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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Current 1500 race specs?worth trying with this?

Hi all,

I wanted to ask a few questions with regards to the current racing specs in the major championships and other enthusiasts opinions on where to go next!

First of all the story so far.....

I purchased a '79 1500 midget about four years ago, in the first two years I uprated the suspension (stiffened springs, polybushes all round, uprated antiroll bar, uprated damper valves, negative camber trunions) Also the braking (stainless steel hoses, ap racing 551 fluid, brembo composite discs, mintex 1144 pads)

Then I set about the rust removal and lightening (Fibreglass front and rear end, racing bullet mirrors, alloy headlamp rims)
Cooling - (fitted a kenlowe fan and 13 row oil cooler)
Electronic ignition and competition halfshafts were also added.

In the last few months I managed to pick up a 1500 engine with a stage 3 head, +0.20 pistons and a type 9 gearbox fitted for a VERY reasonable price from ebay. On inspection found some problems with this spare engine as expected... couple of bent pushrods, cam lobes worn, couple of piston rings seized!

My plan is still to build up this stage 3 engine to install and use for road/trackday use in the immediate future with a view to entering a race series in the near future.

I have already got a fast road 83 cam to install, uprated pushrods, cam followers, alloy valve tops, twin 40's on a long tract manifold, a tubular exhaust manifold and a custom competition single box exhaust system.

I think I will need to fit +0.60 pistons and have it rebored to this as there is a small amount of rust/pitting in one of the bores.

Essentially my questions are these....

Is there anything in the above description which stops this vehicle being elligible in some of the major race series?

Is there any other internal engine work recommended to be done at the same time as the rebore?

Is the duplex chain setup a huge benefit or negligable?

Apart from a full race cam is there much else that could be done to make this vehicle competitive in the future?

Basically does anyone have any experience of racing 1500's who maybe able to give me an idea whether I am going down the right lines or just wasting my time and money!! :)

As always any and all help and advice welcome,
Thanks in advance

Dave


D Prince

Most race championships have very specific rules and cars are built with these rules very much in mind. On top of that again most championships have 3 or 4 classes again with very specific rules and regulations

It is therefore totally impossible to actually suggest suitable modifications without an idea of which championship you would like to enter.

You would be better off finding race championships through the MGCC website and deciding which championship you would prefer. Then decide which class suits your aspirations
Bob (Robert) Midget Turbo

As Bob was very tactfully NOT saying, you need to figure out where you want to compete and THEN start to prepare the car for it. Otherwise you wind up with a very fast (and expensive) car which is not legal at any venue. Racing rules make sense to the bloke that wrote them, but the logic tends to completely elude normal human beings. Likewise, there are frequently rules to limit performance (and thus limit the costs of going racing) that would outlaw certain mods. In effect, you have put the cart ahead of the horse (I guess rear wheel drive was not very practical before Benz), but it is not too late to start over...
David "not a racer" Lieb
David Lieb

:)

I understand the complications of classes within race championships, but this is limited by some modifications which have already been done, for instance the full fibrelass shell would almost certainly put my midget in class A of most midget championships!

What I am currently tring to atain is a vehicle which is viable as a road car but with the fewest possible modifications could be used to some effect in a race championship time and money permiting. At the same time I don't want to do anything that is very costly which would only need to be changed as soon as I wanted to race.

Again...any advice greatly received
Dave
D Prince

Regs for the Midget Challenge here:

http://www.mgmidgetchallenge.co.uk/Forms/
Steve Collinson

I'd have thought the 5 speed would put you in the same class as out and out racers on slicks, even for speed events.
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

Yes, the 5 speed will be a non starter for most racing I think. Ok for MGCC speed events in Group 3 roadgoing though.

The Cockshoot Cup winning Midget was a 1500 this year.
John Payne

Hi Dave

I had the same problem some years ago with a 1500 that was modified to my own taste with performance that I enjoyed on the road. I ended up competing in the MGCC speed championship in the road going modified class. With your gearbox you would probably be in the road going specials class along with K-series cars etc. You may struggle to win any silverware but you will have a great time,make friends and you can always find someone to compete with who has similar times to yours. I enjoyed the fact that I still had a useable road car and I climbed in to it and really enjoyed the drive home.

Carl


C Bintcliffe

Aahh the startline at Wiscombe Park, one of the prettiest hillclimb venues in the land; a challenging hill too :-)
David Smith

David,

I thought that looked like Wiscombe, thanks for clarifying. Of the few hillclimb venues I have done it is my favourite, not seen it from that angle though.
I had the pleasure once of operating the start light when I wasn't competing once and it was most amusing watching many Scimitars losing it at Bunny's leap and heading for the wall in the field below the gate.
David Billington

And is that STILL Harold Sibley running the startline? He's been there for the MG meet since Moses was a lad!
Max T

Max I think reading Carl's post it was some years ago...
David Smith

Apart from the removal of the crossmember underneath the vehicle and the relocation of the gearstick position, there is no other permanant modification to the vehicle when doing the 5 speed conversion to my knowledge. Therefore if necessary an original gearbox could be reintergrated quite easily.

Carl

I follow your sentiments entirely, it is not the silverware I am after, just merely the chance to compete and have fun.


One thing I would like some experienced comments on would be some ballpark settings for the twin 40's jets? They are the next thing on the list to strip and rebuild and I just wanted an idea of some safe levels to run this setup at whilst initially setting up!

Dave :)
D Prince

Dave
I have twin 40 dellorto's on my car, I can have a look at the jets if it would help. I shall try and compile the spec list of my engine to help. Your car should go very nicely with that sort of setup. I have the overdrive conversion which makes high speed cruising a pleasure


C Bintcliffe

I think if you used a 1500 std or sccr gearbox you would be elegible in class B of the midget challenge. We would certainly welcome you and it would be nice to have something different.

Cheers

Mark
Mark Turner

This thread was discussed between 18/11/2008 and 24/11/2008

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