We decided to make a cradle that bolted the new engine to the MG’s unibody subframe. The MGB engine mounts are located at the front of the engine, while the Miata’s are lower and toward the middle of the block. This process applies to a broad variety of applications, because unless the aftermarket has already produced a bolt-together solution for your swap, we’ll both be traveling down a similar road. Now begins the detail work: designing a set of engine mounts that make this swap look and function like a factory installation. We could have modified the shifter instead, but this seemed like the best fix in our case. Our one compromise involved the shifter: It now sits about 2 inches farther back, requiring a small tunnel modification. We also kept the original engine’s 3-degree slope–this retains the stock pinion angle and keeps the driveline happy. We made sure the engine was both straight in the chassis and level from side to side. Our test subject is a Miata-powered MGB GT, and in the first installment we spent considerable time getting our new powerplant properly situated in the engine bay. It’s the detail work that separates an awesome build from a piece of stagnant garage art. When it comes to engine swaps, simply fitting the new powerplant under the hood is only half the battle.
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