



Don Bonar's Ferrari-Inspired Customized 1971 MGB V6

Inspiration and Execution

Owner: Don BonarBritishV8 UserID: DonB City: Prairie Village, KansasModel: 1971 MG MGBEngine: GM 3.4L V6Conversion by: owner

Having spent nine years restoring my 1935 MG P-type, I had pretty much burnt out on the absolute full restoration process. Yes, I had a car which was as absolutely original and correct as I could make it. I won some recognition and met terrific people from all over the globe. However, at almost 80 years old vehicle, 37 HP, mechanical brakes, non-synchronized transmission, almost impossible parts availability, etc. I guess the hot rodder in me wasn't satisfied.



Part way through that restoration, I had purchased a really tired 1971 MGB which had sat abandoned for twelve years in a garage near me. With Bill Davidson's guidance and skills, we made it safe and roadworthy while I hammered away on the P-Type. Just something fun to drive like the TR-3 and the Sunbeam Alpine I'd enjoyed previously.



After finishing the P-type, I kept looking at the MGB and wishing it were an early 1960s Ferrari. Steak appetite and hamburger income! I wondered if I could build my own. When Bill decided to build his MGB-GT V6, I said "I'm in too."



Actually, three people made it possible for me to attempt such a project, given I'd spent my adult life working in an office and had VERY limited skills for this attempt. First, and most critical was my wife Sandy. Her car had set outside for nine years in the Kansas heat and snows and was to get a second dose of five more years. Never complained, never looked in the checkbook and supported my screwy passion without wavering. Secondly, Bill Davidson, whom I blame for this entire mess! Actually, Bill's fingerprints are all over this car and it simply wouldn't be rolling today without his help. Third, is the late Bill Young, our lumberjack. Bill showed up with many of the serious metalworking tools after retrieving them from the RoadMaster effort. All I had to do was figure out how a shrinker/stretcher, bead-roller and planishing hammer worked! I added an English wheel, blast cabinet and a dozen funny looking hammers to a small MIG welder and I was off! A week long metalworking seminar at McPherson College was a big help as well.



The design is influenced from studying hundreds of photos of early to mid 1960s Ferraris, particularly ones designed by Scaglietti and Farina. Having already stripped the MGB down to the unibody and placed on a rotisserie, I began to model possible changes with 2" thick foam insulation (purchased in 4X8 sheets). This material is cheap, lightweight, and easily rough formed with a course grinder and a surform "cheese grater". I modeled five or six rear ends before I got a shape I liked. Then, all I had to do was figure out how to replicate it in steel. No plastic parts!



My hood scoop was inspired by the ones on early Ford Thunderbirds, but obviously completed without the little V-shaped chrome grille. I liked the shape, and my hood wouldn't close without it.



Then I began to play. I fitted side port fender vents from a Factory 5 Cobra kit. Stretched the nose about 1.5" in the middle and made the badge bulge go away. (I really wish I'd done much more here: think shark-nosed 1961 F1 Ferrari!) I reworked the front grille opening and built an "egg crate grille" from 6061 T6 aluminum. Specifically, I used a CNC water jet to get precise curves and clean cut edges. Front turn signal lamps were fabbed from exhaust pipe scraps, reverse-frenched into the fenders. I installed a flush fuel filler lid, shortened the boot lid, and wired an electric "popper" boot lid release. Rear lights were sourced from an early 1970s Opel Manta Rally.



This car is the result of five years of hanging with the guys and gals of BritishV8. When Bill Davidson took me to the BritishV8 meet at Indy, I found what I was looking for. I asked lots of really dumb questions, took tons of pictures, and got great tips from virtually everyone. Thank you!



