Steve Wayne's widened 1961 MGA with Ford 302 V8 engine

as published in British V8 Magazine, Volume XVI Issue 1, May 2008

Owner: Steve Wayne
City: Collierville TN
Model: 1961 MGA
Engine: Ford 302cid V8
Conversion completed by: Steve and his son David

Engine:	Ford 302, bored 0.030" over and rebuilt with 9.5:1 compression ratio hypereutectic pistons, ARP bolts, and roller rockers. Crank turned 0.010" under. Aluminum heads (2.02 intake, 1.60 exhaust). Edelbrock Performer RPM camshaft (0.496" intake, 0.520" exhaust.) Mallory Unilite distributor.
Induction:	Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane manifold and 650cfm carburetor.
Exhaust:	Ceracoat 302 hugger headers, custom fabricated dual pipe exhaust system with small mufflers.
Cooling:	custom fabricated aluminum radiator. 12" electric fan. Dual oil filters.
Transmission:	Tremec 3550 5-speed, Mcleod bellhousing. 10.5" Ford SHO flywheel. RAM single plate clutch (scattershield). Custom driveshaft. Pro 5-0 shifter.
Rear Axle:	Ford 9" with 3.73:1 final drive ratio, Traction-Lok limited slip differential, Moser 31-spline axles.
Suspension:	(front) Mustang II, with Aldan Eagle adjustable coilover shocks. (rear) 4-bar linkage, with Aldan Eagle coilover shocks.
Brakes:	Howe master cylinders. Front disc brakes and Ford Granada drums in the rear.
Wheels/Tires:	Centerline "Auto Drag" wheels and BF Goodrich tires (front P215/65/SR15, rear P295/50/R15)
Chassis:	custom-welded tubular chassis built by a stockcar company in Windsor, Ontario. The body panels were then tied into the chassis to increase strength and rigidity. Custom fabricated adjustable-height stainless steel rollbars. The body was also widened six inches and stretched a bit. Final body dimensions are similar to a Cobra. The fenders are fully welded and metal filled - no seams! Custom fabricated taillight buckets. Custom fabricated taillight lenses. Half-height Lexan windshield. Custom fabricated hood and grille by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario.
Paint:	by Cliff McKillop, Good Stuff Paint Company, Rochester, MI.
Electrical:	Summit Racing wiring harness (PRF50002). Delco 1-wire alternator. AutoMeter gauges.
Completed:	2002 (approximately 3000 miles driven as of January 2008.)
Comments:	Our project was inspired by the LeMans (24 hour endurance) open cockpit race cars of the fifties and sixties. We started with a 750cfm carburetor, and it was too large. The 650 works fine. The original MGA steering rack was used, and is a bit tough to steer with the larger tires. We used a Wilwood clutch slave cylinder in push mode, rather than its intended pull mode. That caused some clutch slippage after awhile. Wide tires on rear and very short axles leads to a noisy rear end when slowly making sharp turns. Engine cooling in Memphis' summer heat is a challenge. We added a second fill cap to cooling system to eliminate trapped air in the radiator hose. Holley "blue" fuel pump is noisy, but works well. With a 10 gallon fuel cell, we have about a ~150 mile range.

Please support the sponsoring companies who make BritishV8 possible, including:

Ford 302, bored 0.030 over and rebuilt with 9.5:1 pistons

Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane manifold and 650cfm carburetor. Mallory Unilite distributor.

Delco 1-wire alternator

Tremec 3550 5-speed, Mcleod bellhousing
Tremec 3550 5-speed and Mcleod steel bellhousing.

Ford nine inch, 4-link, Aldan Eagle shocks
Ford 9" rear axle with a 4-link rear suspension and Aldan Eagle coilover shock absorbers.

Ford 302 oil pan

Mustang II front suspension with Aldan Eagle shock absorbers.

Aldan Eagle adjustable coilover shocks

shifter for Tremec 5-speed

AutoMeter gauges

custom racecar-style dashboard

custom upholstery for MGA

10 gallon fuel cell.

Ford 302 badge

How It Was Done:

installing the engine

installing the rear brakes

installing the front brakes

foundation of the adjustable-height roll hoop

installing the dashboard (and custom wiring)

Steve and David's first test drive!

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Custom Bonnet: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)

Jim Bailie's cardboard bonnet mock-up Jim Bailie's hammer formed hood scoop

ready for refining on the English wheel Jim Bailie, wire edging the front of the hood scoop

Jim Bailie's custom bonnet frame custom bonnet hinges

testing operation of the hood tilt mechanism functional hood scoop, viewed from bottom

planishing marks custom MGA hood by Jim Bailie, Professional Metalshaper

hood scoop has a 1/8 inch wire leading edge testing hood fit on the car

Custom Grille: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)

making custom grille slats press forming grille louvers

shop formed steel car grille hand crafted custom metalshaping

custom MGA grille custom metalsmithing

no fiberglass - no filler! carbon-fiber is for kids... this is the old school alternative

real steel widened grille facilitates widened radiator

wide ride

Custom Windscreen Fairing: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)

custom formed windscreen fairing custom windscreen fairing by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario

custom dashboard dual roll hoops / LeMans fuel filler

Custom Paint: (designed and applied by Cliff McKillop, Good Stuff Paint Company, Rochester MI)

Cliff McKillop's paint scheme concept drawing
Cliff McKillop's concept drawing for the MGA's paint scheme...

MG / Lola LeMans 24 hour endurance race car paint scheme
... was designed to echo the paint scheme of the MG / Lola race car
developed for the 2001 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.

masking for paint masking the engine compartment

masking for racing stripes masking for graphics

masking masking tape

applying green paint applying yellow paint

basecoat... in three colors

paint masking

planning vintage racecar decal placement

Cliff McKillop of Good Stuff Paint Company, Rochester MI

David Wayne and Cliff McKillop pose with the polycarbonate windscreen

custom aluminum interior panels

hood pins