Race Cars and Motorsports

I am in the process of building a 5.0 conversion, I was wondering if I could ever do roadcourse racing such with a heavily modified car. I would consider it a modified street racer, Is there a class that my car would fall under? Is there any saftey modifications that I should address before I get to far along with my progress? Is there an acredited vintage racing association that will accept a v8 conversion, that I could use as a guideline? Is there anyone that races mgbs on a regular basis in the southeast, namely Road Atlanta or Savannah, that I could get some information from? I have run across alot of general information on this subject, but I really can't tell what actually applies to my application. I would greatly appreciate any useful information. Thanks -Phill

Safety considerations? You mean like a real cage, a proper racing seat, a fuel cell, and a fire system?


You could easily vintage race an MGB GT V8 conversion on tracks like Road Atlanta... if you forget about the Ford engine and install a Rover 3.5 instead. The SVRA Group 8 rules allow a Rover engine because it was installed from the factory and raced back during the production era (1973 through 1976). There were three actively campaigned MGB GT V8 race cars in the US in 2008, and at least four more are being prepared. If you want to be competitive in SVRA Group 8, you'll need to build your Rover V8 to produce over 250hp, and that's not cheap.

Much of the information you need about SVRA racing is in this article.

This article is also about an SVRA-legal MGB GT V8.

Starting this year, SCCA will let you race an MGB V8 in their GT2 class... but your car will need to either look like an MGB GT V8 (produced from 1973 to 1976) or like an MG RV8 (produced from 1992 to 1995). In GT2, you won't be safe on the racetrack unless your car is a "real racecar" with tube chassis. (In other words, the body will be just a skin, put on for looks.)

SCCA requirements have previously been discussed in other threads on this message board.

You can do Track Days with that combo. Not real compition, but lots of fun.

Steve

Hey Curtis, I was wondering if you had any more pictures of the car you posted. I saw the car at
a British cars event locally, and wouldn't mind seeing it again especially the rear suspension setup.

Coincidentally, I spent today and yesterday with its builder. (Great guy!) It's an absolutely spectacular MGB GT, and I took lots and lots of photos. Our feature article on this car will likely include about 100 large, detail photos when it's ready to publish... but it's not ready yet!

V8 Forum Guys,

Looking forward to seeing the Ford 302 mods to a MGBGT set up for racing.

The Rover 3.5 V8 might be a better choice for acceptance with the sanctioning bodies, but the Ford 302 V8 will probably provide more horsepower for every $$ spent - but with more weight to the front end. Too, do remember, you have to get by the tech inspectors in all racing clubs to go racing.

You want to race - how much do you want to spend. Study the rules of the sanctioning body. Read all the rules very carefully.

r'grds,

Phillip G

Just to add. If you don't have much racing experience you might be interested in HPDE's first.. A rollbar/cage, nice set of tires, suspension, and brakes will get you started.

I think you could run a 302 mg in NASA's super touring 1 or 2 classes - their GCRs are online. They're fairly liberal on what combos can compete - based on power to weight. Chassis has to be up for it. The one above is a really good start. The rover motors provide more options though.