How do you make a British car better?

"jmalek" (jmalek) 05/21/2015 at 04:43 • Filed to: Swap, BMW M50, MG MGB

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You put a little German in it! I just bought an M50B25 drivetrain out of a e36 325, and it’s going into a 74 MGB this weekend.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 05:25

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Sacré bleu!

Jobjoris > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 05:27

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Awesome!!! Can’t wait to hear/see more of this project!!! You’re taking the transmission of the E36 as well I suppose?

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 06:18

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http://bringatrailer.com/2011/08/21/ult…

triumph-tr6/

Noah - Now with more boost. > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 06:50

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Damn that's gonna be cool! Good luck with the swap

spanfucker retire bitch > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 07:22

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You buy a Miata?

McMike > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 07:40

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Little German.

John_Harbinson > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 08:41

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SOOO MUCH YESSS

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 11:42

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Nice :) I’m swapping a bigger 6-cyl into a dinky British sports car myself, although I’m keeping it in the family with a 2.5l TR6 I6 into a Spitfire :)

Be sure to post updates. Are you planning on using an MGC bonnet to clear the longer engine or do you reckon it’ll fit?

jmalek > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 05/21/2015 at 13:54

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Wow, that is quite the build. Mine is based around a significantly smaller budget than that lol.

jmalek > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/21/2015 at 13:56

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Nice! Do you have a build log, because I would love to see it. I’m planning on using the stock B bonnet, and I’m looking into doing a heater shelf delete to improve the weight bias, but I still might have to bubble the hood. We will see after this weekend.

jmalek > Jobjoris 05/21/2015 at 13:56

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Thanks! Yes, its a full drivetrain swap.

Jobjoris > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 14:02

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So will it need another propshaft? Or is this a well documented swap?

jmalek > spanfucker retire bitch 05/21/2015 at 14:04

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Nope, never owned one, but I do intend on owing one some day.

jmalek > Jobjoris 05/21/2015 at 14:07

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Yes, it will need a new propshaft. I think I’m going to contact one of the local driveshaft shops and have one made. Through my searching, I have yet to find another MG with a BMW straight six, but there have been M10 swaps before.

Jobjoris > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 16:40

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Awesome. M10s are always easy ;-)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > jmalek 05/21/2015 at 17:03

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I do :) there’s either this one on a Triumph forum but you might not be able to see the pics, or the Spit6 tag her on oppo but it’s in reverse order :)

Hmmm, I’ve got B-series’ engine weight pegged as 152kg fully dressed. An M50B25 I’ve got at 194kg so it’ll be about 22kg heavier on the nose. I fibreglass MGC bonnet would probably go a long way to solving that, and you’ll get the clearance you might need at the front :)

Are you planning to do anything with the rear end? I’m not certain how stout the stock rear is, although I’d wager a bit more than my small-chassis Triumph. Location might be another thing as well. I don’t think the stock B rear end is that well strapped to the body, but I bet there’s a ton of things done by club racers to sort things out back there :)

jmalek > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/21/2015 at 18:26

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I just registered so I can follow your build! Also, I’ll see if I can find a scale to weigh the M50B25 before I put it in, but this car will be receiving a fair amount of weight reduction in the process. My intention is to turn this into a corner carver with a goal weight of <1000kg. I’m currently investigating the suspension dynamics and options, but forum and internet searches have left me rather peeved. It seems that all of the people that own these cars of on the mindset of either 1) the stock suspension is perfectly fine, why would you change it? or 2) why don’t you just buy one of the €2000+ coil over conversions? Its looking like I may have to come up with my own solution, as being in college is severely limiting my FUNds.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > jmalek 05/22/2015 at 06:03

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Thanks :) another really cool one is this thread . A chap’s making his own aluminium bodied Spitfire GT. I think the only panel-work that’s not his own is the bonnet. Very impressive :)

That sounds sweet :) depending on how much lightweighting you do I reckon you could get it down to 900kg :) that front bumper weighs a shade under 20kg alone. Are the batteries in the boot already on a B? I think on a B V8 they are, but can’t remember with the regular ones.

Hmmm, regards suspension you could swap in a Jag IRS. It’s a heavy lump, but well located and a common enough swap. You could see what the V8-swap guys are doing. They’ll deal with a lot more power than the regular Bs and I’d bet there’s a few doing it on a budget. Even sticking on a Watts linkage would do wonders for location.

Where abouts are you based?

jmalek > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/22/2015 at 08:45

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Holy cow that is some craftsmanship, I could never have that kind of patience.

I think my biggest hurdle with weight reduction will be all the racey bits. Cages, fat tires, and additional cooling capacity all add up in a hurry when you are counting grams. The battery is actually “in” the passenger compartment in a little cage beneath the shelf behind the passenger seat.

I’ll have to look into the Jag IRS. I know that is a fairly common swap in the hot rod world, and its extra weight would most likely improve the weight bias. I have even thought about mounting the radiator/powertrain coolers in the back to help, as I have a feeling this is going to be overly nose heavy.

I’m from/living in Michigan.