MG Sports Cars

engine swaps and other performance upgrades, plus "factory" and Costello V8s

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ex-tyke
Graham Creswick
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
(1165 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:17AM

Main British Car:
1976 MGB Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: ex-tyke
Date: May 14, 2019 05:56PM

Good one, Rob.
The strobe effect will lull the competition to sleep


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: May 15, 2019 09:17AM

Huh. Not quite what I had in mind but it does have a sort of playschool appeal.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: May 25, 2019 04:17PM

Cam sensor 3.jpg


MGBV8
Carl Floyd
Kingsport, TN
(4511 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 11:32PM

Main British Car:
1979 MGB Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: MGBV8
Date: May 25, 2019 06:39PM

A Robo dizzy!


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: May 25, 2019 08:18PM

Yep. Mr. Roboto.

Actually, a cam sensor for the BOPR with the LS engine controller. The 3rd one I've made, all different designs. Come to the EFI tech session at the BritishV8 meet to see them all plus much more.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: November 25, 2019 01:10PM

The wiring for the GM EFI is now all done. Needs some checks done and a bit of program changes, mostly to accommodate the firing order plus some general tune up and maintenance. Should be firing it up in another week or two I think.

Jim


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: rficalora
Date: November 25, 2019 09:50PM

Looking forward to the start up report Jim!



Scott68B
Scott Costanzo
Columbus, Ohio
(561 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:30AM

Main British Car:
1968 MGB GM 5.3 LS4 V8

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: Scott68B
Date: November 27, 2019 09:40PM

I'm also looking forward to that Jim!


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 07, 2019 09:31AM

Fittings for the coolant drains came in today, that's the last thing I think, before the programming work. Soon I will have no more excuses. I'm fitting 90 degree 1/8" NPT street "L"s to the block then pipe nipples, then valves. That way it will be easy and convenient to drain the block into a bucket instead of all over the bottom of the car and widely distributed on the floor.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 17, 2019 11:54AM

Rolled the car off the lift yesterday. I've been in negotiations with a couple of tuners over the last week concerning the initial tune. Issues about running boost and changing the firing order need to be resolved. One is clueless about the firing order and the other wants to do a custom OS and add tables for the boost, meaning being married to EFILive as a tuning suite instead of freeware, which I'd rather avoid. But it does have more capability. They run separate licenses for cars though so the issue is avoiding multiple license charges if, say I wanted to tune with my laptop, desktop, or android phone.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: May 15, 2020 12:05PM

Looks like HPTuners is going to get the nod. One of the more expensive options, and it costs $100/ECM to use plus $300 for the adapter (software is a free download) but it is the most refined tuning suite I've come across so far, seems pretty intuitive and easy to use for the most part, comes with a library of stock and custom tunes, has an active user forum which seems to have a friendly culture, and probably the single most persuasive item, has real time tuning (RTT) which I came to rely on with MS. So it fits my tuning methodology. It also has easily understood and used histograms which you cut and paste into your tuning tables to make adjustments easier. Lastly there are a lot of u-tube videos, some of which are professional grade instructionals. So I expect I will make that purchase today.

The time I have spent so far just getting to this point would pay that cost many times over.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: June 16, 2020 01:11AM

Today (technically yesterday now) was a day of success. Once again I have pulled off a coup that nobody else has ever done. It was a long hard challenge, far beyond what I expected, but now that it's done I feel that the results are worth it. Let me just say that I had a lot of help along the way, and all of you who did have my thanks.

So, without further adooo, the Buick 340 now lives under GM control via the junkyard P01 ECM from a '01 Silverado programmed with an operating system that was from an '02 Camaro courtesy of my friends at GearheadEfi.com/forum with a 2 bar mod from HPTuners and parts of a tune from a guy I don't even know called Country Boy and other sources plus a great many U-tube videos. It has COP, all the GM sensors and now probably runs better than it ever did before, even after only one day of tuning efforts. That will only get better.

So I think this probably ends this 340 thread. The goal has been achieved. Sure there is more to be done to the car, but there always is and those can be posted elsewhere.

Were I to start over would I go this route? No, but about the only thing I would do differently would be to build the engine based on the 300 block instead of the 340 and use the TAPerformance heads. In fact, that engine including heads is at the machine shop today. I also still have the 8 speed and an upgrade to the GM E67 Controller and TCM from a 2014-2016 Cadillac might find it's way into the car sometime in the future. Other plans include completion of the AC system along with a new dashboard design, completion of the active wing controls, and possibly a new front suspension design with proper onboard height control. But for now I'm just going to drive it.

Jim

Jim


MGBV8
Carl Floyd
Kingsport, TN
(4511 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 11:32PM

Main British Car:
1979 MGB Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: MGBV8
Date: June 16, 2020 09:19AM

Fantastic!


mgb260
Jim Nichols
Sequim,WA
(2461 posts)

Registered:
02/29/2008 08:29PM

Main British Car:
1973 MGB roadster 260 Ford V8

Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: mgb260
Date: June 16, 2020 04:02PM

Jim, Cool! Any pics of the COP's.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: June 17, 2020 11:27AM

Only thing I have right now:

IMG_0002.JPG

IMG_0001.JPG

IMG_0003.JPG

IMG_0002.JPG

Jim



BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 31, 2022 12:21PM

Update: It has been awhile and although the blown and intercoole 340 turned out to be a pretty good engine but with a couple of flaws. It was fast revving and made good power but the copper head gaskets were a mistake as coolant leaks continued to be a problem. Also the extra height of the intercooler put the scoop right in the sight lines and I didn't care for that.

So a little over a year ago I bought a low mileage iron head 2bbl 300 and swapped it in while the 340 came out for an upgrade to felpro a lower profile intake and general refresh. The general plan has evolved since then and now includes late Rover heads and a roller cam. More on that later.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: January 01, 2023 02:44PM

At the present time I actually have 3 engines for the roadster. It's a little redundant I admit but eventually it should make sense. I have the engine in the car currently which is the iron head 300. This is the base engine that came with a 2bbl intake and 9:1 compression and weighed 50lbs more than the alloy head engine of 1964. I refer to this engine as the "Mule" and it is a very serviceable powerplant for the car. I've done the oiling mods and it shows over 60psi with 5w20 oil. Also fitted the alloy 4bbl intake, an adapter and my Enderlie style scoop, port injectors, COP ignition, '02 Camaro ECM and of course the big equal length headers. As fitted I estimate the Mule puts out about 250hp. To fit the 300 the headers use port spacers and an extra set of gaskets, I use the Rover MLSS gaskets here exclusively. This engine just basically fell into my lap as they do from time to time, was a 50K mile engine and cost me $350 and a short drive. So after checking oil pressure and leak down I put it into service to act as the backup power plant and it cost me very little to do so as the ancillaries were mostly a direct changeover from the 340.

Prior to buying this engine I had begun a new build based on a 300 block and 350 crank. This engine was to be the ultimate replacement for the 340 and has been "Modernized" in every practical sense. It has the latest light weight Wiseco forged hemispherical dish slipper style pistons, a roller cam with .544 lift and 264/274 duration, plate type cam retainer, main cap stabilizer plate, and TA-Rover heads with the heart shaped combustion chamber, .040" squish, 1.9/1.6" titanium valves, 350lb beehive springs, TA SBC 7/16" stud type roller rockers and will get the Eaton M112 blower as soon as I can build the intake manifold for it. Otherwise it gets the ancillaries that are on the Mule. It has solid lifters and may get stiffer valve springs at a later date to extend the rpm range if I feel it is warranted. The plan was to make this the final engine build for the car, things may or may not work out that way.

The 340 came out because it needed seal work on the rear main (remove hash marks) and new head gaskets which meant at least pulling the crank and heads. As it turned out it was a good thing I was able to move this part of the project up due to acquisition of the mule. Inspection showed that antifreeze that had gotten past the copper head gaskets into the oil had caused wear in the bearings. This had been reflected in a slight drop in oil pressure. So the engine was torn down for a more thorough refresh to include new bearings and crank work as needed. This engine was originally built with the alloy 300 heads, Scat 7" rods, and light weight Venolia slipper style pistons with a thicker crown for blower service. Experience indicated that it was overbuilt in a number of ways as the as-installed boost pressure of 6psi gave more than enough power for the car, meaning an intercooler, copper head gaskets, o-ringed decks, and thick piston crowns were not really required. If the goal was to race the car then yes the boost could have been increased to gain more power but this car's purpose is as a daily driver and there are such things as reasonable limits.

IMG_0001.JPG

In comparing heads it came to light that I could deepen the dish on the Venolia pistons by 20cc, substitute a set of late Rover heads which are close in flow to the 300 heads, and the engine would then accept the TA heads if that was ever desired. Because I have a set of those heads on the stroker it made sense to do that and I was able to score a set of heads off an '02 four liter Disco at the P&P for $160 including the valve covers. If I sell the covers on ebay that results in quite a score, dropping the cost to under $100 for the set. The resulting crown thickness in the center of the pistons is a bit over 3/16" which should be plenty. Since this engine is also now slated to get a roller cam the main issue has become finding a suitable set of valve springs We've been working on that along with a set of adjustable roller rockers to fit the stock rocker shaft. The mule will eventually end up with the alloy 300 heads as that is a direct swap and increases the value of the mule up into the $1200-$1500 range. The low mileage iron heads should then fetch a reasonable price from the Buick enthusiasts, so nothing goes to waste.

Why complete both of these higher output builds? Mainly because circumstances have just lead in this direction and the extra cost to do so if comparatively low. There will be a time requirement to build the new low profile blower intake but that was going to happen anyway. Spacers can make it usable on the 340 as well as the 300 or I could build another intake for the 340 as I do have a second blower but I also have a 4bbl 340 intake (only available in iron) so any of these engines can be fitted for N/A or boosted use. The 10-1/2:1 CRs limit boost but will also work well N/A, in either case an acceptable outcome so there is a great deal of flexibility in the configurations.

And then I still have the old unfinished chump car project out in the shed. That's a good solid '74.5 shell that I may consider using as a basis to build a new car. Already have the engine and most of the running gear so in a couple or three years it may make sense. The roadster after all isn't quite as straight as it might be. In that case the 340 could go back in the roadster and the stroker in the '74, perhaps along with the 8 speed. Time will tell. After all, I also want to build the parasite car for the bus RV.

Jim


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: November 28, 2023 10:30AM

Started the reassembly of the 340, first step was to install the new roller cam and this involved making a cam stop for it. As with the 300's I installed a brass plate behind the cam gear.

IMG_0038.JPG

Locating the two bolt holes is a little tricky as you have to miss the oil journals but it works out fine. I drilled a couple holes in the plate for oil drains. Presently waiting on a new rear oil seal and head gaskets but the rest is ready to go together except for the rocker shafts and pushrods. Have some work to do there.

Jim


Airwreckc
Eric Cumming
RTP, North Carolina
(246 posts)

Registered:
05/28/2020 10:10AM

Main British Car:
1972 MGB-GT (working on a Sebring project) Buick 300-4 V8

Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: Airwreckc
Date: March 07, 2024 09:20AM

Jim, I'm intrigued by your approach of using an LS ECU and HPTuners on your 340. I wonder if I could use the same approach on my 300/350 stroker as I intend to use some sort of off the shelf throttle body and probably stick with the Rover injectors (unless they turn out to be limiting--would be easy to upgrade them). I'm thinking this could be better than using the original Rover ECU or going with Megasquirt?


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: 340 upgrade
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: March 07, 2024 10:24AM

Eric, I'm presently running the ECM out of an '02 Silverado on my iron head 300 and will be using the same one on my stroker. It's a much more robust controller. Cannibalized a few junkyard harnesses. There is both free and not free tuning software. I like HP Tuners (easier) but PCMhammer and TunerPro RT have more versatility for things like transients tuning. Picked up 3 ECMs at the pick-n-pull for like $40 each and can clone them for spares. Running a modified Camaro tune. I have two issues: I have to bump the starter twice to start the engine (Have a new tank with an in-tank pump that I hope will cure that) and I have a lean then rich spike when shifting. Hoping to fix that with TunerPro this spring. Aside from that it runs very well.

If you use the '411 ECM (most popular) you must choose either throttle cable or FBW. The controllers are not both the same.

Jim
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