It's a battle against course and clock, sometimes called autocross, it all comes to down to driving ability. Are you as fast as your car looks? Autocross places a premium on precise driving skills and a singular goal – finish the course faster than your rivals.

I took the MG out this past weekend for the first time to participate in the North Carolina Autocross Championships. I had been anticipating this event for more than a month and had been planning for it longer than that.

However, I made a key error in my planning. I was consulting the wrong Web site for information and showed up late. I registered and passed tech, but did not get a chance to walk the course, but one time and that was quickly because the driver’s meeting was about to start. Combined with the fact that I was in the first group out, I was helplessly lost on course.

I accomplished one key objective. I took the MG out and for the first time was able to open it up. I was pleasantly surprised with both the cars handling and the power available in first and second gear.

The end goal for me is road racing in any form – specifically vintage racing. Autocross is a cheap and fun way to enjoy the car, as well as a chance to refine key driving techniques.

I will continue to compete with the Triad Sports Car Club (http://www.auto-x.com/) and look for other opportunities within SCCA’s Performance Driving Experience, time trials and hill climbs.

As I continue to refine and build the car, ultimately I will make it to full time road racing.

Welcome enthusiasts!!

For several weeks now, my friends at Third Wave Digital (www.thirdwavedigital.com/) have been helping me pull together the beautiful site you just visited. They are great business partners and if you have a business and are looking at upgrading your Web site, contact them. They are a highly professional shop and though this site looks high speed, their rates are the best in the business and have made a living working with small businesses. Tell them Fred sent you and they will take good care of you. Their experience in motor sports is not limited to me. For years they worked with Team Kool Green back in the days when Barry Green was fielding two cars in the Champ car series.

As you have already read, I wanted to develop a site that paid tribute to my parents, the founders of the original Think Racing team. I also hoped to document the revival of that team as I make my own venture into vintage racing.

The Think Racing Too blog will do just that. Why Think Racing Too? It is a play on words – My racing team name is Think Racing too (also), but also in that I am the second generation of Think Racing. Work with me.

I want to keep the postings short to avoid reader fatigue. Thanks for visiting. Please come back, as I will be updating the graphics gallery on http://www.thinkracing.net/, as well as the Think Racing Too Blog. Next postings will be more about me and the Think Racing history as well as how I came about the MG bug, including postings on the progress we are making toward full blown competition.

Safety Fast.

How many little British cars can you get into one side of the garage. Unlike a tootsie roll pop, this one is measurable. I think I have maxed out at three. In fact, in combination with tools and spare parts, there is not any room to walk around. Time to start liquidating. Look for an MG related ebay store opening up at a computer near you.

Picked up the green car (no name yet) and it is a dream. Drove it 170 miles home from its former residence in Darlington, S.C. with no top under clear skies. Fast, smooth and tight. Brand new front to back and the undercarriage looks as if it just rolled off the show room.
So many quality spare parts that I am not sure where to begin. Can't wait to take my wife out for coffee and a nice country drive.

Dreams can be realized

Forget what mom said about just plugging along.

I have been daydreaming, planning and plugging along with the hopes and wishes of building the next great vintage race car. I want to compete - at first in SCCA's Solo competion ( http://www.scca.org/Solo ) and then eventually in vintage sportscar racing ( www.svra.com ).

It was going to be hard to swallow, but I had accepted that it would take a few years to build that car. Then a turn of events changed that plan for the better. As follow up to the last post, I did take the car to the welder and he did a great job. That car is in fantastic shape and will make a great project car, but for someone else:)

I logged in this morning at work and went through the daily routine of checking e-mails, planning the work day and reading the latest headlines. I also logged into my personal e-mail account, because I had not taken the time to do so last night. There was a message from a guy I was familar with through the MG experience forum. He was selling his pristine 1967 MG race car and was giving me the first right of refusal.

Called the wife, mentioned it in passing - surely she would not bite - she said get it. I did not hang up on her, but I came close as I had to hurry up and let the guy know in my pure excitement.

The big get is that this car is everything that I was planning to build and more. It will immediately put me on the autocross circuit and require very little to get me on the race track. And for a lot less money, time and sweat.

Dreams are realized. Now, how do I get that thing to North Carolina from South Carolina?

Little by Little

Mom was telling me on the phone how much she appreciated my dad, because through the years no matter how big the project, or how long it would take, he would tackle it little by little and in the end always finished it.

That was a good story to help put things into perspective for me Little by little, I am making progress, but have a long way to go. Took her to the welder this morning. Needed to fabricate a piece of the left rear panel above the tire, as well as to weld down the floorboards, grind down some other welds from its restoration, remove the motor mounts and a couple of other odds and ends. I figured why he has it, why not knock out what can be done right now.

I look forward to getting the car back, so I can continue finishing the body work.

The project moves steadily. I have done a significant amount of parts and rust removal, as well as some initial painting of the interior of the tub. Ebay has allowed me with some help from the office 'for sale bulletin board' to fund the project without any impact to our monthly family budget. At this point, it is slow moving. With time spent between family, life, house chores and yard work, it will be a miracle when things do finally come together.

I have during the last week been able to spend a good deal of time on the car, but it will be some time before it actually looks like anything is being accomplished. I have it scheduled to go to the welder soon for some fabrication work and when completed will have the interior of the tub cleaned and painted.

I have had a lot of fun working on this - so much in fact that it has been hard focusing on just one element. For some reason I can attach photos, so here is one of dad back in the 80s rounding the carousel at Summit Point raceway.

I have to be careful or I will over plan a project and fall short in executing it – kind of like working for the government or a large company. Plan, plan and plan some more, but never actually do anything.

I have been carrying around a white binder that has numerous dividers. SVRA specs, so I build according to SVRA’s rules. I have created a build schedule, so I make sure that I do everything in the appropriate order, especially when it comes time to start removing parts from one car and placing them in the second. I have a tab that is keeping track of necessary parts and tools that I don't have, and I have a tab that is keeping the current copy and design ideas for http://www.thinkracing.net/ – a site designed to pay tribute to the Think Racing Team.

Of most importance prior to major build work has been the preparation of the work space. My garage is a dream. There are only two bays, but the space is large. Despite its size, it was not organized in a way that was conducive to a major build like what I am attempting to do.

I needed a larger work bench area, more shelf space for spare parts, plenty of room for sandblasting, places to put wheels, fenders, doors, etc. as well as keep two MGs leaving enough room to actually work, weld and paint.

I think I have accomplished that goal to the best that can be done. I have taken pictures but have not had any success uploading them. I built a new work bench complete with peg board and space to store the motor, transmission and air compressor. I have a permanent spot for my vise and drill press, as well as plenty of storage for nuts and bolts, spare/leftover part and other garage memorabilia that needed a home. The shelf units have been moved and the cars are sat horizontally in the garage bay.

I bought two wheel dolly sets from harbor freight (check out http://www.harborfreight.com/), my new tool mecca, so I could store my cars in the garage horizontally vs. vertically. They are great. However you need to move your cars around, stick them on the dollies and in direction desired. The benefit to me is that it gives me plenty of space between cars to do what will need to be done throughout the build.

I would include pictures, but currently they are not uploading.

So the work space is done. The car has been emptied of its parts boxes and awaits the next step. Guess I better go consult the build schedule. I have a feeling I am about to do some actual work on the car.

So for years I have debated - What car would I run? Should I stick with the MGBGT, or run a MGB. Which series, SCCA or SVRA? Should I build a street legal, autocross/vintage race car? What color scheme? Colors are fairly insignificant, however I have made some decisions and things are starting to fall into place.

I am going to run the MGB as an SVRA spec vintage race car. The vehicle will not be street legal, but I will, as I continue to build and prepare it, compete in SCCA Solo II competition.

For the last several weeks, I have been studying the SVRA competition regulations, as well as creating a build sheet – what to do and when, budget development and a compilation of the necessary parts and needed tools list. In between all of that, I was also searching the southeast for a good MGB body that would serve as the donor recipient of my red 1971 MGB GT.

After countless inquiries and searches, during my lunch break, I typed MGB parts car into http://www.google.com/ and fate took over. With 37 minutes left, an ebay auction was about to close on a 1975 MGB.

I quickly shot the link to my dad and together over the phone we studied the pictures. I was not looking for a car that required a lot of additional body work and panel replacement. It was important that whatever car I moved on, it had to be in great shape.

It looked like this vehicle was the one. The kicker, I won the auction and purchased the entire car for a whopping $76.

I called my wife and told her, I bought the MGB. The only caveat - The gentleman that I purchased it from was moving from Maryland, where the car was located, to New Hampshire, so we had to get it that weekend.

Luckily, mom and dad were on the way, so we packed up the kids and made the trip to Northern Virginia. Dad and I were up that Saturday and off to claim this prize. We had no real idea what to expect. It took us the whole morning and afternoon – the most difficult part being a frozen rear wheel on the passenger side - to get the car in position to be flat towed home.

I flat towed the car – having named it Grace – back to our home in Winston-Salem, NC.

It now resides in my garage awaiting the first steps in its transformation. MGs are great, especially when you can fit two of them on one side of the garage.

The Second Generation

Dad has always said that it was his fault. That his involvement in racing and British sports cars was what caused me in turn to want to follow in the same footsteps. He is right, but I don’t blame him.

My first race was in the fall of 1974, the last race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), prior to its reopening in 2000. I was less than a year old. The years following were jammed pack with British car shows, bike shows, SCCA regional and national races, as well as a host of SVRA, HSR and IMSA racing.

Dad raced his Sprite back in the 70s and 80s and throughout the 90s we participated as volunteers. I have always been an enthusiast and had the desire to compete myself one day, but I have never taken the opportunity for some reason. Arguably, now is not the time to start given the fact that I have two small children at home and a stay at home wife. But, the iron is hot and I am ready to strike.

I hope to capture the moments from now until the day my MGB sets tires on the race track – no matter how many years it takes.

Follow the story, offer me any help and insight you might have and cheer me on.