Hello from Denver
07-13-10, 03:49 AM
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Hello from Denver
Hi, my name is James, and I'm from Denver, CO. I just recently got my car out of storage, that I put away before I went to Germany for 3 years back in 2004, and the car hasn't really been driven since 2004...
A little about my car. It started out as two cars...one was a 1976 MGB, and the other was a 1983 Mazda RX7. I bought the RX7 for $1000 in 2000, and I took the engine out because I wanted it for my MGB, thus started a long conversion process that took about one year which culminated in my MGB being one wicked fast little convertable. I wrecked my first MGB (3/4 ton van drove over the hood) and the radiator looked like a banana, but the engine was fine. I bought a 1975 MGB to transfer all my hard work into, and also upgraded the intake to a Weber 45DCOE from Mazdatrix. The car served me great, and the engine is a blast for such a tiny car (curb weight is supposed to be around 1800lbs stock, and I dropped the stock 1.8L iron block 4, and put in the positively tiny 1.2L Rotary....so light I picked it up off the floor and put it on a shelf...I couldn't even move the original engine without a hoist). Unfortunately the first motor blew one rotor (motor still dogged along) a couple months before I was set to go to Iraq, so I had no time to rebuild, so I had to purchase a rebuilt 1985 motor and swap it quick.
Unfortunately life and emissions kept me away from being able to drive my baby...that is until recently! I just got it plated, and emissions are not required on it anymore, so I can finally have fun with!
So Currently, here is the parts from cars list
1975 MGB car
1976 MGB front suspension/brakes and modified cross member
1985 Mazda RX7 12A engine
1983 Mazda RX7 5 speed transmission
custom exhaust, Weber 45DCOE carb, custom 3 core aluminum radiator
1972 Datsun 240Z option American Racing slotted mag wheels w/ 11 year old rubber (until I figure out what I'm converting my bolt pattern to).
A little about my car. It started out as two cars...one was a 1976 MGB, and the other was a 1983 Mazda RX7. I bought the RX7 for $1000 in 2000, and I took the engine out because I wanted it for my MGB, thus started a long conversion process that took about one year which culminated in my MGB being one wicked fast little convertable. I wrecked my first MGB (3/4 ton van drove over the hood) and the radiator looked like a banana, but the engine was fine. I bought a 1975 MGB to transfer all my hard work into, and also upgraded the intake to a Weber 45DCOE from Mazdatrix. The car served me great, and the engine is a blast for such a tiny car (curb weight is supposed to be around 1800lbs stock, and I dropped the stock 1.8L iron block 4, and put in the positively tiny 1.2L Rotary....so light I picked it up off the floor and put it on a shelf...I couldn't even move the original engine without a hoist). Unfortunately the first motor blew one rotor (motor still dogged along) a couple months before I was set to go to Iraq, so I had no time to rebuild, so I had to purchase a rebuilt 1985 motor and swap it quick.
Unfortunately life and emissions kept me away from being able to drive my baby...that is until recently! I just got it plated, and emissions are not required on it anymore, so I can finally have fun with!
So Currently, here is the parts from cars list
1975 MGB car
1976 MGB front suspension/brakes and modified cross member
1985 Mazda RX7 12A engine
1983 Mazda RX7 5 speed transmission
custom exhaust, Weber 45DCOE carb, custom 3 core aluminum radiator
1972 Datsun 240Z option American Racing slotted mag wheels w/ 11 year old rubber (until I figure out what I'm converting my bolt pattern to).
07-14-10, 12:23 AM
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No, I don't...did the conversion WELL before the days of common digital cameras. I will try to get some up as I fix everything up!
I do have an interesting bit of trivia though....the MGB was made until 1980, and was the most successful convertible in the world...until...Mazda basically copied the design--updated of course--for the Miata, when MG was defunct. If you park a 1st gen Miata next to a MGB, they have the same shape, wheel placement, wheel base, width, length, engine (inline 4), and even the suspension in the front is remarkably similar, in that it is not a typical macpherson strut, but actually non-parallel A-arms, just like the MGB. Now the Miata is the best selling convertible in the world by a long shot.
How much do you want to bet that in the planning process of making the Miata, they debated putting in a rotary engine, and I wouldn't be surprised if they even put in a rotary into an MGB to test it out...In the end they went with the tried and true seller...an inline four, just like the MGB (I even read somewhere that they spent a boat load of money to make the exhaust sound like the MGB too...who knows how true that is?)
I do have an interesting bit of trivia though....the MGB was made until 1980, and was the most successful convertible in the world...until...Mazda basically copied the design--updated of course--for the Miata, when MG was defunct. If you park a 1st gen Miata next to a MGB, they have the same shape, wheel placement, wheel base, width, length, engine (inline 4), and even the suspension in the front is remarkably similar, in that it is not a typical macpherson strut, but actually non-parallel A-arms, just like the MGB. Now the Miata is the best selling convertible in the world by a long shot.
How much do you want to bet that in the planning process of making the Miata, they debated putting in a rotary engine, and I wouldn't be surprised if they even put in a rotary into an MGB to test it out...In the end they went with the tried and true seller...an inline four, just like the MGB (I even read somewhere that they spent a boat load of money to make the exhaust sound like the MGB too...who knows how true that is?)
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