LSX Oddity: LS1 into a ’72 MGB

[Keith Tanner]

The car was not at its best when you guys first came across it. I wouldn't have had good things to say about it based on those pictures either!

 

[CJ Hungus]

UPDATE:

I've been working on a few other things - including my L33-powered Miata racer - but the MG finally took a big step. In mid-March, I started working on the bodywork. The shell's amazingly rust-free for a 39-year-old British car, but it has been painted at least twice over the years and also accumulated a lot of nicks and chips and a few dings. The black paint was badly sunburned. Plus the flares needed to be blended in to the body.

So I stripped the car down and started layering on filler, then sanding most of it off, then layering on a bit more. The whole car is compound curves which made things interesting. I've done almost no bodywork before, so there was a lot of learning going on. A D/A sander from Harbor Freight was the big breakthrough, allowing me to make much better shapes, faster, than I could by hand. I reworked the right front flare with steel first to fix the shape, it wasn't quite muscular enough. The car's also wearing an MG Special Tuning front air dam, which balances the look of the front end. Plus it looks totally badass.

Finally, last week, I laid down a few coats of BMW Jet Black. It's not perfect, but it'll come to life nicely with some buffing and sanding. I'll put the mirrors, rear badges and chrome side strips on once that's done.

And now, the car.

I've still got a way to go. I think it's going to get stiffer springs all the way around to see how that works out, and I still need to spend some time tuning the car on track. I have a Miata front sway bar adapted in the front so I have access to a wide variety of options. Nothing in the rear yet, but I'll fit the Camaro one if I need some more rear roll stiffness.

Video will come soon hopefully. But right now, I'm just enjoying the car. Holy cow, it moves.

 

[buRRp]

Looks bad ass

....sent from buRRp's Droid X

 

[onac255]

Wow...


Could we get some pics of the Cummins?

 

[Nick The Great]

 

[Keith Tanner]

Thanks for posting that over here, Hungus. I was going to stop in today to show the current pictures. It's still not finished, but it's getting pretty close. From the outside, all it needs is a bit of adjustment to the ride height (did that last night when I stuffed in some stiffer springs) and the last pieces of side trim plus the emblems and mirrors.

The Cummins isn't anything exotic. Its main job is to tow a two-car race trailer and cart car parts around. Just your standard 2010 Dodge 2500 short bed. It's got a soft tonneau cover, air bags in the rear, a Go Rhino push bar with a couple of Hella 4000 driving lights and a Banks intake.

 

[Zembonez]

Dammit Kieth... I take back anything negative I said early in the build. That thing turned out great!

 

[che22879]

It really did! I would drive it proudly!

 

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

The Seven, a Lotus Seven replica built around a Miata drivetrain. This is the one that took on the Atom. It's also the subject of a book.

This is what the British sports cars are essentially about: lightweight that even with a chainsaw engine can kick some heavy asses...

 

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Lovin the Dual SU carbs!!

These SU carburettors are really awesome...