| 4.6L Rover motor (with cross-bolted main bearings, etc.). The engine has been built up to 5.0L (i.e. stroked via offset crankshaft grinding), balanced, and blue-printed. It has a roller cam (110 degrees lobe separation, 240-244 duration at 0.050" lift), roller rockers, oversized valves, ported Buick 300 aluminum heads, and JE pistons. MSD ignition and Simple Digital Systems EFI management system. |
| Fuel injected with 40 lb. injectors, open plenum with a 75mm throttle body fed through a K&N Filter; a water injection system is next on the list. |
| The geroter oil pump is inside the Rover front cover, but the front cover was modified so the oil relief valve and a remote filter could be mounted on the fender well. You can thus easily adjust the oil pressure to whatever you want it to be. It's currently adjusted to provide 30lbs at idle, 50 while cruising, and 75 when you get on it. This installation also provided clearance for the stock MGB steering rack. |
| C&R 3" core double pass aluminum radiator; Spal 16" puller and a 12" pusher with a fan controller unit. Coolant is glycol. 25 row oil cooler mounted under the deck. Undersized pump pulley. |
| 1 5/8" thru-fender headers into dual 2" collectors that run straight through high performance mufflers mounted vertically on either side of the fuel cell. |
| WC T-5 with a cruising 5th - great fuel economy on the highway and it's dependable handling the power. The bell housing was machined to ensure proper run-out. Tilton hydraulic throwout bearing (slave cylinder) with a Center Force Clutch. Custom fabricated driveshaft by D&D Fabrication. |
| Dana 44 from a Jeep or mail truck, with 3.73:1 gears and a limited slip differential. (Bought from D&D Fabrication.) It fit nicely under the body kit! |
| Uprated lever arm shocks with comp valves and 20 weight oil; 2" lower racing springs with longer lower arms all sitting on nylatron bushings. 1" custom sway bar with fully adjustable end links making it capable of setting pre-load. |
| Koni shocks on 2" lowered racing springs; 5/8" sway bar; anti-tramp bars and track bars. |
| 12" vented front rotors and 12" solid rotors in back. Wilwood 4-pot calipers on all 4 corners with a Tilton dual master, remote reservoirs and a rear brake proportioning valve. |
| The street tires are 16x8's with Pirelli 225's in the front and 255's in the rear. For competition, the tires are 17x8's "DOT" slicks (225's in the front and 255's in the rear.) |
| 2,089 with a half tank; weighed some five years ago and much has changed on the car: glass, window cranks and all unnecessary weight has been removed. |
| Mix of MG and new wiring necessary to support the EFI, fuel pumps and electronics. 160 amp alternator. Gauges are Autometer comp. No audio! (Weighs too much.) The battery is installed in the LH battery box. |
| The car was stripped and etched before the Sebring body kit with a fiberglass hood was installed. A six point roll cage was also installed however I never liked the installation. The forward track bar mount also acts as a safety catch for the driveshaft. The car has a 14 gallon fuel cell and a 4 gallon surge tank (in the RH battery box) so the EFI system won't ever run dry under cornering. I installed an aluminum deck in the back to add an additional fire barrier between me and the fuel cell. |
| The interior was stripped and painted lightweight door panels were fitted. The dash is original, except stripped of its padding and modified to take the 2 5/8 inch gauges. There's no insulation and the MG rubber floor mats and carpet all slide right out. A friend had a Momo carbon fiber chair and competition wheel and belts which he gave me! The side glass was removed and the window crank assemblies were also tossed. I keep a passenger seat in the car so I can scare folks who want a ride! |
| Unknown. All I can say is it scares me to this day. 1st and 2nd under full throttle go by too fast to register. Just watch the shift light and listen for the rev limiter! 3rd is just silly. 6,000 rpm in 4th puts me at 125 MPH. I can break the tires loose in second at just about any time I want (and too often around corners). The suspension is soft enough that it launches great and tracks very straight. It is as predictable as any factory MG ever was. It handles like a dream, but I could use a new front coil-over set up from Fast Cars. |
| I would tell anyone to invest in the clutch system and the brakes. I had a leaky slave that just made a mess and slopped around and made noise... and it couldn't take the pressure. The Tilton throw-out bearing and Center Force clutch are bulletproof. The drive train in the car is as solid as it gets. The brakes also need to be bullet proof! Stopping from 100 plus is important.
I would also suggest that you assemble the car and then take it apart to have it painted and to do the final assembly. Drive it around dirty for a while first - who cares! - it will look good in the end. I also think you need to think in systems and do your homework. A 300+ (rear wheel) motor with the stock suspension isn't too safe. I am also still finding new gismos and gadgets that I wish I had some years ago... which makes it fun I suppose.
Tim Lanocha of Lanocha Racing continues to be a great resource and is great to work with.
I love it! I have owned a 1970 MGB that my brother bought when he got out of Viet Nam. I got my hands on it in 1982 which is when the affliction began. I started this GT V8 project in 1996 when my daughter was born. While I love tooling around in my stock MGB, smokin' old fogies in Porsches and Vettes (and "tuners"/kids) in the GT makes me as happy as a pig in... |
| June 2003 (although modifications are ongoing!) So far it's been driven about 5000 miles, as of October 2007. |
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