That Green Sprint V8 (Picture & Rust Heavy!)

[AdamF]

Hello again, all... Apologies for the silence over the last few years - work seems to have taken over my life!

After taking an extra couple of days off around the bank holiday, aside from the obligatory DIY and lawn mowing, I've taken a few shots of the (now quite rusty) green V8. I've freed off the seized clutch, and she happily turns on the key, albeit slowly. Just charging the battery, then I expect she'll start... Maybe!

Here are some photos of the rusting goliath...

The engine - should work, but really needs a proper 4 barrel carb, which would allow a standard bonnet to go back on the car.



The rustyness begins...



Rusty N/S wheel arch - we've all seen these!



The front panel is now coming away from the wing on the N/S.





Hmm... They don't make these panels any more...











Crunchy N/S sill/door shut. Not good.





Needs a new O/S wheel arch, too.



More rust in the N/S sill (back door)



New boot lid required - this is the easy bit - at least they still make them!





Now for the real grot - it needs a new boot floor and lower rear wings. This shot is of the N/S seam between the boot floor and the wing, or what's left of it!



And this is the O/S. Don't be fooled by the pic - this too is crunchy.



Would you look at that! A sound bit of metal in the O/S back door shut! Makes a change!



But we're back to some crunchy rust at the bottom of the O/S B post.



Similar story here...



Doors are pretty good, apart from this one which has been filled after the previous owner's nephew shot it with an air rifle. I kid you not!



Flat paint, and the car's filthy.





Some of the lacquer is lifting inside.



This bit's OK!



Ah yes, and that jumble of wires...



The modified part of the front panel, to accommodate the V8 rad is in good shape.





It's amazing how much rust can burst its way through in three years...



So, there's a lot to do, and I'm a busy man. Looking to move house fairly soon, potentially to a place with a 65x35 foot barn. Question is, do I greedily hang on to the beast, knowing that it'll take me another 3 years to start the restoration, and another 5 years to finish it, or do I pass the opportunity on to someone else, allowing me to get on with my K-Series Midget build?

Discuss.

[David6214]

To be honest 8 years is a lot to commit. An experienced and committed fixer upper could do it in less than a year.

The front panel is available in grp and looks good.

There is wor to do but its a fairly tidy conversion. I say offer it up to the right collector, if no joy, then do it yourself, set a few milestones, if youare lagging behind offer it again.

I wouldn't start with the K series either, we run a K series mini round here and the work to convert was a lot more than imagined....

[tinweevil]

Hi Adam,

Welcome back, I had quite often wondered whatever happened to the bog pipe v8

If you are determined about the midget then move it on unless
a) the move to the barn is a probability rather than possibility and
b) you can cheque book restore the body.

If you can say yes to these then move in, strip the car and send the body off to be done and then rebuild it when it comes back. It won't delay your midget project long in the grand scheme. But realistically the midg is going to absorb all your time and all the cash the house doesn't consume.

Personally I cannot see the point in putting a not well rated engine in a poorly built imitation of a Spitfire but I'm sure you have your reasons. Can you imagine yourself after years of blood, sweat, tears and cash in frightening amounts describing a kidget as sounding like a TVR? For that reason alone out the mg and do the dolly justice.

So let me rephrase the above:
Realistically the project you keep, whichever that is, is going to absorb all your time and all the cash the house doesn't consume.

[montythemole]

Do the V8 first. With the way fuel is going you need it on the road whilst you can still just about afford to run it!

Once fuel has got to even sillier heights a K-series Midget would be a good project. It's a well regarded engine IF built correctly. There's a reason they're used in so many kit cars and even Lotus until recently.

That's my thoughts.

[AdamF]

To be honest 8 years is a lot to commit. An experienced and committed fixer upper could do it in less than a year.

The front panel is available in grp and looks good.

There is wor to do but its a fairly tidy conversion. I say offer it up to the right collector, if no joy, then do it yourself, set a few milestones, if youare lagging behind offer it again.

I wouldn't start with the K series either, we run a K series mini round here and the work to convert was a lot more than imagined....

Cheers for the advice. I am seriously considering my position regarding the V8. My problem is whilst work is quiet at the moment, it will be frantic again soon - it seems to take over my life!

K-Series in a Mini - yes, that sounds like a hard conversion. I disagree about the K-Series in a Midget though - there's a company called Frontline Spridget who do all the parts to make it a bolt on conversion. Not cheap, but it makes an easy job of it.

Their parts make it kind of like building a kit car, but with better instructions. It's the sort of car I will keep forever, too.

http://www.mgcars.org/frontline/k-series.htm


Plus I like the idea of wind in the hair, 8000rpm from a VVC lump, and 160 bhp even in standard tune, equating to Caterham performance.

[AdamF]

Do the V8 first. With the way fuel is going you need it on the road whilst you can still just about afford to run it!

Once fuel has got to even sillier heights a K-series Midget would be a good project. It's a well regarded engine IF built correctly. There's a reason they're used in so many kit cars and even Lotus until recently.

That's my thoughts.

The V8 guzzles when driven properly.

But on a run it was surprisingly frugal. IIRC 70mph is about 2000rpm in 5th gear. I got 35mpg on the way up to a trackday some years ago at Elvington in the V8.

Obviously round the track I imagine this dropped to single figures!

I agree about the K being a great engine - rev-happy, light and surprisingly powerful. But you do need to sort out the design flaws with the cooling system.

This has just been relisted, and is near my home - went for £490 the other day - this is part of the motivation for maybe selling the V8... How can I add another vehicle to the fleet, albeit one to strip for parts, when we've already got 5 cars in our single width-driveway. Getting the MGB out of the garage with the V8 parked in front of it is a pain!

MGF donor for VVC Midget project.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 148wt_1102

[xvivalve]

Club panels can sort out your front valance, boot floor and rear wings a least, if not more...

[AdamF]

Got the beast running after some fun with cleaning the jets and coil contacts. (And a jump start)

The guy behind the wheel giving it the beans is my mate Mark, I'm behind the camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XBK16iqzD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=393PC9W1I0U