Shaun Holmes' Highly Modified 1969 MGC-GT
Owner: Shaun Holmes
City: Lowestoft, England
Model: 1969 MGC-GT
Engine: 3003cc inline six
| Engine: | rebuilt and balanced MGC engine (3003cc, up from 2912cc) with
Peter Burgess flowed cylinder head, roller rockers (1.50:1 ratio in lieu of
the original 1.42:1 ratio), re-ground (high lift, long duration) cam, vernier
cam gear, and triple Weber 45DCOE carburetors on cast alloy manifolds.
MG Motorsport modified distributor, set to 10 degrees of mechanical advance.
Lumenition Optronic ignition. Magnecor "Blue" high tension leads. Rev limiter
(set to 6000 rpm.) Facet red top fuel pump with (3psi) pressure regulator.
Power: approximately 220 bhp. |
| Cooling: | aluminum radiator and thermostatically-controlled Kenlowe electric fan. |
| Exhaust: | Downton style exhaust manifold and twin pipe exhaust system. |
| Transmission: | MGC SCCR ("straight cut close ratio") 4-speed with competition overdrive.
Lightened flywheel and uprated pressure plate and clutch. |
| Rear Axle: | rebuilt MGC Salisbury axle with Quaife limited slip differential and stock 3.07:1 final drive ratio. |
| Front Susp.: | uprated torsion bars. Spax adjustable shock absorbers. 3/4" anti-roll bar. High ratio steering rack (2.9 turns lock-to-lock). |
| Rear Susp.: | uprated leaf springs. HP valve in lever arms.. |
| Brakes: | stock, except with drilled and grooved front rotors, Mintex 1144 pads, and Aeroquip hoses.
(Note: the first Girling brake servo exploded, and has been replaced.) |
| Wheels/Tires: | Compomotive ML 15x8 wheels with 205/60 Dunlop D84 tires. |
| Body Mods: | Sebring (fiberglass) fender flares, with hand-rolled aluminum front valance and
flush fiberglass rear valance. Finished in British Racing Green (GN29) with
Snowberry White roundels. Sebring headlamp fairings, over 100/80 Watt H4 bulbs.
New laminated windscreen with safety glass in other windows. Monza style 3.5"
fuel filler on C-pillar. |
| Interior: |
Full roll cage. Ridgard RS9 racing seats with Willans four-point 3" harnesses.
Plumbed fire suppression system. FIA external kill switch and extenguisher control.
Moto-Lita 15" steering wheel with quick release hub. Paddy Hopkirk accelerator
pedal (helps with heel-and-toe driving). 8000 rpm tachometer. Later model MGB
stalk switch (with headlamp dip, etc.). |
| Comments: | Very quick through corners! (Not fast enough on the straights yet...)
The car is set-up for track day use. We broke the gearbox the first time out at
Snetterton. Also, the electric cooling fan shattered and took out the radiator.
A new original-style radiator was installed, but it seemed unable to cope with
track-day temperatures, so a new alloy radiator has now been installed as shown
below. At high RPM / wide open throttle, we're getting excessive crankcase
pressure, which causes oil loss through the breather, so for the time being the
rev-limiter is being used to avoid that situation until a different breather
is installed. |
This 1969 MGC-GT was originally built with an automatic transmission. Before I found this
car, I had owned several MGB's but I'd always fancied an MGC despite their bad reputation.
When I purchased her in 1982, she looked good and was very solid. There had only been one
previous owner. I decided to take the plunge, and my dad and I travelled to Bristol to
complete the sale and arrange delivery.
Delivery wasn't without hitch! The water pump failed in transit, and the engine bay was
sullied with rusty brown stains all over. Unable to get the engine bay clean otherwise, I
began dismantling the car into various ice cream tubs, etc. The body was fair condition, but
I sent her to have new sills and inner and outer rear wings plus some other rust spots removed.
When the bodywork was completed, I covered the car and parked it. Then a house move occurred
and the car was moved to a friend's house nearby before being entombed in its new home from
1986 to November 2006 when it was moved again to "MG Motorsport" for rebuilding into a track
day car.
No coil springs! The MGC model used torsion bars instead.
Some of the suspension mods: polyurethane bushes, Spax front shocks, up-rated torsion bars, aligned to
two degress of negative camber. The brakes are standard, except with drilled/grooved rotors (not shown
in this photo) and Mintex 1144 pads.
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