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MG MGB Technical - Engine swap...Pontiac Fiero?

I've check the archives, and can't find any previous references to this conversion, but has anybody done an engine conversion using a Pontiac Fiero 6 cyl? I can get one dirt cheap (probably for free), but unsure about the dynamics involved. Size-wise I think the engine will fit...it's not that much bigger than the one in my '73. Just not sure what all might be involved. I know some members offer complete details and instrucyions for other engine swaps...how about this one? Thanks.

Brandon
Brandon Fox

WHY!?!?!?!?
Chris

Go to the jump menu on the upper right and go to the V8 conversions. One of the points of discussion is the GM 60 degree V6 swap. Use the archives, if they aren't talking about it already. Someone (Bill Mertz??) sells a conversion kit, has the web site, the whole deal. (The last sentence alone would do nicely for a Google search.) The Fiero engine is just one application of the GM 2.8/3.1/3.4 L small V6 family. Taking the engine out of a Fiero, though, is the hard way. You'd want to use a RWD application (S10 pick ups, Jeep Cherokees, Camaros, Firebirds). Take the trans, too.

There used to be a Black Tulip GT with a very clean V6 conversion running around my neighborhood. Polished the intake manifold - looked sweet. Now they're getting commonplace.
John Z

The below ad was in the classifieds, I think that the Fiero motor is the same as the one they use (GM 3.1)

I have no interest in the company, just rememebered the ad

Patton
---------------------------------

V6 engine conversions on sale

V6 Engine conversions on sale. Deluxe kit $499.00. Get yours before the price change.200 Hp plus capability for you MGB or other British car. This kit takes advantage of lower priced, low mileage, very plentiful 3.4 Litre engines. See www.Killerbv6.com

http://killerbv6.com
Contact: Dann Wade <wogmog@aol.com>
Dayton Ohio Ohio USA
Tel: 937 435 4329
Patton Dickson

That's the guy!
John Z

Interesting. No heater box. How do they defog the windshield?
Steve S.

Steve Viginia, the heater was replaced with a new assembly after the pix was taken. Interestingly enough I was able to plumb it to give faster heat just as the original donor car was able to do. Dann
Dann

Speaking of Fieros.. After stuffing an Olds Tornado drivetrain in the bed of a 54 Ford pickup, and doing up a Crown-kit small block Chev in a 66 Corvair many years ago, I gave some thought to doing the same concept with a late B using an MR2 or some other small, lightweight midmotor setup (a 308 Dino would be nice....) I've seen a Spitfire with a late turbo MR2 behind the seats down in southern FL. Anyone seen any other mid motored LBC's?
Mark Childers

Mid-engined MG's, eh? I think there's a couple of hundred thousand in the UK, go by the name 'MGF'...

:-)

Growler

Growler -
I should have added "conversion" - mea culpa... A few years ago, my club (Tidewater MG Classics)had an MGF on the register while its owner was here on a one year NATO tour. It was "guest of honor" at several local Britcar shows, where it drew big crowds. The F's owner took me for a ride - I was fairly impressed with the quality and tightness of the whole package, but I think it fell way short of the turbo MR2, power and handling-wise. My view may have been a bit jaundiced at the time - my "impress me" pushbutton had a really strong spring because I was working at a shop where I was in and out of everything from street driven retired race Porsches to Lambos to a chairs and flares Dino, and another all-time favourite LBC backmotor -a street legal 6R4 Metro.
PS: the 6R4 is for sale: it's a #1 car, never raced, never flogged, incredibly low miles, quick as lightning, and if anyone is seriously interested in the $39k range, contact me and I will put you in contact with the owner.
Mark Childers

What kind of milage would one expect out of such a thing? How about the emissions - is it going to be "cleaner" then a standard late model B? I know that we are interested in performance here, but personally I'd feel a bit better if I could have a daily driver that was a bit more environmentally friendly. Any links to a fuel-cell conversions?? :)

don
don schad

Sweet Mother! Heres the same old rant: Why not just BUY a new MR2, Honda 2000, Miata or whatever instead of butchering MGBs. Your money would be better spent, considering resale value.
" I want an MG with:
a more powerful engine;
5 or 6 speed transmission;
better seats;
bigger tires;
a better top;
air conditioning;
power windows;
super mega-watt sound system;
fender flares, mid-engine, and so-on." Yes, Toyota and Honda sell them, available right now. Buy one and slap an MG badge on it. Viola!
Yes, it is a free country, its your car, your time and your money.
But IMHO there are limits. I certainly modify my car from stock. This thread is way beyond modifications. Converting an MGB to modern standards is like someone who buys a old colonial house because they like the charm of it, and then sets about gutting it and making it a show piece of the International Style from Architectural Digest. Or the person who builds a house next to an airport using airport transfers sevenoaks that has been there for 50 years and demands that the local authority do something about the noise. In sum: you knew what you were buying, live with it or move on!
Regards, Andy
Andrew Blackley

Andy,
Hello pot, this is kettle. Did you say you have made mods to your MG?
Take a pill. Did Brandon ask you to pay for this mod or to mod your MG? And if I'm not mistaken, his 73 was not the only one made that year. Poor guy just wants to do some mods to a mass produced auto, like you did. Just to a further extreme. It's called a hobby. The only reason this forum exists is because of our passion for these unique automobiles. Brandon just wants to make his a little more unique.
Please don't turn people off of pulling an MG out of the bone yard and putting it on the streets again. What a beautiful world this would be if all the MGs produced could be back on the streets.

Brandon,
Your words, "unsure about the dynamics involved" hit the nail on the head. There are people out there that are passionate about the topic of conversions. But you will be hard pressed to find an MG that hasn't had some conversion done to it. Poly bushings, carb mods, exhaust mods, bigger anti-sway bars, adding or changing a radio, lowering kits and any part that is not OEM IS considered a conversion to today’s technology. I have made mods and intend to make more. Providing the finance committee (my wife) votes yes.
Hope you found the info you were looking for. Wish I could tell you if that particular conversion is possible.

Good Luck,
Jasson
Jasson Moore

Thank you @ Andrew Blackley
for your contribution to this thread!

You are so right in wht you say about this topic.
I do own and drive my MGB (1964 pull hanlde) and my 1969 CGT because I like them the way they are. It I wanted airbags, V8-power or modern safety gimmicks I would buy a modern car.

To put these threads about conversion and safety addons in perspective: what what you say if the same thread turned up about say, a Porsche 356 or a Lotus Elan? Just think about it: "how can it fit an airbag to my 356? Can I install a V8 in my Elan? Would it be possible to convert my Porsche to a front engine or my Corvette to a flat 6 Porsche turbo engine in the rear??

It is so ridiculous you wouldn´t even think about it.

But with the MG so many people think they have to modifiy it to make it better.
If this car is so bad it wouldn´t have been around for so long.
When you don´t understand this car-concept and don´t like it, just keep away from it. Everybody will be happier then!

Joern
Joern

Jasson: Please read my post more carefully. My issue is not with modifications, but radical conversions. They are not the same, and I am not a concourse purist. This forum exists as a place to exchange ideas and opinions and I gave mine.
I heartily endorse projects such as the Rover V8 conversion. One of the reasons being it was also done by MG.
The threads immediately above mine mentioned mid engine conversions. More to the point of the orignal post, I offer a further, friendly opinion: If a car is in the bone yard or given away the body integrity is probably suspect. Go ahead, do your conversion. But please make sure that what you are doing will result in a safe end product. Read the archives and visit the web pages of others who have done these. Most involve a BIG outlay in time and cash to do a decent job. And in the end your chances of ever getting a fraction of your money back from such a project are probably low. The irony is that if you can afford to do such a conversion correctly you will end up spending almost as much money as it would cost to buy a good used Miata or MR2. If you are seriously strapped for cash then you are probably better off saving your money for something else.
Andrew Blackley

Brandon,
As Andrew mentioned, safety is key with your conversion. Who knows, you could be the next Carrol Shelby.

Once again,
Good Luck,
Jasson

P.S. Engine Conversions... It's a loosing battle.
Chevy in a Porsche link
http://www.renegadehybrids.com/main.htm

Chevy in a Jaguar link
http://users.aol.com/orljaguars/index.html
Jasson Moore

If I want to convert my B into a 4x4 SUV with neon-blue lights under the frame, why should you care? You may not like it, but don't act like I am irrational because that is the way I want to spend my weekends and cash. (Although THAT conversion does sound like the work of a mad-man).

Most people are probably here b/c they love doing auto work as a hobby, and the car of choice just happens to be an MG.

I personally doubt that those who are proposing converting their cars to V8's or 6's or even mid-engines are doing it because they can't afford a "modern" car. My guess is that it's the project itself. No doubt that many cars which are seriously lacking in body integrity (i.e. junkyard specials) are saved each year by people who could easily afford a new Miata or Porsche or whatever. I've got one of those in my garage, but I don't think the body integrity is in question any more. And if I didn't get it, the crusher might have. If all I wanted was a convertable, I could simply sell all that junk out in the garage and get a new fancy car AND a TV to give me something to do with all my newly found spare time. But I want a car that I built/saved/etc.

Let the people do what they want, and be proud of what they have done. Make your point about saving money, or purity or whatever, but remember that one persons "modification" is another persons "radical conversion".

All the best,
don
don schad

If these radical conversions bother you so much why even bother reading the thread? Its not like you dont know what the topic is going to be...
just a thought

When I moved to FL from IN, I stopped at along the way to get gas and there was a 4x4 MGB on a trailer with huge tires. I didn't ask. What someone else wants to do with their money is their business. Bentley is now run by VW and their veneer trimmed $325k new model is not for me, maybe not for you, but someone is going to buy it.
kids1

I'm sure there are a lot of owners of tired MGBs who consider an engine conversion simply because it looks like an easy way to get a massive gain in horsepower. Once they find out how much more is involved (both in time, work and money) than just dropping a used engine in and bolting it up the the trans, they lose interest pretty quick.
I wonder how many are started - and never finished. Years ago, I had a neighbor who took a cutting torch to a bugeye Sprite - he was going to install a 327 Chevy. He moved a few years later but, to the best of my knowledge, the project never advanced beyond the cutting stage.
Joe Reed

Thanks one and all for your thoughts and advice. I quess I kinda opened up a can of worms, 'eh? I neglected to mention that I have TWO B's...one '73 roadster that is 90%+ restored (Black Tulip w/ Autumn Leaf interior), and a '71 GT that is just a rolling shell; no guts. It's to the GT I was dreaming about the Fiero conversion...father in law has the engine just sitting on his garage floor. I love my roadster, but that doesn't mean I can't wish for improvements does it? The Fiero engine (or any other for that matter) in the GT could be the best of both worlds: drive the roadster when I want "traditional", and drive the GT for every-day or bad weather situations.
We'll see...it's all in how much green is in the wallet!

Thanks again
Brando
Brandon Fox

This thread was discussed between 17/05/2002 and 20/05/2002

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