Keith, Bill, etc. -
You're absoultely correct - the B series racing in the U.K. is top notch,
from what I have seen. It is odd to me that some 80% of the MGB production
ended up in the States, but all the action, and most of the development for
the cars still is coming from England.
I don't have the luxury of buying a dedicated race car. I do have a car
that I would like to race. I am no shrinking violet, if the car were to
get scratched, or worse, I would get over it. With two kids under age 5, a
mortgage, a business to run, and a wife that requires some level of
maintenance, another car isn't in the cards.
I am a guy who wants to drive an LBC. I happen to want to drive it on a
track once in a while, in a competetive atmosphere. Since I already have
the LBC, I was hoping not to have to sell it to buy somthing else that
would probably need to have all the same work I have already done, done
again. Doesn't seem to be in the cards though.
Regards,
Chris Delling
At 01:05 PM 2/7/98 PST, Keith Wheeler wrote:
>Chris Delling wrote:
>
>>I am interested in club level racing of LBC's, MGB's specifically.
>
>Wish there were more like ya here in the states. In the UK there
>are races with nothing but MGBs. <RANT> But then too many damn street
>racer wannabees here state-side. If just a few of those street
>boy racer types would try and really race (for what they
>spend on chrome crap to impress their friends they could do
>a lot on track) we'd have bigger classes all 'round. And maybe
>they'd learn that there's a lot more to driving fast than
>a few extra HP and a lead foot. </RANT>
>
>>Seems that SCCA racing has become a (relatively) high cost venture,
>>requiring extensive modifications that result in a non-streetable car
>>(assuming you want to be anywhere near competetive).
>
>Yep. Small fortune. "Wanna make a small fortune? Then get a big
>one and go racing." You're thinking about the Production cars. Yes,
>expensive. Yes, not streetable. And to make things worse (if I remember
>correctly) MGBs and Midgets were pulled from national level Improved Touring,
>sort of a "Showroom Stock" class for older cars. IT cars can easily be
>streetable, but, if ya shunt it out, where's your street ride then?
>
>There are some questions you've gotta ask:
>
>What part of the country are you in? (it does matter if you
> live next door to a track or in the middle of Alaska)
>
>What racing experience do you have?
>
>Why do you want to race an MGB?
>
>>Vintage racing class rules seem to allow a street legal car, with minimal
>>modifications to remain competetive. Unfortunately for me, the cut-off
>>dates for production cars seems to be late 60's/early 70's. I have a late
>>70's B. I am sure no one would seriously argue that the late B's have a
>>competetive advantage over earlier cars, but this is not taken into
>>consideration.
>
>I've looked into vintage racing. I'd love to run my Bugeye a lap
>or two. However, vintage racing varies heavily on how competitive
>the sport is. What I mean is some vintage "races" are glorified
>parade laps. Fun? I'm sure. Interesting? Great old machinery
>on a track! Always interesting. Racing? Well...
>
>>Am I missing somthing, or am I just out of luck?
>
>If you haven't done any competition driving, hook up with the local
>SCCA guys and run an autocross or two. You can run that 'B in H Stock
>as is (unless you've done the Weber carb thing and so forth). Autocross
>is fun, difficult, and a good place to see if you really like driving
>hard under competitive circumstances (without having to buy a roll cage,
>nomex suit, slicks, etc).
>
>I autocross my 'B, and run it in road rallies. I'd love to race a
>'B in a series, and there are some places I could turn. However
>for road course action I decided to go with a first gen RX-7.
>There's a class down here called Spec RX-7, basically a bone stock
>RX-7, however you can use a specified set of sway bars, shocks, and
>springs. (Which I've installed). A car can be built or bought for
>about $3k. Plus there are plenty of parts in the boneyards, so
>a broken engine or shunted body aren't that hard to replace.
>
>If you are absolutely set on racing a 'B on road courses, there are
>a few clubs with run-whatcha-brung classes. COMMA and NASA come
>to mind. NASA has an indexed series where HP differences are
>somewhat smoothed out.
>
>There is one little niche left where someone could actually have
>fun with an MGB (GT only!). This is something we've (Team Sanctuary)
>discussed heavily, and while it won't be the most competitive
>car around, it'll be unique. After I've completed my 'B V-8
>conversion, this will hopefully be my next race car project,
>a 'B GT, roll cage, and some nice Hakkas. :) I wouldn't
>even suggest this route unless you are comfortable with
>going through the river and over the woods...
>
>-Keith Wheeler
>Team Sanctuary http://www.teamsanctuary.com/
>
>
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