If BOOKR T was 4WD

I forget where I found this photo, but it came from the internet pre Y2K.  It's almost the same color, but about 36" higher than BOOKR T.  AT one time I had thought about looking for a wrecked Subaru WRX and scabbing BOOKR T onto it.  A 4WD MGB GT would be a great rally car.  Here are some pictures of a RWD rally car.

 

driver & co-driver?

The last stage.

Electric Conversion

I have been thinking about converting BOOKR T to electric.  I know, I know.  How could I take the heart out of BOOKR T and replace it with a soulless electric motor?  The 1800 engine is its personality.  It talks to you, it tells you how it's feeling.  It has good days and bad days. It comments on how your driving it. It can even tell you the future, usually prophesying impending doom.
Well.., I am beginning to think those personality traits may be excuses for unreliability, overuse, and worn out parts.  continued later. . . .

Follow Your Dreams

This car is owned by someone I know in Hawaii.  I was looking forward to driving it, but the weather did not cooperate.  We ended up talking for hours about bulding the car, racing, and motors while we stayed dry under the carport.  This car is a replica of the Shelby Cobra 427.  You can get a turnkey for about $80K. This car was purchased for about $9K, and did not run.  Another $9k was put into finishing it.  My friend first fell in love with the Cobra when he was a kid, after seeing one driving down his street.  He collected many Cobra diecast models over the years, but they just couldn't replace having a full size version.  Then one day, in 2010, he saw a classified advert in the local paper for this car.  The owner had fallen on hard economic times and was motivated to sell his unfinished hobby car.  My friend bought it, finished it, and has been driving his dream ever since. 

I was told the car has 600+ HP.
Most of the polished aluminum brackets were made by my friend, in his carport.  A dual electric fan is mounted closer to the radiator, instead of being mounted to the water pump pulley. The engine sounds . . . like a dream.

Norwegian Wood

"I once had a car, or should I say, it once had me." I saw this car at a parade and had to take a picture.  As far as I can tell, it's a 1/16" wood veneer over the existing aluminum body.  The fit looked very good, albeit odd.  I didn't get a chance to talk with the owner, but there must be a story behind this.

It's 2011, so what.

Other peoples stuff

Hey, it's 2011.  Could it be another year without BOOKR T touching the tarmac?  I think not.  A major distraction preventing me from working on BOOKR T has been removed.  Curently my garage is full of other peoples stuff, which makes it hard to find space to work.  These other people are building a new home, which should be fininsh sometime in April/May of 2011.  Once the garage is free of "stuff", then I shall begin an aggressive attempt to get BOOKR T rolling again.

What's in the name?

Lucas - Prince of Darkness

Why Oil Leak? you may ask.  Well, it stems from an old joke about British sports cars, similar to the old Lucas Electric joke.  "Why do the Brits drink warm beer?", "Because their refrigerators are made by Lucas."   You  see, all British sports cars leak oil, and so the joke goes, "How do you know when a British sports cars needs oil?"  "It stops dripping on the tarmac."  Hence the name of the blog "Oil Leak".  It refers to the common problem amongst all British sports cars, and not the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill made by British Petroleum.

Welcome to Oil Leak.

Welcome ot Oil Leak, a blog about racing and rebuilding.  I like most British sports cars.  I have an MGB GT and over the next few posts I will show you images of it's current state.  The image to the right is an MGC GT, raced in 1969 at Sebring by Paddy Hopkirk and Andrew Hedges.  The MGC was basically the MGB with the same six cylinder engine the Austin Healey 3000 had.