> Alan,
> What have you done to that Midget to get 130 MPH out of her?
> I have a '78 Midget and she won't come close to that.
>
> God Bless,
> -Vince
> '78 Midget "Betsy"
> San Antonio,Texas
Vince,
I am luck enough to do some work for a company called Wilcox Race
Engines who have re-built my 1500 engine for me. It is now 1600cc
and uses a mix of MGB 1800 bottom end components and lightweight
TR6 parts. This is all a bit extreme, but provided an oil cooler is
fitted the 1500 engine is easily capable of 100+BHP without
sacrificing reliability. The first few steps to getting a bit more
power I would suggest as:
1. Remove 'poppet valves' form SU carbs and use plane throttle
disks. Glue the screws in place and cut off the excess bits of the
retaining screws so that the dont obstruct airflow. Also file away
any rought surfaces. Cost about 5 USD for about 5 BHP.
2. Fit K&N or similar air filters. About 3 BHP more.
3. Extractor manifold + wide bore exhaust.
4. Gas flow the head + larger valves. 10 - 20BHP depending on how
well it is done.
5. New camshaft - have to balance between drivability and power.
6. Get rid of the gearbox and replace it with an overdrive type from
a triumph spitfire or similar - it must be a J type Laycock
overdrive unit. Needs a bit of welding to do this.
7. Get it set up properly on the rolling road.
Before you do any of this I would fit an oil cooler + uprate the
suspension and brakes.
Regards
Alan
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