MGB & GT Forum

Have a 1974.5 MGB Roadster wanting to make modern day reliable driver. A new company has been making MG'S that can run 0-60 in under 4 seconds with power steering ac and modern day comfort. Wanting to know what kind of engine swap I can do that will leave me enough room to put in ac and powet steering too. I'm looking for reliable. I believe they call it an MGB LE50 but it's like $80,000

http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/vehicle/mg-le50/

Yup that's the company. I believe they are using a mazda motor but I csnt find any information on what motor.

If you want a Miata then why not just buy a Miata? It will be a whole lot cheaper in the long run

I prefer the classic look and I already have a mg so it would cost about the same to modernize it as it would to buy a miata

yep, they are using Mazda engines.

http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/vehicle/mg-abingdon-edition/

http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/vehicle/mg-le50/

2 litre and 2.5 litre, all alloy 4 pot with 6 speed gearbox, not sure which model but guessing MX-5 / Miata based.

I have seen an LE50 car in the flesh and it is very well designed and built ... but expensive.

Frontline uses the 2.0 and 2.5 MZR aluminum twin cam engines.

---

"If I knew where the good songs came from, I'd go there more often."

Leonard Cohen

Has anyone else done that engine swap? I've seen a lot of V8 and V6 but csnt seem to find a lot on dropping in a 2.5l mazda motor.

There are some regulars on this forum that specialize in modified MGBs and can perform updates and modification.
Brian at bmcautos.com
Bill Guzman.
Jack at Ceres motorsports.
And many other talented people. If you search the websites you can see their work and gets feel for their interpretation of the modernization process.
Don’t update to a Miata engine. They don’t make enough power to justify the expense. Trust me on this.

Search got a member named valvecover gasket. He has a thread on the engine swap forum.

$70,000.00 buys a lot of gas!

---

AC ACE rebody panels for the MGB



Every saint has a past..... every sinner a future.

The LE50 or other MGB's with high end power is nice.

An MGB with an old classic clickity-clackity push-rod engine is pretty nice too.

Personally, I prefer the old classic engine which is pretty reliable if kept up.

David

---

74 Damask Red BGT
Davesmg@outlook.com

I was guilty in my younger days of dropping a Mazda truck 4 cylinder 2.0 liter in a 60 Triumph TR-3 A. Mainly because I had the Mazda motor with nothing invested it. It ran ok and the Mazda tranny was great too. I just didn't enjoy the car any more and when a English car buyer came around looking for old cars he was pointed in my direction. I sold it for $3850. I should have rebuilt the original engine. Back them The Roadster Factory had a good deal on remans too. I now want my classic car to retain most of the original character. Now I might be pursuaded by a 356 Replicar with a hot VW or Subaru Turbo powerplant. These cars are mostly toys now not daily drivers to me anyway. I need/want the safety, comfort, reliability and performance of my GTI for daily use. I'm still working a job where getting in and out of a MGB multiple times daily in Florida heat just wouldn't work for me. It's great fun for occasional use and weekend beach runs and club activities.

Classic Motorsports documented installing a Miata engine in a B.

Ask Dr Google to find that for you.

---

---
GEO

Chevy V6, AC, electric power steering, MG power disk brakes. Do you own wiring harness using modern connectors. Up to you if you want to do a 4-link and coil over for the front.

If you do it right, it will cost as much as a couple year old Miata or Z4. It won't drive like a modern car as the engineering in chassis dynamics can't be matched to modern cars. About any modern mini-van can out handle a B. The B is a reworked A, which is a reworked T series, barely a post war car. I have had some very fast cars but you know what? The older slower cars are more fun. Correctly maintained dead stock they can be as reliable as any modern car. $20K worth of mods and it will be a very nice reworked 50's car. Not a modern car. IMHO, take a stock car in tip-top shape and just add a modern ignition system. For the tires that actually fit under the fenders, power steering is not necessary, but the electric unit does fit under the dash. A "Burgess street" engine is about right for the car, but a V6 can give you that 145 or so HP very easy with enough power for AC. Use the stock Camero computer, but you may want a lower rear end ratio depending on the trans you get. Several folks use a cut down Chevy rear. I would prefer a twin cam Toyota, but they are almost unobtainable. Miata swap has some issues with the ignition key and computer to overcome unless you go MegaSquirt.

$80K for a turn key car sounds more reasonable every day! If you want a modern car, buy a modern car. The compromises in making something into what it was not designed to be can be very great ( read that expensive)

---

Cogito ergo sum periculoso