For those interested in old cars.

[Jol Wilkinson]

7 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

It annoys me the MGOC don't seem to like the MMM cars , they are just a worthy of the badge as MG1100s and the Zs 

They sell the Chinese cars which are not really sporty at all. My missus has an MG3 which is ok but not that fast.

They like to mention 6R4 but not the rest,.

I've had MGB owners make very disparaging comments about the maestro at shows.

I like most post war MGs my metro is extremely rare being a turbo I went after but failed to get a mk1 turbo at Christmas they are in single figures for  road legal ones 

It has to be mentioned the MGOC is not a club but a business 

As you say, a business (with two shareholders), not  a club in the true sense. Each year I debate the value of subscribing for another twelve the only real benefit being the forum and the technical  archives.

[rocor]

3 hours ago, rocor said:

Does anyone recognise where this photo was taken, because I don't.

I was looking through some photographs that my late father took on a family holiday on the Isle of Wight in 1965, and found this one in the pack.

The Austin Allegro immediately gave the game away that it could not have been taken with the others. 

So I would be interested if anyone could identify the location.

 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking again at the picture, and although I still have no clue about the location, I think that I have identified what is possibly the less obvious vehicle in the picture. Between the Ford mk3 Cortina and what is possibly a Thames 400e mini bus is I think a Goggomobile.

[russ p]

7 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

As you say, a business (with two shareholders), not  a club in the true sense. Each year I debate the value of subscribing for another twelve the only real benefit being the forum and the technical  archives.

 

 

I know what you mean. The technical help can be pretty good. Odd thing about it Roger Parker is a massive MMM fan, I first got to know him nearly thirty years ago as we both fitted 16v engines into maestro EFis

I've not been on the forum , is it mainly Bs and Fs ? I do have an MGf too

[Hampshire Hog]

10 minutes ago, rocor said:

 

 

 

I have been looking again at the picture, and although I still have no clue about the location, I think that I have identified what is possibly the less obvious vehicle in the picture. Between the Ford mk3 Cortina and what is possibly a Thames 400e mini bus is I think a Goggomobile.

Naah, it is either a Riley 1.5 or a Wolseley 1500.(based on the Morry 1000 shell) I suspect the latter coz the Riley was always just that bit jazzier.

 

Best Regards,

 

Kevin

[jwealleans]

Quote

you still got yours?

Of course, although she's looking a bit sad these days.   Mine is a Mk 2 but has that badge.  Mind you I think it must have been built just on the upgrade (August 75) as it has bits of both.

[russ p]

11 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

Of course, although she's looking a bit sad these days.   Mine is a Mk 2 but has that badge.  Mind you I think it must have been built just on the upgrade (August 75) as it has bits of both.

 

I've never seen a Mk2 with that badge to be honest,  it is right on the change.  That badge is very 70s , I didn't like it back in the day but think it looks fantastic nowadays 

[rocor]

20 minutes ago, Hampshire Hog said:

Naah, it is either a Riley 1.5 or a Wolseley 1500.(based on the Morry 1000 shell) I suspect the latter coz the Riley was always just that bit jazzier.

 

Best Regards,

 

Kevin

 

 

The Riley/Wolseley appears to have a smaller glass area in proportion to its bodywork, and also the tips of the rear wings seem to be sharper.

[Enterprisingwestern]

10 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Regrettably, all too common in car clubs over the years.

 

Mike.

 

8 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

 

Presumably the reference was to the Maestro and Montego OC. 

 

That made me wonder why the MG Owners Club doesn't really encompass these two models but does provide support forthe MGF, TF and the Z models as well as continually promoting the Chinese built cars through the website and the monthly "Enjoying MG" magazine.

 

Not specifically aimed the aforementioned club which I have no knowledge of, I'm just going back over the past 30/40 years and looking at the duplication of marque clubs due to internal politics/fall outs, indeed the club I was a member of had a Peoples Front of Judea moment.

 

Mike.

[RJS1977]

4 hours ago, rocor said:

Does anyone recognise where this photo was taken, because I don't.

I was looking through some photographs that my late father took on a family holiday on the Isle of Wight in 1965, and found this one in the pack.

The Austin Allegro immediately gave the game away that it could not have been taken with the others. 

So I would be interested if anyone could identify the location.

 

 

 

Can you make out from the original what the signpost says?

 

[PhilJ W]

8 hours ago, alastairq said:

 

New cars simply cease to function.....and get left at the roadside for days or weeks on end.

And then they get towed away and scrapped, 

2 hours ago, rocor said:

 

 

 

I have been looking again at the picture, and although I still have no clue about the location, I think that I have identified what is possibly the less obvious vehicle in the picture. Between the Ford mk3 Cortina and what is possibly a Thames 400e mini bus is I think a Goggomobile.

 

2 hours ago, Hampshire Hog said:

Naah, it is either a Riley 1.5 or a Wolseley 1500.(based on the Morry 1000 shell) I suspect the latter coz the Riley was always just that bit jazzier.

 

Best Regards,

 

Kevin

Its too big to be either car, compare it to the Mk. III Cortina for size. It could be a series II or III Morris Oxford.

[stewartingram]

Whilst I was away at Donny for the weekend, my daughter was in the local Jack's supermarket at home, & found this Austin in the car park.

 

Stewart

[PhilJ W]

I feared with a Scottish registration it had an 'age related' number plate but SC 4916 must be the original number issued in 1929. Not bad for a 90-year-old.

Edited February 10, 2020 by PhilJ W

[Kingzance]

53 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

Whilst I was away at Donny for the weekend, my daughter was in the local Jack's supermarket at home, & found this Austin in the car park.

 

Stewart

Are those very early BMW orange things fitted on either side of the number plates? 

[Northmoor]

4 hours ago, russ p said:

I've had MGB owners make very disparaging comments about the maestro at shows.

 

Each to their own but I think MGBs are the most boring classic car of all.  I like this quote I once heard:

"What kind of company makes a sports car and then puts a lorry engine in it"?

[RJS1977]

18 minutes ago, Kingzance said:

Are those very early BMW orange things fitted on either side of the number plates? 

 

If they are, presumably they don't work.... ;-)

[royaloak]

4 minutes ago, RJS1977 said:

 

If they are, presumably they don't work.... ;-)

Yawn.

[PatB]

On 08/02/2020 at 07:00, alastairq said:

I'm not sure old school diesels were as ecumenical as modern common rail diesels?

 

I can make a more or less direct comparison between old technology petrol, and the same, but modernised.

I used to have a rear engined Skoda Rapid. It had Skoda's 136 engine, running on a carburetor, and points ignition.

It regularly returned 30 - 33 mpgs. 

I also had a newer Skoda Felicia.  Although fwd, it, too, had the 136 engine. But it had electronic fuel injection, electronic ignition, and an ecu to control things. It regularly returned 50+ mpgs.

Car weights were similar.

The Rapid had the same cylinder head fitted, by me, as the Felicia, to take advantage of the later head improvements. 

 Better fuel consumption mainly down to the finer fuel and ignition control exercised by modern electronics.

 

Just wish I could do the same, cheaply, to my side valve Fords.....

 

Have you looked at Megasuirt? http://megasquirt.info/

[Oldddudders]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Each to their own but I think MGBs are the most boring classic car of all.  I like this quote I once heard:

"What kind of company makes a sports car and then puts a lorry engine in it"?

But better than the MGC! Motor Sport's review was headlined "When is a sportscar not a sportscar? When it's an MGC!" The heavy 3-litre lump apparently sunk the handling without trace. And the good old British sportscar of that era, MG, Sprite, Spitfire, Alpine, did enable people to have fun without too much expense. Mazda's success with the MX5, as a natural successor, was hardly surprising.

 

When we bought our first new car in 1982 (sadly finally delivered on the day of my father's funeral!) it was an MG Metro, in black. Loads of image and quite fun to drive. We joined the MGCC - not MGOC - and were made very welcome. No one sneered, despite the rest of the membership locally having much more interesting vehicles. Whether the same attitude prevails today - if indeed MGCC even exists - I know not. 

[boxbrownie]

12 hours ago, Kingzance said:

Are those very early BMW orange things fitted on either side of the number plates? 

Owner obviously fed up with getting a wet right sleeve 

[alastairq]

11 hours ago, PatB said:

Have you looked at Megasquirt? http://megasquirt.info/

 Yes indeed...the price of which exceeded what I had invested in the whole car.

 

I wasn't looking for an increase in performance....merely observing what I'd found, with like-for-like cars, 10 years apart, and using different fuel & ignition technologies....and how much improvement there was , with exactly the same engine?  I reckon a difference approaching 20 mpgs is significant enough?  {Power was similar, however...what had changed, was how efficiently the engine was fuelled.]

 

As it happened, I had already changed to electronic ignition on the Rapid, plus, a bike carb set-up, using a Bogg Bros manifold to my requirements.....[and Honda Fireblade carbs, for increased torque]...alas both car and modifications have now passed on.  Easier to fit than fuel injection..which required a change of flywheel, starter ring gear, etc etc etc....

There are only so many 'projects' automotively speaking, I can find room for on my plot.

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

But better than the MGC! Motor Sport's review was headlined "When is a sportscar not a sportscar? When it's an MGC!" The heavy 3-litre lump apparently sunk the handling without trace. And the good old British sportscar of that era, MG, Sprite, Spitfire, Alpine, did enable people to have fun without too much expense. Mazda's success with the MX5, as a natural successor, was hardly surprising.

 

 

At least someone had the good sense to shoehorn in the Rover V8 afterwards.

[Jol Wilkinson]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

But better than the MGC! Motor Sport's review was headlined "When is a sportscar not a sportscar? When it's an MGC!" The heavy 3-litre lump apparently sunk the handling without trace. And the good old British sportscar of that era, MG, Sprite, Spitfire, Alpine, did enable people to have fun without too much expense. Mazda's success with the MX5, as a natural successor, was hardly surprising.

 

When we bought our first new car in 1982 (sadly finally delivered on the day of my father's funeral!) it was an MG Metro, in black. Loads of image and quite fun to drive. We joined the MGCC - not MGOC - and were made very welcome. No one sneered, despite the rest of the membership locally having much more interesting vehicles. Whether the same attitude prevails today - if indeed MGCC even exists - I know not. 

The MGC handling issue (chronic understeer) has been resolved by better tyres, changes to the suspension, PAS, etc. They are now much more collectable and apparently very long distance cruisers, especially in GT form.

 

The MGCC is still going strong, but apparently rather more "selective" than of old. However, that seems to affect many "clubs".

[Coppercap]

17 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Its too big to be either car, compare it to the Mk. III Cortina for size. It could be a series II or III Morris Oxford.

Nah, it's deffo a Riley 1.5 or Wolseley 1500. They were quite tall when compared to a Mk.III 'Tina.

[Rugd1022]

Carnaby Street in 1968, taken on different days with a spanking new Mk2 Mini Cooper (the standard silver coloured steel wheels have been painted black though), a Triumph Herald and a Mk2 Jag...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alastairq]

........and I don't see myself in either of them.....photos, that is.