Mike Maloney's 1974 MGB-GT with 3.9L Rover V8
as published in BritishV8 Magazine, Volume XVI Issue 2, October 2008Owner: Mike Maloney
BritishV8 UserID: RMO_699F
City: Tipp City, OH
Model: 1974 MGB-GT
Engine: Rover 3.9 V8
Conversion by: Tom Hoagland
(as photographed at British V8 2008 in Port Washington, WI and British V8 2016 in Townsend, TN)
Engine: | Rover 3.9L V8 rebuilt with 9.35:1 compression ratio pistons (stock bore) and a 10-10 grind on the crankshaft.
Crower 50230 camshaft.
Duplex timing chain.
Upgraded oil pump.
Remote oil filter.
Buick four-barrel intake manifold.
Edelbrock 500 carburetor.
Pertronix "Ignitor" breakerless ignition.
Pertronix "Flame Thrower" coil.
Delco-Remy alternator. |
Cooling: | later model ("rubber-bumper") MGB radiator with inlet and outlet ports
repositioned (i.e. the original port locations are blanked off.)
Spal electric cooling fan (pushing). |
Exhaust: | MG RV8-style (through-the-apron) 4-into-1 headers going into a single muffler. |
Transmission: | Borg-Warner T5 (nwc) 5-speed, with 0.073:1 fifth gear.
10" clutch with McLeod HTOB.
Custom driveshaft. |
Rear Axle: | Clive Wheatley 3.07:1 CW&P installed in the MGB axle.
(0.218 thousandths removed from original MGB carrier.) |
Front Susp.: | standard, with castor reduction wedges fitted (to reduce steering effort). |
Rear Susp.: | standard, with tube shocks in lieu of lever shocks. |
Brakes: | standard MGB brakes. |
Wheels/Tires: | Konig "Rewind" 8-spoke aluminum wheels, 15x7 with zero offset. |
Body: | Complete MGC-GT "Sebring" body kit, including fiberglass flared fenders and valances. |
Interior: | Mountney 14" steering wheel. |
Electrical: | MGB wiring harness, refurbished.
Two 12V batteries hooked up in parallel with separate grounds, in original battery boxes. |
Completed: | 5/1/2007.
Approximately 3,000 miles driven as of British V8 2008. |
Comments: | I originally purchased this car from a Ford dealer in San Angelo Texas.
The previous owner had traded it in on a "150" pickup! It came with the
Sebring body kit and also had a fiberglass MGC hood with an extra hood
scoop. (It now has standard MGC hood.) I originally installed a Chevy 4.3L
V6 obtained from a 1988 Astro minivan. It ran with a 3-speed automatic.
The V6 headers were piece cut and tack-welded from three complete sets
of tubular Astro van headers. I never was happy with this arrangement and
when Tom Hoagland offered to install the 3.9 V8 in 2007, I jumped at the
chance. The Clive Wheatley 3.07 CW&P was installed by Babbitt Bearing
in Columbus, Ohio. I highly recommend these folks. |
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Konig Rewind 8-spoke aluminum wheels.
New Compomotive ML 8-spoke wheels in optional black finish. (2016)
(2106)
Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishV8.org.
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