FrankenSeries LIVES! After almost a year of being torn apart, I finally
have my motor back in the car and have 150 miles on it. For those of you
who don't know Frankenseries, it is a Series II car that I bought off a guy
who blew up the Series I motor that had been swapped into the car along
with the Series I ID plate and tranny. I found a Series V motor that went
into the car and I drove it for about 6 years. I was having overheating
problems and put a 4 core radiator into the car which helped for about a
year. Finally, I noticed my overflow tank was boiling with the motor
running and I realized I had a blown head gasket. When I pulled the head,
I was horrified to find that the gasket blew because the aluminum had
rotted out around the #4 cylinder. I wound up pulling the whole drive
train as I had a Series II overdrive tranny mated to a Volvo D-type Laycock
overdrive that I wanted to put into the car.
The motor was bored out 30 over and balanced. I used Ramon's ARP rod bolts
and chiseled out the casting sand behind cylinder #4 (possibly the root of
my cylinder head woes). I had Elgin cams do a mild street grind on the
cam. The head was welded up and the combustion chambered reground. I had
the ports radiused and the head decked.
Everything went back together almost to easily. The MGB driveshaft that I
hoped was going to be the right length for my Volvo OD set up was a little
too short, so I had the driveshaft lengthened, U joints replaced, and
balanced.
The motor is now VERY smooth. I haven't taken the RPMs over 4000 yet, but
it feels very strong to that point. I do notice a little loss on the
bottom end. This may be due in part to the cam grind, but also due to
changing the Series I tranny with the 14:1 first gear to the Series II
tranny with an 11:1 first gear. I used to lauch the car in 2nd gear, but I
find I need first gear now. With the overdrive engaged, I can cruise
Interstate 5 at a little over 3,000 rpm, while before the motor was
screaming at over 4000. The Volvo OD has a 28% reduction, I think. I
highly recommend the OD and the Volvo unit is similar to all other D-types,
except for the screwing design that went onto our Sunbeams. The output
shaft on a standard D-type is flanged, so the bearing and seals don't wear
out in weeks time and I shouldn't ooze as much oil.
The interior of the car is pretty much stock, except that I have early MGB
seats because my Alpine seats were total rust buckets. I also took a
fiberglass center console from an MGB and set it on the tunnel and
installed a negative ground stereo. This allowed me to keep the unit from
grounding out so that I could keep the car positive ground (I also had to
clip the ground wire on the antennae, so the reception is not great). I
have replaced all the interior panels, repainted the car, and installed 3
point seat belts. I also have the hard top, soft top, and tonneau. The
car has basically been a rolling restoration for the last 7 years. All I
have left is to replace the wire wheels and hub (they clunk).
So, with a Series II car, Series I registration, Series V motor, Series II
carbs and headers, Series II tranny, Volvo overdrive, MGB driveshaft ,
seats, and center console, you can understand the FrankenSeries
appellation.
Bill (back in the Saddle again) Lewis
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