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Zetec Powered MGB Build Thread

288K views 319 replies 65 participants last post by  crisd 
#1 · (Edited)
MGB Zetec? Yes please.

Hey guys. I'm not so sure if this thread will gain much interest but I'd like to share some progress on my most recent project. I've recently become an owner of a 1979 MGB and I'm in the process of swapping the original 1.8 Liter engine with a Zetec engine. I've joined the forum to learn more about the Zetec and seek out parts for my build. So far, I've really enjoyed reading what you guys have on the forum.



The MGB is a great, little roadster with responsive handling but it suffers from an underpowered engine.

I think I'm making about 55whp with the stock engine. The Zetec is a reliable and economical engine that has a pretty big following in the US and the UK. I'm planning on using bike carbs and pairing the engine with a t-5 transmission that's already in my garage.

I'm currently finishing up my work on the suspension and brakes. As soon as I'm done with that I'll be working on building a Zetec and fitting it! Please stay tuned and I promise to update.

 
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#30 ·
With the head work and ITB's he'll surpass what the SVT has, unless he put the ITB's on the SVT but still they would be so close. The normal zetec would most likely be the much cheaper option, that and he already has the parts for it.
 
#31 ·
dude, you are like a god to me.

awesome project...great photos...amazing talent

so many questions...

ZX9R carbs?!? wtf?? That's awesome - mated to a custom manifold, ported head, and stage II cam, that baby is gonna scream!! What's the cfm on that 4x carb - over 600?? Is it easy to sync?

...Back in the 80's, I had a '79 Spitfire. Replaced the 150 cfm Zenith-Stromberg "dashpot" carb with a 350 cfm Weber DCOE sidedraft. Not a bad product considering it was Italian engineering, but with so many jets it cost an arm+leg to tune. Supplier who sold it to me said "Guaranteed to work right out of the box!" Well...that turned out to be technically true - in some alternate universe where a 6000RPM idle qualifies as "working right out of the box".
 
#36 ·
Hi! I'm the other half of the build team ( dad) and this is one of the coolest projects we've ever done! I've been wanting to do an MGB for a long time!

Stand by; lots of updates to follow!
welcome to the forum!

I'm living vicariously through you two, so don't disappoint me. [hihi]
 
#33 · (Edited)
Hi! I'm the other half of the build team ( dad) and this is one of the coolest projects we've ever done! I've been wanting to do an MGB for a long time!
Ah, so you finally quit lurking and joined the forum! [neener]

Everybody, my father is helping me with this build since he's been a grease monkey for a long time and is the most knowledgable person I know. He's rebuilt/owned dozens of interesting cars and even founded fordsix.com, a forum dedicated to Ford inline six engines. His current cars are his 1983 Jaguar XJS (which is currently powered by a pretty peppy Chevy small block 350) and his 1932 Ford Roadster.




We built most of the 32 roadster together and it was a lot of fun.

It's been a few years since I've worked on a car project with my dad but two things made me want to start this new project: First, a close friend of ours was killed by a suicidal driver about three months ago while driving on the highway. He was a fellow "car guy" and loved to work on sprint cars with his son. The news of his death was devastating but made me realize that life is too short and it's important to spend time with the people you love. In a way, restoring the MGB with my dad is a great dedication to our friend. Second, I'm getting married and starting grad school soon. I figured we should work on a project before my future wife sees how much money I spend on cars. [giddy]

But seriously, it means a lot to have him helping me with this project. Please welcome him to the forum. [welcome]
 
#38 ·
Your very lucky to have a father to share your builds with.
Absolutely. It's been a great way to spend time with each other. We've had a lot of good memories building things together and he's always been a great help. This is my first time documenting a build so it's also nice to be able to share it with the Focus community and receive some feedback.

I'm living vicariously through you two, so don't disappoint me.
I hope everybody here enjoys what I have planned.
I should have a lot more updates in a week or two. [:D]
 
#40 ·
I think we'll go grab an engine this weekend. We found a few nearby for a decent price.

We need to get a contour oil pan, too. The stock focus pan might be a little tight against the front crossmember. I'd rather not modify that, so the shallower Contour pan might be a good option.

My son has been mocking up the bike carbs and exhaust so we can get an idea of intake runner length.
 
#41 ·
Again, excellent work guys. These are my favorite kind of threads [thumb]

It's pretty cool that you're working on something together. I've tried to get my dad to work on cars together with me but I know he would just do it to make me happy.
 
#42 ·
Tomorrow my dad and I are going to a local junkyard to hopefully find a decent engine. In the meantime, I hope you guys don't mind me posting some photos I took earlier tonight. I was able to take much better photos of the cylinder head using ambient lighting and a tripod. I can't wait to get this engine built and get the zx9r carbs on there.





 
#44 ·
Very nice, I hope your not planning on using that factory exhaust manifold are you? It'd be best that you get a long tube and chop it up to fit the RWD chassis or make your own header. That stock one flows like poo.
 
#45 · (Edited)
I'm not 100% sure what the plan is for the header/exhaust. I'll probably use the stock manifold to connect to the existing exhaust when we initially fit the engine in the MGB. The OD of the stock exhaust tubing on the MGB is a whopping 1.75". [giddy] The build would still benefit from a better exhaust system.

We actually found that we could probably adapt a 1.8L Miata header if we really wanted to to go with a long tube header. (This is a photo of a cheap-o OBX header).

The spacing between ports should almost be the same. I don't think it would outflow the stock exhaust.

I've also considered installing an aftermarket shorty header and pairing it with a better exhaust.


Home made headers are also something we considered but we'll just have to wait until we get to that point of the install. Anyways, I hope this made sense. I've been pretty sleep deprived lately.[sleep]
 
#47 ·
Go long tube if you can, it's where most of the gains come from in a zetec. Shorties only give low end power but the long tubes give all the low end gains that a shorty does but also gives top end power which the zetec needs. You'll be really choking that motor down with the stock or shorty header when you throw that head and cams on there. Not that it'll be a turd though in that light MG lol
 
#61 · (Edited)
The "equal length" thing is urban legend; you can make any I4 engine sound like a subie by pairing two adjacent firing cylinders into one outlet. Tie 1-3 and 4-2 together and send them out ina dual exhaust and you get the same pairings as left and right banks on a sube (or VW, Lycoming, Continental, or Porsche) flat four. Even a Honda Gold Wing makes that sound and they typically have very equal length pipes.

Back in the day, Porsche 356 racers used to cross the exhaust to get rid of the adjacent exhaust pulses. That makes a 356 sound like an inline 4 with tri-y headers. And the 4 into 1 stingers (equal length) loses the distinct flat four sound, too.
 
#54 ·
Nice Project!

And MUCH more interesting than another V8 conversion.

This is the type of engine a more "current" MBG would have used, and even a "Brit" type since they are popular there!

British sports cars always used whatever sedan engine was commonly available (usually modified for a bit more performance to make it "sporty") and with a similar size & weight this should maintain the "character" of the car while bringing the power level 'up to speed" (grin).

Heck, when I had a TR4, I learned THAT engine was sourced originally from a TRACTOR! Change the cam, add a couple larger carbs & a header, Voila! you have a "sports car" engine!

Enjoy the project!
 
#55 ·
Heck, when I had a TR4, I learned THAT engine was sourced originally from a TRACTOR! Change the cam, add a couple larger carbs & a header, Voila! you have a "sports car" engine!
that sounds about right - I think the engine in my Spitfire was originally sourced from a lawnmower and then de-tuned to lower the horses, the redline, and the fuel economy. [hihi]
 
#62 ·
Son is out off town doing pre-wedding stuff so i'm continuing the tinkering.

As it turns out, the port spacing on a 1.8 mazda Miata is nearly identical to the zetec so i'm going to fab up an adapter to bolt one on. Even if we haveto mod a pipe or two it saves a lot of fabrication time.

Now to do some more on this bike carb intake......
 
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