MGB GT
UK–KIWI COLLABORATION
For the next 15 or so years, a varying group of club members assisted the main stayers Dave, Rob, and Mike, turning up at Mike’s house for working bees, mostly on Saturdays. It became an enjoyable social enterprise in which opinions were shared and decisions made in a relaxed and good-humoured way. As is the way of these things, some days saw more time spent solving the world’s problems than the Monoposto’s, and often such progress as was made had to stop for the hot scones served up by Mike’s wife, Heather.
The group affectionately called themselves ‘Madas’, which can be interpreted either as being as ‘mad as [insert favourite analogy here]’ or the ‘Monoposto Automobile Drivers And Supporters’ group. Naturally, a generous portion of the build time was spent discussing and refining the Madas heraldry, which comprises a cartoon hare wearing overalls and clutching a spanner.
To become road legal, the car needed mudguards, lights, and, of course, LVVTA certification. One of the biggest hurdles involved the front suspension. Being a narrow car, it was hard to design the front wishbones to work with a donor car’s steering box in a way that reduced the bump steer to an acceptable level. In the end, VW fan Dave suggested they use the entire front suspension from a VW Beetle. It was a remarkably simple unit and would be quite easy to attach to the front of the car. The VW influence can also be seen in the tail lights.
Certification was an interesting process. The LVVTA had never certified anything like the Monoposto before. The Madas group cannot speak highly enough of the enthusiasm that the LVVTA had for the project, and was profuse in its thanks for the organization’s helpfulness during a long certification process. The LVVTA was apparently as keen as Madas was to get this car on the road.
For every problem that certification found, a solution was not far away. For example, the regulations said the rear-vision mirror had to be mounted in the centre of the car, which is tricky to comply with without a windscreen to mount it on. It would fit on the dashboard, but the addition of a centrally located driver would render the rear view null and void. The problem was overcome thanks to technology not available to the original Ferraris via a reversing camera and a screen mounted in place of the mirror.
Driving the car can be best described as ‘different’. The four-speed gearstick pokes up between your legs. The accelerator and brake are on one side of the transmission tunnel with the clutch being on the other. The fairing does a reasonable job of reducing your involuntary protein intake by buffeting most flies and bees out of the way, but for long, fast trips a flying helmet and goggles are de rigueur.
If you see the Monoposto driving around Wellington, surely the driver deserves at least a thumbs up — for adding to the scenic splendour of our island nation, and for preserving this wonderful expression of individualism and a great example of Kiwi can-do.