Open-Top motoring....

[bobins]

A few years ago I bought my hairdryer. Here's my thought processes concerning it nowadays - it's bought, it's paid for, it's sitting there so go out and use it just for the hell of it. I do use it and never regretted getting it and it brings pleasure every time as it's fun to use and harks back to 'proper' driving where your steering and brakes and other oily bits are connected by mechanical things and not electrons

[CitroJim]

Lovely in yellow

[ChrisRobin]

Ah the Triumph Spitfire...... remember as an apprentice visiting many of these on a damp winters morn with a dry rag and a bit of worn wet-n-dry and warm feeling of hope in my heart, off with the dizzy cap and a wipe around it quick rub of rotor and contact point in the cap with the wet-n-dry and turn the key 9/10 it was a starter and off it went, with cheerily waving as it left, on the odd occasion I would have to clean points never my most favourite of jobs but hey for a pence tip you'll do it.

We also had a maroon Triumph Stag owned by a chap we called the Major, tweed jackets mustard waistcoats and pocket watch topped off with a monical and a very old British accent, if asked how are you he would always respond with "in the pink pink sa, in the pink" his Stag did about 500 miles a year, every year in Feb we would go and jump start it, MOT & Service it charge it and take it back, EVERY year, to be fair they were never the most reliable Stags, 500 miles is probably about right before it started thinking of giving up.

BEST ONE mind you as a 17yr old apprentice was the young lady with the bubble blonder hair and very short dresses and long eye lashes (she use to bat them at me for free oil and screen wash), use to get me to top up her screen wash and check oil, one day I was sent out on a test drive with her as her white MGB GT was making a noise, OMG 17yrs old sitting closely to this young stunning blonde in her MG in a short dress every gear change revealed a very long leg... Oh Heaven, needless to say I never heard the noise oddly, but it was the most memorable drive of my life.

Ah the good ole days, long gone now.

[CitroJim]

Magic Enjoyed reading that!

[ChrisRobin]

pointless bit of info.
Back in the day, MG owners when they need to replace an engine would use a Marina 1.8 TC engine as it was practically the same, it was more readily available and a far better price, but and enthusiast could tell the difference in engine sound as I was starting to, run them side by side and it was clear on their won bit more difficult, mechanic use to ask me when he brought it...... which one lad? apparently the TC didn't perform as well as the MG engine.
Another one...... Range Rover when it 1st hit the market only came with a petrol engine, 3.0 V6 if I remeber rightly, 10/12 mpg, New owners would void their warranty on purpose and take it to a company just a few miles from us and have it changed to a Perkins diesel, and got up to 40mpg out of them.

See full of useless information.

[CitroJim]

Did you ever determine why the Marina 1.8 TC was not quite so good as the MGB engine?

[bobins]

Whilst I appreciate that not everyone (anyone ?!) will appreciate this - it's guided at £2.5k - £3.5k. That's a lot of car for the money. .....you just need to pretend all the costs that go with it don't matter
Barons auctions tomorrow (25/11/23)

BMW 645 Auto.


https://www.barons-auctions.com/content ... 3&cid=5423

[mickthemaverick]

I'd rather have this:

BFTW

[ChrisRobin]

@CitroJim
No, we never did, it was all rather odd as the TC was around 95BHP whilst the MG was actually less around 85BHP if memory serves, the bore and stroke were the same for each unit, maybe it was through the gearbox it lost it but that wouldn't make any sense as it is just a case full of gears and oil, but to be perfectly honest as an apprentice I drove both types either to test drive or delivery back to customers, to me they never felt any different but I wasn't an enthusiast, I did wonder at the time if it was a snobbery thing, you know my sporty MG can not have a 4 door family saloon engine in it especially a MARINA engine, no way, but they did sound different they had a different tone when running, only noticeable if you worked on both engines on a regular basis and us being an MG, Rover, Triumph and BL dealer we did, and we had MG's in with both types of engine apparently you could tell by the engine number ( I couldn't).

[Paul-R]

The Marina had a different gearbox of Triumph origin and, from memory, the flywheel mounting flange and spigot bush housing was slightly different. Some appeared to be usable in the MGB and some weren't.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Right in front of the Auctioneers Rostrum

Neil

[ChrisRobin]

@NewcastleFalcon
Always liked the Spitfire, don't know if it was the name or the fact it was British made or both maybe, but it handled awful that I DO remember.....
They did a rather swish green one as well, like apple green, not British racing green, never thought it suited white, yet the MBG really did. Few weeks back in Llandudno a Blue Spitfire passed, and I wasn't sure if it was right, A vaguely remember them doing a blue one I think but this one didn't look right in blue, it seemed too blue if that makes sense.

@Paul-R
Marina/MG Engine
As we were a main dealer for both I wouldn't know how they made them fit, we would not entertain this kind of swap as a dealer, it looked pretty straight forward bonnet up but what you had to do to get it there I don't know, but off us it would of been MG for an MG engine end of, still the same now at main dealers, if that car did not come with that either O.E or retro fitted via the part Catalogue we don't entertain it, no matter what the enthusiast do/say, we will sell it to you but not fit it, we are probably worse now that we were then.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Some cracking contributions from you today Chris...enjoyed this one viewtopic.php?p=781377#p781377

@NewcastleFalcon
Always liked the Spitfire, don't know if it was the name or the fact it was British made or both maybe,

For all their faults I've always liked them, and on the "What are the worst/best names for cars/bikes" thread I have elevated the name Spitfire in the personal Falcon collection as the last great name of a car produced by the UK Motoring industry.

Page on post one of the this very thread started out with this threadstarter...

I am quite virginal in this respect as reported in todays POTD but others may over their motoring years have owned/desired a convertible/cabriolet/roadster/décapotable/drop-top/rag-top. Plenty on offer at the classic sales, always tempting. So at the risk of a zero participation thread but never afraid to miss, your contributions are invited!

Who wouldn't want a little yellow Triumph Spitfire?

Neil

[ChrisRobin]

"Spitfire in the personal Falcon collection as the last great name of a car produced by the UK Motoring industry."
Absolutely spot on there.

[mickthemaverick]

This is one classy way to go topless!! One for our European dwellers I feel

BFTW

Details here