What have you done this weekend...?

i remember a mini that used to get around here with a 5ltr v8 and cut down diff fitted in it. he drove it for a few months until the police put it off the road. you can make anything fit with a grinder and oxy.

 

Should it not be an Opel GT? Opal is a gemstone from down under...

The only Opel Gt I know off is like the one in the attached picture. Actually very scare in SA now and fetching a little fortune if in good condition. If this is the ride PAR refers to, I would love to see a picture with a 454ci Chevy motor in it.
Perhaps Im barking up the wrong tree and there is an Opal GT in USA that is a totally different car

 

Yep it is Opel GT. I don't have the Opel any more, but the dash was moved, along with the fire wall. It had a full tube frame and I sat where the back seat would have been, It ran 9's and high 8's and was only of the scariest rides you can imagine. The only Opel left in her was the sheet metal. She had a 9" Ford floater and 400 turbo backing the 454, with typical 4 link trailing arm back end. If she didn't yank her front wheels too high and both tires got about the same amount of grip you where just along for the ride in the first 100 feet. If she landed fairly square, it might be a good run, but most of the time she'd come down and dance sideways and you played "catch up" for the next few hundred feet. When she hooked up, she was a quick car. A small block can easily fit under a slightly modified Opel GT hood, though a big block requires major cutting.

The MGB was available with a factory V8 in 1973 - 1976. Mine was a small block Chevy, which does require a bit of cutting, but not terribly bad. This was shoe horned into a 1967 MGB. It too had a 9" Ford, but used a Borg Warner 4 speed. A cut up fire wall, well tubs and bigger trans tunnel where the major bits of surgery. This car was fairly easy to build and only had a 4 point cage, with some 3" square tube connectors under it. She'd run 12's, but really wasn't setup to do much more. I got close to 30 MPG with that car. I also had very little trouble getting it tagged, though the local cops weren't especially fond of it.

 

3.5L V8 in a GT



And here is one with a BB Chebby



More Here: http://www.stephenmason.com/cars/opelgtv8m.html

This weekend I'll be cleaning the garage/shop and working job #2 tonight. I also have to move some stuff from a buddy's garage to my place because he is moving to a new house.

 

Wynand,

You are right of course.
Ok I have seen the proof, and a tube frame with just the sheet metal has been done for every car imaginable - I was assuming "relatively" stock. Not enough imagination.

Actually I have a 70's engine swapping book with a 350 in an MGB so I swallowed that one easily. Enough cars from me.

 

Ok --sun morning going for a walk--maybe get a week day special at Mc donalds --sausage Mc muffin with egg, Yeah I know its not weekend to us but is is to muslims.

Then go for a walk show my ares to the monkeys ( ha it makes them go nuts) then come home and get the bike out and go buy 2 cases of Skoll and two 5 liter boxes or red Franzia wine.

Then err maybe go see a friend in the country and come home again 3 cans of skoll --5 glasses of wine then bed.

MGB did a V8 from the factory. Amazingly it was called an MGBV8 I dont know who came up with that. It was the Rover V8 or the British Leyland as it was then at that time. Rover V8 was the range rover engine gutless at about 150HP.

As a profesioional mechanic I never modified cars. I had 2 Jensons with the Mopar 440 engine, and one with the 383 --a nice English built car with torque from hel. A corvette L82 auto, a Oldsmobile cutlass and last a Ford Mercury. Tons of other crap two like Stags, Jags etc etc.

 

MGB had a 215 CU. in. V8 Buick (originally) aluminum blocked motor.
Triumph had a 3.5L V8 Rover motor 213.5 (cu. in).
Do you wonder why those two brands went belly up?

 

Original MGB was Rover 3,5 --Triumph stag was not the Rover.

Stag heads had trouble from corrosion --only 6 thou could be removed before inlet manifold problems. Uk mechanics were not familiar with V engine and knackerd head bolts trying to get manifolds to fit . Most Stag engines were srapped for the straight six carb or injection TR6.

Dolomite was half the Stag engine and was the same for corrosion.

Dolomite sprint was one of the first 4 valve heads and a slant engine.

The head studs needed to be removed before the head could be removed in situ to clear inner Mc phearson struts.

I worked on this crap all day Including Jags and RR.

 

This is actually from last weekend, but the editing took a while...

Paddling Deception Pass, including Deception Island and the shore north of Rosario Beach.



Waterproof camera didn't survive this weekend's activities, which involved getting dumped out of the boat in Canoe Pass and having to be rescued by my paddling partner. New camera has bee ordered and more videos will follow.

 

Mother Nature decided I needed a SkyLight in my boat shed.





That's gonna be a b*tch to fix.

 

Bad luck.

 

Actually the Buick 215 was a great engine and has been in nearly continuous production since it's rights were sold in the early 60's. Current versions of this engine are commonly 285 CID, but a 307 is also available and this can be punched to 318, which isn't anything to sneeze at, considering the power to weight ratio (less then 400 pounds full up).

Asking a 285 or 307 or even a 318 to produce 300 HP isn't very difficult and this much power, with the weight of an iron block 4 banger, which typically produce pitiful HP ratings, can liven up a dull little car pretty quickly. Take a look at a Mazda Miata or other little, relatively light car and think about what 300 HP would do for it. This car could be put on a diet, fairly easily and offer more power to weight. Now, put a custom forged crank and other, better internals, then punch up the HP to 400 - 450 and see what happens. The best part is it sounds like what it is, which no one will believe is under your stock hood Miata.

The first gen Miata was about 2,100 pounds with just over 100 HP. The latest version is heavier (nearly 2,500 pounds), but has a whopping 170 HP. You can double this, still close the hood and though you'll likely need a trans and rear, not a hard thing to do. In fact a small block Chevy kit is available for it. I'd prefer the better balance of the 300 pound lighter engine of the 'ol Buick V8 has, but you guys need to get out more often.

 

After 32 yrs in the Coast Guard I swallowed the anchor and packed it in. Yesterday was the first day of being a full time boat builder!

Started to lay out the long fabrics to laminate the keel.



Tinkered away at that for three hours then had a nap! I think I'm gonna enjoy this retirement thingy except the Admiral keeps mentioning this "Honey Do List" that I've never heard of!...........

 

PAR,

I have lost track of the 215. What production engine is available as a 285 or 307?

 

The 215 aluminum V8 by Buick was sold to MG and subsequently to other British concerns, as these companies bought each other out. Current production of the now well bored and stroked V8 is by Land Rover, who has offered this engine in several sizes, with the 285 being most common. With TVR heads, custom intake and exhaust, you can get a surprising amount of power, for it's weight, which is the whole point. The foot print is also quite small, so shoe horning one into something small is fairly easy too.

My red race boat was entered into her first race. She was the star of the field and won her class, first time out. Of course racing being what it is, she cracked her block during the last race. Welcome to powerboat racing . . .