Holiday gift ideas. Inside this month s issue: Great Gift Ideas. Pearson s Birthday Party Eric s MGB Transplant, Cont. James Mc s 63 Mini update

Transcription

1 To join us at Holiday gift ideas. Every year before the Holidays we plan our lists of cool exciting cars, parts, or memorabilia books Santa may bring. Sometimes we feel the holiday should be here in July, when warm weather causes disruptive travel situations and broken parts. But, as true to the holidays... you must be good to one-another (car can be naughty or nice). We view everything said, performed/shared or broken while enjoying our British or English cars through numerous travels/ travails/events/shows was of the absolute truth. If it was so, or not... only Santa knows. The gift to me is having a club such as ours, to share ideas and events throughout the year. Bi" Fisher, editor Still waiting for one of these two creations under your tree? You ll melt your eyes out. - Miles Aweigh Inside this month s issue: Great Gift Ideas. Pearson s Birthday Party Eric s MGB Transplant, Cont. James Mc s 63 Mini update Gordon s new TR6 Newsletter Techniques Susan s Minutes One Last Shot! Page 1

2 What you & your lovely car want for Christmas; By Bill Fisher Nothing says love like the gift of Grommets - it seals the deal between the two of you. Semi-ugly wheels rims? Needs chrome beauty rings. Or does she/he have an Alloy lover on the side? Nothing keeps the love moving like Pertonix ignition, she/he will never leave you alone while ignited. If you are older than a certain age to get going - a gear reduction starter is what you need. Has your Baby had too much Acid? Maybe a new battery box shield will help keep her clean. Is she/he not as bright as used to be? Look at it and say, What did Mr. Lucas do to you? How s the steering rack... both wheels pointing forward? Dasher! Prancer! If it looks like Reindeer digested your dash after 35 yrs. there is help available. Nothing keeps your mind/feet warmer than spending great $$ on new interior carpet. A Good Stiff Belt for the new year! Please make sure whatever belts; seats or motor are good. Radio/Sounds... Who ever put radios in British cars was one Dull Tool. Drive, listen & enjoy. New shift knob! Nothing like having a smooth, comfortable grip towards the future. Nothing say s Who s under there like a new Tonneau cover for interior weather protection. A Supercharger will blow more air/fuel mixture and make the right foot find more excitement. RUST... even while we sleep it continues it s work... so stay awake! Try a shot of POR-15. Dan If you Hines don t convinces own a British Eric car, there are many examples available with which to start... see below. MG never made one of these! James & Susan have rebuilt many rusty cars, and are still married!! Page 2

3 Mike Pearson s Birthday party: November 10th, 2012 Great cars, fun and food was enjoyed by those in attendance at Pearson s Auto Ranch. The photos from page 2 are are from Mike s Secret Collection.! Page 3

4 Eric s MGB Transplant Plan; Part 2 By Eric Frana Rover V8 Conversion Part 2: Transplant Recipient and The Decision Last month you were teased with a very shinny, 3.5 L Rover V8 slated for President Eric Frana s MGB. This month is about the transplant recipient and why a V8 conversion British Racing Green MGB was purchased in October 2009 as a somewhat barn find. Early July 09 my brother Ray and I took Aunt Becky s 74 MGB for a ride. A couple months later, Aunt Becky discovered Joe, her manager, had a rubber bumper B sitting at his grandparents acreage in a machine shed for fifteen years. A phone call to me sparked a reserved interest. Car was located about two and a half hour drive away, so it provided the perfect excuse to the mistake of taking a trailer. It needed a soft top, fuel pump, emergency break cable and the usual stuff. Small negotiation later, it was loaded. Several things have happened since my first drive. Car has been enjoyable at times. Stressful at others. Even tried to sell it before moving to Kansas, but not much interest, so it came with me. MGB receiving a V8 isn t breaking new barriers. It s been done several times and B s came from British Leyland with a Rover 3.5 L V8 after MGC failed to be a huge success. V8 s were not imported to the US for emissions limits. In 1992, MGRV8 roadster was produced with a Rover 3.9L V8. Original chassis was fitted with upgraded breaks, suspension, bumpers interior, and a few other mods, but basic chassis remained the same, proving the MGB roadster chassis can handle the beefy engine. For those who think the suspension won t handle that heavy V8, think again. Rover V8 engines are aluminum and weigh 50 lbs less than the original 4 cylinder cast iron engine, not to mention its much lighter than the MGC 6 cylinder. Engine conversions range from high output performance engines, Ford V8, Chevy V6, small block Chevy s, Rover V8, Buick/Olds V8 (early Rover V8), and even import 4 bangers or more out there, electric motors. So what s my goal with a conversion kit? More power. Not looking to break land speed records, but want a decent acceleration rate. A smooth, engine swap. Enjoy fabricating, but don t have the luxury to spend a lot of time fabricating parts. Increased fuel economy. A fifth gear/overdrive should help out. Relatively stock appearance. Isn t about a chrome engine compartment or bullet aluminum pulleys. Did someone say road trip? Cruise control then. (Continued on next page...)! Page 4

5 Eric s MGB Transplant Plan; Part 2 By Eric Frana (Continued) No matter what, an engine conversion will never be original, however I wanted an original flavor. That meant Ford and Chevy were out. Even though Buick/Olds 215 are basically the same as a Rover V8, just didn t seem right. It had to be a Rover engine. No substitutes. Original V8 engines were 3.5L and later run 3.9L. Either seemed to fit the bill. WorgWarner World Class T5 and Rover LT77 are the most common five speed transmissions. T5 s come in a wide flavors with the first choice as Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang V8 units. Rover is basically a enhanced Buick/Olds engine, so a GM match seemed to be the ideal marriage. Researching Rover V8 conversions, D&D Fabrications from Almont, Michigan kept coming up, so I called Mark and discussed. He touted his company and offered a stem to stern conversion kit that included everything from the new radiator to new driveshaft and rear end if so desired. It s hard to put numbers together without a specification list, but said it would be $8-9k with a transmission. Quite pricey, other options were likely. Least expensive would have been rebuild the engine, trash the original intake/exhaust manifold, install better carburetor conversion kit, header and new exhaust system. Estimated cost is about $5k. Still leaves the original 4-speed and another $3-3.5k for a 5-speed conversion kit. Total price expected to be $8-8.5k. Without any extreme tuning, I could expect about Hp. If I wanted to add a supercharger, about $3k more would be needed in-lieu-of a better carburetor conversion kit. Total price expected to be $ k for about Hp. In my mind, it doesn t take much to conclude a V8 conversion is a better choice. Last fall (2011) I called Mark at D&D Fabrications to further discuss his V8 conversion kit. After about an hour discussion, I was told to budget $8.5k for stem to stern kit with about 7 week lead time. At that time I was just about to purchase a house, so couldn t pull the trigger quite yet. Please stay tuned weekly by attending Tech Sessions or monthly in our newsletter Follow us on Facebook.com Lawrence All British Car Club! Page 5

6 Pres. Eric Frana s 3.5 Rover V-8/MGB conversion; Tech Session President Eric Frana held the first of several tech sessions on Saturday, December 1. James McKenzie, Brian Kelley, Rich Hutte, Allan Miller and Dave Holzmeister attended the divorce proceedings. Bill Fisher came later to celebrate with a couple beers. Details will be communicated in one of the future conversion article series. Eric will continue preparations for the new marriage. All are invited to come join him Saturdays for open tech sessions. If you would like to attend, please let Eric know at erfrana@sbcglobal.net. He ll always have coffee, water and limited selection of soda. If there s something particular you would like, let him know. He ll make an effort to get it. Things Eric now has for sale: All divorces generally require sell off of goods. Here s a few. Follow us on Facebook.com Lawrence All British Car Club Item 1: Let s make a deal MG 1800 engine with 52,333 miles. Used head from 1986 MGB was installed approximately 3,500 miles ago. Hardened seats were installed, new valve guides, valve seals and valve job performed before installation. Water pump installed fall Comes with the original Zenith Stromberg carburetor and manifold. Item 2: Let s make a deal MG 4 speed synchromesh transmission with 52,333 miles. Oil came out very clean. Comes with clutch, pressure plate and slave cylinder. Item 3: Let s make a deal. Radiator for MGB. Excellent condition. Victoria British Part Purchased 9/15/2010. Paid $169 new. Will throw in radiator hoses purchased at same time. A $ tax value if purchased new today. Item 4: Let s make a deal. 16 aftermarket radiator fan. Purchased June Paid $80 new. Dirty 10 Brian Kelly was hands-on. Brian & Alan Miller contemplated prayers for Eric.! Page 6

7 Other member s current projects: James McKenzie Front and rear subframes are out mini is a work in progress around here. Rear suspension for the mini, it only took three hours, 12ton press, a torch and lots of swearing to get the shaft out. Note the needle bearings, whats left of them. Gordon Fitch Gordon recently purchased this completely original 1973 Triumph TR6 that had been stored in a garage for the past 19 years. Only 62,000 mi. Congratulations Gordon!! Page 7

8 How I put our newsletter together: By Bill Fisher More Rustic images: Courtesy of the Mike Pearson Environmental Collection! Page 8

9 Lawrence All British Car Club Dec. 4th 2012 LABCC Minutes: By Susan McKenzie MEETING NOTES OF NOVEMBER 6, 2012 MEETING, BAMBINO S RESTAURANT President Eric began the meeting by stating that the 2 nd Annual Rallye was WONDERFUL! James reviewed the 2 nd Annual Rallye expenses, especially noting that due to the expenses being kept at a minimal this year, the event ended financially in the black. The expenses included: the rallye road books, rallye numbers, park rental and liquor license, and food. In summary, all went well, it was a beautiful day for tops being down, and the food was delicious. Alan indicated that it was a good experience to run the rallye economically to see how things would go. Eric indicated that in the future we could hold the rallye with even less expense with him taking advantage of the printer access he has at work to print the road books, and because James ordered reusable numbers for the cars this year that the club now owns. Eric would like to see a smaller rallye in the spring and then the 3 rd Annual Rallye to be held again in the fall. Everyone attending the 2 nd Annual Rallye felt that the rallye route was especially good this year and thanked Ken for that. It was both a beautiful route and a lot of fun for the participants so much so that many decided to take the ENTIRE loop around Wyandotte Lake and not just the one side! Thanks so much Ken for all your work in planning the rallye route! Mike Pearson is having a birthday and is inviting the club members to his home on Saturday (Nov. 10 th ). Guests should bring a dish to pass. James indicated that he would send an out to members with Mike s address and to notify those not at this meeting of the event. Speaking of parties Everyone thanked Dave and Debbie for inviting us to their annual Halloween Party again this year. It was a lot of fun and a good time was had by all. Debbie must enjoy our company (or be a glutton for punishment) as she announced that she and Dave will host a Holiday Open House on December 15 th at 4:00 pm. She will have appetizers for the event and indicated that guests should not bring anything. The MGB Register dues are due for annual renewal. Ken reported that the Austin Healey Conclave will be held in Quebec next year. He also reported that he had received an from Mike Pearson that his car is shiny again! Everyone commented on what a great job Bill has been doing with the newsletter and, in particular, how nice this month s issue was. Thanks Bill! Respectfully submitted, Susan McKenzie, Secretary Page 9

10 Lawrence All British Car Club Dec. 4th 2012 LABCC Officers: President - Eric Frana Vice President - Alan Miller Secretary/Membership - Susan McKenzie Treasurer - Chuck Fisher Newsletter Editor - Bill Fisher Events Team - Dave & Debbie Holzmeister Calendar of Events 2012/13 Dec. 4th at Bambinoʼs 6:30 Dec. 8th Tech Ericʼs Dec. 15th Tech Ericʼs Dec. 22nd Tech Ericʼs Jan. 8th at Bambinoʼs 6:30 Feb. 5th at Bambinoʼs 6:30 Mar. 5th at Bambinoʼs 6:30 One Last Shot: Seems Ken Smiley and his Jaguar XK-140 is now a new member. A special thanks to those contributing to this newsletter. Other members need to share in the future... Bill Fisher, Newsletter Editor. bfisher1951@gmail.com Follow us on Facebook.com Lawrence All British Car Club Page 10