This is rather dull
Haven't even started it, but . . .

1. Ingredients.

1 MGB roadster. Probably the 70's version, with rubber bumpers.
1 Rover 3.5 SDI. Any one will do.

2. Preparation.

a. remove 1.8l engine from MG, discard. remove gearbox, also discard.
b. remove 3.5l V8 engine from Rover. Keep. Ditto 3 speed auto gearbox.
Discard the rest of the Rover.

3. Cooking.

a. Insert 3.5l V8 into MG. Ditto gearbox. Possibly not in that order.
b. Fabricate custom header pipes, 2 banks of 4. Take down to 2 x custom exhaust pipes, route under chassis on either side of car. *Important* point b is discretionary, but if you route to a single pipe, you won't get that V8 burble.
c. Leave to cool on a cake rack.
d. Repaint / cleanup, add chrome bumpers etc to taste. Uprate brakes and suspension.

4. Serving.

Take out a mortgage for half a tank of fuel. You will not need any more than this, because driving this machine will probably result in death within the first couple of miles.

Lovely.
(username failed moderation, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 13:30, 8 replies)

It will if you don't soup up the brakes to match...

( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 16:26, closed)

And strengthen the coils, upgrade the shocks etc.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 16:29, closed)

I did say
uprate brakes and suspension.

Still not sure if it's such a good idea though. MG did do a V8 version of the BGT, but never the roadster, I should really take that as a clue.

Alternatives are the 2.5l engine from a Triumph 2500 into a Spitfire, which is basically a soft-top GT6, or just buy an MGC roadster, which is a straight 6 version of the B. Not much of a challenge, except for the fact a good one is over 10 grand.
(username failed moderation, Fri 18 Nov 2011, 8:29, closed)

And the handling on a C is fucking awful becuase the engine weighs so much
and sits further forward in the chassis, giving a horrible nose-heavy pendulum effect. See also: every hot Audi saloon built from 2000-2006 ish.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 18 Nov 2011, 11:33, closed)

I heard this too.
Apparently a bag of cement in the boot helps. Except if you need to put anything in the boot.
(username failed moderation, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 12:47, closed)

Not really.
Well, you might on a post-75 car, but they never bothered with the GT V8. Rover V8 is an alloy block so actually weighs less than the B-series. Although, it's a fucking rubbish V8 and you'll be lucky to get 50 more horses over the boggo B series. Handling is OK, for an MGB definition of "OK". Still preferred my more-or-less standard B though (see profile). They never uprated the brakes either for the V8s to my knowledge. Well, they servo-assisted them, but it's standard practice to dump the servo assist on Bs as it's shite, and just man up and have some right leg strength.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 18 Nov 2011, 11:31, closed)

Yeah, I reackon as far as adding much to the
car goes, it's a bit of a waste of time. Also unless I do an extraordinarly good job (which won't happen), the sum of the two parts will be worth precisely fuck-all.

It's just my own little fetish. I like the B roadster, my Mum had one when I was a kid, and I always had a soft spot for it. I also always liked the noise the Rover 3.5 made.

I wouldn't be going for anything that would please anyone else - I'm going to ruin a perfectly good car doing it. I'd expect to be sneered at if I turn up at an MG owners rally.
(username failed moderation, Mon 21 Nov 2011, 12:52, closed)

The trick is to not turn at any owners rally.
Mine ran minilites, totally non-standard interior, 300W power amp in the boot and a concealed iPod dock in the centre armrest. The MGOC would have needed a little sit down if I'd taken it to a meet.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 24 Nov 2011, 10:30, closed)