Jon has spent years dreaming about taking his MGB to the racetrack. But instead of driving, he was always on the sidelines—camera in hand, capturing others living the dream.
In this season opener of Spanners, we follow Jon as he finally takes the leap. After slowly transforming his street car to be just “10% more racecar,” he discovered Summer Track Days—an affordable, beginner-friendly organization that makes track time accessible to everyone.
This episode is years in the making. It’s about more than just speed—it’s about chasing a long-held dream, one wrench turn at a time.
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
A transcript, summarized by AI and edited by a human staffer, is below.
[Image: YouTube/Michigan Automotive Relic Society]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Transcript:
Intro
Getting out on track always felt pretty unattainable for me. I’ve always been on the sidelines shooting photos, wishing I had already built my car.
Jon’s Garage
I don’t know a ton about shocks. I get the basic idea of how they work. These have ten clicks of adjustment to make them stiffer, and apparently, even on the lowest setting, they’re still stiffer than stock. So, we’ll just make some test runs, click through a few settings, and see what happens—see how uncomfortable we can make this car ride.
This whole idea started around 2016. My friend Mike Pixley and I went to a VSCDA race at South Haven, and I brought my camera. Anything that moved, I liked shooting photos of. My first MG was a 1979 MGB that I built in the back corner of my garage with barely any room to walk around it. I got it running, cleaned it up, and just enjoyed driving it.
I lost that car to a battery fire and had to tear it apart to salvage what I could. I moved on for a couple of years until this car came up. I drove two hours into Indiana to get it and almost left it there—it wasn’t at all how the seller described it. It wasn’t perfect, but it drove just like my first MG, which felt like a sign.
I used to drive around with Mike in his MGA a lot. He invited me to check out vintage car racing, where these cars are fully prepped—no windshields, tall roll bars, full cages. I wouldn’t want to take mine that far, but it was cool to see what they were capable of and to see one being driven hard on track instead of just on the street.
Why MGBs
The nice part about MGs is they’re cheap and easy to work on. I buy them cheap, part them out, and hoard the parts. When something breaks, I probably already have what I need on the shelf. They made so many of them, and they were such a popular sports car that it’s an easy car to keep on the road.
Summer Track Days
Getting an old car on track can be expensive, which makes track driving intimidating. I’ve been preparing for years—bought tires one year, a roll bar the year before, a helmet before that. Slowly, I’ve been piecing together everything I’d need to finally get out there. This was going to be my first season on track no matter what.
Track time itself adds another layer of cost, but I’ll be driving with an organization called Summer Track Days this year. It’s a really budget-friendly way for beginners to get started, which makes it a great first step.
Swapping Suspension and Car Prep
I haven’t driven this car since January, when I took it out of storage in the snow to start working on it. I was hoping my first-ever track day would be at Gingerman in South Haven since I know that track well—it’s familiar and safe. But this time we’re going to Waterford Hills, about two hours east. It’s smaller and more technical, which actually suits this car really well.
Nighttime Shakedown
We move. I didn’t change anything that would make it not move. It’s definitely different. Too dark for a real shakedown tonight—I don’t want to risk hitting a deer—but the car feels good. It’s the same in a straight line, but as soon as you turn the wheel or flick it around, it reacts totally differently. It would probably be great for autocross exactly as it is now.
Driving it tonight was motivating. I know what needs to be improved—mainly alignment. I’ll get the roof back on, change fluids, and do a proper daytime shakedown next.
Day Before Test / Loading
A perfect track day to me would be getting the car back on the trailer at the end of the day, bringing it home in one piece, and actually enjoying it. I honestly don’t even know if I’ll like this yet, but I’m about to find out.
Track Day
I’ve always been curious how my car would do in an actual tech line, since I built it slowly over time without much instruction. Showing up to Waterford Hills for the first time, unloading the car, and heading to tech was when the stress really hit.
Surprisingly, it passed. All the fluids stayed in it, no leaks. Getting through tech was a huge relief.
Tech Inspection / Drivers Meeting
Everything turned out better than expected, which made all the late nights worth it. The organizers walked me through the process—flags, rules, and safety. They offered instructors if I wanted someone in the car or to ride along with others. I figured I’d start with the parade lap and decide from there.
First Track Day
I feel like a long time ago, this car would’ve been dragged off to the scrapyard. I always said I wanted to make it “10% more race car,” and I’ve just been slowly making that happen.
The car surprised me. It had more brakes and more power than I expected. I hit a few braking zones just right, carried good speed out, and everything worked better than I imagined.
Autocross gives you some sense of cornering, but this is totally different. Warm tires, good grip—it’s great. I’m happy with how the suspension feels. There’s always room to improve, but for now, it’s solid. A little more power in the corners would be nice—maybe twin SUs would help with that.
Each session got better. The first one was intimidating—funny at first, then nerve-wracking—but eventually, I found a rhythm. I went from feeling like a hazard to actually hanging with the group. It took a lot of work to get here, but it was worth it. Cool group, great day.
Long Time Coming
This has been a long time coming. I’ve been watching vintage racing and track events for nearly nine years, and to finally be out there myself—it’s a good feeling.
Outro
[Music]
