Help Me Find a Race Car!

Okay, lets try this one. What do you think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281728389923?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

My apologies if I've sent this before (can't remember) but this seems like a great deal:

http://www.automotiverestorations.com/sales/home/1959-turner-sports-mk1

The Turner Sports Car Company near Wolverhampton, England produced fiberglass bodied sports cars from 1951 thru 1966. The arrival of the Sports Mk 1 featured substantial revisions to the body and chassis. This particular car features the BMC 948cc engine with twin SU carbs. The transmission is a BMC 4 speed with synchro on 2nd thru 4th gears. This car has rack & pinion steering, roll bar and an ATL fuel cell. The car is qualified to run in all VSCCA events. While the car has not run recently, it has performed well in the past. In 1997 the car finished 3rd in the Pittsburgh GP and while run in that event, it posted the quickest lap time of the race. In that same year, this car came in 1st place at Mont-Tremblant in Canada. The car is sold in full race trim and would make a great introduction to vintage racing for a new driver looking to enter the sport for a reasonable price.

Price: $10,500

In regards to the MGB

Wow, thats a huge extinguisher, would that really stay there in a crash!?!?!

Are those belt mounts kosher? (angle/mounting point)

What is that flat bar on the rollbar directly behind the drivers head with no padding? Whole bar needs some padding around the drivers head, you might want to do a proper seat back brace if that seat isnt FIA.

Just a few stream of thought ideas.

Heres a few other cars to consider
http://www.racingjunk.com/Vintage/182480925/-Formula-Vee-Caldwell-D13-Vintage-V.html

http://www.racingjunk.com/Vintage/182507608/BMW-2002.html (very little detail, but you might look into it)

http://www.racingjunk.com/Vintage/182391374/1963-Austin-Cooper.html (very little detail, but you might look into it)

http://www.racingjunk.com/Vintage/182490406/1971-Mallock.html BE MY HERO ( I love these cars! its pretty much the love child of a Lotus 7 and a Formula Ford)

Woody wrote: My apologies if I've sent this before (can't remember) but this seems like a great deal: http://www.automotiverestorations.com/sales/home/1959-turner-sports-mk1 The Turner Sports Car Company near Wolverhampton, England produced fiberglass bodied sports cars from 1951 thru 1966. The arrival of the Sports Mk 1 featured substantial revisions to the body and chassis. This particular car features the BMC 948cc engine with twin SU carbs. The transmission is a BMC 4 speed with synchro on 2nd thru 4th gears. This car has rack & pinion steering, roll bar and an ATL fuel cell. The car is qualified to run in all VSCCA events. While the car has not run recently, it has performed well in the past. In 1997 the car finished 3rd in the Pittsburgh GP and while run in that event, it posted the quickest lap time of the race. In that same year, this car came in 1st place at Mont-Tremblant in Canada. The car is sold in full race trim and would make a great introduction to vintage racing for a new driver looking to enter the sport for a reasonable price. Price: $10,500

That does seem like a good deal. I really didn't want RHD, but that's tempting. Is this place near you, Jeff?

In reply to Apexcarver:

I noticed those things about the MGB as well, but for the most part they are easily corrected.

Have you considered a GT6 or Spitfire? I believe they are quite popular in vintage racing and can be found for very reasonable prices.

In reply to bravenrace:

FWIW, it's not that hard to learn to shift with your left hand. Other than that, on CW tracks, the RHD gives you a little vision advantage.

bravenrace wrote:

Woody wrote: My apologies if I've sent this before (can't remember) but this seems like a great deal: http://www.automotiverestorations.com/sales/home/1959-turner-sports-mk1 The Turner Sports Car Company near Wolverhampton, England produced fiberglass bodied sports cars from 1951 thru 1966. The arrival of the Sports Mk 1 featured substantial revisions to the body and chassis. This particular car features the BMC 948cc engine with twin SU carbs. The transmission is a BMC 4 speed with synchro on 2nd thru 4th gears. This car has rack & pinion steering, roll bar and an ATL fuel cell. The car is qualified to run in all VSCCA events. While the car has not run recently, it has performed well in the past. In 1997 the car finished 3rd in the Pittsburgh GP and while run in that event, it posted the quickest lap time of the race. In that same year, this car came in 1st place at Mont-Tremblant in Canada. The car is sold in full race trim and would make a great introduction to vintage racing for a new driver looking to enter the sport for a reasonable price. Price: $10,500

That does seem like a good deal. I really didn't want RHD, but that's tempting. Is this place near you, Jeff?

It's close enough that I could check it out for you. I'm pretty sure that I've seen this car run at Lime Rock. I think that if I had two more garage spaces, I'd buy it for myself.

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2014/12/01/hmn_feature5.html

The mg makes me go hmm a little - it says race-ready, but last race was 2008. One race after a major rebuild makes me wonder if there aren't some expensive noises hiding - at least with vscda, the fuel cell/bladder will be out of date, belts too. belt and extinguisher mounting looks hinky. I don't often see anyone running just a roll bar with no forward bars anymore. About $1000-2000 to bring it back unless there's mechanical stuff.

Since we're looking at a move I'm thinking of sending the TR4 away. Probably more of a project than you're looking for since it's still under construction.

The turner looks good - would be welcome at about any vintage event I can think of. Looks like fun. Ninja edit, turners iirc used triumph suspension bits, so the fron end would likely look really familiar to a TR3 owner. If it's running fast laps it has probably been tweaked a bit. I'm pretty surprised it isn't closer to a 20-25k car. That's more the range for a well sorted tr3 or 4 that are this car's contemporaries.

I think that the Turner is unique enough that you might get a invitations to events that you might not with an MG or Sprite.

Why does it seem that the Turner is really cheap? I wonder if its hiding something as well. I don't know what the reserve is on the MGB, but it may turn out that it's cheap enough that doing the necessary upgrades aren't a big deal. Could be the same with the Turner, but nothing is said about it needing anything.

I don't think that there are a lot of people looking for Turners. I'd seen a pair of them at Lime Rock a few years ago. I went to see the dealer that was running them to try to buy a Formula Ford and he was trying to convince that I should buy a turner from him. At the time, I just wasn't interested. I am really intrigued by them now. They are very simple.

Funny thing, the race I am in in August is featuring Turners.

Woody wrote: I don't think that there are a lot of people looking for Turners. I'd seen a pair of them at Lime Rock a few years ago. I went to see the dealer that was running them to try to buy a Formula Ford and he was trying to convince that I should buy a turner from him. At the time, I just wasn't interested. I am really intrigued by them now. They are very simple.

Check out this Turner. Its almost three times the money as the one we're looking at. Why?

http://race-cars.com/carsales/turner/1432855198/1432855198ss.htm

bravenrace wrote:

Woody wrote: I don't think that there are a lot of people looking for Turners. I'd seen a pair of them at Lime Rock a few years ago. I went to see the dealer that was running them to try to buy a Formula Ford and he was trying to convince that I should buy a turner from him. At the time, I just wasn't interested. I am really intrigued by them now. They are very simple.

Check out this Turner. Its almost three times the money as the one we're looking at. Why? http://race-cars.com/carsales/turner/1432855198/1432855198ss.htm

GMT is a pretty high end shop. My cousin sent his Lotus 7 there and I sold them a car a few years back. That would account for some of the difference and I would suspect that the engine is built to a higher spec.

I'm pretty sure that I know who the previous owner of the green car is. He's a dealer and has a place very close to the very, very high end shop where it now sits. There may have been some trading involved.

It's still worth a look.

I have to dig through the archives. I think I have some non-digital photos of that Turner, both at the track and in the shop.

In reply to bravenrace:

That is a pretty high spec set up. Probably close to a 10k engine, plus ltd slip rear and lots of massaging of the head. The Jaz fuel tank is a little chintzy though. Can be a tough call. I see vintage race TR4s range from $12k to over $50k. One with a long, well documented history will bring a lot more than a recently converted street car...

Oh, for licensing, at least with VSCDA the first weekend of the season offers a driver school. It's not a skip barber 3-day, but vintage is not like running spec piñata. Contact is very frowned upon. You can be sharing space with some very valuable hardware.

That Turner is a bargain. I raced a MK3 for many years and it was a great car. The front suspension on an early car could be Sprite/Morris Minor parts.

I race against a Turner at VARA events and its a great car. The owner drives the car extremely well and it is well prepared. He is also a big guy, probably 6' 2" 200 lbs and he fits no probelm. The car always finishes as it uses the most tried and true BMC parts and seems to be easy on tires. Since you want a British car I'd say it's a great pick, again off the shelf BMC parts and the added bonus of a car you won't see 9 more off every weekend. The MGB has some things that do indeed need replacing but as mentioned it's cheap enough that you could extend the roll up forward, put a proper fire system and fuel cell in for not a lot of money. I'd go for the Turner, you could pick up a spare motor and carefully build it up yourself so you'd know what was what. If you built a 95 hp version you would be giving away much and it would run a couple of seasons. A semi close ratio box would be easy enough to put together. No idea if they are legal in Vintage but I know that Datsun close ratio 4 & 5 speeds are used in some Sprites, the 4 speeds are reasonable. Go look at the Turner if it's close

The B looks like a good option. There is huge support for these and they can be prepared to go very quickly. Parts are readily available, both new and from junkyards.

What is odd about that one is that ALL the money seems to be in the motor. Fab Tek is a top-notch shop run by a guy (Dave Headley) that is probably THE most knowledgeable MGB specialist out there. He has been racing a B for at least 40 years.

The rest of the car looks kinda bargain basement-- bolt-in roll bar, plastic battery box. Looks like it was a street car that somebody did the minimum to get racing, upgraded the motor, then quit. I'm guessing someone had some financial reverses with the 2008 depression after doing the motor and parked it. That said, there's no reason why it wouldn't make a good car for somebody that is willing to make a few improvements. You'll probably need a new set of tires, too, since they are at least 7 years old.

The Turner might also be a good option, but, once again, there is no telling from the ad. No specs on the engine or much of anything else. If that's a Bugeye 948 with a smoothcase tranny, for example, there may need to be a bunch of money put into the drivetrain to make it durable and usable on the track. Parts for the 948 are getting scarce and expensive, and they don't typically last all that long. That probably isn't something you can put a 1275 into and still qualify for most vintage racing organizations. A ribcase tranny would be OK, though, and probably necessary...

In reply to Basil Exposition:

Thanks for the information...Again! That's good stuff.

In reply to Woody:

Woody, you have mail..

Do we have an impending Turner purchase????

Tom