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MG MGA - 93 MPH in an A...

Just got back from Germany where I had to drive an extremely underpowed Fiat Punto for 6 weeks. Took my A out on the highway and there was no one there so I decided to push it. Got it up to 5500 RPM or 93 MPH before I started to worry about cops behind the bushes. I'm sure I could have pushed it to 100 MPH, though.

The car handled it fine. It wasn't shaking or anything. Got it on some back roads and got to experience wheel drift for the first time. God I love this car.

Darian
Safety Fast!
62 MGA MkII, bored out .060" over, 3/4 racing cam, cross flow head

PS If anyone is curious to read more about the car, it's here:

http://www.alamomg.org/darian.html
Darian Henderson

Hi Darian looks like you've been busy as a matter of curiosity you seem to have put the seams on your seat cushions crossways rather than fore and aft mistake or deliberate lol


regards gordon


g c pugh

Hi GC,

No it wasn't deliberate. I got a good deal on the seats on eBay.

It's kind of funny, I never paid attention to the seams. Now I know why they were so cheap. They're still leather and comfortable, though. LOL

Thanks,

Darian
Darian Henderson

hi darian I would think they are probably meant for the coupe which has that style of cushion


gordon
g c pugh

Darian,

Back in '66, when I was a lot younger, and so was my car, I pushed my "A" up to 6000 rpm or about 101 mph a few times. It felt like flying. We do have to remember to enjoy these cars as well as obsessing about them!

Ken
k v morton

Darian

The book says a standard geared MkII is 97.3 mph at 5500RPM, so you nearly made it! Not a bad difference of 4mph on a steam driven, 45 year old instrument. Watch the cameras though as you are under reading.

Steve
Steve Gyles

The cable that goes to my speedo is a Moss replacement, and if I screw it in all the way it doesn't work. Consequently, I have to fiddle with it sometimes. The tach always works, though, and I figure that if I'm at about 4000 RPM it means about 70 MPH.

97.3, even better than I thought. I enjoyed every minute of it, too...
Darian Henderson

Darian

I have just had a look at your pictures. I take my hat off to you for what you have done so far. You have been most entertaining on the forum during the past 12 months, with all of us offering support and advice to you in your quest. You have been on a great journey with our little old British car. Well done. Another one saved from the knackers yard.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Nice job. We've all been rooting for you Darian since it is such a family heirloom to you. Merry Christmas
Steve
Steve Meline

Yes, Well done mate,
I remember your first posts; I have to say your story is one of the most encouraging I have read on the BBS.
Considering where you started, you have made a fantastic job in very a short time, and apparently within a relatively strict budget. You have achieved a great balance between preserving and enjoying the marque and have a car to be extremely proud of.
All the best,
Neil
Neil McGurk

Darian came to visit me in Zurich during his stay in Garmisch, and told me a bit more about his car (as well as giving mine a test drive, which he seemed to enjoy too, even though it was so cold that day that the engine was not getting warm enough to get to proper operating temp). I was finally able to collect on the beer he promised for the tip to remove his cylinder head when it got stuck.

Given that his car has an original Derrington head, racing cam, a close ratio box and a 4.1 rear axle, I would expect that his reported or calculated speed was still not the max that the car will do. He's not been driving it too long, but when he has a few more hours under his belt, I am sure that we are going to hear more about the performance of his A.


dominic clancy

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. While I am still far from being an expert, I think that I am proof that anyone can learn how to do most of the work on these cars. A year ago I knew how to change the oil and that was it. I believe it is much easier to get info today with the Internet than it would have been ten years ago.

Dominic is right. I'm very sure that this car would go faster, but I was a little worried about getting yet another speeding ticket...

Thanks again for the help everyone,

Darian
Darian Henderson

Hey Darian,
Can you recommend a good mechanic for my A in San Antonio? If you get a chance, hit the Devils Backbone out by Canyon Lake. Lots of fun and you can work on hitting 101.
Dan Clark

Hi Dan,

B&A off of Issom is a really good mechanic. He's not cheap, but he'll fix it right the first time, do it quickly, and won't try to rip you off. He tuned my carbs and another mechanic commented on what a good job he did.

If you're not already a member, why not check out the local MG club http://www.alamomg.org/. There's a lot of very knowledgeable people there.

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like there's an FM that I have to visit very soon. Over by Lake Medina there's some very good roads, too.

Darian
Darian Henderson

I've had my 1960 MGA Coupe up to 95, unless my speedo is off. It has 60 spoke wire wheels rather than 48 spoke, but otherwise is original. It only shows 45,000 miles.

By the way, the tach was up near red-line, and the handling was getting a bit scary. I also started to blow some whitish smoke, which has since gone away.

I do not plan to do this again.

But the cars are capable of going fast- it's slowing down that is scary.

Ira


Ira Spector (PA)

I agree about the slowing down part. Fortunately there was a lot of open space where I was.

I've got 72-spoke wheels, which have been perfect for me.

Darian
Darian Henderson

Ira - You mention a good point, the speedo being off is almost 100% likely unless you have had it calibrated recently. The tyres on the car are often not the original size which will give another circumference and therefore the speedo and odometer will be out.
I often use my GPS as a speedo to get more accurate info in this age of speed cameras on every corner (or so it seems). It tells me my speedo is 12% out. So at 100 on the clock I am only doing 90MPH.

In fairness I have also got the old girl up to 106MPH on the GPS so can't complain. I had to let her run a bit richer to achieve this which had the added effect of spitting flame out the exhaust when I let off the gas!! My chase car backed off pretty sharpish when he saw that. This was on a German autobahn at night by the way so all above board.

Neil
Neil Purves

I have fond memories of being 18 with my best bud heading west on I-70 back to Denver seeing just how fast we could get my 58 with a 1800 in it going. We were going down hill with a hefty tail wind and with the top up we got it up to 90. The stock diff ratio is what limited us as we were just about at redline and I believe floating the valves a bit. The 3:90 would have put us well over 100. After that we figured out it is much more fun to drift around the gravel county roads.

Ah the memories...
J Bries

So when I put in the 3.9 in January I'm in for a pleasant surprise...
dominic clancy

This thread was discussed between 14/12/2007 and 21/12/2007

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