I have done a bit of research regarding having more power under the hood of
an MGB. I have yet to see a more cost effective alternative than hopping up
the MGB engine. There are a plethora of aftermarket parts available, and you
still have the option of doing a 2-liter conversion. I too have heard that
not all MGB engines can be punched out that big, but used MGB blocks are
pretty cheap and fairly plentiful with rust having killed the sheetmetal but
sparing engine blocks. While the MGB engine isn't a revver, it makes pretty
good torque down low to get away from a light - advantage of an archaic
undersquare design. Modern oversquare engines don't have great down-low
torque characteristics and I've yet to see a Japanese car/engine where parts
were as cheap and readily available as they are for the MGB engine. Further,
good luck trying to make a modern 2 liter tranverse four with fuel injection
work in an MGB for anything less than big $$$$$.
I've also looked into a V-8 conversion for my MGB, using the ex-Buick/now
Rover aluminum V-8. It's still more expensive than souping up the MGB four,
but its being done very frequently - I saw two conversions at Import/Kit Car
Show at Carlisle, PA last summer. There's even a book available for the
conversion. Based on what I read, the conversion's a lot easier on the
rubber bumper cars than it is on the chrome bumper cars.
Lastly, I seem to recall that I saw correspondence from someone autocrossing
a 160 horsepower MGB in the EP division. If he's running an MGB engine, it
seems to me that that's the guy with the expertise to answer the question.
George
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