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Re: More Twincam Figures

To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: More Twincam Figures
From: WSpohn4@aol.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 21:01:16 EDT
In a message dated 2000-06-07 4:05:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
owner-mgs-digest@autox.team.net writes:

<< Twin Cam     MKII        MGB     Datsun 240Z
        1588cc          1622cc      1796cc      2393cc
 
 0-30       2.7         4.0     3.9     3.2
 0-40       4.8         6.0     5.9     4.9
 0-50       7.3         9.3     9.0     6.6
 0-60       9.9         12.8        12.5        8.7
 0-70       13.8            18.0        17.7        11.8
 0-80       18.1            25.4        25.0        15.2
 0-90       27.0            NA      34.5        NA
 0-100      41.0            NA      NA      27.1
 1/4 mile   18.1/80mph      18.7/71mph  18.5/72mph  17.1/84.5
 
 MPH/1000 rpm   17.6            18.1        17.9        21.0
  >>

Thanks for taking the time to post that list. I thought I'd add a few data 
points to it.

Twincam (Motor test)       Twincam,4.55,        MGC                   MGB GT 
V8
                                        CR box (R&T test)
to:
30 mph     2.6                                                    4.0         
                2.8
40 mph     4.4                                                     5.6        
                4.3
50 mph      7.3                                                    7.6        
                 6.4
60 mph       9.1                                                   10.0       
                8.6
70 mph     12.3                                                   13.7        
              11.8
80 mph     16.2                                                   17.7        
              15.1
90 mph     24.6                                                   22.6        
              19.0
100 mph   40.3                   30.0                         30.1            
          25.3
1/4 mile   18.1                   17.1                         17.6           
           16.4
Top speed   115                   118

I would stress that all that was with a stock engine that the testers never 
took above 6500 rpm (not wanting to hurt a new engine, no doubt). That is 
below the stock power peak and the times would have improved had they used 
the normal redline.

Another car was tested by Autosport in 1962 - it had Webers bolted on, but 
was using a 4.1 axle instead of the more usual 4.55.  It's figures were as 
follows:

to 60 mph 8.1 secs
80 mph 14.5

1/4 mile  16.2

Now compare those times with the MG V8 - yup, faster, even with a wrong diff 
ratio, and the fact that again, they were only using 6500 rpm!

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but most people honestly have no 
idea what the potential of a good Twincam is. It simply feels like a 
different car completely, compared to the pushrod version, and is closer to 
Jaguar territory (actually the Weber car was faster than all but the 
XK 150S and I have blown by stock 150S cars on the track at top end, though 
admittedly my car has more than just a pair of carbs bolted on). 

Too bad it took them so long to figure out the faults in their carb 
installation - by the time they did, they had killed the engine, otherwise we 
would probably have had 1800 cc MGB Twincams, which would have been really 
interesting - a 120 bhp B to rival just about anything else in the 
displacement class.

Bill Spohn

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