I just made the classic British mistake.

You’re the passenger and tried to get on the driver side? But you’re a US flatlander. So I’ll go with buying a little red convertible Brit car?
 
Decided you needed something for Christmas and decided you wanted a full set of Whitworth Spanners and then decided you needed something to use them on? :D
 
David Megginson said:
*Czechoslovakia (sorry, I had no choice; my history grad student daughter wouldn't forgive me if I didn't correct that; still a good joke, though :) ).
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"What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
--John Blutarski (John Belushi)
 
Oh My. Be still, my beating heart.

I grew up in the UK. When I was 18 my Grandmother bought me and my twin brother a little yellow MG Midget. Unfortunately, neither of us had a driving license, any money, or anywhere to store the thing. Under considerable pressure from my Mother who was horrified that her Mum had bought her teenage sons a 'sports' car to kill themselves in, we relented and let my Gran sell it and give us something else for our 18th instead.

My Gran bought me a banjo.

I've always regretted that decision, and I decided that if I was to have a mid-life crisis, I'd buy an MG Midget.

As it turns out I appear to be spending my mid-life crisis on very slowly learning to fly, so I guess I need to reserve the MG for crisis part II.
 
CaptainXap said:
My Gran bought me a banjo.

I've always regretted that decision, and I decided that if I was to have a mid-life crisis, I'd buy an MG Midget.

As it turns out I appear to be spending my mid-life crisis on very slowly learning to fly, so I guess I need to reserve the MG for crisis part II.
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But did you learn to play the banjo ... ? o_O
 
CaptainXap said:
Oh My. Be still, my beating heart.

I grew up in the UK. When I was 18 my Grandmother bought me and my twin brother a little yellow MG Midget. Unfortunately, neither of us had a driving license, any money, or anywhere to store the thing. Under considerable pressure from my Mother who was horrified that her Mum had bought her teenage sons a 'sports' car to kill themselves in, we relented and let my Gran sell it and give us something else for our 18th instead.

My Gran bought me a banjo.

I've always regretted that decision, and I decided that if I was to have a mid-life crisis, I'd buy an MG Midget.

As it turns out I appear to be spending my mid-life crisis on very slowly learning to fly, so I guess I need to reserve the MG for crisis part II.
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Fly. You will quickly forget the MG. I did, I quickly forgot the TR8 I almost bought. I'm glad I flew, but that TR8? Damn.
 
Pilawt said:
But did you learn to play the banjo ... ? o_O
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I little bit, but it's not like I knew any Bluegrass songs, and the banjo book I had didn't include anything by Duran Duran.
 
cowman said:
Yup, probably too obvious for car guys
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Recommended restoration plan:

1. Remove cigarette lighter.
2. Replace rest of vehicle with Miata.
3. Insert cigarette lighter into Miata.

Assuming Lucas made the cigarette lighter, this method will give you a good sports car AND help you quit smoking.
 
What's WRONG with you people?!! Can ANYONE not see the OBVIOUS?!

That POS seller didn't even BOTHER to wash the thing prior to sell!:(:mad:
 
Well, ariplanes are holes in the air you throw money at, and boats are holes in the water you throw money at. All are fun. The only things that could be worse are German cars, but at least they usually run. However, that will be loads of fun.
 
I was going to guess "giving jet engine plans to Stalin".
 
Is there really air in the tires or is it on blocks to make look like it?

Cheers Pip Pip and all that rot.
 
No, no…..putting an MG on a trailer is the only proper way to get it to move. Brilliant.

….see by the winch that she couldn’t mount the trailer unassisted.

…..and under the cover of darkness.
 
Half Fast said:
Recommended restoration plan:

1. Remove cigarette lighter.
2. Replace rest of vehicle with Miata.
3. Insert cigarette lighter into Miata.

Assuming Lucas made the cigarette lighter, this method will give you a good sports car AND help you quit smoking.
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I have both the TD2 and the Miata MX5 , No hope for me. No lighter in either.
 
Had some time with it in the shop this evening. Surprisingly, almost none of the electrical stuff works. You'd think given the British reputation for excellence that this wouldn't be the case but I suppose it is an older car after all.

When I went to look at it, it was running way too rich and wouldn't stay running. I was digging around online for a guide to adjust this carb when I noted a hose coming off it that was labeled "fuel bowl vent tube" was plugged(looks like it originally went to a charcoal canister). I unplugged it and the car idles fine. I drove it around my place a little, my wife made an urgent phone call... something about driving around at night in something without headlights and no brakes. I assured her that I had my flashlight and the brakes sort-of work a little bit. Besides, the bigger safety issue was the seat simply laying on the floor and not really being attached to anything.

Anyway, looks like I need a service manual to figure out where the various blocked hoses should go and given the fair amount of tailpipe smoke a compression test. All that aside, it feels pretty zippy and seems to want to run so an engine rebuild is still pretty much in the air. Close inspection has revealed a pinhole here and there but still pretty minimal rust so I'm pretty happy.
 
There was a place in Santa Clara back in the early 1980s that restored old MGs. I should have bought their bumper sticker and put it on my 1986 MG Midget - "I'll have you know that the parts falling off this car are of the highest British quality!"

You didn't walk up to that MG without a wrench or a screwdriver in your hand. It was truly a mechanics delight. Fun, but you were always working on it. Bought it used in late 1983. I had it for less than two years and sold it. Even made a KGO radio traffic report in it one day. Needed something a bit more reliable.
 
cowman said:
Had some time with it in the shop this evening. Surprisingly, almost none of the electrical stuff works. You'd think given the British reputation for excellence that this wouldn't be the case but I suppose it is an older car after all.

When I went to look at it, it was running way too rich and wouldn't stay running. I was digging around online for a guide to adjust this carb when I noted a hose coming off it that was labeled "fuel bowl vent tube" was plugged(looks like it originally went to a charcoal canister). I unplugged it and the car idles fine. I drove it around my place a little, my wife made an urgent phone call... something about driving around at night in something without headlights and no brakes. I assured her that I had my flashlight and the brakes sort-of work a little bit. Besides, the bigger safety issue was the seat simply laying on the floor and not really being attached to anything.

Anyway, looks like I need a service manual to figure out where the various blocked hoses should go and given the fair amount of tailpipe smoke a compression test. All that aside, it feels pretty zippy and seems to want to run so an engine rebuild is still pretty much in the air. Close inspection has revealed a pinhole here and there but still pretty minimal rust so I'm pretty happy.
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Clear a shelf for this MGB essential.

iu
 
Albany Tom said:
:) The good thing is that the British developed blackout headlights for the blitz. The funny thing is that they didn't do it on purpose.
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When I met her, my wife owned a MG Midget and a t-shirt that said "The British drink warm beer because they have Lucas refrigerators."
 
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I had a college friend with a supercharged Midget. The engine was a block of steel with four tiny holes drilled in it. I think the same basic engine was in a tractor.

He tuned it EVERY morning.
 
Nice, I had a friend in highschool who had a red rubber bumper MGB. We were too cool for school cruising around in that little car!

There are some who don't like the rubber bumper cars, but I seem to prefer the look to the older chrome bumper cars. Go figure!
 
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