Tom,
There is no question that in vintage circles the MGB's are pretty well
developed, but I sure like the Fiat 124. Don Munoz, Les Gonda and John
Targett are the MGB pace-setters, good drivers in good, straight, legal,
fast cars. There is always Cambridge Motorsports stuff if you want to
develop the B engine further ;-) but Robert Vick and Mr. Rodgers in Texas
and myself try to "take it to them" every chance we get! To me there is no
comparison, Italian looks, handling and style versus literally British
"Iron." Fire away, boys!
I race a Fiat 124 because it is what I can afford, I love the way it sounds
and because my first professional job turning wrenches was in a Fiat
dealership in Durham, North Carolina founded in 1967 and operating out of an
old tobacco warehouse, sure smelled good! I raced a Fiat 850 Spider for many
years, built six more for customers and wanted something quicker. Well, the
124 is certainly quicker. The 1438cc and 1608cc engines are tough to come by
but share the same architecture. The 1438cc (G Production) is not well
classed in most organizations but one did win the the SCCA Runoffs this
year. I have a 1438cc that I can "plug in" my car that sat on the front row
of the G Production grid at the Runoffs at Road Atlanta in 1991, but it's
enough of a grenade that I save it for a spare. I ran a 1608cc for five
years and have now moved up to the more available 1756cc engine, since both
engines have been for a long time been classified in F Production. The MGB's
are currently (and have always been, I believe) classed in E Production.
There is a distinct lack of "go fast" parts which limits me to the use of
stock gearbox and rear axle ratios, but you can adapt Chevy connecting rods
and have pistons made. It's a great, relatively inexpensive race car and is
getting increasingly common on the vintage scene (mine IS for sale). I know
of two going together in my neck of the woods (one fellow has my old 1608)
and several 2-liter cars in Texas (the most modern iteration of the classic
Fiat Twin Cam.) In closing, I view the German cars, bigger, heavier TR's AND
MGB's as rivals on the track to the 124, but they are ALL evocative of the
reason why we do this madness in the first place, to have fun!
-Peter Krause
www.krauseandengland.com
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