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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