The owner of this car contacted us as he had blown the engine in his car. He opted for a change to more horsepower and a 5 speed transmission. Bart recommended installing an engine from a BMW.
This 1995 M42 318Ti BMW engine and E30 5 speed transmission was to be used in the conversion for this MGB.
The rubber bumper MG engine bay has sufficient room without modification. This example had been Ziebart rust proofed and was a mess to work with.
Say AHHH!
The motor is in position.
The owner had requested that the hood close without scoops or bubbles. Why the bird? Giddiness at the end of a very long day!
The view from below.
A minor transmission mount modification was required.
The MG driveshaft was lengthened and then this adapter was fabricated to connect the driveshaft to the BMW transmission.
The gearshift remained in its original position.
The left hand motor mount required some fabrication.
A simple custom exhaust was installed.
The fabrication of the header and collector was the most difficult part of the conversion.
Bart was able to utilize all of the MG cooling system and the working heater. Air conditioning was not an option.
On a chassis dyno the MGBMW made 101 horsepower at the rear wheels, this coupled with better weight distribution makes this one of the best handling MGs yet. That's before any handling upgrades (lowering) have been done.
