Steve Wayne's widened 1961 MGA with Ford 302 V8 engine
as published in British V8 Magazine, Volume XVI Issue 1, May 2008
Owner: Steve Wayne
City: Collierville TN
Model: 1961 MGA
Engine: Ford 302cid V8
Conversion completed by: Steve and his son David
| Engine: | Ford 302, bored 0.030" over and rebuilt with 9.5:1 compression ratio hypereutectic pistons.
ARP bolts.
Roller rockers.
Crank turned 0.010" under.
Aluminum heads (2.02 intake, 1.60 exhaust).
Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane manifold.
Edelbrock 650cfm carburetor.
K&N air filter.
Holley fuel pressure regulator with Mr Gasket fuel pressure gauge.
Edelbrock Performer RPM camshaft (0.496" intake, 0.520" exhaust.)
Mallory Unilite distributor.
MSD Blaster 2 ignition coil.
Dual oil filters. |
| Exhaust: | Ceracoat 302 hugger headers, custom fabricated dual pipe exhaust system
with small mufflers. |
| Cooling: | custom fabricated aluminum radiator.
12" electric fan. |
| Transmission: | Tremec 3550 5-speed.
Mcleod bellhousing.
10.5" Ford SHO flywheel.
RAM single plate clutch (scattershield).
Custom driveshaft.
Pro 5-0 shifter. |
| Rear Axle: | Ford 9" with 3.73:1 final drive ratio.
Traction-Lok limited slip differential.
Moser 31-spline axles. |
| Suspension: | (front) Mustang II, with Aldan Eagle adjustable coilover shocks. (rear) 4-bar linkage, with Aldan Eagle coilover shocks. |
| Brakes: | Howe master cylinders.
Front disc brakes and Ford Granada drums in the rear. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Centerline "Auto Drag" wheels.
BF Goodrich tires (front P215/65/SR15, rear P295/50/R15). |
| Chassis: | custom-welded tubular chassis built by a stockcar company in Windsor, Ontario.
The body panels were then tied into the chassis to increase strength and rigidity.
Custom fabricated adjustable-height stainless steel rollbars.
The body was also widened six inches and stretched a bit.
Final body dimensions are similar to a Cobra.
The fenders are fully welded and metal filled - no seams!
Custom fabricated taillight buckets.
Custom fabricated taillight lenses.
Half-height Lexan windshield.
Custom fabricated hood and grille by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario. |
| Paint: | by Cliff McKillop, Good Stuff Paint Company, Rochester, MI. |
| Electrical: | Summit Racing wiring harness (PRF50002).
Powermaster (Delco-Remy style) 1-wire alternator.
Ford style remote starter solenoid switch. |
| Instruments: | AutoMeter Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite gauges, left to right
speedometer (0-160mph),
oil pressure (0-100psi),
tachometer (0-10,000rpm),
water temperature (100-250F),
voltmeter (8-18V), and
fuel level (E-F). |
| Interior: | RJS Racing Equipment five point camlock safety harness. |
| Completed: | 2002 (approximately 3000 miles driven as of January 2008.) |
| Comments: | Our project was inspired by the LeMans (24 hour endurance) open cockpit race cars of the fifties and sixties. We started with a 750cfm carburetor, and it was too large. The 650 works fine. The original MGA steering rack was used, and is a bit tough to steer with the larger tires. We used a Wilwood clutch slave cylinder in push mode, rather than its intended pull mode. That caused some clutch slippage after awhile. Wide tires on rear and very short axles leads to a noisy rear end when slowly making sharp turns. Engine cooling in Memphis' summer heat is a challenge. We added a second fill cap to cooling system to eliminate trapped air in the radiator hose. Holley "blue" fuel pump is noisy, but works well. With a 10 gallon fuel cell, we have about a ~150 mile range. |
Engine Bay:
Ford 302, bored 0.030" over and rebuilt with 9.5:1 compression ratio hypereutectic pistons. (2016)
Holley fuel pressure regulator with Mr Gasket fuel pressure gauge. (2016)
Ford style remote starter solenoid switch. (2016)
Mallory Unilite distributor. MSD Blaster 2 ignition coil. (2016)
12" electric fan. (2016)
Powermaster (Delco-Remy style) 1-wire alternator. (2016)
Dual oil filters. (2016)
Underneath:
Ford 302 (dual sump) oil pan.
Tremec 3550 5-speed and Mcleod steel bellhousing.
Ford 9" rear axle with a 4-link rear suspension and Aldan Eagle coilover shock absorbers.
Mustang II front suspension.
Aldan Eagle adjustable coilover shocks.
Interior:
Shifter for Tremec 5-speed.
AutoMeter Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite gauges. (2016)
Pedals. (2016)
Custom racecar-style dashboard.
RJS Racing Equipment five point camlock safety harness.
Exterior:
Centerline Auto Drag wheels.
MGA with hood scoop.
Hood scoop! (2016)
Demonstrating the bonnet hinges. (2016)
K&N air filter. (2016)
MGA with oversized rear tires.
BF Goodrich Radial T/A.
Ford 302 badge.
10 gallon fuel cell.
Widened boot lid. (2016)
Centerline "Auto Drag" wheels. (2016)
BF Goodrich tires (front P215/65/SR15, rear P295/50/R15). (2016)
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How It Was Done:
Steve and David's first test drive!
Custom Bonnet: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)
Custom Grille: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)
Custom Windscreen Fairing: (by Jim Bailie of Windsor Ontario)
Custom Paint: (designed and applied by Cliff McKillop, Good Stuff Paint Company, Rochester MI)
Cliff McKillop's concept drawing for the MGA's paint scheme...
... was designed to echo the paint scheme of the MG / Lola race car
developed for the 2001 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.
Custom Tail Lights:
Photos marked "2016" are from BritishV8 2016 and are by Curtis Jacobson for BritishV8.org.
All other photos are by Steve Wayne, and have been provided expressly for publication by BritishV8.
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Use by written permission only.
(Do not print, copy to your hard drive, or post these online without permission.)
