Roger Williams - How to Give Your MGB V8 Power

Veloce Publishing

THE PUBLISHER OF FINE AUTOMOTIVE BOOKS

First printed in paperback format in 2006.

First published in ebook format 2014 by Veloce Publishing Limited, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 3AR, England Fax 01305 250479 e-mail .

Ebook edition ISBN: 978-1-845845-81-0

Paperback edition ISBN: 978-1-904788-93-5

Roger Williams and Veloce Publishing 2014. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be recorded, reproduced or transmitted by any means, including photocopying, without the written permission of Veloce Publishing Ltd. Throughout this book logos, model names and designations, etc, have been used for the purposes of identification, illustration and decoration. Such names are the property of the trademark holder as this is not an official publication.

Readers with ideas for automotive books, or books on other transport or related hobby subjects, are invited to write to the editorial director of Veloce Publishing at the above address.

Cover image courtesy of Mike Moor and taken by Mikes daughter, Olivia.

The engine in Mike Moor's MGB is a 1964 'Buick 300' with aluminium heads. It's an iron block version of the all-alloy 215ci (3500cc) which was sold to Rover. The two engines look identical but the 300ci/4885cc with alloy heads was only produced for this one year, although production continued for a few more years using cast-iron cylinder heads.

Further details are a 6 inch x 2 inch round K&N air filter inside the fiberglass air scoop. The aluminium base plate for the scoop was tig welded to the Billet Specialties air filter base. The scoop is open in the rear to supply fresh air to the Carter 500 cfm AFB carburettor. The bonnet/hood is a Preform Resources fiberglass unit.

All Ebook design and code produced in-house by Veloce Publishing.

Contents

Acknowledgements & about the author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would never have been written without the encouragement and assistance of a great number of people. While I appreciate every contribution, the full list is too extensive to mention everyone but I hope all will accept my grateful thanks. I do, however, wish to single out a few contributors, without whom there really would have been no book, starting with Dan Masters, founder of Advance Auto-Wire and also editor of the British V8 Newsletter . Dan has been a wonderful source of US information for a number of years but he really surpassed himself for this book. Without his unstinting time, patience, and technical, photographic and electrical input, the book would definitely have been a shadow of what you see here. However, Dan was not alone in that Tom Hoagland, Dan Lagrou, Pete Mantell, Kurt Schley and Larry Shimp also provided a huge amount of information and invaluable photographic support on the US scene. Chris Crane and the team at RPI Engineering were equally supportive with the latest UK/Rover information and pictorial backing. Dan & Kurt also read the manuscript while Roger Parker of the MG Owners club reviewed the finished book. All made many absolutely invaluable suggestions.

Thanks guys this book is only here as the result of your collective help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roger Williams was born in 1940 in Cardiff, brought up in Guildford and attended Guildford Royal Grammar School.

Aircraft became Rogers first love and he joined the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1957 as a production engineering apprentice, and very quickly added motor cars to his list of prime interests. During the ensuing six years he not only completed his apprenticeship and studies, but built two Ford-based specials and started on a career in the manufacturing engineering industry as production engineer. Works managerial and directorial posts followed, and these responsibilities, together with his family commitments, reduced his time for motoring interests to exiting the company car park at the fastest possible speed!

Rogers business interest moved on to company doctoring, which he enjoyed for some ten years, specialising in turning round ailing engineering businesses. In 1986 he started his own consultancy business and renewed his motoring interests. His company specialised in helping improve client profitability by interim management or consulting assignments, whilst his spare time was and continues to be devoted to motor cars or writing.

Roger has owned numerous MGBs, all of which he rebuilt over a period of some seven years. He still has two of his all-time favourites the V8 powered variants and has two MGB books in print. More recently Roger has become involved with the Triumph marque and has restored a TR6 and, currently, a Stag.

Roger is married and lives in France. He has two married daughters and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Production (now Manufacturing) Engineers.

Foreword

Having known Roger Williams for too many years to mention, I am delighted to have been asked to write the foreword to this third edition of How to Give Your MGB V8 Power . He had the foresight during years of research to compile the first edition of this book. During this time we worked closely together and I can say with confidence that the new edition will be the mine of the information that an individual needs to carry out a successful and well-balanced MGB V8 conversion.

There is no doubt that Rogers first book has already helped many enthusiasts realise their dream, as the number of conversions registered with the MG Car Clubs V8 Register alone confirms. This new edition is timely in the sense that, with commercial production of the Rover V8 engine at Solihull finally coming to an end as I write this, one might be forgiven for thinking that the future of MGB V8 conversions is less than bright. The truth, however, is vastly different as any enthusiast contemplating such a conversion is better served now than at any time in the past. In this third edition Roger has covered more engine options than in earlier editions and takes into account the numerous developments that have become available from the growing and dedicated network of specialists.

Rogers style is easy to read yet informative; he writes from a practical hands-on point of view, encapsulating the experience of many converters, professional and amateur in the UK and USA.

Looking back it seems weve come a long way since the early 1970s when Ken Costello had the vision to transplant the Rover V8 engine into an MGB. His success did not go unnoticed by British Leyland which was spurred-on to develop its own GT V8, a car which ultimately never quite realised the success it really deserved. When production ended in 1976, a mere 2591 cars had been produced. In 1993 a V8-powered MG returned briefly to the scene with Rovers limited-production MG RV8. However, as good as the RV8 is, many enthusiasts still seek the satisfaction of building their own car to their own specifications. Having served countless V8 conversion enthusiasts over the years, this is a desire I can well understand, and, at the end of the day, helping such enthusiasts realise their dream is what this book is all about.

Enjoy and happy V8 motoring.

Clive Wheatley