MGTF, any good for track days
Discussion
Please bear with me, I've never been on a track day but quite fancy it. I've been toying with the idea of trying one in my mk1 MX5, but really don't want to risk damaging it, it means a lot to me.
Then along comes a mate with an MGTF thats been sitting in his drive for a couple of years, he doesn't want it any more but didn't want to scrap it. Would I like it as a project?
It was running fine till he parked it up two winters ago (he'd just had the head redone), the hood had a split so the carpets and seats are now green with mould and knackered, the brakes are seized on but otherwise it seems rust free and mechanically sound. I'm thinking of renewing the brakes, giving it a service, stripping out the interior, taking the hood off and trailering it to Knockhill (my nearest track) to give it a go.
I'm looking for advice on whether they are any good on the track and will it be worthwhile spending some time (and a little bit of money)on it, and any mods/additions you'd recommend.
Then along comes a mate with an MGTF thats been sitting in his drive for a couple of years, he doesn't want it any more but didn't want to scrap it. Would I like it as a project?
It was running fine till he parked it up two winters ago (he'd just had the head redone), the hood had a split so the carpets and seats are now green with mould and knackered, the brakes are seized on but otherwise it seems rust free and mechanically sound. I'm thinking of renewing the brakes, giving it a service, stripping out the interior, taking the hood off and trailering it to Knockhill (my nearest track) to give it a go.
I'm looking for advice on whether they are any good on the track and will it be worthwhile spending some time (and a little bit of money)on it, and any mods/additions you'd recommend.
Thanks all for your advice. I am really wary of taking the MX5 out on a track at least until I know what I'm doing, it was an anniversary present from my wife and it's worth more to me than the actual financial value. If I have a few goes and decide to be a bit more serious about it, I might buy another MX5 just for track days.
The idea behind using the MGTF is that it's my favourite price, free, and therefore it wouldn't bother me if I stuffed it into some Armco. I'll have to take off the hood and strip the interior before I do anything as the hood is torn and the interior is green and slimy (do I need a bucket seat or will something from the local scrappy do?). I'll have to renew the brakes as they are seized on and I'd imagine that good brakes are pretty necessary for a track day. The car is a 2003 MGTF with non hydrogas suspension and the 1.8 variable valve engine which had a new uprated head gasket just before it was put off the road so I shouldn't have any worries with that (I'll give the cooling system a good flush through before I run it). Just wondering if there's any thing else I need to do (eg do I need a roll bar? is it OK if I don't have a hood? or if I should be fitting track specific tyres etc?)
The idea behind using the MGTF is that it's my favourite price, free, and therefore it wouldn't bother me if I stuffed it into some Armco. I'll have to take off the hood and strip the interior before I do anything as the hood is torn and the interior is green and slimy (do I need a bucket seat or will something from the local scrappy do?). I'll have to renew the brakes as they are seized on and I'd imagine that good brakes are pretty necessary for a track day. The car is a 2003 MGTF with non hydrogas suspension and the 1.8 variable valve engine which had a new uprated head gasket just before it was put off the road so I shouldn't have any worries with that (I'll give the cooling system a good flush through before I run it). Just wondering if there's any thing else I need to do (eg do I need a roll bar? is it OK if I don't have a hood? or if I should be fitting track specific tyres etc?)
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