V8 Column for June 2006
published in Safety Fast!, the award winning monthly magazine of the MG Car Club


Oxford Blue 0760, a popular colour for enthusiasts seeking an RV8. (Photo: Rodney Rawlings)

DEMAND FOR V8s STRONG IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2006
Enthusiasts seeking an RV8, MGBGTV8 or a V8 Conversion are finding the adverts on the V8 Website a useful place to search as the range on offer provides quite a choice. Many V8s have been offered for sale this year, including Rodney Rawlings' low mileage RV8 in Oxford Blue, Ken Lacy's beautiful low mileage MGBGTV8 (Damask 0978) and a mean V8 Roadster 4.6 conversion (Vermillion Red 4352) from Trevor Greening. Sales from the website can be rapid as Jeff Dixon (Le Mans Green 0255) found in April when his RV8 sold within three weeks to an enthusiast who first saw the car on the website.

REDUCING THE HEAT FROM DOWNUNDER
John Hornabrook in Queensland Australia has sent in an idea for insulating the floor of a V8 from heat generated by the exhaust system below. John says "today I heard what may be the most efficient way to insulate the floor of an RV8 or MGBGTV8 - or any MG with hot pipes beneath the floor. The job is done with many layers of aluminium foil. First of all remove the carpets, then scrunch the foil into a loose mass and then straighten it out again, flat, but not smooth. A good many layers of this will provide a thin mass of air cells in a reflective medium of a honeycomb texture. This medium traps the air as does the hair or fur on an animal to insulate itself. The carpet is replaced over this foil matrix and the job really works". John adds that the modification has been made on an MGC suffering from the usual hot exhaust in our climate and now the car's floor is cool but the bolts holding down the seats are still hot. John knows a thing or two about heat living in Queensland! (RV8NOTE248)

V8 MARQUEE AT SILVERSTONE 2006
The International MG Meeting at Silverstone over the long weekend of Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June will have the usual warm welcome at the V8 Marquee alongside the dedicated car parking area for V8 enthusiasts. On Saturday the V8 Marquee is open all day and there is a full programme of track events, and one of the largest gatherings of MG traders' stalls with spares and books. In the early evening there will be a V8 BBQ for V8 enthusiasts and their friends run by Clive Wheatley - contact Al Barnett at alfi.barnett@btinternet.com or on 01306 875786 to book your supper. The V8 Annual General Meeting is at 12.30pm at the V8 Marquee at Silverstone on Sunday 25th June.