Project E-Mod MGB-GT

[spraspire]

Nice Speed holes You might save weight from cutting out the wheel wells and putting in a tub style as well, but that does use a lot of sheet metal.

[conebasher]

More time spent with the plasma cutter. I am saving all pieces cut out and all this work has only resulted in (estimated) 25 lbs cut out

[conebasher]

The stock front suspension:And the start of the new suspension. I still need to sort out the shock location and have several different upper mounts which alter camber gain. This is the taller mount which has zero camber gain:

[conebasher]

I widened the top arm mounting points by 3" over the factory width to give the suspension more stability, and lowered them to increase camber gain. Now I have approximately .9 degrees for every inch of wheel travel. I still have to change the pushrod to an adjustable rod with heim joints and have to add a brace to the top arms.

[Corey]

Can those upper links act as a four-bar linkage and allow the upper hub pivot to deflect forwards under braking? Check for that before finalizing everything. You may need to add an X between the two rods to prevent that, though the pretty linkage gets in the way of that... Or maybe add another link to triangulate either the front or rear arm.

[conebasher]

Can those upper links act as a four-bar linkage and allow the upper hub pivot to deflect forwards under braking? Check for that before finalizing everything. You may need to add an X between the two rods to prevent that' date=' though the pretty linkage gets in the way of that... Or maybe add another link to triangulate either the front or rear arm.[/quote']Did you read the caption of the pics? I need to add a brace between the links and add an adjustable pushrod. The beauty of the adjustable pushrod is that I can adjust ride height without affecting anything else.

[Fast_Toys]

More time spent with the plasma cutter. I am saving all pieces cut out and all this work has only resulted in (estimated) 25 lbs cut out

If you cannot remove weight, add power!That does seem like a ridiculous amount of time spent to only lose 25 lbs.

[Need my Focusin]

That does seem like a ridiculous amount of time spent to only lose 25 lbs.

that is why I don't diet

[conebasher]

Suspension update: I jacked up the suspension to see how the shock compresses and it didn't budge. I thought maybe the pivot was binding but that wasn't a problem. I had assumed the pivot had a 1:1 ratio (1 inch of suspension travel equaled 1 inch of shock compression) but I was wrong. I measured the rocker mechanism(the aluminum triangle thingy) and it was 3.25" from the pivot to the pushrod and 4" from the pivot to the shock. I flipped it around and problem solved, the suspension moves very nicely and compresses the shock as it should. You gotta love the complexities of suspension

[Run Away]

Your build is making the forum rounds, thought I'd share:http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/scca-emod-mgb-gt-v12-build/26822/page1/

[conebasher]

Notice anything different about the front suspension? That's right, it's all different. I solved a lot of issues by taking a complete Jag front crossmember, chopping 8" out of the middle and adapting the pushrod suspension and MGB steering rack to it.The car is sitting at it's ride height and everything fits under the hood:

[Vapour Trails]

Do you have any concerns about the engine because it has sat for 26 years?

[Fast_Toys]

Do you have any concerns about the engine because it has sat for 26 years?

Mark has run it a few times and everything seems fine.

[Miss_Behavin]

Do you have any concerns about the engine because it has sat for 26 years?

He had it at the track for about a year or two....He really enjoyed showing it off to staff. It was sitting in the garage just on the floor - it shot flames! It would shake the floor at the front of the building

[Corey]

He really enjoyed showing it off to staff.

And some customers/racers. 100% certifiable badass flame-belching aural bliss with open headers. That engine looked huge. I still can't understand how that little MGB body is going to be wrapped around it, though maybe being surrounded by karts threw off my sense of scale.

[conebasher]

Here it is with 15" wide tires in the back and 11" wide tires in front:

[conebasher]

And some customers/racers. 100% certifiable badass flame-belching aural bliss with open headers. That engine looked huge. I still can't understand how that little MGB body is going to be wrapped around it' date=' though maybe being surrounded by karts threw off my sense of scale.[/quote']It is pretty crazy when it starts up. I suspect any V8 would be the same volume when running without exhaust inside a building but what is truly amazing is the quality of the sound and the fact that the engine doesn't move, even without being attached to anything. I ordered the tubing and exhaust flanges so I can make my own headers, they should improve the sound even more.

[Jeff]

This is looking really cool, Mark. I can't wait to see it running. Dibs on a co-drive.

[Jordan_Veale]

I check here every day, typically several times a day, just to keep tabs on this. Amazing! I'd love to see it some day. By that I mean I need to see this one day! :Dkeep it up

[conebasher]

Update: I weighed the metal I have removed since weighing the whole car and I have shaved 74 lbs off it, including 43 lbs(!) of exhaust manifolds. I also tubbed the car in order to fit huge tires:

[spraspire]

That is one mean stance with the tires! Looks good. You probably saved a good amount of weight from taking out all the metal to put in the tubs. And it also gets the benifit of looking really cool!

[conebasher]

Both rear wheel tubs are done:And filled in some gaps between the floor and body. I made templates from paper then transfered to metal and plasma cut them:A picture of me with the car at it's ride height so you get a sense of scale:

[conebasher]

Cut out the drivers side door inner structure and fabricated removeable door bars. The bars are not required for auto-x but are for road racing so I made them removeable.

[Vapour Trails]

What are you doing for lateral positioning of the rear axle? Panhard bar?

[conebasher]

What are you doing for lateral positioning of the rear axle? Panhard bar?

Yes, a Panhard bar. I have one already but am looking for a diff. I just wish I could find a reasonably priced narrowed Ford 9". I need one 50" wide mounting flange to mounting flange.

[conebasher]

Put in a passenger side door bar in and put a reinforcing piece of metal across the top of the door to stiffen it up a little.

[Vapour Trails]

Yes' date=' a Panhard bar. [/quote']Have you considered a Watts Link instead?My plan is convert my PHB to Watts Link for next season. I watched a video of how much the body moves relative to the axle with a PHB and it's quite dramatic (on my car at least).Trying to drive hard on a bumpy surface like St.Andrews causes the rear of the car to feel nervous/skittish with a PHB.Everyone that has moved to Watts Link can't praise it enough. I'm looking at the Fays2 unit.

[conebasher]

Have you considered a Watts Link instead?My plan is convert my PHB to Watts Link for next season. I watched a video of how much the body moves relative to the axle with a PHB and it's quite dramatic (on my car at least).Trying to drive hard on a bumpy surface like St.Andrews causes the rear of the car to feel nervous/skittish with a PHB.Everyone that has moved to Watts Link can't praise it enough. I'm looking at the Fays2 unit.

I agree that a Watts controls the back better but it adds a lot of weight and I'm already struggling with that. Most OEM panhards attach to a bracket that rises above the axle centerline and run at an upward angle to the frame. This compensates for the large suspension travel that stock cars have. My panhard will be mounted behind the axle on the same plane as the axle centerline and with the limited suspension travel of a Mod car, there will be minimal lateral movement.

[conebasher]

Got the steering column and rack and pinion installed today. The stats are: 2.5 turns lock to lock, .9 degrees camber gain per inch of travel, no discernible bump steer and the 23.5X13-15 Hoosiers I just bought on EBay will fit on the front and the back.

[conebasher]

Filled in some gaps between the new stuff and old stuff:Mounted the fuel cell low enough to keep CG down but high enough to put a diffuser below it:And have the rear pushrod suspension half done, I just have to make a mount for the top (back) of the shock: