Cheap british convertibles to swap a motor into?

Brian said:

the 60* v6 from 4th gen f-body was what we were thinking of swapping since there are direct swap kits for it.  we'd obviously upgrade the motor a bit as 160hp just isn't enough when 200hp is just about a head swap away.

 

Actually (I assume you are talking about putting alloy 3400 heads on an early block) you can get 200 bhp with the cast iron heads with a bit of work.  My 3.4 in my Jamaican MGA has that output by virtue of a lot of careful head work, a larger throttle body, and a decent cam choice.

You can go for more, but then you are running out of flexibility with CI heads and have to go for high compression and more cam to get the added power.

Or you could go the way I did in my 88 Fiero GT with a turbo 3.2 engine with about 300 bhp.

Camaro 3.4 in MGA chassis/Jamaican bodied car:

In reply to Brian :

How much work are you planning on doing yourself?  

If not 100% there is no way to come in under budget.  Not if you’re going to spend $1000 for the engine swap kit.  

A few years ago I’d attempt it for myself but the market has gone up enough now  that what I could have once acquired for $500 is today selling for over $4,000.  But to meet a $5,000 limit I would have just gotten my engine in and aligned everything, then started welding up brackets.