MGTC way back when

Ah the things that are tucked away in sheds and houses. My brother and I as avid seekers and collectors often comment as we are driving " I wonder what's in that ol shed over there, could well be a such n such hiding in there".
There was a bike show held here a few weeks back and 240 bikes came out of the woodwork including some very rare and desirable machines. All tucked away within about a 200 mile radius. Some very nice stuff has found it's way done under over the years.

Yep, got one of those too. Normally I dive pretty hard into these projects, but these toy planes have consumed me the past couple years. I rebuilt the engine a couple years back and then decided to try and fly an old CL plane I had...

Snap, I'm the same. Projects coming out my ears though starting to make a concentrated effort to get them finished
Your Trident is coming along, doesn't look like a lot left to get it finished. I always find the motor the hard yards.
Here's a motor for a cafe racer I started building in 1979 before cafe racers had a resurgence that has been and gone and come back again It's also survived two divorces.
The motor has been stripped, checked and reassembled again  a couple of years ago and in the other picture the roller for it is over the back of the TL1000 supertracker. The XR1000 is front of the row at present and hoping to make inroads on it this summer. AH too many projects but a man has to have something to do.

Cribbs74 wrote:Nice TC!!!

Good job on the resto, If you have time can you finish my A?

Sure, right after I do mine. Actually it belongs to my son who found it in Denver where it had been sitting under a tarp for 30+ years. Amazing the only rust is on the exterior body, the underpinnings are rust free. Shows about 21K miles.

He shipped it out to me to "store" until we get a chance to restore it. Yeah, right, he's hoping that I will finish it before WE get a chance to.





Nice bikes guys. That engine is beautiful, looks like a really large 4 stroke Saito.

Very nice.

Mine has the usual rocker rot. I need to devise a jig to brace the body when I pull it from the chassis. It was last registered in 1976, it has bicentennial plates and sticker in the window.

Also mine was tapped on the nose. If you come across a used stock steering wheel, give me a shout.

Ron

MGTC........Wow, I love them.

Had my first one TC6248 from 1958 until 1960.  Used it as a going to work vehicle, along with a some hill climbing etc, then TC4082 from 1984 until 1995.  Was more into Austin Healey.

I rebuilt 4082 from the ground up over 12 months, used it often on the street, road raced it at the various race tracks in Victoria and South Australia as well as hill climbing it all over.
Blew the motor up at Winton raceway when revving it to the clock.  Broke the crank, but no other damage......TC people will understand what revving to the clock that means.
Re-built the engine, 60thou over, 1.5 SUs.......(sold the original 1.25s), more compression, 3/4 race cam, extractors, and it was a very fast TC that gave me a lot of enjoyment.

If you wish to see my TCs, plus other TCs, GOOGLE MG Car Club Victoria Australia and follow the links to the TC data base.

My original TC was very original in black, now maroon in colour, and my red 4082 has been fitted with an MG B engine.  Original engine in good condition put away.  I still have contact with the owners.

P.S. I've also had A and B types MGs, as well as Healey's both large and small......i.e. Sprites, and a very hot one with a Cortina race motor in it.

I was big into MG Midgets for a while. Owned 4, but only fixed up one.  Early 1974 model. I removed the ugly bumperettes in favor of some 72-73 style.

That was one I regret selling as I had a Rivergate 5 speed conversion in it, Hot cam .040 over. It was a nippy little thing and I could cruise leisurely at 70mph.

My Father had a TR3 when I was growing up, but sold it... Then a 1969 MGC, but sold it... Now he has a 67 GT6. Maybe I'll get that one?  

That MGC honked, handling was adequate  

I would trade my MGA for a 100/4 in a hot minute, but they differ so much in value that it's never going to happen.

Ron

Cribbs74 wrote:Very nice.

Mine has the usual rocker rot. I need to devise a jig to brace the body when I pull it from the chassis. It was last registered in 1976, it has bicentennial plates and sticker in the window.

Also mine was tapped on the nose. If you come across a used stock steering wheel, give me a shout.

Ron

My son has owned a couple of MGA's and developed contacts around the Denver area for parts. He has a spare steering wheel in good shape and is sending me a picture.

And here I was just kidding. That would be great though!!!

I'll send you a PM.

Ron

Oh no! Not MGs! Here is mine, my first car that my mom bought new in '65 and I bought it from her when I turned 16 in '74.
Chris...

Nice looking B Type Chris.

Being a '65 I guess it has the 3 bearing crank and pull door handles????? Or did it just make when the 5 bearings and push button doors happened?

Can remember seriously thinking about a '66 B Type with 5 bearing crank and push button doors in red, but kids were looking like to be happening so bought a new Mini instead......Wife and I already had a Mini each, and at the time they were great little cars.

FWIW I had a Sky Blue '63? 3 bearing B for a year in the '90s as a loan car whilst the owner was away. I used it as I was meant to, and looked after it, and a couple of weeks after the owner came back he busted the crank.......Lucky me. He was a mechanic, and as no other damage done it was an easy fix.

It's an interim car, 49690 was built in October, '64 and has an 18GB 5 main with the low number of 1818. The anti-burst doors came along about halfway through the '65 model year. It has a banjo rear end, old style gas tank, and other older details. It's a 4 speed but I did buy all of the components for converting to an OD trans and I bought and am restoring a works hardtop.
In the meantime I'm driving the wheels off of it because I bought a Jamaican on a 100-6 chassis with a 327/Muncie 4 speed that I'm doing a ground up resto on.
Chris...

Is the Healey drivetrain still in it? I see it has wires up front and a 4 lug at the back. Good looking car BTW.

Of all the Fiber fab kit's I think the Jamaican was the sexiest.

"stuntflyr". I've been a sport car nut since the '50s, but must admit I've never heard of your great looking Jamaican. I really like it.

Will do a Google to get info. on it, but please tell us more about yours.

Interesting about your B being an interim model as such. Thanks for the info. And yes, an OD is a great thing on Bs......My Daughter had an early B without and it was a slow highway cruiser.

Cribbs74 wrote:Is the Healey drivetrain still in it? I see it has wires up front and a 4 lug at the back. Good looking car BTW.

Of all the Fiber fab kit's I think the Jamaican was the sexiest.

No Cribbs,
It's got a 327 with a Muncie 4 speed. 100 lbs lighter engine, 150 more horse power. Whole car weighs 2150.
Chris...

Chris, I gotta say, I love that light blue MGB......

gossie wrote:"stuntflyr".  I've been a sport car nut since the '50s, but must admit I've never heard of your great looking Jamaican.   I really like it.  

Will do a Google to get info. on it, but please tell us more about yours.  

 Interesting about your B being an interim model as such.  Thanks for the info.   And yes, an OD is a great thing on Bs......My Daughter had an early B without and it was a slow highway cruiser.

Yeah it's an interesting car, Gossie.
Fiberfab made fiberglass bodies, and body parts in the 60's and the Jamaican was the follow on to the earlier Banshee of '66 to '67. It was a gullwing door sports car body kit for MGAs, TRs and Healeys that looks like a Daytona Coupe but didn't sell too well because of the door size I think.
The Jamaican came out in '68 and was drawn by Chris Beebe (I think he drew the Banshee too) and incorporated a lot of cues from the Muira but I think it looks better with round tail lights because the back looks like a Ferrari to me.
They were sold into the 80's and in later years were developed into VW and their own V-8 frame designed car. Pretty neat, the three I know of that are really nice are a red MGA, maroon Healey and green TR based car. They're like model airplanes, everyone can buy a kit but they all don't turn out the same in the end. These three I note are especially nice and I'm stealing as much from them as I can in ideas to make a road worthy, good looking and well finished car. Mine was a driver, but never registered in all of the 40 some years it spent around the Columbus, Ohio area. It retained it's Healey title and it now is a legal driver all licensed and insured in California as a '57 100-Six.

My plan is a rotiserrie resto with a frame change to the unrusted spare I acquired and that is a big deal on a Healey because of the way all ancillary frame and chassis components are welded to the main frame to create a complex structure quite unlike the TR/MG frame cars. It's like the E-Type of frame-on cars as far as parts expense and relative rarity, and labor. Luckily I now have a rebuilt diff with a 3:54 gear for a compromise between road and track (I plan to "track" the car but not race it), wire wheel spindles for all four axles and components to swap the front brakes to disc brakes. The plan is to built it as a street car with race car upgrades typical of the Big Healey with anti-tramp shocks, retain the panhard bar, tube shocks, and slightly different geometry.
Styling will be GT40 (Peugeot) headlights with the amber bulbs from Holland under the clear plexi covers, BMC blinkers, a modified Healey wavy grill, Talbot mirrors and Dayton 15x6 center laced (Cobra style) painted wire wheels with high carbon spokes. The back will have a plexiglass 911 rear window drilled for boot lid hinges and a handle so it will open with a full sized spare on the back deck and some room for luggage, GT40 tail lights (the single round Fiat 850 type) and Anza twin tip exhausts, one on either side with those little low profile flat mufflers. I like Aston Martin Racing Green, which is a lighter shade of metallic, and a black vinyl interior with some modern D'eser replica Recaro seats in the raised pattern with headrests and a three point harness for a little safety. I bought an NOS Superior 500 woodrimmed wheel, it doesn't have a trafficator so the signals are just a toggle switch, and a bunch of stuff to install A/C (from an MGB), and door handles of the era, and endless period detail stuff that I've gathered.
Now I just need to begin. I've my whole hangar to work on it, so that is my future for now. I estimate a three month tear down and an 18 month build up. My fallback is Monis Motors in Pomona to get me out of any holes too deep, Frank and Greg are masters and have even done a Jamaican for a client just last year.
Here are a couple of pics of the nice ones I know of...
Chris...

Lovely car. Great story. Keep us informed on your progress please.

rsv1cox wrote:Chris, I gotta say, I love that light blue MGB......

Thank you , RSV.
It is Iris Blue, mom ordered it that way because the red they had then faded very quickly to pink. The navy interior and blue top and tonneau are especially classy to me, and that car's year is the last year that color scheme was offered.
Here's my youngest getting dual on manual shift last summer.
Chris...

is that this kid?

Attention "stuntflyr". We have a Jamaican for sale in Australia. Ebay 281581597508