MGB GT V8 Motorsport Build

Hello, I thought that I might share some of my efforts to make a club level competition car out of a collection of MGB parts.

I bought an unfinished MGB GT V8 replica project in August 2009 and I've been slowly working on it. I've installed a Safety Devices FIA cage and added 8 extra brackets to the A and B pillars. I've also done a bit of seam welding to the heelboard and floor.

I've got a bit carried away with the rear suspension and I've made a four link and coil spring set up. You can just see in the photo that the lower links at angled inwards towards the diff housing - the Satchell arrangement - and the upper links go backwards making a Watts linkage.

It seems complicated but I wanted to use the existing leaf spring mounts and I wanted a lower roll centre than you can achieve with a Panhard rod. The front lower brackets have two bolt location that will give two roll centre heights. Whether the roll centre is too low will be apparent once we get up and running.

The engine is a 3.5 Rover with Real Steel heads and Stage 2 cam, Rhodes lifters, Holley 390 on an Offenhauser 360 manifold. Allegedly 220 bhp, we'll see. Gearbox is an LT77, but I do have an R380 from my RV8 project.

Lots still to do: there's a floor mounted bias pedal box to install; front suspension to do something with - raise the roll centre perhaps; rear discs to think about - as well as all the usual build and paint stuff.

Anyway, that's all for now.