One old race car to return to the track a bit sooner by purpleGT

3 minute(s) of a 12 minute read

Hap,
Just to clarify, Matt Wangler, son of the late Jim Wangler, is now the owner of the car.  
At this time, I don't think Matt has any interest, whatsoever, in SCCA.
You bring up a good point about being able to use the RWA rear fenders on earlier cars. Of course, for some unknown reason (at least, the last time I checked), NO ONE in the US offers RWA fenders and inner fenders, even though they are (and have long been) produced and stocked by British Motor Heritage.
Several years ago, I even called a major US supplier (whose name I won't mention) and asked them if they would order the part for me (I had the part numbers in front of me, on the BMH website). I was told "those panels are not being produced and are not available.

I find this situation very baffling, as there are a LOT of RWA Midgets still running around out there (I have two of them, myself). For my '73 Midget restoration, I was able to find a NOS, LR fender at Import Carlisle and got outstanding results (I think my article is in the MGE tech library). The other side, I had to piece together with SWA repair panels and, while it turned out OK, I'm not entirely satisfied with it.

6-14-2013

Matt,
When your dad and I built our MGB, the first thing we did was to get a copy of SCCA's Production Cars Specs, along with the GCR. We looked carefully at the maximum track width and then figured out the biggest wheel & tire combination we could legally use. Next we purchased the wheels and tires. Then and only then did we (Jim Biery, actually) flare the fenders to suit.

My suggestion is that you first determine which vintage sanctioning group holds races at tracks within a reasonable tow from St. Louis. After all, you'll want to get as much track time in as you can, each season. Once you've identified the sanctioning group you'd like to race with, get a copy of their rules and car specs and see what tires you can run, along with the maximum track width. Hopefully, you'll be able to stick with the Revolution wheels already with the car, although I can just about guarantee you won't be able to run the "cantilevered" style racing tires in ANY vintage group. Once you've established all of that, go ahead and buy the tires and mount them on the car. Then, you can flare the fenders to suit.

Since the '72 thru '74 round wheel arch rear fenders would have been legal on your car, under the 1970s SCCA Production Car Specs, I imagine all vintage sanctioning groups would allow them to be retrofitted to your car, if you like. Hap Waldrop mentioned he's got a set of them, cut from a parts car, which he'd make you a deal on. We can find a way to get them out to you, which won't have to involve you driving clear to Pittsburgh, again.