NITROUS OXIDE ( nos / n2o ) advice forum

Apart from miles and miles of smiles. There has been a lot of head scratching, inventing, designing, cobbing stuff together, aggro and even more big grins to go with the never ending list of PB's year on year
She started off as a 16 second V8. We have managed to achieve 1 second per year average since we got started on this project.

My old MGB is now as close as its ever been to hitting the elusive 9.99 second pass. But we still need to shave another whole 0.6 off the PB to get there. So apart from the new engine, I decided to get under it and do more than my usual 6 monthy nip up of all the fixings. We have noticed her getting a little bit fluffy at the top end and last time out she ran three 10.4's back to back in one day but each time we backed off the pedal over the line she was not happy. The problem was screaming "suspension faults"
I dont come right off the pedal when I cross the line. I back it off over 2-3 seconds gently.

Both front dampers are shagged and one only had resistance for about 25% of its travel !!
Both rear springs have sagged and the drivers side one is resting on the slapper bar !!

Front dampers got changed on Sunday along with new polybushes.
The new rear springs and bushes will go on in the next few weeks.
New slicks wil be here in 10 days (going up from 28" to 29.5" tall) so more metalwork to be removed from the rear arches.
Rear dampers check out ok at this time.
New engine block is here with top hat liners fitted.
Had a pair of Cometic MLS head gaskets made which look very nice
I've got a box with rings, shells, lifters, cam, all other gaskets and seals required.
The heads are going away to be reworked a little. Nothing fancy, just a bit of porting and spring pans machined to take the race springs and shims. I would ike bigger ex valves but the budget has now gone

So by xmas I'll have my own present to myself!! A fresh car to go and play with for 2012

If I dont make the 9.99 I wont be too sad. To be honest I'm surprised we got this far on a stock bodied car with all steel panels and full interior + a near stock Rover 4.6 engine. Stock that is apart from from forged pistons and a different cam.

I may look at lightening the body next year, but at this time I think i'm in with a shout at a sub 10.4 next year as she is

I havent even got the engine out yet and I'm already visualising myself in the car on the start line next year

Now I think back to the early days of my first nitrous system which i thought was going to turn my 16 second car into a monster. But it didnt, and to be honest it makes me shudder for 2 reasons !!! Firstly with what I've learnt on here I was lucky not to have blown my shit up in a big way over the first 2 years of playing with it. I wasnt even advised about fuel flow requirements from the firm I got the kit from???

Secondly I'm pissed off that I missed 2 years of making good progress with a nitrous system that I didnt know how to operate because I couldnt get real advice from anyone. Had I found WON back then instead of by accident 2 years later via one of Trevs arch enemies I might already have a 9 second timing slip in a frame in the lounge

I'm getting all nostalgic now

I have to admit, its been a great journey for me since 2006

And apart from the car stuff, I've met some good mates on here. Hopefully we can all get together again for an early 2012 event like the Fast Show weekend again.

Regards to all

Pel

Good post Pel.
I know the story is much more complex than that but you have condensed it down nicely. Maybe write a short novel another time.

I feel i follow in your footsteps somewhat. A 10.99 is my aim without upsetting my cars other capabilities.

Cheers Del !!
I thought I'd just share my journey with others on here. To be honest, my aim was to break the 12's. Then 11's and when we did it I thought about what to do next? The obvious answer was break the 10's as a final goal. And then we did that!! And then we did it again but better.. So the obvious thing was to aim for a 9

By this time the hobby has become an obsession. You know when that happens when you dream about how to make the car quicker and quicker. You are at work all day but always thinking about the car and what you have done and what you think you need to do, and what things you would like to experiment with. And the big question that I think about al the time is: "I wonder what would happen if I tried this?"

The answer to that question has been apparent by the amount of trashed blocks and axles I have
Over the last 18 months I have almost become wreckless at the track. Only because I have a supply of spare engines though !!
I think the funniest one was when i decided to stick a 3rd pair of pulsoids on to an engine I already knew was shagged. The system was maxxed out at a 300 shot. So I decided to find out what would happen if i ran the 300 shot well retarded off the line so I could add another 150 as a fixed hit at about 900 feet out at 100+ mph. This was the backfire I had that blew the bonnet off its hinges
But the engine and card were still ok ! Figure that one out ??
Then i pushed my luck and tried again with more retard on the MSD. What I hadnt known at that time was the fact that the dissy had gone wrong and was adding mech advance due to a loose screw that had come out of the advance plate.
The first vid is the bonnet blowing up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90EEAlby ... jw&index=5

The second vid is the engine letting go and blowing a fookin great hole through the gaskets and melting away a seriously big chunk of bock and heads. luckily the block melted down to the waterway which sprayed coolant onto the burning wiring loom in the engine bay that had been set alight by the flames that you can see coming out from under the car I liked the song I chose for this one as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbWCXq33rRY

This is the last block in the shed now, so this one has to hang on and behave itself. NO!! I need to behave myself and start next year back at square one. Square one is with a setup that I know will bring in a mid 10.

The TVR has been on the same journey as the MGB Del ?? And its gonna turn into a bigger journey than you have estimated at this time mate.. Although you may not know or admit it to yourself at this time, the 10 second bug is well and truly under your skin

When you bag the 10.99 you will be over the moon. You may even shed a tear or two when you do it as i have done from time to time. Each time I bag a PB or my Son bags a PB in the MG we normally end up in the pits as one of us drives back in after the run to find all the lads waiting and clapping. and when we get out of the car to hear the news it all belly bumps, high fives and handshakes. Thats when I wobble a bit with a tear of joy !!!

But after the dust has settled and you go home with that 10.96 ticket in your wallet. What next??? You gonna leave it there??

I VERY MUCH DOUBT IT

Looking forward to hearing your news from the last runs of this year and hooking up again next season

Regards
Pel

Very inspiring post

Out of interest what sort of power did you get to before you started breaking rear axels?

A mate of mine has a Pop with a 350 Chevy he's building up using a MG rear end

Bill

With gentle launches around the 2 second 60 foot mark she was fine. This was on the carb with 380hp and around the 450 ft/lbs area. It would pull low 11's all day long. The limit on my shafts was adding 120 of gas off the line which I have for ages, but dropping the build time to a 300 shot from 1.8 seconds to 1.2 seconds. This was the point that I knew a shaft would let go pretty quick. The slicks dont really let go unless theres a problem. If he's using MG 1800 rear axle the ratio is quite low at 3.9:1.

Pel

Small update chaps!!
The front suspension has now been replaced.
To get more top end gearing I've replaced the 28" slicks with 29.5" slicks. Now I have to remove some rear arch material
all the bits I need to rebuild are here. But I dropped a clanger with the new engine block. Long story short, I still need a new engine block
I'll sell the other on ebay i think.

I've got the nitrous ready to rock and roll along with the blower. But the BIG downside is that I came back from holiday in Malta to find that I've been to good at quoting jobs, so I have to work the next 6 weekends. This means the dyno by Xmas isnt going to happen... I'm hoping the boss at work will see my pain and give me a bonus for xmas that will cover the cost of a new top hat linered Xbolt block??
Until then I'll just crack on with cutting out the rear arches and getting the new rear suspension fitted and working.
I can also do some painting and get the twin wideband kits fitted 50% at least.
I'll freshen up the brakes all round and get some greasing done on the king pins and wheel bearings. These are all jobs that can be done a few hours at a time after the weekend jobs in the evenings.

I'll also be sending out more begging letters to potential new sponsors who might want to support a 10 second MGB that is gunning for 9 seconds next year ??

+1
keep in touch on this Pel. Maybe we can get a discount for buying 2

Del!
Are you running stock size or +20 4.6 pistons ???

Pel

I believe standard bore but would have to double check.
As you know my old block needs work so maybe an opportunity to go top hat. It would be nice to reuse those expensive pistons of mine sometime.
I am also hatching a plan to build a dedicated TVR drag car. Sod 10's i want to be running 8's

I'm kicking myself for not buying a brand new TVR chassis last year for £200 ?? It would have been a great base to build a lightweight trag slag from.
Pel