Topic

the mgf being re engined has issues as we know,a front engined car can get rid of heat and it has more space.the only problem i can see is getting the power on the road with the small wheels and lift as cars pull away.i mate of mine built a 4wd ford mk3 escort with a v8 i think and rallied it,that was fast.i think it was a v8 but it was in the 1980s

Dont worry about getting the power down. Run a type a/b diff and your problems will go away. 270 odd has been put into a metro now and that figure could be smashed again..

Since you know the f/Tf you could skip the f frame and jump straight in at the Tf frame. This is a show car after all

I'm confused what you mean about the problems with heat in the f bay? Not hugely a issue with a Nasp set up, are you planning on using the turbo k?

I'll be running a type A quiafe in mine.. But doubt after my engine work is done and the emerald re-mapped I'll see 187 so doubt I'll need to worry about getting my power down..

Daz are you going silicone hoses etc to make it look smart?

this is the exciting think now.as we are building a mobile engine display case,we are going to fit all the hoses with stainless and flexiable joints.stainless allan bolts every where.and carbon fiber panels.as we have a 9 year old that means we can go to shows and mgf/tf runs.customers can come down for a drive in my mgf that is a show case to what we can do,but as the girlfriend has said all of our work is hidden.its going to have stainless grills on her,brand new brg paint and full leather interior

Just be careful on engine mounts etc as a lot of stainless bolts are not rated very high

So for high stress items you'Ll probably need some 13.9's which they don't do in stainless

Have you ever had one of these '187' engines Dyno'd or is the figure a guesstimate?

we did have one of our engines dynoed but it was a brand new engine and its at the flywheel.and the engine was on a test bench.so perfect conditions,in the car with a few miles on it the guess is around 177 bhp. we use the lotus engine.and they are 187.we also do 160 tuned engines gas flowed and ecu upgrade and we know they get 177bhp. .bhp is very miss leading.the figures given are on a engine on a bench no gear box,alternator fitted,brand new in perfect conditions.even cold air pumped into it .put that engine in a car and gear box ,clutch and al the other things take power away,10 or 15 bhp is lost before it reaches the wheels.age also loses power.
our reborn cars can have a 187 bbhp engine,most of them have a tunes 160 engine.its all down to price.a gas flowed ported 160 engine with a good exhaust good air intake and improved ecu gives a good engine that most peoiple will enjoy.
i used to do a few lotus cars so that is very easy to fit a complete lotus engine into a mg,but its very expensive.dave andrews again is expensive.i try and find a good way to improve what rover did cheaply rover is a mass produced car ,simply spending time and making sure everything fits correctly helps a lot.

What's a lotus engine?

I've spoken to dave andrews, simon erland, roger at sabre heads and jason at hellier performance.. All who say similar to modding the k..

Vvc head ported and polished.. Forged pistons, emerald ecu, piper cams. Vernier pulleys, light weight flywheel, light weight alternator and bottom pulley.. Lower end balanced by VF.. All of which is over 2.5 grand.. Which is the route I'm going.. And I'm told I could expect around 185bhp..

The Lotus engines were 135bhp..except the 111s.. standard K's.. The lotus guys spend thousands gettin to 200 bhp.. All by fitting afternarket uprated kit..

Who does your head work?

From what I understand you'd need throttle bodies (another 1.5k) to get above 190bhp mark..

All of the above ditch the vvc mech too and fit solid cams.. But you keep the vvc?

If you can get 187 from just port/polish you'd make a fortune from the lotus boys

Oops forgot Emerald ECU.. And re-maps..

Although simon prefers the Omex.

i do what dave andrews and all the other people do.dave andrews dose a lot of work on lotus engines and most lotus engines have the same treatment hence why i call it a lotus engine.the port and gas flow is on the 160n engines and remap and that gets around 177 bhp,the 187 is doing around 2,5 k of work.

Ah.. Ok cheers Daz.. Just thought you'd found a cheaper route.. To save me a wedge..

Hellier charge £500 for head work.. But he has a tri face cutter.. Not done by hand..water ways sorted too..

Vibration Free have quoted me £290 plus vat to balance the crank, new Omega pistons, elise parts flywheel, AP clutch cover and elise parts bottom pulley.. All balanced to within 0.1g

Red line will now be higher though

i can gas flow the heads and manifolds and improve the water ways.the ecu gets done by z and r.but to start getting big horse power its big money.we did have a cheetha engine with super charger,i have played with turbos.i have over the years tried differant things,even thought of a mini super charger on a 160 but its simply a lot of problems and i dont think we could market the idea,for 187 engines i buy the stuff in so that way if it blows i can be covered.
most of my customers want subframes and alike.high power isnt their aim.so i basicly offer tuned 160 engines.but that work costs around £1000. ecu,head and manifold
there is a company who claim they can get 250 bhp out of a k series.

I agree with your philosophy Daz, a lot of people confuse road and track. For road use a good spread of torque will be quicker and easier to live with than out and out BHP all at high revs. The K series stops being value for money where you stop tuning as the need to strengthen the bottom end begins. The thing that limits the K in cometition tofay, its relativley long stroke, makes it easier to live with on the road.
For us mortals even on track we may not be able to use those headline numbers. One member of a local natter (MGA owner) used to race a Manx Norton. When noise restrictions tightened up he lost a few BHP at the top with the new exhausr but it fattened the torque curve and his lap times actually came down.