MG Sports Cars

Well, I had an unexpected free Saturday morning and the new 370HP crate motor was ready to drop, so I decided to put her in, It was 100+ here in Texas but the time was right. Lots of bits and bobs to do before she is ready to fire up, but the hard part is done. It was a great time to improve my original swap. I got the motor straighter in the engine bay and dropped it 5/16 in the front and 1/2 at the trans mount. This gave me much better air cleaner clearance and the motor sits at 4 degrees, which I think should be OK.

The original motor was a pretty stock 5.0, making about 250 to 270HP, so it should be a huge HP upgrade.

Some of these are fuzzy, sorry!

Consider rethinking the air cleaner, Keith.

LOL Carl, everyone says that but its the only one that will fit. It sits under the GT6 hood bulge with about 1/2 inch of clearance. Ive used these for decades with no issues. good flow as long as you replace the filter every 6 months. There is an internet legend that the filter can be sucked down into the motor but with the new birdcage version, that would seem impossible.

Having said all that, Once she is running again, I am going to measure again for a 1.5 drop, 14 inch open top air cleaner. Just eyeballing it though, it still looks like it wont fit.

Most of the bits and bobs back on the engine. Need to drop the radiator plus a lot of work under the car. Headers come back from ceramic coating Friday. Estimating 12 hours of work left (read that as 24 hours) before 1st firing.

The one on my S10 disintegrated. I certainly did not change it every 6 months, though. I

I read a filter shootout many years ago in one of the car mags. That filter did not do well. What about an oval filter?

Carl, that would be perfect especially if it is available with a drop base. I will look for one like that but do you know offhand where you got it.

I got the motor all prepped Saturday and primed the oil pump, stabbed the distributor and she fired right up. Did a break in run and then took her for a short cruise. The motor has a nice lope at idle, but idles better than the stock type motor. It was 97 degrees out and she did want to heat up a bit but all in all she runs great. Now I just need to get 500 miles on her so I can see what she will really do. Oh and get the 373 pois S10 rear set up for her, maybe a better electric fan, a big brake kit, better body work...you know how it goes. Never Finished!

This is the AIR CLEANER I have been pondering for awhile: [www.jegs.com]

Seems like it would flow well and not lose horsepower. I did get my motor 3/8 inch lower in the chassis this time around but I just cant quite tell if I have 1.5 inches of room under the hood. Cant figure out a good way to check that.

Quote:

...I just cant quite tell if I have 1.5 inches of room under the hood. Cant figure out a good way to check that.

The usual way - with a wad of plasticene, strip caulking or equivalent.

I use Play-Doh

The Oval air cleaner is Graham's. It's part of his new Cowl Induction setup. Looks to be a K&N.

[www.craigscobras.com]

[www.knfilters.com]

[www.knfilters.com]

Yes, Ive used playdoh before. I guess cut a 14 inch circle from plywood and then drill a hole to fit the carb stud. then sit it on the carb and stack up playdoh about 3 inches thick and close the hood. Then measure the playdoh thickness.

Guess I haven'
t thought about it enough! :)

Chrome oval air cleaner is Speedway Motors I think. The filter part is K&N or other washable type. I plan to use the same one sideways like the Tiger in my Alpine.

Perhaps a filter from Spectre, altho I'm not seeing anything below 2".
[www.spectreperformance.com]

Or something like this?
[www.spectreperformance.com]

Ivor

OK, thanks guys. I did some measuring and my current air cleaner is 2 1/4 above the carb and has about 1 1/4 inch clearance from the GT6 hood scoop I have on the car. So I ordered the cheap 12 inch oval air cleaner from Speedway. With some milling of the air horn area and some pinging her and there, like I did with the current air cleaner, for accelerator pump rod clearance; I hope to get it sitting at the same height. If that works out, I will add a good KN type filter element and hopefully a mesh top for additional air flow.

Can a ram air system sealed to the GT6 scoop be far behind? :)

Put another 5 miles on the car today driving it to a dentist appointment. Almost made it worth it! I forgot what a blast this thing is to drive!

I got my oval air cleaner from Speedway in 2 days. After milling off most of the air horn it fits better than the ProFlow. Here's a pic of the install and a view from the drivers seat that is kinda cool. Seems like I have enough room so I ordered a high flow mesh top. That's gonna be tight but I'm hoping there's room.

Much better!

I've seen that air cleaner before.....looking good Keith!