Michael Zappa's 1962 MG MGB Race Car
Owner: Michael ZappaCity: Pittsburg Pennsylvania
Model: 1962 MG MGB
Engine: BMC 1.8L four cylinder
Built by: Jim Boffo at Boffo Motors
Race Prepared by: Zappa Motors
Immaculate and Elaborate
Michael Zappa's immaculate 1962 MGB racecar is a veteran. It's been actively raced,
year after year, since 1972. Over its long career, it was updated to stay
competitive even as the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) changed E Production
class rules to allow racing slick tires, coilover front suspensions, and other
tangible technical improvements. Mike's idea was to strip off most of the car's previous
modifications and rebuild it specifically for vintage racing. Coincidentally,
vintage racing organizations such as the Sportcar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA)
base their rules on SCCA's 1972 rulebook. A close look at Mike's car might therefore
surprise MGB enthusiasts: although it's been carefully constructed to stay within
SVRA rules, it may be the most elaborately engineered four-cylinder MGB in vintage racing.
In detailed photos and captions below, we'll show many of the car's unusual features.
For example, although its front suspension retains stock MGB lever shock absorbers and
absolutely stock lower control arm side-members, it utilizes them in combination
with nifty adjustable spring pans to achieve the precision ride height and corner
weight adjustment one might otherwise get from a coilover suspension. At the rear,
Mike's MGB has leaf springs. However, they're fiberglass monoleaf springs used in
combination with a four-link suspension, a Watt's linkage, and double-adjustable gas shocks.
Mike and his son Chris operate a vintage racecar restoration and preparation shop called
Zappa Racing in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. From their shop, they offer customers high
end service. One of the secrets of their success has been to partner with other shops
so that they don't have to be expert at every detail. This MGB demonstrates the point:
Mike is happy to give credit to Jim Boffo of Boffo Motors of New Brighton for many
of the car's signature details, including: custom bodywork, exquisite paint job, exhaust
system, rear suspension, and fuel system. Prather Racing of Wakarusa Kansas provided a top
flight racing engine for the MGB, which was installed along with other updates in 2009.
Mike has recently purchased and begun restoration of a Ford GT40 Series I racecar.
Some toys may need to be sold to finance the GT40's restoration and racing expenses.
This MGB racecar has been listed for sale, priced at $75,000.
Please support the sponsoring companies who make www.BritishRaceCar.com possible, including:
Features and Specifications
| Engine: | BMC 1.8L four cylinder, built by Prather Racing.
Pierce Manifolds MSX aluminum crossflow cylinder head.
ATI Super Damper degreed harmonic balancer.
Dual Weber 45DCOE carburetors.
Mallory Unilite distributor.
Mallory HyFire 6AL microprocessor controlled capacitive discharge ignition system (part# 6853M).
Mallory ProMaster coil (part# 29625).
Accel 8.8 Silicone Plus Spiral Core RFI suppression spark plug wires.
Johnson HTP external oil pump.
Jones Racing Products Gilmer-drive pulley system.
Custom deep sump oil pan.
Moroso (solenoid actuated) oil accumulator.
Setrab 17-row oil cooler.
Aluminum transmission adapter plate. |
| Cooling: | Ron Davis aluminum radiator. |
| Exhaust: | custom three-into-one header by Boffo Motors.
Exhaust system routed along driveshaft tunnel for maximized ground clearance.
(No muffler.) |
| Transmission: | Ford Sierra 5-speed close ratio transmission.
Custom cast aluminum bellhousing.
Tilton clutch. |
| Rear End: | MG banjo axle. Welded gears. Various gear sets, depending on the track.
(4.55:1 when we viewed the car at Summit Point) |
| Front Susp.: | Adjustable height spring pans.
Swift coil springs (500#/inch).
Armstrong lever-type shock absorbers rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics.
Polyurethane bushings.
Anti-sway bar mounted on aluminum pillow blocks. |
| Rear Susp.: | custom four link rear suspension.
Fiberglass single-leaf springs.
Spax Krypton adjustable gas shock absorbers.
Watts linkage. |
| Brakes: | (master) dual Tilton master cylinders with remotely adjustable bias bar. (front) cross-drilled and slotted rotors. MGB calipers. (rear) MGB drum brakes. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Panasport Racing eight spoke aluminum wheels. Nitto NT01 radial tires (205/55/ZR14). |
| Electrical: | no charging system.
Optima Yellow Top battery (750CCA).
Tilton gear reduction starter.
"Euro style" headlights, under Sebring-style covers. |
| Instruments: | (left to right)
Westach dual EGT (700-1700F) gauge.
Stewart Warner oil pressure (10-150psi),
AutoMeter Sport-Comp tachometer (0-10000rpm).
Mallory fuel pressure gauge (1-10psi).
Stewart Warner oil temperature (100-325F), and
coolant temperature (100-265F) gauges.
Hobbes hour meter.
DECO Precision Tools brake pressure gauges (0-1500psi). |
| Fuel System: | ATL SP108-AC fuel cell (8 gallon capacity / optional lightweight aluminum container).
Holley red fuel pump.
Fram HPG1 fuel filter.
Holley adjustable fuel pressure regulator.
Moroso aluminum fuel distribution block. |
| Safety Eqmt: | Kirkey high back aluminum racing seat.
Simpson 5-point cam-lok safety harness.
SPA Design center mirror, with convex lens.
FireBottle centralized fire suppression system.
Handheld fire extinguisher. |
| Misc.: | Grant steering wheel.
Moss Motors fiberglass reproduction Sebring-style front and rear valances. |
| Weight: | 1,970 lbs. |
| Racing Class: | Group 3 |
Engine Installation
BMC 1.8L four cylinder, built by Prather Racing in 2009.
Boffo Motors developed this distinctive custom exhaust header which features long, equal-length primary
tubes. Exhaust routes along the passenger side of the driveshaft tunnel to facilitate very lower ride height.
Pierce Manifolds MSX aluminum crossflow cylinder head (serial# A531T). These cylinder heads require
extensive re-shaping of the combustion chambers and porting to maximize their performance.
This is a seven-port cylinder head: cylinders two and three share a common siamesed exhaust port. Other
companies (e.g. Derrington) have made eight-port crossflow heads for MGB, but they're no longer available.
Close-up view of exhaust gas temperature (i.e. pyrometer) sensor attachment to the exhaust header.
EGT gauges are particularly helpful for diagnosing and rectifying carburetion issues.
Dual Weber 45DCOE carburetors with flange-style velocity stacks and mesh filters.
Weber Tipo: 45DCOE1520 No: 0094
Moroso aluminum fuel distribution block.
Mallory HyFire 6AL microprocessor controlled capacitive discharge ignition system (part# 6853M).
Mallory ProMaster coil (part# 29625).
Ron Davis aluminum radiator.
Summit Racing aluminum overflow tanks (3x, 20oz each). A radiator filler neck has been added to one.
Another is for coolant overflow. The third one has been modified for use as a crankcase breather tank.
Johnson HTP external oil pump. Jones Racing Products Gilmer-drive pulley system.
Custom deep sump, internally baffled MGB oil pan by Prather Racing.
Setrab 17-row oil cooler.
Custom crossmember for the Ford Sierra 5-speed close ratio transmission.
ATL SP108-AC fuel cell: 8 gallon capacity / optional lightweight aluminum container.
Holley red fuel pump. Fram HPG1 fuel filter.
After traveling rearward along the passenger-side of the driveshaft tunnel, the exhaust passes
through an aluminum bulkhead and dumps downward. At left: overflow/breather bottle for rear axle.
Front Suspension
Vintage racing rules are fairly restrictive on MGB front suspension modifications. For example,
lever shock absorbers must be retained, or in this case retrofitted since they were removed
some point during the car's long Sports Car Club of America racing career.
Close-up: Armstrong lever-type shock absorbers, rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics.
No "dropped spindles" here. The uprights are unmodified from stock.
Cross-drilled and slotted front brake rotors.
Re-engineered spring pans to suit Swift 4" barrel springs and to facilitate easy ride height adjustment.
Swift's proprietary "H5S.TW" material is stronger then regular silicone chrome spring material,
so they can use thinner wire and fewer coils. The advantage is reduced unsprung weight. (In some
cases, a secondary benefit might be increased suspension travel before coil bind occurs.)
Anti-sway bar mounted on aluminum pillow blocks. Note Zerk fitting for lubrication.
Red polyurethane suspension bushes. Stock MGB front disc brake calipers.
Rear Suspension
These fiberglass single-leaf leafsprings are about one quarter the weight of steel leafsprings.
However, they're relatively fragile and must be protected from wind-up and from side-to-side loading.
So, a custom four-link rear suspension and also a custom Watt's linkage have been installed.
These components protect the springs from damage, and simultaneously provide more precise
and predictable suspension location through the whole range of movement.
Furthermore, a wide range of alternate suspension attachment points make it feasible to experiment
with and tune roll steer and anti-squat characteristics. These settings can easily be altered if
fundamental variables such as tire profile or desired ride height change.
Note that the suspension pickups are braced forward, along the floorboards, with box tubing.
The Watts linkage's bellcrank pivots on a stud that extends from the differential housing...
...and radius rods run outboard, horizontally, from the bellcrank to brackets on the car's body. Note:
sometimes people do it the other way, with bellcrank mounted to the body and rods mounted to the axle.
The Watt's linkage bellcrank pivot becomes the rear suspension roll center. Usually, roll center height
for a Watt's linkage installation ends up slightly higher than if a Panhard bar were installed instead,
but a Watt's linkage offers two technical advantages over a Panhard bar: (1) they don't induce any
side-to-side motion of the body in bump, and (2) their behavior is equal in left and right turns.
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Now here's an unusual twist: no u-bolts! They have been replaced with radius rods too.
Four of them: two horizontal rods connected underneath the differential housing...
(Close-up view of the connection point under the differential housing.)
...and two vertical radius rods connected above the springs, rearward of the axle.
(Close-up view of the connection point over-top the axle.)
(Close-up view of the forward attachment point of a fiberglass leaf spring.
Note that simple polyurethane bushings are employed.)
(Close-up view of the rearward attachment point of a fiberglass leaf spring.
Note that standard MGB spring shackles and simple polyurethane bushings are employed.)
Spax Krypton gas shock absorbers are separately adjustable for compression and rebound dampening.
(The bodies of these shock absorbers are threaded for mounting coilover springs on them. However,
coilover springs are expressly forbidden by the class rules under which this car races.)
Standard (early "banjo axle") MGB brake drum.
Interior / Roll Structure / Etc.
(left to right): Westach dual EGT gauge. Stewart Warner oil pressure gauge. AutoMeter Sport-Comp tach.
Mallory fuel pressure gauge. Stewart Warner oil temperature and coolant temperature gauges.
Hobbes hour meter (out of view, behind Petty bar). Twin DECO Precision Tools brake pressure gauges.
Grant steering wheel. Note push-to-talk button for the two-way radio.
Tilton pedal assembly. OMP cast aluminum pedal pad kit.
Tilton brake bias adjustment knob. Hobbes engine hour meter.
DECO Precision Tools brake pressure gauges (0-1500psi).
FireBottle centralized fire suppression system.
Kirkey high back aluminum racing seat. Simpson 5-point cam-lok safety harness.
Seven point roll cage.
Seat back and shoulder harness attachment.
Camera mounting bracket, welded onto the rollcage.
The exhaust system runs alongside the transmission tunnel in an insulated aluminum channel.
This enables the car to run at a lower ride height. Ignition system electronic components
are housed in the aluminum box at right, well away from the heat of the engine.
Moroso oil accumulator is mounted underneath, on the floorboard.
Lightweight, polished aluminum panels in lieu of original steel in the heelboard and rear seat areas.
Exterior
Michael Zappa prepares for Saturday's Group 3 Sprint Race. Racing against a diverse field that included
various models of Lotus, Mallock, and Porsche cars, he finished eleventh overall out of thirty-seven cars,
with a best lap time of 1.29.654 (80.31mph average) around the technically challenging 2.0 mile circuit.
Moss Motors fiberglass reproduction Sebring-style front valance.
Low profile Perspex windscreen.
Jim Boffo at Boffo Motors in New Brighton, Pennsylvania pressed the hood louvers.
Until about 1969, MGB's came standard with lightweight aluminum hoods. This racecar still has one.
Bill Scott's Final Checker
2010 Jefferson 500
Vintage Racer Group
Summit Point, WV
SPA Design center mirror, with convex lens and black nylon body.
Euro 7" round halogen headlight. Sebring style headlamp cover.
It's an MG Bee!
Another distinctive feature of Mike's MGB is the subtle way its fenders have been widened.
Some people refer to this classic design style as "wasp-waisted". Both front and rear fenders
have been sectioned longitudinally along their tops and then rotated outward.
Wasp-waisted front fender: from inside you can see where new steel was added.
Wasp-waisted rear fender.
Moss Motors fiberglass reproduction Sebring-style rear valance.
Panasport Racing eight spoke aluminum wheels.
Nitto NT01 radial tires (205/55/ZR14).
All photos shown here are from April 2010 when we viewed the car at VRG's Jefferson 500
at Summit Point Motorsports Park, West Virginia. Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishRaceCar.com,
copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
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