Turn an ugly duckling rubber bumper MGB into an homage to 60's endurance racers?

mblommel said:

In reply to SEADave :

Get a decent 220 MIG set up with .026 wire and start practicing on some 20 GA scrap. 

That makes little sense. Why would a person need a 220 class machine for .026 (.023?) wire and autobody sheetmetal ?  

 That scenario is perfect for a small 120v machine. The smaller machine will have a more dainty gun and just be easier to use for this application. Plus much cheaper.

I have both, a 120v machine with .023 wire and a 250A big machine with .035 wire. I'd never recommend the larger machine for sheetmetal work.  

Here was a picture I downloaded from here I think ,  there are a few more but I cannot find them !

SEADave said:

Oh boy, I was hoping this wouldn't become one of those there's only one "right" way to lower a RB MGB threads...

apologies from me as well, simply offering advice to avoid potential pitfalls.

Best of luck in your build.

Right way? If there is one i definitely screwed that one up

I just cut 1 coil off each and dropped in a 302.works great but looks even better

Moving on, one of the defining characteristics of those early MGB racers was the "works" hardtop.   Keep in mind that the hardtop BGT didn't come along until 1966, so pretty much all of those earlier racers raced with the hardtop in place.   Here is the #47 car from the 1963 12 hours of Sebring showing off the typical white hardtop from the period:

Unfortunately the MGB (and it's companion #48 car driven by Denise McCluggage) didn't finish.   The #28 NART GTO finished 13th.    

The good thing is that MG sold the hardtops all the way through MGB production, although in the later years they were all painted black.   So on a tip from a good Samaritan on the MG board, I went to my local pick and pull where they had just laid out a really clean 1979 MGB with the factory hardtop.  I was 2nd in the yard the next morning, and was a little disappointed to see that first guy in went directly to the MGB too.   Luckily, he was just interested in the Weber carb for his Datsun project, and told me to have at anything else on the car.   The poor car was in really decent condition, and I suspect that the owner had fallen upon hard times, lost his/her storage, or even passed away.   The trunk was FILLED with extra parts.  So I got the hardtop, and even found a second Weber in the trunk that my Datsun guy was happy to have.   

Unfortunately I was too stupid at the time to know about the side mounting brackets for the hardtop itself which were probably in the trunk.   Anyhow, I got it home and put it on my car and it looks like this:

So not exactly a vintage endurance racer yet, but getting there.   The top will need a good cleaning, new seals and the little brackets I was too dumb to get at the pick n pull.   I found a good selection of hardtop parts at The Roadster Factory, but since they didn't have the little rubber pieces under the side windows ordered the whole setup from Rimmer Bros in the UK.   As of yesterday the parts are on backorder but I'm optimistic they can get them.   Otherwise I may just have to find some similar enough generic weatherstrip, but I'm pretty sure it won't come to that.   

Oh, yeah putting a hardtop on a car that may have never had one will really show how poorly adjusted your side windows are:

An interesting note about those 1963 Sebring MGB's.   Since they were factory cars (Team Ecurie Safety Fast) they were British registered - the #47 car was 7DBL and the #48 car was 6DBL.   And unlike the race numbers which were arbitrarily assigned at each race (this isn't NASCAR), those registration numbers never change.   

So we can see those same cars show up at different races, including back in Europe where at least 7DBL shows up at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans as #31, sporting a new front end similar to Sebring Sprites.   At Le Mans it finished 12th overall and first in GT2.0 being driven by Alan Hutcheson & Paddy Hopkirk.  Not bad for a car that didn't even finish at Sebring 6 months earlier.   

In reply to SEADave :

I really like the nose on the LeMans car.  Since you're replacing the nose on yours I'd be tempted to try and replicate it. 

Neat car.  I had the same setup, a 3.4 liter out of a Camaro, in my 72 BGT.  Used a GM ECU.  Good balance.   I like your two tone interior.  Following.

I still don't have the parts from Rimmer, but I am happy to say that even without the side brackets the hardtop makes the B into a pretty nice little coupe.   Once I get it re-sealed it should make the car a lot more drivable here where it rains 9-10 months out of the year.

On a related note, I took the softop and frame off to store it somewhere dry and free up space behind the seats.  In doing so, I realized that some of the captive nuts for the tonneau brackets (to which the hardtop side mounts will bolt if I ever get them) are broken off.   These guys:

What are you guys doing to fix this?   Moss had a little bolt-on fix for $18, but I have also heard about using rivnuts there.   I am open to welding new nuts in, but it seems like you would have to do that from the back side of the panel, unless somehow i am look at it wrong.  Anyone have experience with this fix?   

In reply to SEADave :

Just lent my rivnut tool to a friend for this purpose. Worked a charm he said. 

SEADave said:

I still don't have the parts from Rimmer, but I am happy to say that even without the side brackets the hardtop makes the B into a pretty nice little coupe.   Once I get it re-sealed it should make the car a lot more drivable here where it rains 9-10 months out of the year.

any photos of the extra parts you need to take off a car at pic a part etc that mount the top ?

just in case I see one......

The bracket looks like this:

And in use it looks like this (not my car):

Not much to it and could probably be fabbed up pretty easily with basic tools.  Otherwise the factory hardtop just slots into the teardrop shaped brackets at the back and clips to the windshield rail on the front.   Right now that is all that is holding mine on and it seems pretty solid for a short drive.  Still will put on those brackets when I get them.  

SEADave said:

I know a lot of folks here are not big fans of the 60 degree V6's.  To be honest neither am I.  As a someone who is currently LS swapping an 81 Trans Am, in all my time around F-bodies I have never heard anyone singing the praises of any of the various 60 degree V6's installed in 3rd and early 4th gen models.   

But in an MGB it really makes a lot of sense.   These engines really do just "drop in" without any sheet metal modifications, particularly in the rubber bumper models.  On a 77-80 model like mine, you can even keep the stock radiator and electric fans.    As a plus you get a nice 5 speed, and a quick look at the Moss catalog will show that you could spend MORE just putting a 5-speed behind the B-series then it costs to do the whole V6 swap.   And even the most modest 2.8 will get you into the 130-140 hp range, which is just north of the horsepower most people get with the $5k supercharger kit for the 1.8.   In fact, it is pretty close to the power that the factory GT V8's from the 70's made.   

So with this one simple swap, you are looking at the same horsepower (or more) than the full-on racing MGB's that competed at Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans had (more on those later).  Is it a mini Cobra?  No, but it makes for one healthy MGB.   Anyhow, I'm not here to convert anyone who doesn't like the 2.8/3.1/3.4's, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.   

If you're going to have a V6 a 60 degree V6 is the only way to go.  While it's fractionally taller than a 90 degree V6 it's significantly narrower. Plus it's seriously lighter.  It doesn't need the balance shaft or the offset ( and weak ) crankshaft. 
     It will be naturally in balance. And not require the stagger fire of a 90 degree V6.  
    I like your comparison of the prices Miss motors gets for their hop up parts. 

californiamilleghia said:

Are the front brakes big enough or are there easy swaps from another car ?

For the street, stock is workable. But Wilwood has an easy bolt on kit for MGTD, TF, A, B, C. Jay Leno used that kit in a Chevy 350 MGTD 
 Plus if you like junkyard parts I'm reasonably sure the early Jaguar  XKE & sedans had calipers that will bolt on.  
      

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

I've had a different experience. The 120V machines I've had never had enough oomph to get the job done, especially when doing plug welds on floor pans and such. I'd rather have the extra power available and turn it down to what is needed. 

Also, in my experience the 120V machines are usually cheaper models with less adjustability and reliability.

But, everyone does things a little differently. As long as you're happy and get good results cool. 

For all my rust repair I have a little Lincoln Weld-Pak 155 that my Dad gifted me years ago. I bought and installed the gas kit and with the small wire it makes sheet metal repairs pretty easy. 

One thing is definitely avoid is flux core wire for thin sheet work, but I'm sure someone will say it works for them just fine too!

In reply to mblommel :

Im the guy that has good success with a $89 harbor freight fluxcore for doing sheetmetal. So, yup!

Im partial to the 60*v6 gm engines. Love my 3400 in the miata.

SEADave said:

mblommel said:

Seems like a great idea. You lose the heavy (and IMO ugly) rubber bumpers and add a lot of mid 60s race car style. I imagine the fiberglass parts for the Sebring conversion are lighter and cheaper than the chrome bumper parts too. Seems like a win win. Do you plan to add a hardtop and wires and racing stripes like #46 had?

Even just a set of vinyl cut meatballs would add a lot of style to the exterior. 

A nice moto lita steering wheel would go a long way too. 

You guys are getting way ahead of me.   By my reckoning, here is what needs to be done to get where I want to be:

1. Works (factory) hardtop,
2. Lower to CB specs,
3. Wheels,
4. Remove rubber bumpers,
5. Front grill (either 60's style or custom)
6. Front & rear valence,
7. Address front fender indicator area (rubber bumper issue)
8. Address gap under taillight (another rubber bumper issue),
9. Side marker delete,
10. Backup light delete (why not),
11. Early style taillights,
12. Talbot/Raydot mirrors,
13. Moto Lita style steering wheel, and
14. Putting a quick-release fuel cap through the bootlid may be too much, maybe just put a quick release cap in the stock location.
15. Paint, stripes, meatballs, period sponsor stickers??

Some of these will be more challenging than others, particularly since I have no welding or bodywork skills...

The bodywork skills you can teach yourself.  You don't need a lot of equipment.  Start out with sheets of styrofoam glued together to meet roughly the  size of what you want.  Then take a grater and roughly shape it.  
  Don't worry about removing too much.  You have bondo to fill it in. 

I too want to customize my 79 MGB get rid of the front back rubber bumpers

  I like Petey the one he did it looks really really good my humble opinion I think I could do that does anyone else have pictures ideas of custom front ends to make it more contemporary looking and what about the back bumper thank you so much appreciate it hopefully let me post here

1979mgbmetal