Richard,
You're right, this is a great site. The best part for me were the
MPEGs--crank up the volume! All that's missing is the smell of
Castrol on Saturday.
I went both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was a "must" 'cause it was
the first time in living memory that an MGB was allowed to enter.
(As well as a Spitfire, but we won't talk about that...) Also a good
showing for a Twin Cam A. The MGB was an immaculate GB (rhd) Sebring
spec car. I took a lot of pictures, which I am trying to find a
place to post now.
I spoke at some length with the owner of the B. He suspects it was
one of many factory cars, sold and renumbered back in the Sixties.
Pull handle with alum. doors and boot. The boot stiffeners are
meticulously drilled, though it probably doesn't do much to reduce
the all-up weight of the car. Other details include original banjo
axle (run with 4.55 gears at Laguna Seca, non-OD tranny --didn't have
good luck with OD in the past), 1840 cc 5-main, cross drilled crank,
iron head (deemed necessary for sanctioning body originality),
standard single circuit brakes, beautiful roll cage, fuel cell and
dual SUs in the boot, and fairly "soft" suspension setup with
upgraded shock valves (he's working on this, as it seems to get a
little unsettled in fast corners.)
Since originality and politics are such a part of the Historics, the
owner said he was very careful about improvements, although I take it
he has other parts that may be installed at other venues. He
mentioned that the car was to be entered by either Brown and Gammons
or one of their customers, but was sold when it seemed that they
would be denied entry. The owner bought it, and probably because of
it's fine "period/concours" condition, got it in.
Clearly, the criteria for entry in the Historics include A)
rarity/exclusivity, B) oddity, C) historic interest as part of the
West Coast or US racing scene, D) variety, and E) originality to the
period in which it was first raced--no extreme later improvements
allowed. B) and C) were definitely in play with some of the entries,
particularly the "specials". One of the best examples of this was
Old Yeller II, which had an incredible Sixties So Cal
garage/shadetree patina and scruffy mechanic to match.
The MGB owner commented that one of the things that probably has kept
MGBs out was the entry, back in the early Nineties, of a Bugeye which
qualified as mostly original, but raced with later SCCA upgrades
(1275 engine, adjustable suspension, etc.) Lotus Elan and Cortina
owners can tell you that anything that is "too competitive" in its
class doesn't stand a chance, either. Although politics, money, and
C) above must come into play, since there is always a whole race
pretty much devoted to Shelby Mustangs and Cobras.
BTW, the MGB finished 15th in its race on Sunday--couldn't keep up
with 26Rs and 7, but beat the likes of an Alpine, the Spit, an Elva,
and a TVR.
Chris Attias
'64 MGB
At 5:27 PM -0600 8/22/2000, Richard Parker wrote:
>I spent last Saturday at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races--a great
>time, although not much in the way of MGs, unfortunately--and discovered I
>and a lot of other people wasted a lot of film. All we had to do was come
>home and download from this website:
>
>http://www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/monterey_00-1.htm
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