Guest Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 Does anyone know how to keep the frame from tearing on a 1976 MG. My brothers 1970 Stage 1 GS was totaled so we pulled the motor from it and put it in a MG. The only problem we are having is that it keeps ripping the frame! We have a narrowed ford 9 inch underneath it with some 27X11 slicks under it so it launches super hard but its tearing the frame. The motor is almost bone stock and we have run a best of 11.11 in the 1/4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 I heard the factory had the same problem when<BR>they first started. The 455 was too much so they had to settle for a four cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 This is a joke right? If you have the ingenuity to install this drive train, you certainly can't expect someone clear this "little" problem up in an email! If we could see the frame, where it's torn, and what it is made out of, we could give you an idea. With what I know right now, Id say get a '70 GS frame and narrow and shorten it. <P>------------------<BR>buickfam@aol.com<BR>Life long Buick Fan.<BR>1965 Skylark H/T<BR>1965 Gran Sport Convertible<BR>1948 Chevy Pickup with 401 Buick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Chapman Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 Just my $.02...<P>With an engineering mismatch like this, I suspect that if you manage to strengthen the frame in one spot so it doesn't tear (tear?), it will trasmit the failure to another spot.<P>MartinSR is right... new frame from something sturdier... a Peterbuilt, maybe? LOL<P>JMC<P>------------------<BR>John Chapman<BR>BCA 35894<BR> jmchapman@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 I guess that DIY swap of big block Buick into the Isetta is just to complicated for some. <P>Here's a hint, the MGB and Midget were both uni-bodies. They only had rudimentary sub-frames for the engine cradle. <P>If you really are making a bad MGB, the best that can reasonably be done is to do what British Leylend did in the first place, put the Buick (nee Rover) aluminum V8 in it. When done right, and the fit is <I> real </I> tight, this is a scarry machine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Chapman Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 Dave,<BR>How many folks you recon even <I>KNOW</I> what an Isetta is?<BR>JMC<p>[This message has been edited by John Chapman (edited 07-20-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 John, all true Buick men are renaissance men, fine judges of women and horse flesh, and all-around scholars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DugsSin Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 I getta a little tired I finda nicea chair and Isetta init. Thats my final answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 John, Isetta, a very small three wheeled (two in the front, one in the back) car (?) made by BMW in the late 50's. <P>------------------<BR>buickfam@aol.com<BR>Life long Buick Fan.<BR>1965 Skylark H/T<BR>1965 Gran Sport Convertible<BR>1948 Chevy Pickup with 401 Buick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Chapman Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 Brian,<P>Yep, I remember them. BMW built them under license with a BMW motor cycle engine in them. They actually had two wheels in back, about 18" apart.<P>As a side note, the Isetta/BMW is generally credited with saving the BMW operation in the very lean years of the mid-late 1950's.<P>I can tell you they were really rare in the little town of Jesup GA where I lived.<P>JMC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 If you want to have fun with an Isetta, parallel park <I> real </I> close to the front, with that front opening single door they can't get in (or out)! <P>I used to run 27x11 slicks on my TR6, but I kept getting caught in all the ruts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rlbleeker Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 Wow, a 455 in an MGB? I've got a blown small block (chevy 350) in an '61 MGA and a stroked 215" (267" w/300 crank) in a '60 Triumph. I never really considered a big block (weight/size). Do you have any fender wells left??? Anyway, I agree with MARTINSR, you need a frame. But, if you can't/won't go with a frame, you need to distrubute the load. Get a piece of plate 1/8" or 3/16" (if you can form it, lighter if not) and form it to your "frame rail" the best you can. Where you weld to your lighter body metal is going to be the weak spot so you want as much edge as possibly. Make the sides wavy to increase the perimeter. Avoid sharp corners. Grind the "frame" so that it's CLEAN and make a GOOD weld. Don't burn through. It also doesn't hurt to drill some 1/2" holes in the plate and plug weld them to the body for exta strength. Figure out your moter mount and drill your holes and weld nuts to the back side of your plate before welding it in. I'd also double your plate in the area of the mount so it doesn't bend. Done right, you shouldn't be able to pull them off the body, but you probably will bend the next weakest part. (At the doors?) Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Chapman Posted July 21, 2000 Share Posted July 21, 2000 This reminds me of the guy in the 'hood that put a 454 in his Vega fastback. Worked great for, oh, a week or so...<P>Then, the left door wouldn't open...<BR>In about another week, the right door wouldn't open and the hatch would pop open on WOT. <P>Then after a while, the hatch wouldn't close.<P>Body death occurred when the car twisted enough that the windscreen popped out... was replaced and then broke on WOT...<P>Guess some lash-ups are just not for the long haul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 John,<BR>I read your reply about the vega this morning and have been racking my brain all day for the meaning of WOT.<BR>Could you please explain.<BR>Thanks<BR>Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLark Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 Wide Open Throttle.<P>------------------<BR> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 Are you sure? I thought it meant Wide Oversize Tires.<P>By the way, that idea for the swap of the Mopar 340 into my California GS has been scrapped. We found a 455 out of an Olds Toronado that will take care of all the drivetrain concerns in one fell swoop... *and* modernize the car to front-wheel-drive at the same time.<P>Matthew ;-)<BR> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 29, 2000 Share Posted July 29, 2000 John, how'd that guy even get a week out of the Vega? There was a guy on my dorm floor in 1977 who had a built 427 Vega (it was real, I saw it!). He said that the skinny bias plys on the front couldn't overcome the torque from the motor mounts, and the car would only turn left after it was done. He'd push it out of the garage, fire it up, make it around the block and back into the garage, and shut it back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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