting, and I've been meaning to track him down and ask those questions.

Graham

If the article was in the 1969 HRM, it predated my swap by 2 years. BTW, my swap in the Engine Swap book was a 215 Buick into the MGB with a Jag rear end. The car (same one, what there is left of it) is now getting an LT1 Chevy with C4 Corvette suspension. There is a writeup on the build in journals section here.

Curtis,

I'm an actor and Screen Actors Guild Committee Member. I'm not allowed to give out members personal information, but I could get Mr. Markham's agent contact info for you. Let me know and I'll contact Monte through his agent and see if he is willing to be contacted; some actors do, some actors don't. I haven't met him personaly but I'm told he is a really nice guy. He is filming at this time and it might take a little time.

"P"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2010 06:32PM by pspeaks.

I emailed Mr. Markhum's agent this morning, we'll see if he responds. I'll ask around the SAG office and see if anybody knows him.

"P"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2010 01:39PM by pspeaks.

Hey Paul,
Well I would say you must know Universal Soldier Brent Anderson ! Are you in production ?
W Smith

Actually Brent and his wife Angela are good friends and he and I have served on SAG committees together. Brent is the current President of both SAG and AFTRA here in Dallas. He has a film in post production called “Traveling” but I don’t know of anything he is working on right now. I’m not in production as I avoid work as much as possible in favor of my T-Bucket, or my Harley, or working on my MG. A person has to set priorities you know :-)

I knew he was the SAG President there and I figured you just had to know him, don't know how you could not. Do you know Chuck Norris , another really nice fellow and is he still doing that Texas Ranger gig, I don't watch much TV , too busy . I have one more project to do and when I get through I am going to do some traveling.

I worked for Mr. Norris off and on in the past, he is a really nice guy, but at the end of the day he was my boss so you would have to ask him if we were friends ar not. Walker Texas Ranger is still in re-runs but the show ended production many years ago; then he did commercials for exercise equipment, I don't know what he's doing now. I know what you mean about traveling. For most of my adult life I flew for a living and saw the world from 30K feet, I'd to get a little closer look. I drive the Harley and T-Bucket much further than most but I'm really looking forward to taking a trip in my MG again. I've had it for over 30 years and drove it from Dallas to LA when it was a 4 cylinder more than 20 times.

"P"

That makes since he would not be still doing the show because he is 10 years older than me so that makes him 70. I have seen the commercials , hard to believe Carlos is 70 man he looks good, but then I have people tell me they thought I was in my mid to late 40,s .I stayed in Torrance Ca. one summer in the early 60's with a friend of mine and tried to get some training from Bruce Lee . Bruce told me I was too young , undisciplined and a waste of his time. Kind of hurt my feelings at the time but I had only had three years of training at the Dallas YMCA so it was true . I still learned all I could about jeet kwon do and was a big fan of Bruce Lee. You know Carlos or Chuck Norris as everyone knows him trained with Bruce Lee, I actually cried when I heard Bruce had died. I don't think I missed a single episode of The Green Lantern ! Everyone here is going what was The Green Lantern and who is Bruce Lee ! I just saw a bike build off where the guy put a mono shock under the seat of a hard tail. I need to do that to my hard tail maybe I could ride it with my bad back more than 5 or 10 miles at a time !
Take care Paul ,
Will

The Green Hornet. ;)

I liked the Green Hornet too. I'm 67 and due for a knee replacement; a day on a 700 pound Super Glide Custom with a few trinkets added leaves me looking for my recliner. I know some day I'll have to go to a trike, maybe a conversion kit, but I'll stick it out as long as I can.

Yeah, I've been thinking about trading in the old Snortster for a long legged enduro of the big bore variety. Cushy ride, light weight, electric start, lights, highway speed, and go anywhere on road or off. It's been a real long time since I rode cross country. Come to think of it, the roadster is getting long legs too.

JB

I had a 07 1200 Sportster before the Super Glide and it would kill me even after a moderate ride. The Glide is a fuel injected 09 twin cam 6 speed and it is really great on the road. The most I've done in a day is about 500 miles but then again I knew how old I was when I got home, as soon as I got it I put a forward control kit on it and that helped a lot.


"P".

Mine's an old iron head 1000 with long legs and forward set. It'll make yer eyes wide but can give ya cramps after awhile. As a youngster I rode from Vallejo to Grand Forks, then Tulsa and on to Milton, W.Va. in the last half of May. Cut a big Z across the country. Did the Tulsa run in two days in the rain. That's 1000 miles, and quite an experience but it was on an old Norton Atlas 650. That was a good old bike. I've forgotten how long the whole trip was, but it was epic. Lots of good memories from that one.

JB

That sounds like a fun trip, I wish I was still young enough to do it. Many years ago I rode a 650 Bonniville from Dallas to San Diego in three days but there is no way I could do it today, even on the Glide. Last February a group of us did the "Ride the Rio" in Big Bend and had so much fund we are planning to go again next February and stay a couple of extra days. Last year we trailered but this year everybody is saying they want to ride. There is pictures on my Face Book page. I just came in from the garage and I'm happy to say the radiator in my GT is finaly bolted down. I need to take some current pictures to show everybody how it's going.

I envy all who can ride on long trips , when I was in my third year of college I had a Honda 350 I rode back and forth to school and a dirt bike I would ride all weekend but I hurt my back playing football in junior high and when it would hurt I drove my car. Kept me out of the war, I tried to join the Navy and they would have no part of me . They thought with that disc I would not make it through basics and they would have to pay me disability . My dad said he was glad , said our family had made enough sacrifices , his older brother was killed in World War Two and dad was blown off a tank he was hitching a ride on and left for dead. Mom was a WAC in WW2 and had more stories , dad would not talk about it , I think he saw more than he wanted to remember and I never pressed him.
Mom on the other hand had all kinds of cool stories , she was in communications and was in the map room at the Pentagon when the general that flew over there and got the troops out that were surrounded at the Battle of the Bulge came in and looked over the situation before going over there and getting them out. She worked in a town the they built just to house all the people working on the bombs they dropped on Japan , I think it was called Oak Ridge Tenn. and I believe it is still there today, a real town. She said they picked them up at their house in a bus and took them home. She said the place was crawling with secret service. She knew when they were going to drop them and where, she had top secret clearance , I thought that was really cool, my mom real life Money Penny ! Ha! Ha!

My dad would never talk about his WWII experiences, either. He was with the USAir Corp Flying Tigers in the Chinese Theatre.

I have some great photos of he and his buddies on the tarmack - with B17s, P38s, etc in the background.

His brother, for whom I am named, was killed in action at the Bulge on January 5, 1945. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously for his actions that day.