As their anniversary year draws to a close – 70 years for the Y-Type and 50 years for the MGC – Ian Hobbs reflects on the models and introduces a wonderful example of each from Australia.
Soon after I joined the MGCC of South Australia, I bought my first MG. It was a TC and I paid AUD$510 for it – and yes, we haggled over that ten bucks. About the same time, Bob Schapel also joined the club. His dad bought a TC when he was 11 years old and they both worked on it for four years to bring it back to life. When Bob’s 16th birthday arrived, the L plates were attached and he was off down the road. We both joined the club in 1969 when we were 17 years old, and we’ve been good mates ever since.
A couple of years later we decided to go to the second Australian MG Car Club National Meeting held in Melbourne, Victoria which was a 500 mile drive away. The Nat Meets are held over Easter with a Noggin & Natter on Good Friday, a concours on Saturday, competitive events on Sunday and farewells on Monday. This format hasn’t changed much since those early days.
Bob and I travelled in his white TC to the Melbourne event. Bob was studying and I was working, so we left after work on Thursday evening and travelled through the night. One thing I remember from that trip was that about every half hour there was a whiff of burnt oil. After several whiffs and about 200 miles down the track, I ask Bob what it was. Bob is a person who is a keen observer and aware of many subtleties, so his explanations are generally detailed and well thought out. In this case he had a small oil leak allowing a drop of oil to fall onto the exhaust manifold and he explained that whenever he smelt the oil, he knew that he still had plenty in the engine. He also told me it was designed that way, and I believed him.
Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
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Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Love and devotion
Bob Nason waited eight years to get the car of his dreams and, 19 years later, he’s still smitten with it...
Tidy-up time
Craig continues his quest to save the modified ZS 120 he told us about in December’s issue of MGE and takes advantage of a break in the weather to focus on its bodywork.
XPress power
MGs on Track regular, Dave Pearce, has a range of MGs at his disposal including this rather special XPower SV-R.
Sparking memories
MGE reader Peter Morrey recalls his very first MG, his family’s experiences of the then-new MGA and advice from a chap with a bit of MG insider knowledge.
Gerry McGovern
When the MGF appeared, in 1995, it marked a return to the market for MG sports cars. MG Enthusiast caught up with the man responsible for the car’s styling.
MG's Twin-Cam engine
The Twin-Cam engine arrived in 1958 but was it a success?
Eyes peeled
This month Roger looks at other drivers’ habits and ponders whether autonomous vehicle lighting helps or hinders road users?
Dear Sir...
Paul Moran’s beautifully restored 1933 Midget J2 comes with some interesting documentation which illustrates just how the privileged new car owners of the 1930s dealt with the absence of a warranty.
CHEQUERED FLAG
THE ROADS LESS TRAVELLED... AND WHY THEY ARE WORTH SEEKING OUT
2019 HSRCA SPRING FESTIVAL
The 2019 Historic Sports and Racing Car Association Spring Festival was run during a brilliant spring weekend, between 28-29 September, in Goulburn (regional New South Wales).