Hi Brad,

British Leyland - or whatever they were called at that stage - bought an all alloy 3.5 litre V8 (forgive my ignorance of imperial measurements - I've no idea what that is in cubic inches) from Buick for the Rover Coupe and its successors. It ended up in the MG at a later stage and that's what makes it easy for MG owners to convert - assuming that you didn't see an original factory built car. It seems that everything, including bodyshells are available for the MG, so presumably it's easier to adapt. That engine was bored out to 3.9 litres for the Range Rover and various TVR models so it has possibilities but I've only seen discussions on Chevy blocks for the older Volvos.

The bottom line is - what exactly are you looking for? If you want the sound of a V8 then you're in for a lot of cutting and improvising, and when you have it all fitted and running then there are all sorts of implications regarding cooling and the balance of the car etc. If you just want power then there are many more options available and there's a wealth of information from other owners who have done some mild tuning or gone all out for ultimate power from the B20. My guess is that there's a lot of failed V8 conversions out there...
It might be worth trawling through the archives on this site and on the internet for more info on any V8 conversions that did succeed.

Aidan
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