26/08/2009 10:24:08 gavinsmith [B]FOR SALE: £5,000 ono[/B] 1978 MGB GT (reg. XOP 800T). Inca yellow with black interior. Purchased from Brown & Gammons in February 2004. Maintained and upgraded regardless of cost (running into thousands), with all bills and MOTs in my ownership available, as well as a detailed list of the previous owner’s upgrades/maintenance schedule dating back to 1995. Always garaged in my ownership. Serviced annually by MG Motorsport and most other parts supplied and fitted by them, Brown & Gammons or other reputable suppliers. An ideal fast road/trackday car with lots spent on all of the right bits to make it go and handle as it should. Great fun and very reliable – used regularly and driven to events at Goodwood and back frequently as well as on trackdays at Silverstone, Donington, Cadwell and Goodwood, where it proved great fun, though the driver probably needs some upgrades to match the car’s abilities! Need to sell to help fund the purchase of something more wife-friendly, which will require my only garage space. [B]SPECIFICATION[/B] [B]Engine/transmission[/B] 1950cc Stage 2 engine with deep K&N ‘pancake’ air filters, corresponding AAA needles and tubular exhaust manifold. Rolling road tuned by Peter Baldwin (Wilshers Garages): 116 bhp @ 5,500 rpm. Many new and upgraded components added in my ownership, including: [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Lumenition electronic ignition. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]‘Deep’ K&N filters to replace ‘shallow’ versions (originals kept). [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]New radiator. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]New 13-row oil cooler to replace 10-row original (original kept). [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]New high-output alternator. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]All underbonnet hoses replaced. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Bottle-style washer bottle fitted to replace bag-type. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Recent new battery. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Recent new (recon. exchange) rear differential. [B]Suspension/brakes/tyres[/B] [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]MG Motorsport-modified front suspension with negative camber wishbone arms, 600lb front springs, 7/8” front anti-roll bar and polyurethane bushes all round (rear anti-roll bar removed but retained). [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Standard front brake discs with Mintex M1144 pads. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Anthracite Minilite replica 5.5J 14” alloy wheels. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Yokahama 185 x 60 R14 A539 tyres, all with plenty of tread left (driver too slow!) + spare set of Yokohama 70 profile tyres (S306) which were on the car when I purchased it. [B]Body/interior[/B] [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Inca yellow bodywork is in good condition. Some tidying of the usual rust bubbles along wing seams and below rear windows done professionally in 2006 and a few small areas need attention now, but nothing serious and looks very good for a 31-year-old car. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Interior in good condition, with MGB Hive black leather fronts seats and black vinyl rear seat replacing the original ‘deckchair-style’ seats in May 2007. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Debumpered and Sebring-style front and rear valances (and ‘black mesh’ grille) professionally fitted at the end of 2006. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Alloy bonnet pins fitted. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]New driver’s door mirror just fitted. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]New external front window weather strips fitted. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Matt black Rollcentre FIA spec half roll cage fitted by MG Motorsport (bolts to plates welded to sills, so removable if necessary). [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Mountney 14" leather-rimmed steering wheel fitted (original retained).[/FONT] [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Pioneer RDS radio/CD player with removable front panel and Kenwood stereo speakers mounted in front doors. [FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Willans 4-point harnesses just fitted (original seatbelts and mechanisms retained). There are probably many more things that I’ve forgotten about, but email me if you're interested or require more information. Located in North Hertfordshire (5 miles or so from Luton, Harpenden, St Albans). Gavin Smith

05/10/2009 11:04:47 gavinsmith [b]Change of plan[/b] I've now decided that the car's too good to sell, and there's too much money invested in it, so I've decided to get the engine rebuilt by MG Motorsport (with a bit more power :D) and the rear wheelarches replaced. Cost? Don't ask, but it basically means I can't sell the car now until I die! Gavin Smith

05/10/2009 11:11:35 Stu LOL I know the feeling Gavin I need to spend pots on mine that i haven't got at the moment..:eek: Pleased that your staying around...:D Stu;)

05/10/2009 15:02:10 Martin C Good news Gavin, I'm sure you won't regret it after the first track-day in the rejuvenated......................BEAST :D

05/10/2009 16:11:27 gavinsmith Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I'm not sure about "BEAST", but with luck, it'll be a little quicker (provided I also get a bit braver) and hold onto its head gasket a bit better than the old motor. Despite the wallet-numbing expense, I'm looking forward to having the car back and, hopefully, fit for few more year's use. It'll also be nice to finally nail the rust bubbles around the rear arches, which have been making me wince every time I wash the car for the past 2 years. Luckily, my wife is very understanding - the only downside now is that I don't have much of a leg to stand on when she sets off on a shopping spree, credit card in hand... Cheers, Gavin

21/10/2009 20:29:15 JP12 Gavin, What spec engine is Doug building for you? Make sure you get him to fit ARP conrod bolts. I doubt he will do it without you telling him to on a track day engine, but it's essential if you want to use upto 6500rpm. What carbs are you using? I have a nice pair of HS6s if you're interested... or a Weber 48... or some modified HIF4s! I really do have too much stuff. Joe

22/10/2009 09:55:11 gavinsmith Hi Joe, Doug's using what he can of my existing engine to build a 1950cc v. fast road motor. Block and crank were all OK, but I'll mention the ARP bolts to him. The head has had some work done to it in terms of porting/polishing, but I'm getting the inlet ports enlarged and bronze guides fitted. We're using my existing HIF 4 carbs with large K&Ns and AAA needles. With luck, we'll get 130 bhp out of it. Any thoughts on a cam? The old one was worn smooth in a couple of places, so it needs changing. I've heard good things about the Piper 285, but welcome your thoughts. I need a balance of power for trackdays, but decent tractability for the road - it is my road car when needed, so I don't want to be revving the nuts off it every time I'm in a traffic jam, which is often, down here in the crowded south-east... Cheers, Gavin

22/10/2009 14:10:28 JP12 Gavin, I am sure Doug will want to use one of his cams if he is building the engine. There is no point thinking about a really hot road cam if you are going to use a standard pair of HIF4s. The Piper 285 cam was OK in my old engine but lack a little low end grunt. You might be OK because your engine is 150cc bigger than mine was. For an engine spec like yours I would concentrate more on the combustion chamber, valve seat and port throat area rather than just making the ports bigger. Joe

22/10/2009 16:02:16 gavinsmith Thanks Joe I think that the ports and valves/seats are where most effort is being spent. Much as I'd love to stick on a big Weber, I just don't have the budget at the moment, so whatever's done will have to work with the HIF4s. The 1950cc engine has always had a good spread of power, even low down the rev range, so I hope that'll remain with whatever cam we go for. I'll have to post some pix of the old cam when I get it back as it's quite alarming to see how flat a couple of the lobes are now - Doug suspects faulty heat treatment on manufacture as he's never seen anything quite as bad before. Amazingly, the old engine was still pulling really well, albeit a little noisily. I kept trying to adjust the valve clearances to quieten down the tappet noise, but there was no way I was going to be able to compensate for that level of wear! Fingers crossed for a good result. I trust Doug, so I'm sure it'll be worth it eventually. I loved the car before, so all I want is the same, but (I admit it) a little more power.:D Gavin

22/10/2009 18:55:39 JP12 I'm looking forward to seeing it a some of the track days next year.

10/12/2009 13:44:13 gavinsmith The rebuild continues... Decided to 'tidy up' a couple of rust bubbles around the rear arches and now the rear inner and outer arches and back section of the sills are being hacked out and replaced:( It just goes to show how a little bit of surface rust can hide more nasties than you imagine underneath. To be honest, it's no worse than I thought it would be, but my bank balance and I had been (foolishly) hoping that it was better... At least I'll know it's all sound when it's finished. On the plus side, the rebuilt engine seems great. It doesn't feel much more powerful, but being lightened and balanced, it spins up more quickly, so it feels a bit more 'eager'. It's yet to have a final rolling road tune, but I need to put a few hundred miles under the wheels first. It is (blue) smoking a bit, but I assume that's normal while the pistons 'bed in'? Looking forward to having it back and actually driving it again...

10/12/2009 14:46:06 JP12 Gavin, Sorry to hear about the corrosion problems. It's probably a good idea to check the front of the sills too if the rear of the sill is bad. The trouble is this is really difficult to do unless you remove the front wing. Regarding the engine smoke, how are you running it in and what oil are you using? What cam did you decide to use in the end? What CR have you used? It's probably not a great deal more powerful because you are still using the standard HIF4s. If you want to upgrade in the future I have a pair of HS6s and a Weber including manifolds and heat shields that I doubt I will ever use. Joe

10/12/2009 16:40:12 gavinsmith Thanks Joe, The bodywork guys are pretty good and they think the front of the sills looks OK (they've been completely replaced at some point, but the rot's only set in from the back where the inner and outer rear arches have parted company all the road crud's got through). I'm running the car pretty normally (Doug did initial running in). Doug told me not to molly-coddle it and give it some revs, but do everything smoothly - I'm trying not to go over abot 4000 rpm. I think it's just got good quality 20W 50 oil in it, which I'll get changed at 500 miles before the rolling road tune. To be honest, I've hardly driven it since I got back as the weather's been so bad, I've been away a lot at the weekends and now it's undergoing 'surgery'. We went for the Piper 285 cam in the end - not sure of the compression ratio, but it's not too drastic - it needs to behave as a road car most of the time, which it does, though my left leg wil have to get used to the comp. clutch! I'll be glad when it's finished