BritishV8 Forum

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MGB-GT-V8-Race-Car-/271137496327?pt=Race_Cars_Not_Street_Legal_&hash=item3f210ddd07

Who builds these cars with NO sense of Rules/Regulations?

 Custom front suspension (fully adjustable) with Carrera shocks with coil springs, Wilwood 4 piston calipers, drilled rotors, sway bar with aluminum mounts, lightweight rack and pinion
·       Narrowed 8 inch Ford rear end with PowerTrac Lock posi, dearched/lightened leaf springs, watts link, double adjustable QA1 shocks, Wilwood 4 piston calipers with drilled rotors
·       Rover 4.6 liter V8: 4 bolt main caps with ARP studs, top hat sleeved, bored, honed, line bored, decked, balanced rotating assembly, custom Weisco forged aluminum racing pistons with valve reliefs, Eagle H beam forged connecting rods with ARP bolts, prepped stock steel Rover crank, Crower racing cam, solid lifters & springs/retainers, double roller timing chain, high volume oil pump with custom 7 qt racing oil pan with 3 trap doors, Rover aluminum small chamber cylinder heads (ported & matched with large valves) with ARP head studs, Cometic head gaskets, Yella Terra racing aluminum roller rockers with Trick Flow push rods, Romac SFI balancer, aluminum water pump, aluminum water pump and crank pulley, Harcourt single plane high rise aluminum intake manifold, Speed Demon 575 cfm road race carburetor, modified Rover aluminum valve covers, MSD billet racing distributor with Blaster II coil, MSD 6AL2 ignition, K&N filter with custom fresh air intake, ceramic coated headers/X pipe/exhaust pipes with V band clamps, custom AFCO cross flow double pass radiator with electric fan, aluminum radiator catch can, aluminum engine breather can with filter

a) No custom front suspensions.   NO Wilwoods.  
b) No rear calipers
c) Only 3.5L engine is legal.  

So, yeah, neat car-- but it can't race legally in anything "historic/vintage".    Because there is NOTHING about those set-ups that is either Vintage OR Historic!   It's just a hot little track car, but you'd never get a logbook.  

(And notice they haven't.)

M

So I shouldn't move this thread to the racecar section, eh?

Not trying to be a smart ass here, but if the e-Bay car referenced above isn;t a legal race car, how then did Dick Burnett race this car: http://www.britishracecar.com/KeithBurnett-MG-MGBGTV8.htm?

All the MGB GT V8s on BritishRacecar.com were prepared to race in Sportscar Vintage Racing Association events. They all have 3.5L engines. Even the ones with later-model blocks have been sleeved down to 3.5" (plus an allowed overbore... probably 0.047" or so). They all run the shorter (2.8") stroke.

The V8s on BritishRacecar also have stock MGB front suspension pick-up points - dropped spindles are okay, but altering inboard pivot points is against the rules. They also have drum brakes on their rear axles, even though the axles themselves are heavier duty American-made axles. As for front brakes... actually S.V.R.A. DOES allow MGB GT V8s to have vented rotors and aftermarket aluminum calipers. (Four cylinder MG's aren't allowed to use non-stock calipers.)

Thanks Curtis. It's still a nice looking car and appears to be well done...if not within the rules.

DC:

Last I checked, the dry sump and the calipers would be illegal (Curtis' ruling might be more up to date.)  

But otherwise, that car IS legal!    Certainly not as blatant as the 4.6 L, adjustable suspension, fully disc braked car!

M

Mike, Thanks for submitting this ebay listed "pretty" car. With all the winter cold-snap, going on, this really helped to elevate our body temp's, at least above the neck. Lot's of racing associations would like to have a car like that run with them, Mohave Mile, Silver State Challege,Maxton, NHRA, SCCA Solo II/etc. True it woun't be allowed in a points chase in VARA or other vintage road racing series, but they "might" let it run for fun. This is supposed to be for fun-right ? I mean,is anybody vintage road racing, to make money ? How is that working out ?  Cheers, roverman.

Art, when I posted this I really just thought this was a cool car, well executed, with some nifty engineering features. I don't know beans from applebutter about the rules and nuances of SCCA and VARA racing...I will let the better informed chat about the legality of this vehicle as it relates to racing...I just thought it was one cool car...still do...

Mike:

I agree-- cool car!  

I take umbrage with it listing itself as "vintage"-- that implies a rules legality.  

Lots of cars do this, and they are "track cars"-- not racecars.   (And they never have logbooks, which is the big Red Flag.)  


As for Art's comment re: "Fun".  Sure, any sporty car is fun to drive.  But the whole essense of "sport" in competition is to have a level playing field!    

Imagine the Dodgers are playing the Angels, but the Angels are all using fungo bats!    It's fun for the Angels-- the Dodgers?  Not so much...  :-p

M

Car was featured on Bring A Trailer today:  http://bringatrailer.com/2013/01/15/v8-rocket-1970-mgb-gt-racer/

Bring-a-Trailer says:  

QuotePerhaps, with some detail work, and a demure BRG paint job, this could be made more acceptable to more vintage scrutineers.

Yeah... that's probably how it works. Change the paint and surely everyone will ignore the oversized engine!

I keep thinking that if someone wants to buy this red car and vintage race it, I can help! I'll trade long blocks, front suspensions, and rear axles straight-up! We could probably make this red car S.V.R.A legit in just a few days. I agree that this is a neat car - but I think it would be even better if it could compete against the five or six other MGB GT V8 racers that are prepared to run East Coast events.

That's probably a great idea Curtis, and about as cheap as possible to get into historic racing. The car might even be somewhat competitive. But it would make your car heavier.

Jim

;o)

The GT would be a nice car for track days, It could run at NASA or TCRA, I am sure we could find a class for it but..... it will not be competitive ruining with the real dogs such as other modern V8's. It could also participate on on time trials with SCCA or NASA and TCRA on the big tracks.
But a fun car to take to for track days and yes good looking car. I would buy and change some things for my liking.

Anyone has some extra cash to give to buy the GT :-)

FWIW, One could swap-out the rotating assembly,cranks rods and pistons, and "presto-chango", you have a 4L. Re-use the "rings". Both are internally balanced, so same f-wheel and dampener. Put the pick-up points for suspension, back to MGB locations and runnit. JMHO, roverman.

Why do that??? It handles better the way it is. and perhaps more fun to drive.

Maybe the more liberal groups would find a place to run,,,, maybe with the Can Am cars!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
Dave

QuoteFWIW, One could swap-out the rotating assembly,cranks rods and pistons, and "presto-chango", you have a 4L...

4L isn't enough to get the engine into compliance with SVRA rules. If the builder was ignoring the SVRA rules we've talked about (engine displacement, front suspension, and rear brakes), he may have ignored other rules too!  For example, SVRA rules say the rear of the engine must be at least six inches forward of the firewall. If I were building a track day car, I'd certainly place the engine further back than that!  Wheel width is another likely concern. I just don't understand...

6"? Really? My engine is further forward than just about any conversion I've looked at and I'm pretty sure I have less than that.

Jim

6", is this a typo ?  I saw "most" VARA cars had less than 6" of firewall clearance.Thanks, roverman.

The rule reads as follows:
"There must be a minimum of 6" between the right hand cylinder head and the bulkhead."

For the balance of model-specific rules, go here and click on "MGB GT V8" in the British Motor Corporation section: http://www.svra.com/make-model-regulations/

Incidentally, if you do download the MGB GT V8 specific rule sheet (pdf, linked-to above)... you'll enjoy a lovely photo. That photo is stolen property! Taken from BritishRacecar and used without permission. We were just talking about copyrights on another thread, weren't we? If I've ever said anything nice about SVRA, I take it back now. Thieves!

I know how you feel Curtis.