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MG MGA - Project car??

A mate of mine is looking for a Roadster project car, any condition, to put a Daimler V8 in.

Anyone got an abandoned project around?

Colin
Colin Parkinson

If you get the MGA newsletter that arrived in our inbox today, there is a link to one up for sale
Graham V

Thanks Graham, I havnt got that, perhaps you can give me the details?

Colin
Colin Parkinson

Hi Colin,

here are the links to the Barn-Find part restored MGA that was mentioned in the MGCCs MGA Registers regular Newsletter.
I think you have to be an MGCC member and be regitered on the MGA Register to receive this, to be honest, it is worth it for the regular copy of the Safety Fast magazine alone.

https://www.charterhouse-auction.com/garage-stored-mg-discovered#more-9416

https://tinyurl.com/yy8hqlbg

I was going to put a copy of the PDF format Newsletter onto this thread and then I realised that maybe I should ask them for permission first.

If they say ok, I will paste a copy of the full Newsletter.

Cheers
Colyn

Colyn Firth

Thanks Colyn, looks promising although estimate a little on the high side!

Colin
Colin Parkinson

Colyn
Please don’t put a pdf copy up. The MGCC does now have a policy of not disenfranchising its members; i.e. keeping the benefits of membership that is paid.

As you say, the membership fee is worth it.

Regards
Colin
Colin Manley

Colyn, dont fret about putting a pdf on. My mate is a member and I get the magazine. Eventually!!
Colin Parkinson

Interesting about the MGCC magazine Safety Fast..it takes several weeks to reach us here in OZ, and sometimes we receive a mag after the issue which follows it i.e. the November mag is received after the Dec one! I've contacted MGCC about this, and they say they are looking into . Strangely, I receive MG Enthusiast mag as well, and it is always received within 2 weeks after publication...I know, different distributors, but wish MGCC would do something about their distributor.
Gary Lock

No problem Colin (Manley),
(lots of Colins on here today)

I thought that had better not re-publish the Newsletter without permission, you have answered that question for me, thanks.

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Colin, your friend may want to reconsider the use of a Daimler V8. I had heard that they are very tall. But it seems they are also very heavy, like 500 plus pounds! (The B-series four, no lightweight, comes in under 400lb). It seems they are very wide too.

If you do a search you will find comments like this in the MG Experience "engine Swaps" forum, though in relation to the relatively roomy MGB:

lets get some facts straight.:- the daimler 2 1/2 V8 is an old design and had many comprimises.. one of which is low main bearing surface area..( they are VERY narrow) leading to rapid wear..another is a displacement of 2,500cc in an engine weighing some 500lbs is not very practical..and yet another is its propensity to have head gasket issues.. and parts are VERY expensive and not exactly easy to find....under 30,000 were produced..

Why re-invent the wheel ? the well known V8 conversions that are the most practical utilize the common Rover (formerly buick) 3.5 all alloy v8.. light weight for power output..common, cheap and very practical.. plus you can buy all the bits for a 'bolt in' conversion and the engine is avail in 3.5, 3.9, 4.2 and 4.6 versions for very little $ outlay .. and several geaboxes will fit.. the original 'available to the public' Costello V8 conversion to the MGB was avail from 1970...BL modeled their own 'factory' V8 conversion (late 73 in GT form only) on the Costello version..but improved it ..the rover V8 is marginally lighter than the original MGB 1800 iron dinosaur.. so balance of the car remains good.. its a well tried and tested combination.. ii essence, a 'no brainer' power train choice if you want to build a fast and practical MGB..

On the daimler 4 1/2 V8....there are myriads of BS surrounding this engine.. fact:- its is NOT interchangeable with the 2 1/2 daimler Hemi.. it weighs close to 900lbs.. and is dimensionally larger than a 350 chev and considerably larger than small block ford..under 2,000 of them were produced..and they have the same issues as the smaller 2 1/2 .. rapid main bearing wear..potential head gasket issues..and very costly parts .. they were rated @ +/-220 BHP.. but in practice they put out around 270 bhp.. good in 1959.. not very good in 2106.. there are many far better choices.. and it would be gross stupidity to fit one in an MGB..

And from the same contributor:

Jeff.. try sourcing a complete 2 1/2 liter daimler sedan.. they are out there and inexpensive (one sold on eBay a couple o weeks back in N carolina for about $800) the SP250 engine has a long and deep oil pan.. it wont fit in the B.. the sedan has a rear 'sump' (to fit the jag mk2 body) and hence will fit behind the B x member.. being a 90o v its wide .. and its both dimensionally large and heavy for power output..
Id add again these are just NOT wonderful engines.. far too many weaknesses.. and designed and built to a tight budget.. crappy valve train (motorcycle style barrel lifters.. they dont spin and are prone to heavy wear and VERY expensive to rebuild ) the crank bearings are both small diameter and VERY narrow (low surface area = rapid wear) the main bearing caps are fragile and held in with 3/8" bolts..(unusually for a brit engine.. almost all hardware is coarse thread) . very easy to piss away over $10k acquiring and rebuilding one of these.. a 4.6 rover from local junk yards :- $300 out the door.. over 200bhp from less than 420lbs in weight.. with more possible ... all they seem to need in most cases is valve job, cam, lifters and rings and bearings..
Most of the daimler engines from dead cars are completely shot cause they were weak to begin with .. 80% of them that are 'out of service' have serious head corrosion.. 90% of them have worn lower end.. the main bearings last about 60k miles on average in sedan.. longer in the SP250 due to less weight and taller gearing..
using the Rover V8 as the factory 'conversion' was a good common sense choice..balance of car remained excellent due to almost same engine weight (rover a few lbs less then the 1800) in spite of it being a 3.5 liter Land Rover spec low compression engine (137bhp) it performs admirably .. and they used a 3.07 diff +overdrive.. tall gearing.. but huge torque making a superb distance tourer with formidable off the line grunt....

One participant in this thread did manage to (barely) squeeze in a Daimler 2.5 V8 into an MGB. But he subsequently went quiet on the project.

Anything is possible of course, given time, money, and an angle grinder, but the engine bay of an MGA is obviously a lot tighter than the MGB.
On the other hand one contributor to the MG Experience MGA forum is in the process of fitting a modern Corvette engine. Mind you, last time I looked, he hadn't worked out how the heck he'd fit in a radiator to cool it.

T Aczel

Thanks Mr T Aczel, I appreciate your comments.

I know back in the day there were a number of Daimler engines put into A's. In fact I had a part share in one back in 1970!

I also have another mate who has just rebuilt a 2.5 for his saloon. Yes some of the parts are very expensive, if not unobtainable.

My mate is quite experienced at engineering projects, and I have years of restoration and race / rally experience, so I am sure he can produce a decent car.

I am surprised at the 2.5 weighing in more than a B series. I have got a figure of 419lbs + flywheel.

I will pass your comments over to him, particularly about Rover V8. Quite a valid point.

Colin
Colin Parkinson

This thread was discussed between 05/03/2021 and 07/03/2021

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