I've returned to the MG list to share / retreve data from fellow MGB owners.
Its been a few years since I signed off, and many things have happened.
The 80 MGB, (gutless wonder) now has power, much more power than the original
65 HP. With early model pistons, mild hipo camshaft, and weber downdraft
carb. More than that, slightly ported and polished the head, used an early
model cast exhaust manifold and recurved the mechanical advance in the
distributor. The flywheel was lighted to 15 lbs and engine balanced. The
static compression ratio is about 9.3:1 and doesn't knock on mid-grade gas.
Since the car only had 65 horsepower new, this rebuild really made a drastic
improvement. I want to think that its about 100 to 110 horses per the
"DeskTop Dyno" software package, but dont really know. The book, How to
power tune MGB four cyl engines , by Burgess, was a real help and a must
read book for rubber bumper car owners. (The sister book on Midgets is
worthless) First impression was, Wow, the car actually accelerates when you
push of the gas (at highway speeds).
Now the overdrive transmission is starting to flake out, and I need help.
The clutch shutters when releasing and has done so ever since I replaced the
original clutch (not related to lightened flywheel). The OD unit is working
but only when gas is applied. The unit drops out when coasting downhill or
decelerating. Typically it jumps back and forth, in and out, until gas and
acceleration is resumed. Anyone with ideas?? I measured the hyd system
pressure and found that the needle fluctuated wildly but dont know if thats
normal. The average value of the fluctuation is about 420 psi and normal.
Richard White
80 MGB, Brooklands Green
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