Tony Gentile's 1974.5 MGB with stroked Ford 302 V8 Engine
Owner: Tony GentileBritishV8 UserID: exfed12825
City: Waterford, Pennsylvania
Model: 1974.5 MG MGB
Engine: Ford 302, stroked to 347cid.
Conversion by: Greg Beishir
How It Was Done
| Engine: | Ford 302, stroked to 347cid.
Engine assembled by Todd's Automotive Machine Shop in St Louis.
Bessel Motor Sports race prepped block with splayed 4-bolt mains
and 1/4" gusset plate in the lifter valley.
The crank is a no twist forged unit, custom ground by Bessel.
Manley H beam connecting rods.
Speed Pro digital diamond domed pistons with valve relieve.
11:1 compression ratio.
Spin balanced rotating assembly.
AFR 205 aluminum cylinder heads with minor flow work.
Crower roller rockers 1.65:1 ratio.
Dual conical valve springs.
Erson RL962 hydraulic roller lifters.
Erson hydraulic roller camshaft, 234°/242° at 0.050", 0.584" lift.
Ford Racing valve covers.
Edelbrock Super Victor intake manifold.
FAST XFI 2.0 electronic fuel injection control module.
MSD billet distributor.
MSD Digital 6A capacitive discharge ignition.
MSD HVC Blaster II ignition coil.
Taylor Spiro Pro 8mm spark plug wires.
MSD RPM Module Selector (8670).
MSD RPM Activated Switch (8950).
Fuel and Spark Technology (FAST) four-barrel throttle body.
FAST fuel rails (model 30351).
Precision Flow 39# fuel injectors.
Tanks Inc. 15 gallon fuel tank, built for fuel injection.
|
| Cooling: | Griffin aluminum radiator (Ford Mustang size, part number 7-565BC-FXX).
Electric fan.
|
| Exhaust: | Fast Cars Inc. "RV8-style" four-into-one headers and collectors.
Doug's Headers side pipes for Corvette.
|
| Transmission: | Tremec 600 5-speed manual transmission.
Wilwood master cylinder.
Fidanza aluminum flywheel.
McLeod single disc clutch and pressure plate. |
| Rear End: | narrowed Ford 8.8 axle.
3.73:1 gear ratio.
Traction-lok differential.
Speed and Specialties finned aluminum cover.
|
| Front Suspension: | Fast Cars coilover front suspension.
|
| Rear Suspension: | custom four link rear suspension, plus not one but two Panhard bars.
Strange Engineering adjustable coilover shock absorbers, model 81587.
QA1 coil springs.
|
| Brakes: | (master) Wilwood master cylinder. Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve. (front) Wilwood calipers and rotors. (rear) Ford disk brakes. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Ford Mustang GT V6 aluminum wheels (16x7, 5x4.5" lug pattern, offered 2005-2008).
BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp-2 tires, size 215/55ZR16.
|
| Body: | bumpers deleted, both front and rear.
Custom paint job (GM white number 8554. Ford red number 6726.)
Custom crate style grille.
Driving lights hidden behind grille.
Mk3 (vented) front apron
Austin Healey style recessed/round front turn signals.
Shaved side marker lights.
VW Rabbit rear fender flares, installed front and rear.
Louvered front fenders.
Hood pins.
Two level hood scoop.
Stainless steel cowl vent screen.
Polished windshield surround.
Vitaloni "California" side view mirrors.
Bimini style soft top.
Frenched license plate.
Alpena LED (hidden) license plate lamps.
Shaved back-up lights.
Shaved exterior fuel filler.
Preform Resources rear valance.
MGB Mk1 taillamps.
Custom nerf bars, front and rear. |
| Interior: | stripped down and painted Abingdon-pillow style dashboard.
Custom glovebox.
Custom center console.
GM-style tilting steering column.
Lokar parking brake lever (EHB-7000F).
Clarion NX405 CD/DVD player.
Aiskaer antenna.
MGB seats with headrests removed, reupholstered by Classic Car Studio.
Electric seat and back heaters.
Custom dual roll hoop with integral headrests.
|
| Instruments: | Autometer gauges, left to right:
volt meter (8-18V),
tachometer (0-7000rpm),
speedometer (0-120mph),
coolant temperature (100-250F),
fuel level (E-F).
Smiths oil pressure gauge (0-100psi).
AutoMeter oil temperature gauge (100-340F).
VDO clock.
|
| Electrical: | Vehicle speed sensor mounted on rear axle.
Delco-Remy alternator.
Pollak battery disconnect switch.
|
| Performance: | 375 rwhp and 341 ft lbs at 6600 RPM.
Quarter mile: 9.8 seconds at 146 mph (on dynomometer). |
Engine Installation
Ford 302, stroked to 347cid, delivers 375 rear wheel horsepower at 6600 RPM.
AFR 205 aluminum cylinder heads with minor flow work.
Wilwood brake and clutch master cylinders. Note: one remote reservoir required.
Wilwood adjustable brake proportioning valve.
Fast Cars "RV8-style" through-the-fenderwell, four-into-one headers.
Fuel and Spark Technology (FAST) four-barrel throttle body and fuel rails.
Precision Flow 39# fuel injectors.
MSD Digital 6A capacitive discharge ignition.
Delco-Remy alternator, on a heavily reworked mounting bracket.
MSD billet distributor.
Griffin aluminum radiator (Ford Mustang size, part number 7-565BC-FXX).
Finned air cleaner.
Idler pulley for the serpentine belt set-up.
MSD HVC Blaster II ignition coil.
Oil separator.
Pollak battery disconnect switch, mounted upside down so its terminals are
accessible in engine bay, whilst it's lever can be reached from the cabin.
Front Suspension
Fast Cars coilover front suspension.
Art Morrison Enterprises sway bar spacers.
Fram Racing oil filter, mounted remotely behind drivers-side headlight.
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Rear Suspension
Narrowed Ford 8.8 axle.
Four link rear suspensions are often supplemented by a fifth link, called a Panhard rod
to locate the axle side-to-side and also define the roll center of the suspension design.
This car is unusual because it has two different Panhard rods installed. This one
is rearward of the axle, level to the ground, and at about the same height as the axle.
A secondary (apparently redundant) Panhard rod is installed forward of and below the axle.
Vehicle speed sensor on axle's propshaft flange.
Double shear.
Speed and Specialties finned aluminum differential cover.
Strange Engineering adjustable coilover shock absorbers (#81587) and QA1 springs.
Tanks Inc. 15 gallon fuel tank, built for fuel injection.
Interior
Stripped down, highly modified, and painted Abingdon pillow-style dashboard.
Custom glovebox added. Note also custom center console.
Autometer volt meter, tachometer, speedometer, coolant temperature, and fuel level gauges.
Smiths oil pressure gauge. AutoTech oil temperature gauge. VDO clock.
Lokar parking brake lever (EHB-7000F).
MSD RPM Module Selector (8670) and MSD RPM Activated Switch (8950).
FAST XFI 2.0 electronic fuel injection control module.
Door card.
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Exterior
Bimini style soft top.
VW Rabbit rear fender flares, installed front and rear.
Custom nerf bars. Recessed, round front turn signals.
Two level hood scoop.
Stainless mesh keeps debris out of the cowl vent.
VW Rabbit fender flares, mounted on MGB fender and extended onto the apron.
Vitaloni "California" side view mirror.
Aiskaer antenna.
ISCA: International Show Car Association.
Custom dual roll hoop with integral headrests.
Frenched license plate.
Alpena LED hidden license plate lamps.
"Tail of the Dragon" sticker.
Ford Mustang GT V6 aluminum wheels (16x7, 5x4.5" lug pattern, offered 2005-2008).
BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp-2 tires, size 215/55ZR16.
Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishV8.org.
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