MGB Front Suspension - Page 3

Monster · #41 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 12:04 AM

Your picture post didn't seem to work, however I did go to your site and the link did provide picture of your vette suspension. I did notice that your running a chevy motor......shame on you

. Anyway, it looks like a nice conversion, I did notice in one picture it looked like the rack is P/S, but there were no lines hooked up.

Thanks,
Mike

rdorman · #42 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 08:01 AM

I forgot to mention that the calipers, pads and hoses are $100 plus shipping.

Let me know.

Rick

Tom Howland · #43 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 09:36 AM

Mike, you've got good eyes. Yes the power rack isn't hooked up. It's a beast in the parking lot but feels good on the road. I'll probably leave it. I had originally thought of useing regressive GM unit but I like the road feel.
Tom

65 Blur · #44 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 10:39 AM

Mine looks to be all stock MG with the GM rotor and Dodge calipers. The cross member is bolted and welded to the frame so the change will be a bear

if I opt for the Unique. I have been in contact with Maurice @ Unique and taking several measurements to see if it will work.

Tom - welcome to our little forum. The Vette front looks great. Nice engine choice

(I'm running the SBC too).

Regarding the engineering / body construction quality of these cars - I cut a hole in the hood for the scoop and took the piece to the paint guy for matching. He was amazed at the amount of glass used (2 1/8" pieces sandwiched - for the HOOD!!). He has worked with several Hot Rods and Cobra replicas and said that this is by far the beefiest body he has seen. No wonder this thing is so steady and quite going down the road (minus exaust of course). The more I learn, the more impressed I am.

Roy

Chifo Jr · #45 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 05:45 PM

Now that we have a rundown of everyones suspension setup, how about some input on your cooling systems? As you may have seen from another post of mine I am having some serious cooling problems. I am using the Arntz/Butler big radiator with a 16" Spal fan affixed to the rear side (I am not using a shroud but the fan takes up most of the radiator surface area). I am using a "tee" type filler in the upper radiator line and have an overflow can plumbed in as well. Engine is a fairly stout 351C with 10.7:1 compression at about 430hp.

Let me know what your running and your results...

65 Blur · #46 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 06:33 PM

Big Butler radiator with Summit S-blade 16" puller fan with the Painless fan relay set to come on at 200 and off at 185 degrees. It is a thin style that has a small shoud. Thermostat is 185, stock SBC pump with reduced pully (I am not having a cooling issue, so when I converted to the March serpintine system, I went for the horses and went with the smaller pulley). I have the Cobra style expansion tank with overflow into a stainless can.

Stuck in traffic for 30 minutes in 95 degrees yesterday and never above 190. The motor is 9.5:1 and we are pushing 400 horses.

Chifo - did not see your other post regarding overheating - did anyone ask about checking mixture? lean = hot

Roy

Chifo Jr · #47 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 06:48 PM

My guess is it is running way lean as I just about asphixiated my family a few weeks back even with the garage door open and two fans going full blast to ventilate things

. We had to vacate the house and spend the night on the boat! I wanted to get the cooling situated before getting it on a dyno and having the carb set up. I may just throw in some richer jets as it seems to be starved for fuel.

Thanks for the suggestion as my next step is to pull the heads to verify the gasket orientation.

Monster · #48 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 11:39 PM

I chased cooling problems on my car for awhile but I think I have it under control now. I also have the Butler "Brick" of a radiator. If I were to do it again I would have gone and had an aluminum made (it probably would have cost the same and cooled better) One of the problems I find with the Butler design is that it's TOO thick so you don't get good air flow which contributes to the problem). I mounted a Flex-a-Lite black magic fan with an integrated shroud that fits like it was made for the radiator and the fan pulls at 2800CFM. I then upgraded my water pump to the Edelbrock aluminum which has superior balanced flow due to the CNC design. Then the last thing was to change over from the Toploader to a Tremec. This lowered my cruising RPM's down from 3.2K@70mph to 2.0k@70mph. I have a dash mounted fan switch that I use when in traffic. On the recent Cobra's to the Coast, the return was thru the inland route with outside air temp at 95+. My car ran at 180 all day even when snaking up and down hills.

BTW: It would be great if we could get together to shared things in person. Are any of you planning on going to the Historics or Snakes to the Lake?

take care ,
Mike

1cobralover · #49 (**permalink**) 07-21-2003, 11:55 PM

With using the vette suspension did you have to get New front wheels. Do to the fact that C4 & C5 have a LOT of back spacing around 6" in some wheels.

As soon as I can get them I will show the jpeg's of the frontend I'm working on. The guys with the welded MG X-member might like it. Its like the Hawk only I'm using a early GM spindle with the same rotor that your using on most of the A/B/U cars

I hope this jpeg works its a photo of the top mount with some machined bushing. These are the mounts Butler sold for his upgraded frontend. You used this mount w/the arms from the MGB shock & trash the rest. I still have to weld the shock mount on it for the coil-over shocks.

Damm wrong computer : (

Tom Howland · #50 (**permalink**) 07-22-2003, 07:11 AM

Steven,
The C4 A arms are set closer together than a vette. Tryed cutting the transverse carbon spring shorter but that didn't work, ruined the rebound rate. Went to coilover shocks instead. My front track is wider now even after narrowing the frame clip which at first I didn't like but am OK with now. Use same wheels. Had GM hubs before. The car handles really well.

Mike,
I'll be going down Sat. or Sun. I want to walk the pits and look at GT40s, Cobras, and Mustangs. I'm not sure which day is the best.

Chifo,
I have a Ron Davis aluminium radiator with a puller fan. Last week I was stuck in traffic and went over 200. I need a tune up and hope it's that simple to bring the temp down.
Tom

Chifo Jr · #51 (**permalink**) 07-22-2003, 11:32 AM

Thanks for the responses.

Monster: I would love to begin to get involved in some of the get togethers. I do need to get things sorted first so I dont become the "rememeber that poor guy". Hopefully this wont take too long, but my plate is pretty full with a number of business projects that are taking alot of my time. How incosiderate of my customers!

I will look into the fan arrangement you have as I dont think I have anywhere near that flow volume with the 16" Spal fanand no shroud. Do you have a part number or where you purchased?

65 Blur · #52 (**permalink**) 07-22-2003, 11:41 AM

Mike,

We are registered for the Snake to the Lake, and living so close to Monterey, can't miss the Historics. I had heard mention regarding a parking area for Cobras - any knowledge of this?

Roy

Chifo Jr · #53 (**permalink**) 07-22-2003, 11:43 AM

Monster: By the way your comments on the "brick" radiator being too thick for efficient air flow was confirmed by a number of experts I have talked to. However if you are ale to cool your big block I suspect that I should be ok as well.

1cobralover · #54 (**permalink**) 07-23-2003, 12:24 AM

OK I put them in my CC photo album. sorry for the quality of the photo's, these are photos of photos

I hope you can see the jpeg's these are 2 photo's of the top mount that Butler was using on his upgraded frontend. After G&S Motorsports went under I lost the arms,bushing and some other items

Monster · #55 (**permalink**) 07-23-2003, 12:57 AM

Chifo- go to http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/blackmag.htm for the spec's on the "Black Magic fan, I got mine from Summit.(ships from Reno gets here in a couple of days and the price seems to be the same everywhere) Here's a SPAL link so you can compare your fan specs http://www.spal-usa.com/html/pgtablel.htm. I did a rough calculation and a 16" fan without a shroud is only pulling from 70% of the radiator. (draw a box, place a circle inside and multiply the corner areas not inside the circle by 4 and you can see it's quite a bit of cooling loss) A shroud by design will draw from the entire core and pull through the fan , probably 95%+ efficent.

Roy- go to http://www.norcal-saac.org/ and scroll down toward the bottom for info on Historics parking. Contact Lewis Downs.

see ya,
Mike

Chifo Jr · #56 (**permalink**) 07-23-2003, 02:26 PM

Mike:

I just ordered the fan from Summit. Do you have any pics of the fan installed on your radiator? It would be helpful in giving me an idea of my mounting options. By the way my Spal is a 14" fan not a 16 so I am sure that it is complicationg things a bit more. Thanks,

Pete Chifo, Jr

Chifo Jr · #57 (**permalink**) 07-23-2003, 02:29 PM

I just did a check and the 14" Spal model 119 only pulls about 1750 cfm at 100% efficiency. I will be picking up about 60% more flow.

Monster · #58 (**permalink**) 07-23-2003, 06:06 PM

Pete,
Just about ready to leave the office. I'll click some pic's tonight for ya.
Ok Pete, I'm home and the pic are in my gallery. I also included a shot of my hood prop. I spent some time thinking about how to install a "no-hands" prop and this is what I came up with. Let me know if you need more pictures.

Mike

Chifo Jr · #59 (**permalink**) 07-24-2003, 01:23 PM

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the pics. They look to be the same as my idea for mounting which would be a plate top and bottom rivited to the steel cap and base. I will then affix the fan to that plate. I am also thinking of using a rubber moulding to seal the fan shroud to the face of the radiator. I am a bit pissed in that I thought I had an original idea to paint my engine compartment to match my stripes! Looks good

. On a separate note, the strut to raise the hood I did a bit differently. I chose a gas pressure strut for both the trunk and hood. Really works pretty neat. I'll post some pics either before I leave on vacation or upon returning. Its been three years since I have taken a day off work so I am looking forward to a bit of a break. I will be off on my boat to Mexico and Coronado and will be monitoring my emails when Im in port. I will post a pic of my son on the back of my boat in my gallery. Check out the boats name...

By the way, our radiators look like they are mirror images of one another. Mine has the lower outlet and top petcock on the passengers side. I did get a good idea from yours in that I can use the upper fitting to use as a bleed. Thanks again for all your help.

Regards,

Pete

Monster · #60 (**permalink**) 07-24-2003, 02:19 PM

Pete,
I'd like to see how you did the trunk. I've been putting off engineering that prop and I'm getting tire of using my cut off broom handle

. The Black magic fan comes with a rubber gasket on the shroud which provides a nice tight seal against the radiator. The control box on the left side of the shroud has the fan temp sensor capillary tube and the control for adjusting when the fan comes on.

Have a nice time off,
Mike