From: "J. Neil Doane" <root@yeah.indstate.edu>
Subject: Re: Exercize
I drove my '75/'6x MGB ('75 'B wearing '60s Sebring clothes) from Little
Rock to San Diego (1600 miles) in Sept '96. Earlier that year I
co-drove
a '62 Austin Mini (with 1275 engine) on a 1000 miles-in-24-hours rally.
Both cars behaved beautifully. (Well, the Mini did float a valve after
a 100 MPH run _up-hill_ in the Ozarks...)
My MGB:
suspension, etc:
Hopkinson sway bar kit, new front suspension, rotors, rebuilt
brake master, rebuilt clutch master/slave, new clutch, new rear springs
new turn signal switch, new speedo cable
Engine:
9.5:1 compression, 289 degree cam (with .408 lift @ valve) oil cooler
DCOE sidedraught, dual row timing chain with adjustable sprokect
100k + on the block, 20k+ on the bores with new (.020) rings, long
center branch header, monza exhaust, Aldon modded dizzy, lucas
sports coil, bumblebee ignition wires, wonderful stage II head
I got from England for $500
Stuff that's been on the car since it was put on in Abingdon, Dec 1975:
gearbox, rear axle, rear shocks (one has finally started to leak),
starter motor,
steering rack
Emergency items I carry with me:
flourescent wire tie-wraps (bright colored so you can find 'em after you
"fix" something), electrical tape, assorted bulbs and fittings
ignition parts (rotor, cap, plugs, etc)
3/8" drive ratchet with spark plug, 7/16", 1/2", and 9/16" sockets
1/4" drive rachet with sockets
wrenches in the above sizes (plus a 3/8")
radiator hoses, fan belt, oil, castrol DOT 4 brake fluid
Since I've been in Diego, this 'B has been my daily driver, and
through a couple of autocrosses. I did have a headgasket failure,
one of those copper competition types, burned between 1 and 2. Maybe
I crimped it when I put it on. I dunno.
I drove this car round trip from Diego to Laguna Seca raceway the last
weekend of October. I had no problems other than my friend's SO who
was driving a Boxster, and considered Highway 1 a "quiet drive". Arg.
We get to seca and he says "I hope I wasn't going too fast". Too slow
is
more like it. We got passed by some dude in an SCCA type Neon. How
insulting.
At least I got to lead on the way back.
Anyways, it seems to me that the guys who talk about the unreliability
of
LBCs are also the guys who drive them twice a year or something. The
worst
thing you can do to a car is let it sit. My 'B is driven daily, and
*driven*
at that. I don't know how many old MG mechanics I've had tell me "yep,
one
thing about a British sports car: ya gotta drive it like it's a sports
car, or it'll give you trouble." Sitting around corrodes the wiring
connections.
When my car sat the first time I rebuilt the engine, I had more
electrical
demons to deal with than before I pulled the engine. Same has been true
however with my only Japanese car, our Spec RX-7.
Putzing around on the street builds up carbon in the combustion
chambers.
I routinely shift my 'B at 4000+. Pistons looked nice when I pulled the
head 8 months ago.
There are a couple of tricks I guess to 'B longevity: Make certain the
fore'n'aft stabilizer bar on the engine is tight, and/or use spacers on
the radiator. During one weekend jaunt (~400 miles) through rural
Arkansas
(including some gorgeous dirt roads--how many would take their 'Bs
there?)
I popped a radiator after crossing a low water bridge---there was enough
of a jump between the roadway and the concrete that the car was jostled
a
bit, and the engine fan pinholed the radiator. A couple of those
radiator
spacers and a few turns on a half-inch wrench fixed that problem.
Expensive, but the aircraft grade head studs are beneficial.
Other than that, good filters, hoses, and fluids, and drive the thing.
-Keith Wheeler, Team Sanctuary
mine:
'64, '68 MGBs (well, I got the '64 for my mum)
'75 MGB Sebring (daily driver, autocross car,
awaiting transplant of 3.9 litre
Rover V-8)
'60 Bugeye
'77 TR-7 (hoping I'll luck in to another EFI 3.9 V-8)
'68 Renault R-10 (it's just a car)
'82 Mazda RX-7 (spec racer)
the team's:
'72 Spitfire
'75 MGB
'79 Midget
'8? FIAT X1/9 (autocrosser)
'82 Jaguar XJ-6
'59 Jaguar MKI 3.4 litre
'74 Dodge Dart, go anywhere, do anything, hauls brit parts and
doesn't complain
ps: always looking for alloy wheels for MGBs! Anyone with a set of
revolutions they'd be willing to sell?
Also, the team is looking for an MGB-GT, runner, no rust, cosmetics
not an issue, SCCA approved roll-cage a nice option... :)
----------------------------------------------------------
On Wed, 19 Nov 1997, Tom Buchanan wrote:
> A little exercize for you listers. If you were going to take a 3000 mile
> trip in your MGB, what parts would you take with you???
> Tom Buchanan
to which Neil Doane responds:
>Great question! I've got a friend in Seattle and I've toyed with the idea
>of heading west to visit (from Indiana!!), but I figgured it'd just be
>too hard on the little 'B. ...do people actually _make_ 3000-mile trips
>in their Bs? (I'm sure it'd be dependent on the condition of the car, but
>I'm just curious as to what types of 'long' road trips people typically
>take in their MGs.)
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