Chassis Number     GHD 100149                  Engine Number        EX178/43                              Body Number           B28668                            Click on a photo                                                                                    to enlarge Chassis and Suspension Details: Twin Cam chassis with additional lightening holes in front cross member and front suspension components. Four wheel Dunlop Disc brakes with pin located knock off disc wheels mounted with Dunlop Racing 550-15 R5 tires. The front shock absorbers have remote fluid reservoirs mounted on the inner fenders ( white arrow in photo) and connected to the front shocks by a rubber tube. The rear shocks are Armstrong adjustables. RHD steering rack and front anti sway bar fitted. The check straps on the rear axle have been extended to permit an extra inch of travel. The rear axle itself is a 4.55 ratio with a ZF limited slip differential.  The battery and fuel pump brackets have been cut off of the chassis. The front extension of the chassis has been shortened approximately 10" and an accessory crossbar has been added with brackets for a quick lift jack and similar brackets added at the rear cross member. The standard fuel tank and filler have been replaced by a 20 Gallon ( 17 Imp Gallon) fuel tank.

Body Details The body shell is a standard 1600 style coupe shell with a solid rear bulkhead and short rear shelf. Starting at the front, there are two additional auxiliary air intakes on either side of the front grill, these are made of aluminum and use pieces of a Bugeye (Frogeye) Sprite front grill. On car #43 these grill pieces are cut so that they are oriented horizontal and vertical while on the #44 car the grills are oriented on the diagonal, that little detail makes it possible to distinguish the cars in the photos taken before the racing numbers were painted on. The radiator duct panel is shortened 1" at the rear edge to allow for a thicker radiator core. The pull for hood release has been re-routed so that it sticks out of the grill on the right side. The hood is secured with a short leather strap. The heater opening in the bulkhead has been enlarged to accommodate a fabricated metal box for a small 12 volt racing battery. On the cowl just in front of the windshield is a cold air intake which is routed to an aluminum box that can direct the air toward the drivers footwell or to the screen demister vents. The right front wing has a lamp mounted to illuminate the number on that side. The doors are stock items but the wind up mechanisms have been removed and the glass replaced with Plexiglas. The door windows could be raised and lowered by hand and held in place by a thumbscrew in the door frame. The three piece rear window was also replaced with Plexiglas. A recognition light is mounted in the center of the roof. The boot has a large opening in the floor for the long range fuel tank and a three point leather strap to hold down the spare tire. The original hole for the gas cap has been leaded over and a 2 1/2" filler emerges from the right side of the rear surround topped with an aluminum quick release cap which has been modified so that the cap could be sealed by the pit official.  The 1600 tail lamps have been removed and four individual lamps mounted on the rear surround, two red and two amber. These are the same Lucas items as the 1600 directional lamp. A variety of steel panels were replaced with light alloy including the front valence, The toeboard panel just below the shelf of the firewall, The complete transmission tunnel, the battery box cover, and all six inner wing splash panels. Some additional alloy bits are the cold air intakes ether side of the grill, the cold air ventilation box for the driver and some pieces that close the opening around the fuel tank.

Photo by Ian Prior

Specifications My car is an MGA 1600 MkI Coupe, believed to be one of only 12 produced by the factory with optional Dunlop 4 wheel disc brakes and knock off wheels, making it probably one of the rarest of all MGAs.  At least two other similar cars were prepared as Works Rally cars which leaves at most 8 cars of this specification that were ever sold to the public. The 1962 Sebring MGAs had 1600 MKII chassis numbers though they still ran 1600 engines not 1622s. The following is a listing of the details of my car. Some items are illustrated with a thumbnail picture, you can click on the picture for a full size image.