Any love for MG's?

Joe. I am old enough to remember selling MGA's and 'B's new for the British Motor Corp (BMC) I would say that the whole engine range was developed after the combined group was formed.So,the Aseries 848-1275 cc, The Bseries 1489-1800cc,and the Cseries 2600-2995cc. I believe the tractor to which you refer was the Furguson ,and their engine was used extensively by our rivals,Standard-Triumph.The MGB remains ,in my opinion the best classic,,cheap,fun,easy to fix,and still looks good. It will also keep up with traffic in the modern way.

 

What a fantastic thread. Love this photo, it's almost British looking (if you ignore the weather ).
I never owned an MG of any sort. A couple of friends (through work) had an MGB GT and MGB soft top. They looked great but did break down a bit.

I had my 'British' Ford's and loved them. Later on through work I had several brand new Rovers from the 90's and basically the cars that Rover made until their demise in 2005.

I think MG's are how British cars got themselves an unreliable reputation I'm sure . There were others but I'm afraid MG's were renowned for it even here.
The most reliable car I have owned (excluding my 360, famous last words) has been a 2003 Rover 25.

My late father had three Minis. Two at one time. This the last one he had up until he died. First is one in his garage and it was about a year after he died and had been left there collecting dust. The second photo after I sold it to a retired British soldier. A show he went to.
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I have owned my 1949 MGTC for 36 years and it goes everywhere. I even had it shipped to England with our car club the TCMG and drove it through England for a month. Love the car and it even gets through the 1/4 mile going down hill and with a stiff wind behind it. it does have a mind of its own though and the car has senior citizens privileges in our house.

 

The red one (68) I have had "forever". The silver one (69) nearly as long. Great smiles per dollar ratios. Also fun to work on. Have restored each one multiple times and still they are worth less than what an major service (with extras) once cost for my F355.
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My first car was an MGB GT in BRG. Had it 6 weeks, and I was out of the country for three of them. Drove down to meet a buddy and his GF in Bristol, southwest of England. Steering tie rod broke at about 60 mph. Could dial the steering wheel like a rotary phone. Had no impact on direction. Ended up in the breeding grounds of Bristol zoo. Totaled.

Not learning perhaps, i bought a B roadster as my next car. Orange -red colour, fabulous. I was 22 and felt like a man about town. Seized the engine one day. Broke it free in the bores. Valve through piston. It would canter along well enough to get me home Replaced the motor with a junk yard unit. Body fell apart with rust.

Slow. Leaked water into the cockpit. But, I loved it. Great memories, mostly!

Philip

 

LOL. Now that's a true record! It's the hallmark quirk of British cars. Always something breaking! You will never meet an experienced British car driver that doesn't have a comprehensive toolkit tucked in the boot.
I'm not ashamed to say I've been a recipient of the rubber chicken, my local British club's trophy for a public breakdown. Good news is that it only took an hour longer into our club drive that day before someone else won the trophy privilege. The "winner" has to sign the chicken upon receipt of the trophy. Might have gone through less chickens if we awarded it to cars that remained running.

 

Had my 63 midget for a few years now and love it. I'm a bit tall for it so it looks like a pedal car on me and it will never be "original" but the soul is there I like to think.

Cheers
Mark
Taiwan/UK
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what a neat little thread...who woulda think?

my first car was a 74 mgb. It was nearly perfect. I adored it...polished it daily. great memories!!

 

My Mom drove a black over red MGA in the late 50's and her students thought she was the coolest teacher around with that car!

 

I picked up this little jewel a couple years ago when I was looking for something to wrench on (cheaply). Came with a big box of new parts that the previous owner bought and never did anything with. A 51k mile, rust-free West coast car with the rattiest interior you've ever seen. I replaced the interior, starting with the carpet set that came with it, and a lot of exterior trim. Unbelievable how readily available and cheap the parts are.

I've never had any particular interest in MG's but always thought the GT's were cute. You wouldn't believe what I paid for this thing, and it draws as much attention as our Ferrari...
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They are cute arn't they...? I went to school under a mile from the factory so we used to see them every day out on their pre-delivery test drives around the area. The GT is good looking I think and as you say parts must be the cheapest and most available for any classic around.

Cheers
Mark

 

A friend had a convertible and another the MGB with the 1800cc engine when I was in college. Was not a fan as such when I was younger but very much admire them today.

 

Thank you all for your posts. I have really enjoyed reading them all.

Ron

 

And one more ! Bought this 79 with the intent to flip it. Then got a taste of the MG experience and is now a permanent member of the family Believe it or not...6,000 miles on the clock, 2,000 of which I drove. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

6000 miles! Amazing.

 

Adding recent pics of my '35 MG race special (full pic posted earlier). Picked up some car scales a few weeks ago, so during a move of the MG "shell" I decided to weigh it. 815 pounds! It'll be interesting to get the weight once it's all back together in a few months. Finishing the engine rebuild, installing new brake cables(no hydraulics - all steel from pedal to wheel!), tighten up every nut and bolt, and I'll probably build a new wiring harness.

 

Pics of the '35 MG:

 

Very nice!

 

Motor Sport journalist Dickie Meaden driving an MGB on track. I have never seen an MG driven so hard...

 

That 35 is awesome !
And the race B in the video is nuts, wonder if its the same base engine to start with as our stock units.

 

Here's a few more MG videos.
From one of the times I autocrossed the '35 MG:
Firewall view of a run at Thompson:
The top view of that run: