Well, am just home after a trip to Nottingham (price of rail ticket made me choke) to inspect and, all okay, buy a private sale chrome bumper, 1976 MGB GT V8, for my cousin in Australia, elbow out the window all the way up the A1 evidence I managed to beat the bad weather following.
It has been years since I owned and drove an MGB. The long journey rekindled fond memories of familiar great British automotive engineering skills: that distinctive MG interior's musty smell, ill-fitting carpets, no boot liner, marshmallow seats, the shaky rear view mirror, the immobile side mirrors, the squeaky rear hatch hinge, the ugly front seat belt retainers fixed to the rear that lie loose an catch in the door, window winders, the scattered instruments barely legible, pre-war knobs mixed with Seventies switches, the dependably clunky overdrive switch which almost makes the car jolt as it alters revs, the useless headlights, the retractable radio aerial that doesn't retract, and the lightly padded dash edge as a gesture towards crash protection.
But ...
What a roar from that V8, a ton of torque in any gear, small, compact dimensions, characterful cabin, the occasional smile from drivers and pedestrians I am driving a "good 'un," a classic, adding to aesthetic satisfaction it is clothed in Rosso Red, a pleasant hue, not an MG-hideous colour of which there were many such as apple green or blech brown.
It took a private engineer to show MG the way when Costello inserted a V8 under the bonnet to prove he could, and by waiting too long, they brought their version out same year as the first major oil crisis and sold a mere 2,500, or thereabouts of roadster and coupe.
The model was deleted, and, bumped by internal politics from Triumph, the "Morris Garage" company closed down, half a million MGs sold worldwide junked to save a company that had sold a mere 37,000 sports cars, and was due to produce the .... Triumph TR7.
I raise my glass to British automotive engineering ... now owned by ... you know the rest.
The MGB GT is in my garage until the trailer arrives to take it to the docks and a happier land.
19 December 2008
Like many of the BL era cars it sounds as if your MGBV8 is greater than the sum of its parts. Will you drive it before it disapears to the land of rust free cars for a happy retirement?
In terms of affordable cars i suspect the cars made today will leave far fewer desireable old cars in 20 or 30 years time. MX5 and Toyota GT86 aside what else available today for less than £25K is likely to be desireable in the long term?
14 February 2009
When I see an MGB these days I am always shocked at how small they are.
17 July 2009
Will you drive it before it disapears to the land of rust free cars for a happy retirement?
Very tempted, but trust and loyalty prevent ... and he might read this thread...
17 July 2009
When I see an MGB these days I am always shocked at how small they are.
First thing I remarked upon, Mellow, seeing it next to a BMW Mini it's diminutive, and yet it holds a ton more luggage. Think I got 28 mpg out of the V8 on the way home averaging 60 mph ... not bad, all things considered.
15 June 2012
Bloody awful cars with pisspoor build quality. Overloved for what they are and normally riven with rust. The home of the flat cap and beige slacks - an old MG. Hope your mate has a pipe.
17 July 2009
Only thirty minutes from me LA...you should have called ahead and I'd have sent Jeeves round with a car to pick you up for afternoon tea.
17 July 2009
Only thirty minutes from me LA...you should have called ahead
Damn, I knew that and could have. The warning of gales and heavy rain had me to a quick turnaround but would have preferred to linger longer. Thanks, Evo. Amazing how a thirtysix year-old car has lasted so long and now looks better than when it left the factory.
8 January 2008
Amazing how a thirtysix year-old car has lasted so long and now looks better than when it left the factory.
I presume that is because every panel is new and it has had a respray?
A neighbour had an MGB when I was a kid, in orange, and it was riddled with rust. A car which couldn't have been more than a few years old at the time.
That car has put me off MGBs ever since.
17 July 2009
I presume that is because every panel is new and it has had a respray?
No new panels but two resprays, one close to its maiden voyage, the other in '98. The sills were the problem, no escape holes for moisture, and rarely wax oiled. Look after them and they last; amazing after-market industry in spares and upgrades. (Early 91-95 MX5s can now be found with rust around rear wheel arches and beyond!)