11/10/2017
Hello to one and all! I will be posting articles with general info on our cars from time to time. This one is a partial article from Classic Motor sports written by Tim Suddard.
"Rivals at Speed: MG vs. Triumph"
The Gorilla Cars: MGB GT V8 and TR8
It’s almost cliché that when General Motors finally pulls the plug on something, they’ve usually got it just about right; witness the Corvair, Pontiac Fiero and recent Cadillac Le Mans Prototype project. That’s how the beautiful and neatly engineered little Buick/Olds/Pontiac aluminum V8 of the mid-‘60s wound up the property of Rover in England.
It was a good deal for Rover, as it was by then a very good engine with most of the bugs worked out. Thanks to the sad conglomeration of the British industry under British Leyland and, later, JRT (Jaguar/Rover/Triumph), the little 3.5-liter jewel found its way under the hood of a much-improved TR8 version of the previously unloved TR7.
Meanwhile, backyard and back-alley British swap artists were making a regular thing out of shoving the ex-GM V8 into MGBs and, following in their footsteps, the factory started building MGB GT V8s for the home market as early as 1973.
Why these potentially successful cars were never imported to the States remains a marketing and mismanagement mystery, and only 2500 or so were ever built.
Despite too-small tires, flaccid handling and wimpy brakes, well-driven TR8s did some serious damage for a while in SCCA Showroom Stock racing and Ken Slagle knocked off the CP national championship with a highly Prodified example in 1981.
Meanwhile, Group 44 built an absolute killer TR8 coupe for pro racing—so good, in fact, that the Trans-Am officials threw an additional 400 pounds at it after it won in dominating fashion its very first time out at Watkins Glen. And then it went on to win four of the other five races it entered that season!
Track tested on these pages a few issues back, the Group 44 TR8 is like a pocket-rocket, P.T.-boat version of a NASCAR stock car, what with its bank vault solidity, unbelievably good brakes and handling, and gobs of smooth, effortless torque. Oh, and about two-thirds the weight of a stock car… it’s fast!
Although never officially imported, MGB GT V8s are starting to become popular with MGB racers here in North America; two really excellent examples showed up to duke it out to a photo finish for first overall at Road Atlanta. In the hands of owner/drivers Les Gonda and Jerry Richards, the two V8s battled mightily for the lead and swapped positions and fastest laps repeatedly in the “fast car” MG/Triumph Challenge race at Road Atlanta. Jerry ultimately beat Les to the flag by mere inches after a race that left both of them grinning like idiots. And Les was kind enough to give yrs. trly. a few laps in the car during practice for, umm, evaluation.
The first thing you need to understand is that the ex-GM aluminum V8 engine block actually weighs less than the cast-iron four- banger it replaces, but what with more rods and pistons and the beefed-up hardware required to handle the increased torque and power, the overall car is slightly heavier than a standard MGB GT and, as you might expect in a coupe with a big windshield and backlight, the weight sits somewhat higher over the waterline.
That said, the MGB GT V8 (try saying that three times fast, Mr. Track Announcer) is a wonderful little brick of a car. Most of the standard racing B’s fine track manners remain, and the overall feel and balance are excellent. Torque is available in a meaty, thundering rush, and about the only downside is that the wheelbase feels just a wee bit short for such a powerful car.
It’s great through the tight, twisty bits, but somewhat more iffy on fast sweepers. Plus it gets a tad warm in there with the two exhausts running close under the floorboards and a big V8 just ahead of the firewall.
As has always been the case, how well you do with an MGB GT V8 depends a lot on what sort of track you’re on and whom they put you in against (a really tricked out Lotus Elan will have it for lunch on a handling circuit), but even so it represents the unquestioned ultimate for the true MGB enthusiast.
And it stomps most 911s.
Full Article,
MG and Triumph are two iconc British sports car brands which have always been rather at odds, which is best?
