swashburn Alexander Washburn Wellesley, Massachusetts (2 posts) Registered: 04/01/2009 09:41AM Main British Car: 1973 MGBGT Toyota 1989 1JZ GTE Twin Turbo DOHC six |
MGC GTS Sebring crash repair 2012
During a practice session at New Hampshire Speedway roadcourse in 2012 prior to a time trail I crashed my MGC GTS Sebring head on into a tire wall at turn 11. I was OK but the car looked very bad. Later that week, I had purchased a donor MGBGT from Bill Shields in Reading PA and over the next two months my son and I repaired the car with the help of a frame/roll cage specialist Chris Howard in Millis, MA. Chris suggested adding a tube frame forward from the main roll cage to the front suspension cross member which is shown in the pictures. I have raced the car for the past year and it handles better than ever. The engine was unhurt in the crash because we had moved it 10" aft of the stock engine mounts in the MGB. I also added a competition MOSS sway bar in the front which has improved handling. I fortunately had purchased HPDE insurance for the event so the entire repair bill of $14,000 was covered.
Pictures show the main roll cage with side NASCAR style extensions and the front tube frame extensions to the cross member for the front suspension. The front of the donor car from the firewall forward was cut off and attached to the MGC GTS after the damaged body was removed. Chris Howard did an amazing job of grafting the new clip and strengthening with the tube frame extension. This modification should be done to any racing MGB/MGC for safety and chassis rigidity. The Toyota Supra 1JZ double turbo engine fits the MGBGT chassis with the firewall moved 10" aft of the stock position. This results in a perfectly balanced weight distribution with 525 pounds on each wheel. My son fabricated stainless 2 3/4" pipes off each turbo with oval pipes exiting on the passenger side. With the large intake piping to and from the intercooler the engine breathes very efficiently. The two pictures show the repaired car racing at Watkins Glen in July 2013. |