WE GOT BRAKES!! I'll tell you, this project is gaining momentum! Bill Guzman of Classic Conversions, Camarillo, California just this morning donated a COMPLETE 4 wheel disc brake system including Wilwood Calipers and a new master cylinder. His rear brake kit isn't listed yet so I don't have the exact details for it but have no doubt the quality will be as high as the front kit. You can reach Bill at bg.gtv6@verizon.net or 805-484-1528 and his website address is: [http://www.classicconversionseng.com/] If you haven't been to his site yet you owe it to yourself to go there and browse around a bit. He's one of our favorite V6 vendors, a fine fellow and one of my favorite people. While you're browsing, if you haven't had the chance to check out Pete's site this is as good a time as any. One of our best V8 vendors, with a special fondness for Ford engines: (edit: Pete also favors SBB engines, and has a 300 in the works.) [http://www.mantellmotorsport.com/] Remember, he was our first sponsor, gave us a beautiful radiator for the project, and has assured us of further support. Due to the large size of the brakes we will have to go to 15" wheels on this car. So that's another item on the parts list. Some have suggested widened rostyle wheels but I think with the ad space on the body we're no longer in the sleeper category. Especially if somebody donates a "Star Wars" air cleaner. So we might as well use aftermarket wheels as well. Anyone have a set to donate? Standard 4 lug MGB. We're gonna BUILD this beast! YEAH! Jim We'll be organizing a work party in due course, so those of you who want to come need to let me know what weekends you might be available so we can get a schedule worked out. Jim@BlackwoodLabs.com I'll copy/paste this to the other threads. ----------------------------------------------- As for the bellhousing Bill will help us look. We also need a gear reduction starter, and this is a place where we could use some help from someone in the V8Buick community, as there is a lot more knowledge here about exactly what is needed and who might be able to donate one. Think of this, if someone donates a Star Wars air cleaner that is an instantly recognizable Buick icon clearly visible above the hood which immediately identifies the car to all Buick enthusiasts, and rest assured this car is a magnet. Then you are prominently displayed as having contributed the starter. Is that worth the cost of the starter? Most definitely, as it will cause others to be sold and bring in other business as well. And this will be a popular car. It will do a great deal of traveling, not only from meet to show. The car will be driven, not trailered. It will pass from one contributor to another, and will see a great many road miles. It will appear in all areas of the country, and will be a traveling billboard with your name on it as a Vendor or contributor. We're not yet to the point of talking about engine components, but will be there soon enough and when that time comes I certainly hope some of the Buick vendors will see the wisdom in supporting this project. JB
Is this the offer of a donation by any chance? ;-) If you can spare it we could sure use it and I don't think an 11" clutch is going to be needed considering the weight of the car. (about 2500lbs) So can we have it? Huh? huh? Can we Please? Jim
Does anyone have a photo of the Star Wars air cleaner they could post? I see lots of interesting stuff in the Arizona desert junkyards. No promises, but I can keep my eyes open.
In reguards to your clutch ;in my Luv trk i have a billet steel flywheel that is 12#s lighter than stock(built by Mondello Olds.) and a 10.5 clutch and i don't have any problems with turning my 31-18.5 tires and i am about the ame weight as you project. I am using an alum. bellhousing with a willwood hyd. clutch.
Oh now why did you go and do that? Now i have to see if one of those will fit under the hood of my LUV.Or maybe i should cut the hood and raise the housing. hummm.:idea2:
Or maybe i should cut the hood and raise the housing. chop the hood and put a 1" spacer under the carb, obviously! there's no point in having a work of art like that if no one can see it. :beers2: :bglasses:
Or you could send it to us... Looks like Woodie has a bellhousing for us, so that makes the second donation from this forum. My congratulations to the forum as a whole. Personally I think this project is as much about Buicks as it is about MG's but I've gotta tell you the MG guys are starting to get ahead of you a little bit. Of course we still have an engine to build. The next thing we will need really is the starter, since it's size will affect engine placement in the car. But we also need a flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. One of the good things is that we are not far from having enough parts to support a work weekend. Jim
The next thing we will need really is the starter get ahold of Jaimie/65specialconvert(?). he sells mini-starters on the board here and has his own thread just for that purpose.
I was thinking the same thing.:TU: :TU: I'm using a starter from Napa (Part # 46-5115) on my 13:1 464. Its not a gear reduction type but has plenty of torque to fire my beast. Its lightweight and small.
Thanks guys, I just sent Jamie a message and hope to hear from him soon, that would make him the first V8Buick sponsor and the 4th sponsor overall. In terms of fostering competitiveness between the Buick side and the MG side my company is going to have to stay neutral, meaning that the lead in terms of sponsors is a slim one, only favoring the MG side by one sponsor. This is good news for you guys, and a chance to take the lead. I guess we'll see where it goes. Anyone who contributes and can do so as a business entity will be considered a sponsor, you just have to let me know. Woodie ( Michael B.) told me he'll get the bellhousing shipped out this week. Many thanks, and I'll be watching for it. Jim
More good news! The really big news is that Steve DeGroat in South Carolina has not only donated a car (a '69 GT) but is bringing it up here on a dolly May the 3rd. Yesterday as soon as he got my email saying we didn't need the original engine/transmission he jumped right in and pulled those out and began getting the car ready for transport. We will need to replace the door sills, a task we are very familiar with, and possibly one fender. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the car. Also Mike Domanowski in New York has contributed an MSD-6AL with rev limiter. I may have to cannibalize my spare engine to get a proper distributor to use with it, but we now have an ignition system. Also, Pieces of Eight (Rick Ingram) has contributed a set of gas struts for the hood, bringing the number of sponsors up to 5. Starting on the 3rd (Thursday) and running through the weekend, we are planning the first work party. Some housing space (the RV which can serve as a bunkhouse) is available as well as a carpeted area of the shop for overflow sleeping area. We'll do our best to accommodate all who show up in relative comfort on a first come basis. Jim
Steve is bringing the GT body in about 2 weeks an I'm going to pick up the roadster body today. I will need to pull the engine/tranny and return them, meaning I'll need the hoist which is now holding the BBB engine. Can anyone either loan or donate an engine stand? Jim
I brought the roadster home today, next task will be to remove engine and tranny and find a space for it. The body is sitting on a cart, no rear axle, and I will probably remove the front crossmember and some of the crumpled sheetmetal in front. Turns out to be a 1970 split bumper model. The floors and sills have been replaced but it was a poor job so some of the tin may be reusable and some not. At this point it's best use seems to be as a mule for fitting, especially as both cars are mark-II's but perhaps at some point in the future it could be restored to use as a roadworthy car. I've made good headway in creating space in the shop and by the time Steve gets here I should have ample space for both cars and room to work. Can't guarantee all the clutter will be sorted out but I'll do my best! Jim
starter well,i just pm'd jim on the starter right now my problem is property taxes.also,im still eating the shipping on the frikin defective starters(remember,problem solved),which canceled my profits on about 12-15(i just wont keep track):af: i also have my own projects that require parts i must buy,and the sale of the starters WAS funding that.i need to sell a few,break even & then i can consider a "donation".it just aint going to happen right now,but not out of the question in the future.i did offer jim one at cost however.:TU: not being a jerk,i just cant give away that big of a chunk of change right now.hope you understand:ball:
You fellas are right, Jamie's a heck of a guy! Jamie. I'm sure things will get better for you. Someone who tries so hard to do the right thing is bound to be supported by his friends and by others who see the value in what he's doing. Well, as I mentioned in my reply our time schedule isn't all that tight and we can afford to wait. So to everybody who would like to support the MGB Roadmaster project but isn't sure exactly how, you can do it by buying one of Jamie's starters! Something good for you, good for Jamie, and good for us too! By the way, we now have the donation of an engine stand for the BBB (Dan Masters of Advance Auto Wire; http://www.advanceautowire.com/ the best wiring kit you'll find anywhere), and of paramount importance, Dale Spooner will contribute the machine work. The following is a quote from the British V8 Newsletter: "Dale is the proprietor of one of New England's premier engine machine shops, Motion Machine in South Burlington, VT. Motion Machine specializes in the precision machining required for successful high performance and exotic engine building. Many other machine shops routinely send their difficult work over to Dale, such as four valve/cylinder heads, Ferrari and other exotics, as well as rectification of other's bungled jobs. For high performance head work, Dale works closely with Dwayne Porter, a master porting and high performance head expert. Dwayne has his flow bench and porting equipment in the Motion Machine facilities." I don't know how familiar he is with the BBB but he's certainly familiar with it's little brother. Thanks everyone!
I have done all kinds of projects over the years and never had anyone step up and offer parts or donations to make the project a reality! You are one lucky guy. Keep up the good work.
Thank you John, for your good wishes! Actually the further we get into this project the more I'll wonder how lucky I really am as it will take up a lot of my time, but for the sake of the group I'm sticking with it regardless. We've got a lot of really good people around and for the right cause they really want to help. It just happens that this project has caught everyone's imagination. It's a very fun thing to do in the first place, and when we finish it, it will be even more fun. Plus I had a core group of very strong supporters right off the bat and it couldn't possibly have happened without them. Carl has been invaluable, and support from this forum has been crucial. Now that we've gained momentum even more people are seeing what a fun project it is turning into, and it doesn't hurt at all to have a chance to put your name on a piece of automotive history either. So I'd say we're well past the point of no return, and the only major question left really is the timeline. But I don't see any reason to worry about that, I think it will take care of itself. I do want to mention that Dale Spooner has moved his shop "Motion Machine" to Danville, VA. That puts him a good bit closer to a lot of us and it makes transporting the engine to him and back much easier. And now that we have a sponsor lined up for the machine work it is probably time for me to contact TA Performance. I will try to do that early this week and of course, will report back here. Regards, Jim
