Bill, I do indeed see the charm. Long ago while daydreaming it seemed to me
that
a built 2L Alfa w/5 speed would be most interesting is a B. Still sounds neat,
and I've got the Alfa in the loft. Still have the neandethal problem. Can't
quite see a stroked and relieved Merc flatty in the B, but a Rover that makes
power at 7500 really appeals. I would much enjoy giving up what little hearing
I
have left after 30 years of race motors to your C. 3 into ones or ? i hope its
nice and cool up there so you can enjoy the top down this weekend. John
WSpohn4@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 23/07/99 9:57:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> vscjohn@huntnet.net writes:
>
> << I would ultimately like to build something that will capture that same
> character--a 3.5 built to turn serious revs and stay together, less torque
> but
> plenty of top end power, and it will have that one special characteristic
> that no
> 4 or 6 can give.. It will sound like a hot V8. >>
>
> John, another option might be the GM Quad cam DOHC version of their 60 deg.
> V6, which revs like a fiend, and looks like a Maser motor underneath the
> shrouds. Apparently some of the Grand Prix GTX fans are getting pretty good
> power out of them, and using the right chip they redline at 7000.
>
> If you think exhaust is a problem on the B, you should see my other stuff.
> The Fiero engine bay is chock full of turbo and exhaust system, and set the
> trunk carpet to smouldering before I added a heat shield. The Twincam race
> car has headers that barely clear the frame member that goes from the
> firewall down to the front suspension - I have seen people cut these out
> doing swaps on A's, but feel that they are pretty important structurally. Saw
> a V8 conversion in a TR3 once, where they left out the front cross brace to
> clear the 283 - the two suspension towers were slowly folding in to meet each
> other!
>
> The MGC is another one that we made headers for - twin 2" pipes out the back,
> and no real room for silencers any bigger than small glasspacks means that we
> don't boot it in populated areas. It's OK at low rpm and other than wide open
> throttle (although it does have a tendency to set off nearby car alarms when
> you fire it up in a parking lot), but if you floor it, when it passes 3000
> rpm, birds fall out of the sky and strong men swoon. Fortunately, it is
> she-who-must-be-obeyed that drives that one, mostly, and she tends not to
> give it much stoick, most of the time.
>
> Several V8 conversions I've seen on MGBs ran the exhaust out the front of the
> motor and thence under and back, rather than attempting to negotiate the
> narrow firewall area, though I guess if you can get factory manifolds you be
> ahead of the game there.
>
> Your point about how much the frame can accomodate is well taken, but using a
> high tech smaller 6 or 4 can give you as much power as an 8, but without the
> frame twisting torque that accompanies it in a V8, and so you can actually
> get away with a little more top end power, if that's what you are after.
>
> As for me, the killer C and the Twincam race car are about as crazy as I get
> (with MGs, anyway - ask me about Jensens sometime). I've been meaning to put
> a big dollar sign on the Twincam tach after 7500 - best engine BMC ever
> built, IMHO, when properly fettled (*note that I said BMC, as the later rally
> cars were pretty interesting indeed, but built by others).
>
> Now wouldn't a B with the new Honda S2000 engine do it for you, as a modern
> day equivalent? Rev it to 9000 rpm, and 250 bhp in a car that weighs 2000
> pounds? More my style than a hulking (or in the BOP case, perhaps simply a
> squatting) V8.
>
> Have a nice weekend.
>
> Bill
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