"505 - morphine not found" (morphine500)
10/21/2013 at 16:55 • Filed to: MGB
5
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"505 - morphine not found" (morphine500)
10/21/2013 at 16:55 • Filed to: MGB | 5
| 20 |
Guys... guys! I drove a freaking MGB GT today. I'm still at attention ....
It wasn't really on my bucket list, but now, after the deed, i realize it should have been. I know the MGB is a legend, and that it kept selling in the US even with 68hp, so it must have been good, but to be honest, i wasn't prepared.
Pictured is the MGB GT in question. British model from 1973. Yes, that means RHD. I read the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! double-header on the type, and according to that, this seems correct for the year - the dashboard, the wheels and the grille all fit 1973. It had a heater (didn't work), and an overdrive (worked like a champ), i'm not sure if any of those were optional, and it also had an electric fan fitted to the front of the radiator, switchable from the cockpit, just in case. Other than that fan, it seemed stock, though according to the owner, she liked 100 octane gas much better than 95 - maybe some tricks in the ignition after all?
I read that while handling well, the MGB wasn't riding all that specially - a feature of the live axle on leaf springs rear suspension setup of course. However, i was disappointed here, because this GT rode much better than i expected - and this on a rutted, undulating road too. It's not a supple sedan or grand tourer of course, but it's much better, than i was lead to believe. Now, 40 year old cars of other people are not the type you wring out every last horsepower of, and broadside in every corner, so i didn't get to know the limits of her handling, but the steering is excellent: heavy, but very precise and direct, and the car goes right where i point it to, without any sign of ill behavior. Just as expected then. The gearbox... i bet if it broke a seal it would leak Unicorn blood. The lever hitches directly onto the box itself, and the action is magical, unlike anything else i've driven. Even with short gear linkage you just cannot get the same precision and positive action like this. I'm not that well versed in RHD driving, in fact this was the most i spent shifting with my left hand in, like, ever , but because the shifter's so good, no problems arose. Also, there was a dead pedal for my left foot, which i loved for being there, and made the driving position good.
I don't want to write a review here, but let me just say this: the MGB is much-much better, than i thought it would be. Of course it's a legend, but it's a legend born 50 years ago, so i thought it must have been good compared to what was on offer elsewhere back then. No. It's just good, period.
I got to have one some time. And i prefer a GT, thank you.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 17:05 |
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I bloody knew it.
There's a reason they sold so many of these, and it can't be just because they looked pretty.
Not keeping up development, and not replacing this with a worthy successor are the missed opportunities of all missed opportunities for British Leyland.
Not helping my want for an MGB GT V8 though...
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505 - morphine not found
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 17:11 |
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If auwm is to be believed, the V8 should be a hoot to drive, as the B-Series 1.8 and the Rover V8 weight almost the same. Sadly, also per auwm , it was only sold in GB as an RHD model, and for only a couple of years, because sales never took off. Get one if you can, and tell me about it :-)
... and then maybe turn it into a rally racer? I seem to recall the 2005 edition of Colin McRae Rally had one of those...... a cage, a fire extinguisher, and of course a higher state of tune for the V8, because it was used in Range Rover trim, meaning low compression and only 137 ponies. But that was still in a car weighing less,than 1100 kg.
#tease
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 17:34 |
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Yeah, genuine V8s go for a decent amount over here. Around £10k I think, which is still pretty good value considering.
What I'd do is restore and convert a ratty late series MGB. One of the ugly rubber bumper models. Substitute them for the 1974 style fronts (my favourite) and insert a tuned 3.5 or 3.9l EFi V8 (good for 220-240bhp). Maybe even a modified Jaguar IRS at the back.
All of those are common modifications over here (albeit with the early '60s fronts ends).
feather-throttle-not-hair
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 17:38 |
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I think i speak for most of us when i say "THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED TO HEAR"
God, i do not need to need a relatively obscure british sports car from fifty years ago. I already really liked the way they look. Can't we just leave it at that?
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505 - morphine not found
> feather-throttle-not-hair
10/21/2013 at 17:44 |
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Don't worry about wanting it too much, it is a 50 year old design, with tricky SU carbs and a lazy OHV 1.8, which will give you, in European trim that is, 98 hp on a good day. And smug interior, and switchgear scattered all over the place. However, you also shouldn't think about it as another failed British Leyland project, because it isn't that - to me it seemed much better made than the 1992 Range Rover i drove the other day.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> feather-throttle-not-hair
10/21/2013 at 17:55 |
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If you are going to get a British sports car, this is probably one of the ones to go for.
They're not that obscure. They made around 500,000 of the things. Parts availability up the wazoo as well.
They're the British equivalent of the Ford Mustang.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 17:57 |
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Are SU carbs tricky? I've only mucked about with the HS4s on my little Spitfire, but they seem bog simple compared to the arcane Webber device atop my Fiat's engine.
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505 - morphine not found
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 18:09 |
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I have to say, i don't really know, because i'm no expert, but my impression based on what i read is that while an SU is much more simple in itself, if there is a problem in the setup, it is maybe harder to solve. You surely know more about this than i do, so you might be right, and tricky might not be the best word to use here.
With all this said, i love the basic principle behind Skinners finest. I always thought them superior to the overcomplicated stuff that goes on in Webers and Solexes and such, but i also read, that they are probably less sporting in exchange. This was most likely the first time i drove something with an SU, and it didn't really feel all that different, why would it? The things i felt from the engine, i think were much more due to ignition, than to carburation, and anyhow were just small irregularities, that you notice but are perfectly ok with.
But enough about this. I thought you already drove an MGB before, given how much you like it, so now it's time for you to find someone with a working example and get a drive. In the meantime i still remain jealous about the XJ and the Spitfire....
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feather-throttle-not-hair
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 18:38 |
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Yeah, after I wrote that, i realized they really weren't that obscure. But they are relatively rare now if for no other reason than because they're old. I did NOT realize that parts are still easy to get a hold of though. That's cool.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> feather-throttle-not-hair
10/21/2013 at 19:01 |
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True, and they are more obscure in the States than over here.
They're one of those cars, along with Spitfires and classic Minis, that you can buy pretty much a whole 'nother car from parts companies here in the UK. Not sure what they're like over in the States, but considering their popularity back in the day I reckon they'd be well catered for.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 19:03 |
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My experience is limited too actually. Mainly to pulling the two apart and thinking 'oh jesus what do all these little gubbins' and widgets do'. There seemed to be fewer gubbins' and widgets inside an SU, and I managed to wrap my head around how they work a bit quicker.
I do get the impression that if you want power, Webers really are the way to go. They quite often match fuel injection for output, if not economy. Easier to modify fuelling as well. You just unscrew the old jet and screw a bigger one in.
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feather-throttle-not-hair
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 19:10 |
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Yeah, up here in Seattle, I reckon i see about 3 or 4 spitfires a year and probably 2 to 3 times that many MGB's in various forms.
About a third of the MG/Triumphs I see are in nice condition while the other 2/3 are falling apart. Weirdly, every time i see an austin-healey its in really good shape.
We don't salt our roads here.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> feather-throttle-not-hair
10/21/2013 at 19:14 |
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Yeah, the Big Healeys were a step above your MGAs and TR2s/TR3s. Plus, they already had a cult following by the time the B, Midget and Spitfire came out. I reckon most of the ratty ones are either restored or rotted completely.
71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors
> 505 - morphine not found
10/21/2013 at 20:56 |
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Long live the MGB-GT.
I know the pictures don't really add to the discussion, but I love the MGB-GT, and I love showing off pictures of my first car. You can guess the year from the licence plate...and my username
Slave2anMG
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 21:36 |
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SUs are stupid simple. STUPID simple. If the throttle shafts (throttle butterflies pivot on them) are tight (they wear and leak air) there's very little else to deal with. Fuel floats last years; if you run without a fuel filter you can get crud in the needle valves (easy to clean out). You might have to richen the mixture a touch in the winter and back it off in the spring but once you get the carbs set up and balanced they don't need a lot of attention. They're strange as hell to Americans used to Quadrajets or Holleys but SUs are much much simpler. And waaay simpler than a Weber.
Bad72AMX
> 505 - morphine not found
10/22/2013 at 00:39 |
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I've driven both a rough but mechanically decent GT and an all original low mile convertible, both of the rubber nose variety. They are fantastically fun little cars. I've also driven a TR6 that was pretty up top but rough underneath. The added little bit of power and wheelbase made it the more driveable, but it felt longer, softer, and less precise. Leyland seems to have had a car for everyone.
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505 - morphine not found
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/22/2013 at 07:00 |
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Jag IRS.... 220hp V8, without destroying the balance of the car....
droolworthy. I would love to drive one like that, though i would add, that you also have top change the gearbox for this to work, and then you don't really have anything left from the original MGB, other than the pretty lines.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/22/2013 at 07:36 |
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True, it'll be much modified.
You'll still have the bodyshell (which is really rather strong), and the front suspension, and the perfect interior (not too spartan, not too laden with leather).
I reckon the LT77 5sp from an SD1 would do nicely gearbox-wise. It's supposed to be a good one.
Plus, it'll be all British (and all from the same auto-group), which counts for something when you're modifying classic cars. You could even ditch the Jag IRS and have it all MG :)
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505 - morphine not found
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/22/2013 at 07:40 |
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While we are discussing this, a serious question: can you tell me if there is anything special about Salisbury axles? I'm asking, because that history piece made a point about mentioning that some time around the introduction of the GT they changed the live axle from a "banjo" (what's that?) to a Salisbury unit, and i wonder why is that so important?
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> 505 - morphine not found
10/22/2013 at 10:55 |
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I don't know that much about them, but I've heard that the Salisbury diffs are much stronger.
From googling, it seems that the earlier car's 'BMC banjo' type diffs were developed for something that only had around 46bhp. Salisbury type diffs were used in commercial vans and series Landys, so they're much more rugged.