> Thanks to all of you who sent email regarding my getting my 77
> B. Your encouragement and wisdom is much appreciated. I towed it back
> 1000 miles last weekend and it made it in good shape, sans top which was
> already beyond repair. It's now resting in my garage waiting to be
> teared down and restored.
>
> I have a couple of quick questions. When I orginally looked at
> the engine.. it looked like a pre 74 engine because of the dual carbs
> and the engine mounted engine fan. I checked the block and it is a 77
> block. The carb change I can understand by a previous owner, but why
> would it have an old style engine fan on it?
>
> I plan on rebuilding the whole engine down to the block. The
> cylinders can be bored out by a local guy, but should I send the heads
> out to be done by someone? Any recommendations?
>
> I'm going to start stripping it down this weekend.
>
David,
Since there is some confusion about the year of the engine, what
kind of head does it have? If it is the pre-'67 head without the air
injector ports, you may need to be careful with your choice of
pistons. If you go with the proper pistons for a '77 block, and use
a pre-smog head, you'll end up with a VERY low compression ratio.
That's what I'm dealing with now. I've heard that you can order
flat-top pistons, and shave the head .060", and this will get you
into the 9.1:1 range. As for where to send it, unless you're going
to have some porting/polishing work done on it, I would just send it
to someone local. It's a pretty low-tech head, and a local shop
should be able to do everything you need. Lindsay Porter's book
specifically makes the point that advanced head work is one of the
LAST things you need to do to an MGB, only becoming necessary after
upgrading the cam, carbs, headers, and ignition.
Scott
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