Henk-Jan Vonk's Rover V8 Powered, Fuel Injected 1977 MGB
as published in BritishV8 Magazine, Volume XVIII Issue 1, December 2011Owner: Henk-Jan Vonk
BritishV8 UserID: hjv271
City: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Model: 1977 MGB
Engine: Rover 3500cc V8
Conversion performed by: owner
How It Was Done
| Engine: | Rover 3500cc V8, with 9.35:1 compression ratio.
Stock Rover 3.9 camshaft with Cloyes Duplex vernier timing chain/gears set.
Rover 3.9 EFI intake manifold and throttle body.
K&N air filter.
Rover 3.9 "Green" fuel injectors.
Lowered fuel rail.
KdfI (Megasquirt based) ignition and fuel injection computer.
Eight separate ignition coils, mounted near spark plugs.
One Bosch wideband lambda (oxygen) sensor.
RV8 low profile rubber motor mounts, with 5mm spacers added to provide clearance to the steering shaft. |
| Cooling: | uprated MGB V8 radiator (with 4 row core.)
Standard MGB Oil cooler. |
| Exhaust: | RV8-style four-into-one headers.
Single muffler and tailpipe. |
| Transmission: | LT77 5-speed manual transmission, mounted on a modified MGB transmission crossmember.
SD1 clutch slave cylinder. |
| Rear Axle: | standard MGB. (Will be uprated to MGC-spec soon.) |
| Front Suspension: | GAZ coilover shock absorbers - see below! |
| Rear Suspension: | stock MGB, except upgraded with GAZ shock absorbers |
| Brakes: | (front) uprated to factory MGB GT V8 spec (i.e. thicker rotors.) (rear) stock MGB. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Minilite 14"x5J aluminum wheels with 185/70R14 tires. |
| Instruments: | standard instruments.
(A divider permits use of the standard tachometer.) |
| Exterior: | no body restoration was required, except for a serious paint job.
Complete new fascia.
Painted blue bumpers.
Blue mohair RV8-style convertible top. |
| Interior: | modified (narrowed) MGF seats in blue alcantara and black leather.
Modified wiring with all high current circuits switched by relays, and separately fused. |
| Fuel System: | standard MGB fuel tank.
Bosch 3.5 bar fuel pump. |
| Weight: | 1040 Kg. |
| Completed: | initial V8 conversion, with S.U. HIF carburetors, was completed in June 2007.
After about 5000 miles, the car was upgraded to electronic fuel injection,
using Rover 3.9 (14CU/14CUX) mechanical components. The EFI conversion was
completed in October 2010. The car has been driven over 1000 additional miles
as of December 2010. How does it drive? The power is almost linear from
1200-4700 rev! |
| Comments: | this MGB was imported to the Netherlands from California in 1986. It had
originally been spec'ed as a North American car and it was one of the first
twenty-five 1977 model-year MGBs built in August 1976. After coming to the
Netherlands, the car was stored for 10 years. |
Engine Installation
Rover 3500cc V8 with crank-fired electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection.
Throttle cable connection.
Throttle body plumbing and position sensor connections.
K&N air filter.
Rover 3.9 "Green" fuel injectors.
Preparing to mill 15mm off the bottom of the plenum base.
Next, preparing to mill 5mm off the top of the plenum base.
Thirdly, milling 7mm off the bottom surface of the plenum cover.
Of course the point of all that milling is to provide hood clearance, as shown here.
KdfI (Megasquirt based) ignition and fuel injection computer.
Electronic ignition / EFI computer mounting, wiring, and heat shield.
KdfI fuel injection schematic drawing.
KdfI fuel injection connector pin-outs.
Henk-Jan's original V8 installation featured S.U. HIF carburetors.
Crank-fired ignition system, featuring eight individual ignition coils.
Crank position sensor and tone wheel.
The coils are located quite close to the spark plugs.
RV8-style headers.
The engine on an engine hoist. Note the iron housing of the LT77 transmission.
MGB transmission crossmember modified to support the Rover LT77 5-speed transmission.
Rubber vibration mounts for the transmission.
LT77 5-speed transmission gear selector mechanism.
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Front Brake Plumbing
Alternative brake tubing routing.
Brake tube routing behind the upper control arm attachment.
A custom aluminum sheetmetal heatshield between exhaust headers and brake plumbing.
Front Suspension
Henk-Jan came up with a very clever way to install coilover shock absorbers on an MGB.
He gutted the original Armstrong lever shocks, but left them to function as upper control arms.
The pivot rod has been machined and now the coilovers mount directly to it.
The coilovers come right up through the base of the old shocks, so some cutting was necessary.
(A stash of spacers for centering the coilover shock absorber.)
The spring pan portion of the lower control arm also needed to be cut away for clearance.
Henk-Jan welded mounting ears on, and installed GAZ adjustable shocks.
Interior
Modified (narrowed) MGF seats in blue alcantara and black leather.
Passenger-side cable feed.
Fuse blocks.
Relay banks.
Buss bar.
Exterior
No body restoration was required, except for a serious paint job.
Minilite 14"x5J aluminum wheels with Anthracite finish, and with 185/70R14 tires.
V8 and British flag badges.
Some very nice photography!
Windblocker.
