rficalora Rob Ficalora Willis, TX (2764 posts) Registered: 10/24/2007 02:46PM Main British Car: '76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302 |
Did a short test drive today
Put the car on the ground & did a short test drive today... I knew brakes are too soft to drive much but it was fun anyway.
Did identify a few things to address -- need to raise the car up - exhaust scraped going out of the driveway -- leaking coolant -- I think it's coming from the bottom hose but I'll need to look closer to be sure -- need to adjust the shifter -- it's not fully engaging 1st & wants to pop back to neutral But still - after several years it was great to have it on the ground & moving under it's own power. |
HealeyRick Rick Neville (490 posts) Registered: 12/19/2007 05:01PM Main British Car: 1963 Austin-Healey 3000 Ford 5.0L |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Congrats, Rob. Love the wheel and tire combo and looks great under the flares!
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MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4514 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Damn that's purty, Rob!
"-- need to raise the car up - exhaust scraped going out of the driveway " Fix the driveway. The car is perfect ( I never argue with perfect). |
flitner John Fenner Miami Fl (168 posts) Registered: 03/11/2010 10:58AM Main British Car: 1972 MGB 350 CHEVY |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob, I cant wait to be in your shoes!!! the car looks incredible and I bet it sounds great too!!!! Nice werk Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6470 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Looking good.
JB |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4514 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Fix the F...in' driveway, nuthin' wrong with the car!
My car is going lower than it was. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2011 10:53PM by MGBV8. |
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kstevusa kelly stevenson Southern Middle Tennessee (985 posts) Registered: 10/25/2007 09:37AM Main British Car: 2003 Jaguar XK8 Coupe 4.2L DOHC/ VVT / 6sp. AT |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Great Job! Rob , look fwd to seeing you in Townsend. Love the color
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castlesid Kevin Jackson Sidcup UK (361 posts) Registered: 11/18/2007 10:38AM Main British Car: 1975 MGB GT Rover V8 4.35L |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob,
Car looks fantastic, I'd try and avoid raising the rear end if at all possible, whats the distance from centre of wheel to the the bottom of where the chrome strip would have been, ideally for road use this should be approx 15" If your car was originally rubber bumper it would have been a lot higher. If you still using leafs spring at the rear then you want no more than a 93lb spring rate and thebest steel springs are the Moss reverse spring eye springs which will lower a rubber bumper car by 1 1/2" - 2" I have these springs on my GT rated 110lb and dont have clearance issues with the exhaust although my tail section is for a rubber bumpered car and it now rides at chrome ride height so it could be raised for more exhaust clearance. Kevin. |
ex-tyke Graham Creswick Chatham, Ontario, Canada (1165 posts) Registered: 10/25/2007 11:17AM Main British Car: 1976 MGB Ford 302 |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Congratulations from North of the border.
Teething pains will always be part of a new conversion - you'll get them sorted quickly. |
Jim Stabe Jim Stabe San Diego, Ca (829 posts) Registered: 02/28/2009 10:01AM Main British Car: 1966 MGB Roadster 350 LT1 Chevy |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob
Beautiful car! The stance is great, don't raise it up - I might even drop it another 1/2" in front. I looked through your journal and didn't see any pictures of how your exhaust is run but there are things you can do to gain some clearance. Could you post some pictures showing where you are having the clearance issue. I have my exhaust up inside the tunnel, not an option for you but I did have to clear a couple obstacles and I made some low profile ovalized sections to get underneath them. The 3" pipe flattens to 1 1/2" where it goes under the rear end and the 2 1/2" squashes down to 1 1/4" under the throw out fork on the bell housing without losing any cross section area (ie flow). If you are interested, I can show you how to make them - it's pretty easy. I really like the mirrors also. Good mirrors that look good on our cars are really hard to find. Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2011 08:12PM by Jim Stabe. |
Bruce Mills Bruce Mills Vancouver Canada (71 posts) Registered: 11/28/2007 09:31PM Main British Car: 1974.5 MGB Roadster 3.5 Rover |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Very nice Rob
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rficalora Rob Ficalora Willis, TX (2764 posts) Registered: 10/24/2007 02:46PM Main British Car: '76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302 |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Jim, it scraped @ my H tube cross pipe. I checked the car height & I am a little low. Just shy of 14" front and 14.25 rear. Raising to about 14.5 isn't likely to make enough of a difference so I may have to do something like you did. Anyone ever measured a typical speed bump? Unlikely I'll be able to clear one.
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Bill Young Bill Young Kansas City, MO (1337 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 09:23AM Main British Car: '73 MG Midget V6 , '59 MGA I6 2.8 GM, 4.0 Jeep |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob, my Midget is real low, especially right at the center where the catalytic converter is mounted so I scrape that often. I recently raised the car a bit and it's much more pleasant to drive as I'm not worrying about every bump in the road. I had some worrying moments on the trip to Durham because of road construction where the lanes were uneven and you had to transition over that edge in a few places. At 60 mph you tend to clinch up the backside when negotiating something like that. I didn't get much higher maybe an inch but it made a world of difference.
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Jim Stabe Jim Stabe San Diego, Ca (829 posts) Registered: 02/28/2009 10:01AM Main British Car: 1966 MGB Roadster 350 LT1 Chevy |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob
I've has a couple questions about how I did the ovalized sections. I'll take some pictures and post a how-to on here in the next couple of days. You reduce the diameter of the pipe by 1/2 so you gain that amount as clearance. |
DiDueColpi Fred Key West coast - Canada (1367 posts) Registered: 05/14/2010 03:06AM Main British Car: I really thought that I'd be an action figure by now! |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Hey Rob,
Really nice sled you've built there! I'd be talking to Jim about his airbag setup before changing that beautifull stance that your car has. Cheers Fred |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4514 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Did a short test drive today
Rob, tuck your exhaust a bit tighter to the body. Jim's ovalized pipe is a great idea. You can also buy it already squashed. ;)
How do you measure when the chrome strip is missing? Eyball it or masking tape? Measuring from the center of the axle to the bottom of the chrome strip, my MG is 13.25 front & 14.25 rear. I rarely drag on anything, so I'm going down another 3/4 to 1" in the front & about 1.5" in the rear. :-) |