MG MGB GT

Yikes! That looks fun....I dislike "log" manifolds ..... so go for the "fun" option !

This part should work...

Wow,

The 3d printed parts are awesome, the design and the tools look rad.

In reply to Shavarsh :

Thanks. I expect they'll get some more use in the future too.

A bit of a pause on MG activities to get some work done on one of the other projects: My 1971 Ford Econoline camper

(fiance for scale)

Building a roof rack / rooftop deck.

The van is also 302 powered, and probably deserves its own build thread.

That's what I need (sorta looking for) to tow the my Europa around sightseeing!

In reply to TurboFource :

Yesss. One of the next van projects is a motorcycle carrier for the back, but I would eventually like to tow a car.

That said, the thing is pretty gutless. Top speed is basically 55.

I was thinking about eventually adding a Gear vendors overdrive to make it a bit more drive able on the highway.

My really dumb idea is add boost to the van eventually. Mostly because I like the idea of my house making Turbo noises.

Turbo noises are great!! I restored a 17 foot camper during covid .... can't tow a car and camper behind my F150 though....

My garage is just big enough to draw up the roof rack.

This is mostly a frame on which to attach the wood for the roof deck and a few solar panels. Most of the load should transfer into those big C-beams and straight down through the walls of the camper.

Getting there....

That is quite the rack!!! Nice!

In reply to TurboFource :

This is going to be the dumbest van in all the land. Can't wait to being it to the race track next year. Should make a sweet viewing platform.

Real question is, should I add cupholders up top?

Nukem said:

In reply to buzzboy :

Thanks. Packaging is hard. Packaging is fun.

Could be ATF. I guess I haven't tasted enough ATF to say one way or another. Whatever it is, it seemed to prevent this thing from getting ruined during the years it was being used for acorn storage:

I Got a package today. It should mostly fit, but I'll probably have to pie cut some Aluminum to get the inlet / outlet in the right direction. 

When you have this tight to work with rather than pie cutting aluminum which tends to introduce cavitation at high flow speeds, I'd go with radiator hose.  Cut straight pieces of aluminum tubing to join.  
   You may need to get the parts counter guy to let you turn pieces around  etc to see what sections will fit. This chunk of that another end of another piece.  The middle of that etc.  

  use plastic water pipe to make your pattern cut and super glue things together. When you've got it laid out right in plastic go to the parts store.  

In reply to frenchyd :

Solid tips! I'll file these away.

Added a second level to the roof rack to add additional basketness. Should provide a visual reminder not to fall off after having a few beers on top (and adds a huge amount of stiffness).

Cup holders.....of course!

Seems like aerodynamics didn't exist back in the 70s. After seeing the old mechanical fan up close I've decided to rip it out and switch to a electric fan setup. This thing would get just a bit warm climbing hills, so I decided to put more radiator in it. If I pull out the mechanical fan I can pretend it's a performance upgrade too.

​​​​​​

Somehow this Chevy radiator pretty much just fits.

Pulled out the old brass radiator to replace it with a 3 row aluminum deal.

While I had the access I refreshed everything in sight. Swapped out the old water pump which was a 1968 casting (unsure if it was original or rebuilt) and powder coated everything that comes off in Ford Dark Blue.

Almost time to put the roof rack on

Back to a bit of MG stuff.

I got my shortened Ford 8.8 back and immediately stuck it underneath the car. It is shortened to use two short side Explorer axles because they are cheap.

The result is, the wheels I bought over a year ago probably aren't the right offset. I've got around 4" from the inside of the rim to the frame rails, and 1.5-2" of poke outside my unmounted fenders.

These wheels are a 15x10 w/ 4.5" backspacing. Looks like they are available up to 6.5" backspacing, which will likely be just enough to make them tuck behind the fenders, or not quite enough.

In reply to Nukem :

Good luck, bassett is surprisingly open about what they can/can't do for offsets if you give them a call. I'm sure you know, but don't forget rotor thickness, I just noticed it was missing in the mockup. The rear looks good!

In reply to Shavarsh :

Well spotted. I didn't forget, but only crudely accounted for the rotor in my approxameasurements.

I'll look into that. I think 7-8" backspacing would dial it in, but that seems pretty huge, and I'd loose the rad dished look.

I got a tire about 75% mounted with hand tools yesterday. I think 6.5" backspacing might be just enough.

This is actually a van thread!

Oil filter is buried in the floor and behind cross members and power steering junk:

New location is easy peasy

Mini tubs on the agenda?