First drive of the MG!

WOOOOHOOOO!

On November 8th, 2008, I bought a Camaro. On November 25th, 2008, I started to pull the MG apart. And today, Frankenstein's little monster left the garage for the first time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqkJAAhNMTs

It feels light. Lighter than an LS-powered Miata does. Granted, it's missing a seat and the carpet but that's about 15 lbs. I suspect it's still under 2100 lbs. Definitely not done yet, but the drive today showed that every works as expected.

Of course, Janel had turned off the video camera when I did this with shocking ease. It would have spun those tires until I ran out of gas or rubber. This car is currently severely under-tired.

Sounds good, needs a nice set of Sebring flares . Congrats!

Never liked the Sebring flares personally, it's getting some off a Mk1 Rabbit instead.

Congrats Keith! Looks like fun. I'm hoping the sbf gt will be on the road or at least operational in the next couple of weeks

I was going to propose box flares, but that's probably just because I've looked at too many pix threads here. Those seem to suit the car a little better..I shoulda trusted ya!! Congrats on getting the thing running & driving, keep us updated!

Lookin good, Keith. Like the rabbit flares.

Very cool.

Good work, Keith!

It's amazing how small MGB-GTs look compared to modern cars, isn't it?

Great project -- can't wait to hear how it makes out on the track.

Crazy stuff.

Fantastic.
Boy, the radiator looks really close to the ground!

corrado, I thought about box flares. That chrome strip along the fender would have been the perfect place to flare the car. I just didn't think they'd look right on the car. It'll be fun trying to make those Rabbit flares work properly, it's not something I've done before.

The radiator is 5" off the ground, not as close as it looks. It's also surrounded by structure just in case! By comparison, the oil pan in my Mini is 4" off the ground.

The car's not being built as a track car, but you know it'll end up there at some point

I'm still all giddy. Now I'm trying to think of what I have to do before I can drive it to work...

This berkeleying seals it. I am making a mid-engined MGB GT. I love these things.

It's come a long way since I saw it last. Looks like Janel is pretty happy with the progress!

Sweet!!!

Btw...beautiful scenery there, a bit jealous

I hate you guys that actually finish projects.

alex wrote: I hate you guys that actually finish projects.

Neglect your kids, neglect your wife, and think about it this way, if they leave you that just gives you that much more free time to work on your project...

I'd have gone a bit more for the stealth look - the 'up on tippy toes with wide wheels and fat rubber' is a bit obvious and really unecessary, but that may have been what you were shooting for. I have seen some LS1 conversions that kept the rubber low key, but I agree it is a bit of a challenge if you want good traction.

I agree that for every MG with flairs that look good there are 10 that look crappy - it is a really hard thing to do to pull that off. Study the factory MGC lightweight cars and if you have the bodywork skill, that would be a good target.

This guy did a decent job with Sebring style flairs.

Ditto on the Sebring treatment here, I for one think it looks awesome. Not for everyone, so no judgment passed there so I didn't mention it before. Along with the Rabbit flares, some use Omni flares but I think there may not be much difference between the two.

The BGT is a great design that subtely clears its throat and says "excuse me". The Sebring roars a cough and says "GTFO of my way, I'm not a toy".

I'm sure it will look awesome when its done either way.

No wife neglect on this one - that's why it's been two years to the point where the car can move under its own power. Now, going from a bare frame to driving the Locost on the track in 8 months, that did require a certain amount of concerted effort.

"Up on tippy toes and with fat rubber" - that's the impression you get from a car that's not finished. The rubber in the picture is 195/60-14, hardly a definition of "fat". The ride height is stock. What you're seeing is a track that's been widened by 4". I tossed out the MG front suspension and replaced it with Miata bits, keeping the Miata dimensions so as not to mess up the roll center. The fenders have been cut so the wheels can travel through their full range of motion - they used to tuck inside the stock body, but that's why I need fender flares and it's why the car looks so tall right now. When you see the final car, it will sit as is if had been designed to sit that way instead of the half-finished, "hey, it'll run at this point, let's drive it!" picture you see now. If I'd posted a picture of the interior, you'd have a better idea of the status of the car - no dashboard, no instruments, the parking brake cable stuffed through the battery box holes so it won't drag on the ground, a battery sitting in the rear, only one seat.

The Sebring flares simply don't look good to me. The original design from Pininfarina is so nicely resolved with nice details, and the Sebring flares are just big blobs. So my car will not be sporting a set. I'm also going to try to run as much of the stainless side strakes as possible as I feel these help define the shape of the car.

This car has the Omni flares on the front and Rabbit flares on the rear, and I like the shape of the latter a bit better. It's also possible to buy new steel replacements, wheras with an Omni you're stuck junkyard diving and there are no Omnis in this area code. I think I'll pass on the rear spoiler and the rubber bumpers though.

mattmacklind wrote: The BGT is a great design that subtely clears its throat and says "excuse me". The Sebring roars a cough and says "GTFO of my way, I'm not a toy".

...and mine will actually make people get out of the way, unlike lesser GTs that say "oops, sorry, I'm all mouth and no trousers". I'm going to let the car do the talking

The goal for this car is to make a GT. It's going to be classy, comfortable on long trips and capable of shattering performance. I spent some time trying to keep the exhaust volume down as much as possible and there will some good sound insulation inside.

Just awesome Keith, cant wait to see it in person.

Congratulations! Janel definitely looked happy with the results. IIRC this is actually her car, right?

Right?

See, there's the secret to getting a project done and keeping your wife happy. It's "her" car. So instead of begrudging me shop time, she encourages me and even bugs me about why it's not done yet. It's an excellent setup, I wish I'd discovered it earlier.

It doesn't mean she gets excited when something like a crusty tachometer shows up in the mail, though.

Cool project dude. Congrats!!!

Nice pro-ject! I agree in the Rabbit vs Omni flare. BTW, even though it wouldn't be historically accurate you could recreate the black striping event for video. I'm just sayin'

Magic 8 ball says: IT IS LIKELY

Current weight: 2168 lbs.