Mgb v8 throttle cable

[Alan Slater]

I am upgrading my 1980 rubber bumper roadster to a V8, I have installed a 3.9 EFI range rover engine and need a suitable throttle cable. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I also want to fit chrome bumpers. MGB hive quote around £550 for the kit including front grille, moss bros quote £700 excluding the grille,. Has anyone out there any experience of either option.

Thanks
Alan

[nta16]

Alan,
get the other thread deleted (press the 'Report' button) or things will get confusing

at the risk of wasting my typing finger I'll suggest that you keep the rubber bumpers as they can be very practical in use and that you don't drop the ride height (or too much) as again the ground clearance is useful for the sometimes uneven back roads where your B should be at in its element

the V8 will carry the extra weight of the rubber bumpers and their fittings and the weight can give a feeling of stability too

a number of years back I looked for a chrome bumper V8 conversion and ended up with a r/b conversion instead and was happy with it especially as my wife had caused £00s of damage to my previous c/b BGT by reversing into a bollard, the chrome bumpers didn't save any damage and just added to the cost by their replacement

plus of course for yours there's not just the cost of the conversion kit there's the labour and rectification costs to add

my r/b V8 (the chrome oversills were from the previous owner), lovely touring car too

Edited by nta16 on Saturday 17th May 01:50

[v8250]

Alan Slater said:

I am upgrading my 1980 rubber bumper roadster to a V8, I have installed a 3.9 EFI range rover engine and need a suitable throttle cable. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I also want to fit chrome bumpers. MGB hive quote around £550 for the kit including front grille, moss bros quote £700 excluding the grille,. Has anyone out there any experience of either option.

Thanks
Alan

Re' throttle cable a std V8 or TVR Chimaera should fit. If not, measure length req'd and Speedy Cables will make one for you. Re' chrome bumber kit they come from the same manufacturer so go with the best priced, however, don't expect high quality chrome work. The quality of chromium plating these days is awful.

Re' Nigel's notes ref' handling is not necessarily true. Any car with unecessary weight over hanging the bodywork will always feel 'planted'. I think what Nigel's trying to explain is the great ride comfort with a RB car. They are better than CB cars. So, the trick is to choose your suspension upgrades carefully and :. not to lose a well set up and comfortable car. This is really down to how you'd like the car to handle and ride. PM me if you'd like to exchange notes.

Separate to Nigel's note above as he's very experienced with MG's, there's a bucket load of nonsense out there and the suppliers will naturally do anything to sell their product. Stick with the golden rule "hard upfront and soft at the rear"...an excellent chat up line for the girls[?!]

[nta16]

yes I did mean 'planted' with the weight and about ride comfort, thanks, and that the extra power of the V8 overcomes the extra weight so it's not noticeable (relatively of course, I'm not comparing to a stripped out racer)

V8250 has also reminded me that you can buy kits to make up accelerator cables too, PTFE or Teflon linings help to smooth things too

ETA: with regards to the chrome bumpers, I've read from others that the quality and fit of chrome bumpers can be poor and that the cut out profiles of the overriders can be a different shape to the bumper so if you go that route carefully check all this type of thing when the parts arrive

15 years back the edges of the new made bumpers would cut your fingers open I don't know if this is still the case

we used to paint the inside of chrome bumpers and overriders in smooth grey/silver Hammerite and then over coat with clear Waxoyl as they used to rust from the inside plus you usually polish the outside

Edited by nta16 on Monday 19th May 00:11

[v8250]

nta16 said:

we used to paint the inside of chrome bumpers and overriders in smooth grey/silver Hammerite and then over coat with clear Waxoyl as they used to rust from the inside plus you usually polish the outside

Edited by nta16 on Monday 19th May 00:11

This is good advise - have done this to most of my chrome bumpers over the years - it's amazing the amount of crud that will sit on the inner surfaces of bumpers and just how quickly they deteriorate if not protected. Remember doing this to my old Porsche some 15 years ago. At the time replacement bumpers were not available and were HUGELY expensive to buy second hand...around £1000 the pair if memory serves right. Ended up completely taking apart and spending two w/e's cleaning up, zinc priming, painting and re-assembling. They did look the dogs do-dahs when finished. Have a friend who covers the chrome of his original B' bumpers with transparent wayoyl 365days a year...his wife drives the car as her daily...it's done a brilliant job protecting them.

[Alan Slater]

Thanks guys, will definitely take up the advice re protecting the bumpers. Will also use speedy cables
Thanks again