MG Sports Cars

Hi guys and a big thank you for the replies to my post regarding engine choice,
The next thing I would like your input on it the best choice of shell, I have a rubber bumper model in mind as apparently the engine mounts etc are already in place to accept the v8 engine, what I would like to know is, is ther any particular years in which to go for, I have just watched "an mg is born" on the discovery channel and a one comment I picked up on was that there are certain rubber bumper cars built during the steel industry strikes and and therefore built using inferior quality metal,
I am trying to work out, 1, if this is such a big issue 2, what year car would be best suited to the conversion. 3 anything else that would affect my choice in purchasing a suitable doner vehicle to start with,
I apologise if these questions have already been answered else where in the forum, I am still finding my way around this site,
Thanks again guys, mike

Don't know about the steel strike issue, never heard that before. The RB cars are a little easier to fit. I think 77 and newer have the radiator moved forward so if you get a 75 and maybe 76, you'll need to move the radiator support forward. That takes drilling out a few spot welds and making a new one or modifying the original.

RB GT

First you have to decide if you want a roadster or a GT. (I personally prefer a GT... but I already have one.)

After that, my advice would be to look for the cleanest shell possible in terms of corrosion damage and old collision repairs. Fixing corrosion is much more of a pain than moving around radiator shrouds, for example.

I don't think there's any "wrong" bodyshell for the job. They all have pros and cons. Here are comments on some of those:

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Transmission tunnels?

MGB racers usually prefer Mk1 roadster bodyshells because MGB shells got heavier over the production series. (Racers add roll cages, so all the things MG did to make bodyshells stronger over the years are pretty much irrelevant to them.) For our purposes, the early shells are very inconvenient to use because they have skinny little transmission tunnels.

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Dashboards?

Which generation dashboard do you like? I like the Mk1 (steel) dash best, but putting one in a late model car is a pain... (ref)

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Corrosion?

If you want to build "the ultimate" MGB V8, in my opinion you should start with a new Heritage bodyshell. I'm not aware of any significant difference in the steels used during MG's original production period... but the new Heritage bodyshells do use superior quality steel plus it's electro-galvanized on both sides at the mill plus the bodyshells are E-coated after assembly. Besides that, you won't be dealing with metal fatigue, or corrosion, or removing old paint, or the flaky work of previous owners (e.g. bad speaker installations), etc. etc. etc.

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Chrome vs rubber bumper?

If you want to build a replica of a factory MGB GT V8, then by all means start with a rubber bumper GT. A Rover V8 will bolt right in... but the problem is, most of us don't much care for rubber bumpers or for the rubber bumper ride height! The cost and effort of converting a rubber bumper car into a chrome bumper car and lowering it is substantial! One aspect of that conversion is welding little filler pieces under the taillamp assemblies... which frankly is more of a pain than moving the radiator shroud, plus it's in a really conspicuous place in case you do it badly. Rubber bumper cars come with the wrong front crossmember and with the wrong leaf spring mounts, and to top it all off they weigh more too.

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Hubs?

Swapping between knock-offs and 4-lug hubs is both expensive and inconvenient. Personally, I agree with MG designer Syd Enever about spoked wheels - they never belonged on any MGB, period! They especially don't belong on a V8. There are a few alloy wheels available for knock-off hubs, but you'll pay a premium price for them and size selection is very limited.

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Motor mounts?

Installing your own motor mounts isn't particularly difficult - and if you do it yourself you can put them exactly where you want them. MG's motor mounts weren't anything to write home about. Maybe that's why so many people who use MG style mounts feel compelled to come back and add supplemental engine steady rods as an afterthought! (There are several articles and threads on this website about making your own motor mounts.)

Swapping between knock-offs and 4-lug hubs is both expensive and inconvenient. Personally, I agree with MG designer Syd Enever about spoked wheels - they never belonged on any MGB, period! They especially don't belong on a V8. There are a few alloy wheels available for knock-off hubs, but you'll pay a premium price for them and size selection is very limited.

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The correct wire wheels will work nicely, but be ready to pay lots of money for them. Are they strong? YES
Alloy wheels with knock offs----big NO to heavy. Stock LE wheels they flex but not as much as a stock wire wheel.

When buying wheels buy the newer engineering. You have plenty of wheel vendors in the UK.