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New here and building a 1965 mgb racer

Posted by sign.designer1

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New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #1
sign.designer1 David Bane Bland, Virginia, USA 1965 MG MGB	Posted: December 26, 2011 12:13PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 186

Hello guys.
I'm new to this site and going to be new on the race track in about two years, although I've got 15 years racing experience (dirt oval racing when I was younger) Just wanted to introduce myself, David Bane from Bland, Va. and ask for suggestions/advice on building an MGB roadster for racing with you guys. I have been to VIR many times and have actually chatted with some of you there. Also have been to numerous events at Summit Point, and am looking forward to visiting the other tracks as well. I have my car completely disassembled and on a rotisserrie at the moment. Once Christmas and New Year's are over, I'll be cutting out rusted sills / floor pans / side rails and replacing all these parts before the car goes for professional cage installation. Then this is where I'm going to be asking a lot of questions about suspension setups. Hope ya'll are willing to share some insights / advice! I'm also going to be needing toi buy some parts and equipment, so if anyone has parts for sale, let me know. I'll be buying as my racing budget allows and as I find good deals. I'll be posting some pictures soon. Thanks in advance for you help.

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #2
Steve64B Steve Opitz Phoenix, AZ, USA 1966 MG MGB	Posted: December 26, 2011 12:20PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 8,338

David,

Some invaluable sites for seeing what other LBC racers are doing:

http://www.britishracecar.com/

http://prodracing.com/prodcar/

http://www.race-cars.com/

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #3
John Hamilton Austin, TX, USA 1965 MG MGB "The Great Pumpkin" 1968 MG MGB GT "Buck" 1970 MG MGB "Dad's Car"	Posted: December 26, 2011 12:22PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,698

Lots of good advice here. Best advice I can give is make it fun, VDCA is a great group to run with on the East Coast.

If I can't be fast, I'll just be obnoxious!

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #4
dickmoritz Dick Moritz Philly 'burbs, PA, USA	Posted: December 26, 2011 12:54PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 7,223

Welcome, David.
Two important sources here for parts and setup info include Dave Headley (fast-mg here on the Forum, and Hap Waldrop (Speedracer). Both have been building and racing these cars since they invented gasoline, and both can supply you with race-specific parts and technical info and advice. You can find both in the Vendor area of this site, and suggest you visit both of their web sites to see the kinds of go-fast parts they offer.

We'll look forward to photos and updates on your progress. Hope you post and visit often.

Dick

Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #5
fast-MG.com Dave Headley Cortez, 4 corners, Colorado, USA	Posted: December 26, 2011 01:11PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 3,209

David, welcome to the site and welcome to the MGB road race world. smileys with beer

One quick piece of advice: mount your race seat before doing the cage. The driver is the second heaviest "lump" in the car and should be placed as far back as the floor allows. Pedals and steering can be placed accordingly later. Then build the cage to fit the driver in driving position.

I'll be glad to help in any way I can. Lots of info and "goodies" at www.fast-mg.com thumbs up smiley

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #6
sign.designer1 David Bane Bland, Virginia, USA 1965 MG MGB	Posted: December 26, 2011 03:47PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 186

Thanks guys. I'll be looking into all these suggestions and will start looking for a 17" seat now. I appreciate the advice!

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #7
blackmgb Fred McConnell Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, USA 1992 Mazda Miata NA "MAC"	Posted: December 26, 2011 03:57PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,193

Welcome, I'd also add that you get familiar with the advanced search function. I've spent many late nights doing research on this forum via the search function. I guarantee many of your questions have been debated several times before, but of course don't let that stop you from being an active member of the community.

Also, I'm guessing that you are going vintage racing?

2012 SCCA FP MARRS Champion

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #8
Bubba Torsten Kunze SC, USA 1965 MG MGB Racecar "Miss Daisy"	Posted: December 26, 2011 06:36PM Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 502

Welcome, David.

Don't hesitate asking..... I started in '06 and still feel like a rookie, but this may be a personal problem. smileys with beer

Oh....what type of cage have you decided on?

*************************************************************
1974 MGB GT race car, Charleston, SC
[http://www.VintageRacingOnline.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2011 06:38PM by Bubba.

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #9
Rick Starkweather Raleigh, NC, USA	Posted: December 26, 2011 08:51PM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 696

David:

What are your racing plans? SCCA or vintage?

I have a second (rust free!) F Production MGB that needs some minor repairs that I'd consider parting with... My own F production MGB has been on the rotisserie like yours, and is now on a dolly at the "have all the rust issues repaired, still need a minor change to the roll cage (hopefully in the next few weeks), and then it's off for paint" stage.

Would be happy to fill you in on my issues/decisions/progress.

Rick

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #10
sign.designer1 David Bane Bland, Virginia, USA 1965 MG MGB	Posted: December 27, 2011 07:59AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 186

Thanks for the big welcome, guys! My plan is to go vintage racing with the car. I have a friend that has been vintage racing for years. He is currently running a Volvo P1800 and I've been helping crew the car at the track. Last race was Heacock Classic Gold Cup at VIR. I've been wanting to return to racing for years and have finally decided that I'd better do it before I get too old! From what I've seen, Vintage racing with VDCA is just the ticket for curing my itch. Since my car was originally Iris Blue, I'm going with the old Gulf paint scheme. This also holds special meaning because my wife's grandfather owned the Guf station in Bland when we were growing up. We are able to have some of the old advertising memorabilia from the station that I will be using as garage art. Since I'm adding a couple pictures today to show what I'm working on. Bubba, I'm having the cage custom built by a man here that has been building custom cages for years. He has built cars and cages for some very big names in the racing world, and he does some excellent work, so I trust him. I do wnat to know if you can extend the cage through the firewall or not. So far, I haven't seen anyone take the front bars through to the front of the car. Is this not necessary or is it not legal? Thanks again for the big welcome!
PS - Having trouble loading pictures. Anyone have any suggestions?

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #11
fast-MG.com Dave Headley Cortez, 4 corners, Colorado, USA	Posted: December 27, 2011 08:16AM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 3,209

David, take a look at the cage in Butch McKenzie's MGB. That was the vintage car that I built and raced before selling to butch. Yes, the cage forward bracing goes through the firewall. thumbs up smiley

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #12
Rick Starkweather Raleigh, NC, USA	Posted: December 27, 2011 08:22AM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 696

David:

Have Fred or Hap send you pictures of Hap's MGB. Sam Naeve did a great job of extending the cage through the firewall to the front crossmember attachment points. Some in vintage would debate how legal it is to extend the cage to the suspension points, but I doubt anyone is going to protest what can be construed as a safety issue.

Rick

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #13
Speedracer Hap Waldrop Greenville, SC, USA 1967 MG MGB "The Biscuit"	Posted: December 27, 2011 09:34AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 20,301

Actually I'm not a big fan of the forward bracing bars coming off the main hoop, in fact they will be in scrape metal pile in the shop soon enough, as I will be cutting them off. Fred had Sam do these bars, because he wanted to do some SCCA races, and they require them on low front hoop cars, and I have no intention of doing SCCA racing with this car. Myself, and others fought this when the SCCA started requiring them, I named them "entrapment" bars, because if the car gets upside down, you're trapped in the car, and lets hope it's not on fire, because one would be in big trouble then. This rule may have been one of the dumbest things SCCA ever did, if a safer cage denies driver escape, then it's not that safe.

Add to the above, and the entrapment bars make it way more difficult to work in the cockpit of the car. If one is worried about safety in the roll cage on a open car, go with high front hoop design, instead of the entrapment bars on the front low hoop design. Mind you, I am not talking about the bars extending into the engine bay, but the ones beside the driver's head in the cockpit.

Hap Waldrop
MGexperience Supporting Vendor
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2011 09:42AM by Speedracer.

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #14
hoffman900 Bob Adams South Jersey, USA 1978 Yamaha MC TT500 "Flat Tracker" 1990 Mazda Miata NA	Posted: December 27, 2011 09:41AM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 411

A lot of cars in vintage run bars forward of the firewall. I would think reinforcing a 60 year old shock/spring tower could fall under safety.

Most of the nicer cages are SCCA legal. I think that's a good way to go and a good cage makes the car more valuable if you ever tried to sell it.

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #15
Rick Starkweather Raleigh, NC, USA	Posted: December 27, 2011 09:42AM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 696

Hap:

I meant the "engine bars"...

Rick

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Engine Bars.jpg (32.6 KB) –

Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #16
Speedracer Hap Waldrop Greenville, SC, USA 1967 MG MGB "The Biscuit"	Posted: December 27, 2011 09:45AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 20,301

Guys I added a sentence above to clear up what I am talking about.

Hap Waldrop
MGexperience Supporting Vendor
Make Sure to check our promotions/product offerings in the Vendor Deals Forum here.

How to advertise on this website

Acme Speed Shop – Greenville, SC USA VTO Wheels 866-855-3473 Acme Speed Shop (864) 370-3000

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #17
Bubba Torsten Kunze SC, USA 1965 MG MGB Racecar "Miss Daisy"	Posted: December 27, 2011 09:56AM Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 502

In reply to # 1938663 by sign.designer1 PS - Having trouble loading pictures. Anyone have any suggestions?

Pictures can not exceed a certain size, need to be of a specific format and you are limited in number of pcs you can upload based upon membership level/status.
•Valid attachments: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, pdf
•No file can be larger than 2 MB

...hope this helps solve that issue.

*************************************************************
1974 MGB GT race car, Charleston, SC
[http://www.VintageRacingOnline.com]

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #18
sign.designer1 David Bane Bland, Virginia, USA 1965 MG MGB	Posted: December 27, 2011 03:18PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 186

Thanks for the picture. I really want to tie the car together from front to back if possible. I appreciate Hap's input on the "entrapment bars" and will be looking into that aspect as I build the car. I did get to look over Butch Mckinzie's car while at VIR and took a lot of pictures, however I never caught him with the hood up. I've looked at others that had nothing through the firewall, but am not very sure of the strength of the car without any extra support under the stresses of racing. By the way, I saw that Rick may have a fuel cell for sale that needs foam on another thread. What size and how much? I just might be interested if the price is right.

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #19
Rick Starkweather Raleigh, NC, USA	Posted: December 27, 2011 03:57PM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 696

David:

I think you are fine re: the strength issue. The stock MGBs have a lot of torsional stiffness on their own -- assuming you get the sills repaired.

Picture of the fuel cell (and the donor) are attached. I'm going to make a run over to the storage garage later this week and will open up the cell to check out the foam inside. Car was stored inside for about 10 years before I bought it back in February.

Rick

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Re: New here and building a 1965 mgb racer #20
blackmgb Fred McConnell Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, USA 1992 Mazda Miata NA "MAC"	Posted: December 27, 2011 03:59PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,193

Rick, why aren't you racing that car? It's looks great, but the picture may be as old as me.

2012 SCCA FP MARRS Champion

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