OK I WANT TO HEAR SOME "THEIR I WAS STORIES"
FROM YOU MG V8 OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SURELY YOU ARE NOT ALL TIP TOEING AROUND IN THESE MACHINES. HAVEN'T YOU BLOWN BY SOME OTHER LATE MODEL AUTO TO THE OWNERS SURPRISE. HAVEN'T SOME OF THE PEOPLE YOU'VE GIVEN RIDES TO NOT BEEN ABLE TO EITHER WIPE THE GRIN OFF OF THEIR FACES OR SWEAR NEVER TO RIDE WITH YOU AGAIN?
HECK MAKE UP SOME STORIES THE TRIUMPH WEB SECTION HAS A STORY ABOUT A TURBO PORCHE RIDE.
I WOULD THINK SOME OF THE 5.0L MUSTANGS HAVE HAD TO CHASE ONE OF YOU DOWN. EH?
HOW ABOUT A FORUM FOR THIS.
promise to contribute some money to site soon guys
i mean there i was
Coming home from Columbia,SC on I-20 about 11:00 pm, running about 80 when I passed a BMW . I got about even with him, I guess he realized he was being pass by a B and got uset. Off we went at full throttle. He gave up at just over 100 MPH goin up hill. LUck there was very light traffic and no cops.
Steve
Well you have one to start. After meeting a lot of the guys up at the meet in Wisconsin last month I'd guess that most are of the age now that we no longer feel we have to brag about our accomplishments. We've already proved what we need to and just knowing that we have the machinery to meet the challange is enough, don't need to try it out all the time. Almost all of the British cars with V6 or V8 power will be a match for all but the best of the Mustang/ Camaro crowd. Most of us know not to get stupid and take on a Corvette, Porsche, or Viper etc. We usually can't match the handling of the newer high power cars and the drag restricts us on the top end. It's still fun though to surprise someone in a SUV that thinks they can get in front of us jockeying for a position to an on ramp or such. The real pleasure of these cars isn't from the stop light races but from being able to get out on the highway and cruise at reasonable speeds while being able to handle all the corners that come your way and have the power in reserve to pull out and pass on a two lane road when you want.
ANYONE DONE MUCH TO IMPROVE HIGH SPEED AERODYNAMICS OF MGB?, NOT MIDGET
WHAT'S KEEPING THE MGB WITH GOOD HP / WEIGHT RATIO FROM RUNNING WITH VETTE , VIPER , ECT?
I DON'T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING EITHER I AM JUST AN ADRENELINE JUNKIE. FLEW HANG GLIDERS 15 YEARS AND JUST GAVE UP KAW ZX-11 AT 54 YEARS OF AGE.... THERE HAS TO BE BIG FUN FACTOR TO JUSTIFY THIS TOY......
THERE I WAS
at one of the mgv8 meets Mikel Moor let me drive his beautiful 300ci B. Hiway entrance ramps a gas! Stop lights YEA! catch me. But when I returned car to Mike I told him the engine kinda flattened out at 5500 rpm.......... hmm no damage just needed more rpm. I was in red 69 B roadster and chrome wires that year and almost kept up with v8s on cone course.
I have motivation to do this and pick your brains.
Hey, David...try to remember to take the CAP LOCK off when posting, OK?!
:)
It was Mike Moor's conversion that put me (and my wife) over the edge to build a V8.
:)
I have to admit I've had my fun with the car. I have two friends that are both building V6 powered MGBs and after a club breakfast this past spring I decided to let one of them in on what he was missing by not getting his B completed. Took him for a quick ride, first thing was to get on it a little quickly and he smacked his head against the roll bar, but he came back grinning wide after a quick run up through the gears and a couple of corners.
My favorite thing is when someone underestimates you at a stop light. You know when it happens, they push just a little harder than normal, you know they're showing how quick their car is. That's when I just romp on it, grab second and let the tires chirp and then back off into third. They know then that I'm not through, just don't want the hassle to push further, but the point is made and they won't underestimate that little car again.
And don't underestimate the Midget, the drag isn't any worse than a B roadser, probably better as it's smaller. I'm only running a 2.8 but it's rated at 130 hp and in a car that weights less than 2000 pounds that moves pretty good.
Like Bill says many of us are old enough to know what we have. occasionally I romp the car, if i was drag racer; i'ed have no 60 ft. time. Top end is NOT an option with the .63 OD and 3.55 gears. my thoughts on showing others just refuse to race them. They know you are BAD, but you do not have to prove it.
this is just my opinion and I'm sticking to it!
Caps is like yelling!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME? I guees you do.
No big factor to own one, just the need is good enough to own one.
QuoteBut when I returned car to Mike I told him the engine kinda flattened out at 5500 rpm.......... hmm no damage just needed more rpm.
Mike's Buick 300 is a grown up long stroke version of the 215. It is a torque engine, not a rpm screamer. Doesn't need to be. It's geat driver & an awesome cruiser with over 300 hp available at the rear wheels.
When you are offered to take someone's car for spin, your mission is not to determine where valve float occurs. You didn't need more rpms, you were 800-1000 rpms beyond what is a respectful treatment of a machine that's not your's unless the owner is riding shotgun tellin' ya to wind it on out.
This is a great example of why our cars need a test drive rpm chip in the rev limiter. Rant off.
There's new anti-speeding legislation in Ontario this year. If you're caught driving 30 mph over the speed limit you can receive a hefty fine, immediate 7 day licence suspension and an immediate 7 day impounding of your vehicle. If the officer determines you were street racing, the consequences get far worse. ie. up to $10,000 fine, 1 year licence suspension and possible loss of your vehicle. The temptation to show other drivers on the street just what my car can do has simply gone away.
> When you are offered to take someone's car for
> spin, your mission is not to determine where valve
> float occurs. You didn't need more rpms, you were
> 800-1000 rpms beyond what is a respectful
> treatment of a machine that's not your's unless
> the owner is riding shotgun tellin' ya to wind it
> on out.
I'm in total agreement with Carl on this one.
Calvin
MN now has a law that if your caught going over 100 mph, your license is removed for a year. This happened after that motorcycle was clocked at somewhere under 200 mph if i remember correctly. They publicly fund our two upcoming stadiums (1-vikings, 1 twins) for multimillionaires but will not allow private sectors to build any new tracks here and then complain about street racing. (Sorry- politics)
I can't recall any good kill stories and have not had my car long enough. I have an anti-kill story where a new Dodge Charger/Magnum had me just last weekend. We brought it up through 3rd gear before backing off. I knew he had me. Started about about 30 mph both just entering the opposite sides of the highway so nothing from a dead stop.
One real fun point I have had is that even though my car is not quite set up ideal for freeway passing, its still so powerful that like Bill Young says, those guys jockeying the SUVs or other cars around even at harder pulls on higher speeds find it very difficult to keep you from passing them.
You know those people who drive in the left hand lane because their left turn is coming up real fast- 5 MILES from now? They slow traffic up in both lanes and this causes accidents. Driving the MGB is nice though because they don't suspect when I get over that I am going to get in and blow around them- Never cut anyone off and don't slow down in front of them, but as I am in front of them, I will either give them the right turn signal or the four ways for about 2 flashes before picking up speed. The neat thing is, quite a few people actually wake up and move over and let the next 5 cars pass them after you do this. Don't be foolish about it, just wake them up. Those who don't are either sleeping at the wheel or are trying to be the speed police- and causing traffic backups and potential accidents.
-BMC.
90 mph in Ca. car gets towed, driver gets arrested and you are at the mercy of the Judge.
Sometimes drivng in the high 3 digit range is done in.....secret locations.
We caravan with the Vettes and push the limits, one such day we were pushing the limit and passed a few Vettes already doing...well you know. My wife was reading, she raise her head and asked "How fast are we going?" I said 75 (actually....) and she said oh! that is what I though. There is no wind noise and the car is very stable, in fact more so at speeds that the Vettes like.
Same road, with the MG RD 3.4. top up do to the sun of the desert, we were doing 70 mph (speed limit) she said, slow down, you are going to get a ticket.
Wow I was belt whipped when I was a kid and that was nothin.
If someone tosses me the keys to their car and says enjoy the ride with no limitations I understand. In my world I borrow something and I break it I fix it.
So who hasn't had enough speeding tickets to have not learned when, where, and how to at least get away with it occasionally.
I admire all of the projects and completed cars that you all have. I more admire the ones that took hard work rather than money to complete.
Just share some thrill stories on your rides is all I was asking. We have speed limits now in Missouri too if you haven't heard.
Maybe I'm looking for the BRITISH DIESEL site. I hear they have some real fun. :) Nice burn out in the parking lot Jim B!!
Talk about aerodynamic improvements. Where can I buy that interactive rear wing.
Who is this guy??
Aw he's alright, just out for some fun. We could all use a little more of that in this era of political correctness. I'd be more than happy to post some wild tales, but having just spent 5 VERY long days on Dan's port injection conversion my brain is mush. Don't mind reading though.
I do agree with Carl's post. All situations are different but there's no way I'm testing the limits of someone else's car unless they specifically request it, and even then probably not. (Unless they're paying me to do it but that's entirely different.) Sure, "You break, you fix" always applies, but then the time involved is a real discourtesy too.
Jim
I love go fast stories no matter when or where they took place. Just watching Race through History on one of the Angel channels of all things yesterday! It was about the Nuremberg ring from conception to present. The stories are what most of us live for- present or distant past. Ford Escort against your stock MGB (anti-kill story!), or your MGB against some kid in a Camaro that you blew away. Sorry I have had little to add other than trying to coax other peoples stories. :-)
-BMC.
Go fast stories, I've got those, just not all in my Midget. As with most of us, this car is just the last in a long line and each would have tales to tell. I haven't met Mr. Bash, but he didn't win me over with the first contact. I tried to answer his question as best I could and at least let him know that someone had looked at this post, all I got for my trouble was a shout and a knock on my Midget. Not a good way to start out, but I'm sure he's not a bad guy and from his post it seems he is probably from Missouri so perhaps we'll get the opportunity to meet someday and swap tales.
There I was....stranded in Florence, Ky. TR4A fuel injection conversion project 95% complete (actually mechanically 100%) including custom Blackwood Labs conversion parts. We were struggling with getting it to actually run, having worked an intense weekend on the conversion. I already had two days vacation invested, and need to get back to WV to work today, so Jim says, "Take the B, I think she'll make the trip. She overheats a little, but you can stop and let it cool off and add antifreeze. It'll probably make it." Famous last words!
So I took the B, and what a trip! Before I got to the interstate I already had two people hollering at me, "What kind of car is that?" On the highway, a big diesel pickup pulled up beside me and motioned for me to get on it, so I punched a little to make some noise. He grinned from ear to ear.
I exited the freeway to the AA highway, and several traffic lights and hills, keeping an eye on the temperature. I stopped at a little covered bridge off the road to let it cool, and added coolant, the proceeded to the next town, Maysville, where I stopped at Walmart to get more coolant, and a cold vitamin water. I decided to go ahead and top off the coolant, and added a half gallon. Several people including the checkout guy at Walmart made comments about the car. One guy asked, "Is that a Porche?"
She ran cool to the next stop at Vanceburg, where I got gas, an ice cream cone, and added coolant. A guy getting milk stood there admiring the engine, and asked me about old hot rods. He has a 40 Ford.
Then the hills. Babying the car along, I watched the guage go up and down, depending on if I was ascending or descending a hill. It was doing just what Jim told me it would. Finally, I made it to the interstate, I-64 at Grayson, Ky. I thought, now I'm home free. Not to be
As the guage climbed, I looked for a good shady place to pull off. I found a spot, stopped the car, popped the hood and called Jim to report a miss she had developed. We discussed the coolant, checked the oil, etc. When it was cool enough, I added more coolant, hung up the phone and started out.
As a gap came in traffic, I hit the gas (starting out in 2nd on Jim's transmission, going downhill) pulled on the road and BOOM!
There I was....stranded in Greenup, Kentucky........
So obviously this tale is only half over. What happened to the B? It all goes back to a British car meet at Edgewater a number of years back where I blew a head gasket drag racing. That was followed by double helicoiled head studs and copper head gaskets that never entirely sealed properly, just prior to the first Townsend meet. First indication was that it began to run warm at the end of the return trip. Since then it had gradually gotten worse, and obviously was even worst than I thought it was. Just a matter of time and it looks like the time is now. My guess? A melted piston. Unfortunately the 340 is not yet ready, but I do have a usable 215 spare, so an engine swap is in the cards. It won't be in time for Townsend-III but we may be able to come anyway if the logistics pan out. Hopefully I'll get the help I need to make that happen.
The TR4-A EFI is a one-off design using a modified GM intake of unknown origin. We would like help in identifying it.
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Obviously an I-4 of some type, it sold on ebay new, reported to be a 1.8L engine but since GM didn't apparently have such an engine that's a dubious claim.
Can anyone identify it?
Jim
OK my first is still my favorite kill story this was before the new stroker engine and upgraded Nitrous system and still with the MGB 3.91:1 rear.
NJ Garden State Parkway toll plaza, a BMW M (240 HP version) Roadster and Amy's MGB V8 (Me driving) exit the toll at the same time, we both get on it but the M3 didn't stand a chance as I was at least 3 car lengths ahead by the time we hit 100 mph, I backed off and looked over as they did a "ricer" flyby without even looking my way. It was even a bigger thrill in how they wouldn't acknowledge my victory over them then actually beating them in the race.
Since the new engine I have many more stories.
Slalom in a SUB is a good story Jim. You are the first. I think David's name is David Dash.
OK I got one for you. Bear in mind this comes from a lawless age when traffic regulations were openly flaunted and taxes were routinely ignored and if not caught, it never happened.
SO THERE I WAS headed to work down I-5 in morning traffic (sound familiar Bill?) and the standard pattern was, clump of cars doing 75, big space, clump of cars, space, etc. Rarely a CHP. Making time meant busting through the clump as quickly as possible then putting 'er down in between. If you came up on them by surprise lots of times you'd be past them before they ever knew you were there, but if not, well then you got to wait for a hole to open up as you got in line and followed the hot shoes through the clump. This was pre-V8 btw, so the in-betweens really did mean putting 'er down, and sometimes you just couldn't reach that magic number where you could cleanly slip through. So I come up on a clump of cars, doing all she'll do and there's one on my left coming up and one ahead and it'll be smooth sailing if I can only slip between them. Should have been no problem but the driver on the left sees me coming and floors it. With the cars we drive now, still no problem but I've got this little 1800 maxed out and this jerk is closing the gap on me as I watch. He's not going to be able to catch me but what he can do is make me hit the brakes hard and then I'll just have to get in line, so he's basically just messing with me.
However, with the supreme confidence of being 10 ft tall and bullet proof, I dished up a change of pace that he could never have expected. Running headlong directly at the rear of the car in my lane, at the last possible instant I cleared Lefty's front bumper and at that precise point cranked the B's wheel over hard and fast to the left, putting the B into a 4 wheel slide almost dead sideways to traffic flow. Then in the same fluid motion I reversed the wheel, just as hard and fast to the right, going into a 4 wheel slide in the opposite direction which put me back straight in line with traffic. Brought the wheel back straight, foot still on the floor, and away I went, now in front of Lefty and pulling away. He never even saw it coming.
Since then I've had reason to suspect that maybe, just maybe, I might not be bullet proof. Or I might not be 10 ft tall. And I've had occasion to view my own mortality. I've driven autocrosses where the rim has slipped out of my hands and given me a nasty rug burn on the wrist. You LOSE CONTROL when that happens. Loss of control in the above maneuver most likely would have meant death. So I don't drive like that any more. It's just not safe.
Jim
Jim,
RE: "......So I don't drive like that any more. It's just not safe......."
So who was that driving your car on the Dragon in 2006?
What, that little grocery run? That was nothing to get excited about, seems like you were doing a fine job of keeping up. Just a stroll in the park really...
Jim
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
My apologies folks.
Perhaps if I phrased it as--- Have any of you done auto cross with your v8s what class and what kind of other autos do you run against What modifications make the biggest improvement to your times. besides a rev limiter
Mike Moore it may have only been 5000 rpm really! Mike chastised me when I told him about the rpm when returning the car. He has never asked me for new valve springs.
Who am I? Just a moron that fools with british cars Best thing Winner of 2005 Missouri indurance ralley with Mark Shetley
Thanks Jim B
Hi David, congratulations on the Endurance Ralley win. That's a tough one as I've heard from Rob Camblin who's gone over a couple of times to run it.
As far as autocrossing, I don't know which of the guys does this routinely, but it seems that at the yearly British V8 meets it's Carl that usually has the quick car and times so hopefully he'll chime in. You might check out the section in the Pub on this year's meet in Wisconsin. The times for all the cars was posted there and might give you some idea. From what I saw it really seemed to boil down to the basics no matter what the engine was as there was a 4 cylinder MGB that was nearly as fast as Carl in his V8. The best addition seemed to be sticky tires. Carl was running some real soft compound rubber and it showed. I think he almost wore them out on the trip up and back and said in the rain it got a little scary.
For my Midget, I built it with autocross in mind and according to the rules at that time (95). Because of the engine swap I wound up in E Modifed according to SCCA Solo rules and would be running against some very race only type cars. I knew I wouldn't be competitive, but wanted to comply with the safety requirements so I could at least have some fun. I would think that if you had a Rover V8 then you might be able to still run in a stock class, but with a Ford or Chevy or V6 you're definitely in modified. I ran the auto cross at the Spridget 50 this summer at Lake of the Ozarks and was in the same class as a tube frame Mazda rotary powered car with a blower. Needless to say I finished second in class and he finished next to last, some 10 seconds faster than my time. ;-) Still I had fun, didn't hit any cones, and didn't get lost so I was happy.
Hope to see you at one of the regional shows soon. I can't make the St. Louis show, will be on vacation. Are you planning on coming over to KC for the All British on Labor Day weekend?
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