MG Performance Forum

Hi All

A company that is doing some MGC work for me has just marketed a MGB turbo kit . Its been on the dyno that we use and figures are far more than I expected 250hp on standard engine with ported head .

Specialist Components

Web site has some items but not the kit yet . I beleive Littles MG Performance in states will be distributer and will receive the test engine shortly.
Little MG Performance

For those that like playing I'm sure that poor old block can take more - only issue will be choice of gearbox and rear end to take it .
Our MGC gearbox SCCR and LSD MGC axle take 300hp 240nm , gearbox syncro's require replacing every other year.

An eye watering amount of dosh for the cost-per-hp benefit. I guess someone will pop for it.

250 HP???????

Why would anyone need that much power?

Because Dwight, that just barely gets you into the "Muscle Car" performance category with a weight/hp ratio of about 10/1 and there are plenty of drivers that want to be there. Bear in mind, in 1970 the mid level family cars like the Chevelle, Cutlass, and Skylark were all at or slightly above the 300hp level and weighed 3400 lbs. Again right at the lower boundary of the muscle car range. Today's cars generally range a bit above and a bit below that number just as they did in 1970 but they also have the benefit of much better transmissions and a different metric for measuring hp. So the question should not be why anyone would want 250hp in an MGB but why anyone would not.

Jim

My [former] car, a '77, that I used for autox and hill-climbs, did just fine beating upV-8's with 91 WHP

Yes, but Dwight, you are Special. Doesn't mean everyone else will get the same results.

Jim

Special eh???

LOLOLOLOLOL

[lotz of seat time]

It is about the same as the difference between a 120hp (wheels) stock Miata and a supercharged 270hp Miata. Not too much quicker on a standard parking lot autocross course, but a crap ton faster for hillclimb and long autocross lol.

Biggest issue will be putting the power down. I still struggle with my 115hp MGA without a limited slip and that is with 215/45 16" sticky tires lol.

Going to keep an eye on this - would be great to drop a 5 main turbo 250hp into the MGA lol.

Short answer, because it's more fun to drive!

Bill

Weak points on the MG engine would be pistons (would want special forged for longevity), crankshaft, and rods That gets expensive real quick and you'd not even have started on the turbo, custom piping, injection etc. I didn't see a total on that site for a ready to start engine set up but I'd be curious to know what it might be.

My bet would be that acquiring a modern turbo 4 cylinder and doing a swap would not only be cheaper, but it also be stronger and produce more power.

An example is the Ecotec in my daily driver (Pontiac Solstice). It is a 2.0 DOHC engine. It has 260 bhp stock, or 290 bhp with an optional factory tune. My street car has 375 bhp which I considered a nice safe maximum for minimum risk for street driving, but you can go well into the high 400s with some new pistons etc., and the race versions get up near 2000 bhp (there is a guy with a car using that engine that hits under 6 sec. in the 1/4 mile at 220 mph, though I don't expect that you'd find many stock parts in it)

Another option would be the Volvo turbo 4 which gets into the 400 bhp range in stock models.

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
Current: 1958 MGA Twincam (race car (170 bhp)),1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe (98 bhp)
1957 Jamaican MGA (200 bhp)1965 1971 Jensen Interceptor (350 bhp)
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe (375 bhp)
2007 BMW Z4M coupe (340 bhp)
Recent: 1969 MGC roadster (175 bhp),Jensen CV8 (375 bhp),
1969 Lamborghini Islero S (350 bhp), 1988 Fiero GT turbo (300 bhp)
North Vancouver BC

Well, if you must have a turbo. I'll admit I don't like 'em. It really depends mostly on how you drive but the cost and complexity involved make other options look much better to me.
I'm carefully watching the new developments with the EREV market. There's some fast track development going on there, particularly in the Korean segment and it makes me wonder how much of that might be adaptable to an MGB? I have a spare Roadster... maybe in a few more years those parts will start to show up in the junkyards. I could very much be into that.

Other than that I think I'd still go retro. A minimum of 210 hp out of a cheap iron head Buick 300 with no installation hassles is a pretty painless option.

Jim

You get around 230 bhp out of a GM 3400 V6 on pump gas with no issues and it leaves a bit more room around the engine. If you want more you can add a turbo for c. 300 bhp but of course that poses a few more steps as far as packaging in the engine bay goes.). I ran my Fiero with that much power for 19 years without any drama (using the older cast iron heads of the 3.4). Over all weight is similar to the Buick 300 but they are more modern engines and easily tunable.

Jim, aren't parts for the 300 getting a bit scarce? Given that there weren't a ton of them to start with and they were a great swap choice in the past, I'd think they would be getting a bit thin on the ground. I recall back in the day when I was playing around with a 215 into MG swap, I looked for a 300 but couldn't turn one up/

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
Current: 1958 MGA Twincam (race car (170 bhp)),1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe (98 bhp)
1957 Jamaican MGA (200 bhp)1965 1971 Jensen Interceptor (350 bhp)
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe (375 bhp)
2007 BMW Z4M coupe (340 bhp)
Recent: 1969 MGC roadster (175 bhp),Jensen CV8 (375 bhp),
1969 Lamborghini Islero S (350 bhp), 1988 Fiero GT turbo (300 bhp)
North Vancouver BC

Hasn't been my experience Bill. Overall parts run pretty close to SBC and SBF parts in cost, for availability of some you have to know where to go but they are there. Engines themselves aren't as common as they once were but that pretty much applies to everything except the LS. It may take some patience but they can be found. Networking can speed up the results. Not at all uncommon for period hardware. When was the last time you looked for an early Mustang 2 piece hub and rotor? I've heard someone has begun to make them again. Same is true for a lot of the 300 hardware. At the moment I am not aware of any single piece that is not available.

The V6 is also a good option. As a rule you can get more out of a bigger engine with the same effort but other factors apply. The 300 has about the broadest range of potential outputs that I know of and I think for a 1st time swap that is a definite advantage.

Taken as a pair I think they offer about all you could expect from the MGB at a cost that is very reasonable, and can, provided your ducks line up, probably be done for about what it will cost to rebuild the 1800. I have seen such things done. Not saying anyone could do that, but it remains about the biggest bargain in MG-dom.

Jim

My son Brain at BMC-British, has for well over a decade installed and supplied kits to install the 3.4 ltr Camaro V-6....

I have driven his car at a hill climb and does VERY well!

I've driven it too, so have others I could name. It's a decent car. Good middle ground for an MGB. So is a V8. Depends on what you want. I like the rumble and the horsepower headroom of a V8 and the low cost of the 300. They both need about the same hood clearance. A lot more goes into this decision than just, "This one is better." Because that really isn't the case. Horses for Courses.

Jim