Anyone had one or know much about them? The wife wants a convertible and mentioned MG's :dunno:
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Anyone had one or know much about them? The wife wants a convertible and mentioned MG's :dunno:
Project car forever. Parents used to own one, mother in law still does. Lucas "king of darkness" electrical system.....
Find a Miata instead.
Not an MGB, but I had a 79 MG Midget. Fun little car. Electrical systems can be a nightmare. Parts availability wasn't a problem, but that was 15 years ago.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIglu
One of my closest friends' dad had an '80 MGB. They wouldn't really drive it far because he was paranoid it would leave them stranded. Also he was wound super dooper tight about such a 'classic' car getting scratched, breathed on wrong, whatever.
Couple years back he sold it and bought a mid 90's Miata, pre scratched.
Now they drive it anywhere they want and have a blast doing so.
Miatas are big time fun and huge on the bang/buck ratio, btw. I had a '99 and loved the thing to death.
F a Miata...Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIglu
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1207283097.jpg
I'd rather get a BMW convertible.
Im selling my del sol if you dont mind a FWD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
BMW is more style but Miata is FUN
Quote:
Originally Posted by tsorfas
Details on the Del Sol.
93 just touched 100k miles on tuesday.
Taken really good care of it. 100% stock.
Idk what to ask from you. I have it on craigslist for 5600$ but I would take way less if it was for you
1.5 - 5 sp
The new MX-5s aren't that girly. Pretty fun little things. Audi TTs can be fun (s model) if you can get over the maintenance costs. If it were me buying a car for my future wife, it would be an S2000. Cute for her, yet not too girly for me. And you get the reliability of a honda with it.
I wouldn't dare touch an old MG unless it was intended on being a project.
Dad had a 63 MGB for most of my life, finally got rid of it when I was about 25. He built it from pieces and had it running for the longest time, but eventually it won the battle and stopped.....I remember him working on it all the time though - project car sums it up pretty well.
Miata has a huge enthusiast community.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
Last Autocross I went to there was a supercharged Miata, turbocharged Miata, and an aluminum V8 Miata. Took one run with the owner in the supercharged Miata and it made my 300hp WRX feel like a Lincoln Town car.
BMW Roadsters are the most popular Doctor's wife car ever produced.
It sounds like you might like a Z3. They have a pretty bullet-proof motor, but being German cars, they have stupid electrical problems all the time.
They're also very cheap used.
Doc, since when did you have a problem broadcasting your love of men? I don't see the problem here.
Z3s are awesome cars but miata is less work and more fun.. plus a lot more parts and amazing community
and you call the Miata gay?Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
fixed itQuote:
Originally Posted by Garandman
Holy momma.. an MGB and any of the above car is such a big difference! There's an MG club if you want to join it to ask people about it. The cool thing is that they are very nice.
One thing to note that on a lot of models of MG's they weren't designed to go much more than 40mph let alone 60mph. They look great as classic cars.. but they are just that, classic.
Seating is small and tight, so if you're 6ft tall and 250lbs, you're going to have to wedge yourself in!
I think classic cars are awesome, but they are the ones you only go out to drive on a Sunday :)
A Miata, del sol, z3/z4 or what not I'd consider daily drivers still...
Looking to spend $3500... Some of these other cars you guys are talking about are out of the price range.
I had a 73 MGB that I took on as a project to surprise my gf, and less than a month into it, I scratched it and found a 75 MGB that was complete(if not 100% pristine). Even that one, I immediately spent $1000 on brakes before my then-girlfriend could drive it. She loved the car, and I actually came to enjoy it so much I took it back after we split up.
Don't get a 6 volt one, those are electrical nightmares. Don't get one without overdrive if you ever want to take it on a highway, or above 50mph. Don't bother getting one of you're over 6 feet tall, unless you want to ONLY drive it with the top down.
Overall, I really did enjoy mine, and would buy one again in a second. Yes, you'll end up working on it sometimes, but that is half the fun. Moss Motorshttp://www.mossmotors.com/ is where I got all the parts for mine.
A decent MG will cost as much if not more to get into than a modern 2 seat convertible (Miata, Z3, S2000, etc.). The newer cars will be a lot more reliable, and easier to fix if something goes wrong. Another option is one of the kit cars (Lotus 7 for example).
If you decide to go with an authentic British sports car make sure to get the required accessories - AAA membership with unlimited towing, and a good cell phone plane... Or - A decent truck and car trailer, and a good cell phone plan...
The reason the British drink warm Beer is because they use Lucas refrigerators. Run away as fast as you can.
Your 100% right on this one...Get a miata or even a BMW Z3Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIglu
There's a garage just south of Portsmouth on 1A ( just off the rotary) that specializes in MGs. Rode by there last weekend and there must have been about 20 of them parked out front.
You can get a decent Miata for your $3500. A friend drives one on the street and also does autocross with it. You'll end up spending so much more keeping the MG running.
Just my .02
The place in Rye is called Brit Bits. My father has spent a small fortune there.
IMO the only people who thing Miatas are girls cars or gay cars are the people who haven't driven one. Trading mine was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I plan on owning another.
Ok fellas, looks like I am going to try and talk the wife out of the MGB...
my brother had a 59 MGA, never started with the electric start unless you just shut it off. he was always fussing with something, swearing at someone named LucasQuote:
Originally Posted by TheIglu
I looked at a mid 60's MGB GT, my brother told me he'd dis-own me if I bought it
I think the general consensus here seems to be that MGB's suck.
Which means then that they must be the perfect car for you, doc.
It's worse than jus electrical reliability. The mechanical durability of engines, transmissions and drive trains is just not there. You can rebuild the car from stem to stern and it might still break.
I owned a Triumph Spitfore for a while an it completely cured me of any desire to own a British car ever again.
Doc, the miata will pretty quickly become be your favorite thing on four wheels. Plus it will be her car, so you have an excuse for owning a "chick" car.
Positively avoid the 1999-2000 CA-standard models with twin catalytic converters.
Why? Mine was a '99 CA spec. It wasn't that bad. I'd rather have a fed spec too. But "positively avoid"? Seems drastic.
I had an O2 sensor fail on the thing. Repair was relatively cheap 'n easy.
GF's mother just brought home an '00 recently. She wants me to be impressed with it.. but the thing is in kinda sad shape. And then I looked inside and saw the auto shifter. Talk about a wet blanket. Now there's something you should positively avoid in a Miata; an autotragic trans.
$3500 + soft top - Miata + spare toy car = Jeep
**that said, Miata's are the shit. My mother had a 99. Fun ass car to drive.
You're lucky. Most 02 sensor failures (or any misfire for that matter; bad gas, old wires, plugs) lead to smoking the "warmup" (front) cat and may also toast the rear cat, leading to the "P0420" check engine code. There's a solution, but it involves replacing the header and relocating the 2 o2 sensors. It was a pain, but only ended up costing about 500$ total; I did the header swap myself. Lots of people have this problem; I wouldn't buy another (I'd spend the extra cake to get a 2002-2003 Mazdaspeed model). It's easy and cheap enough to get a 2001 or a fed model that won't have this issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by nhbubba
S2000
:wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
if you wanna go a bit over the 3500$ roof you can have the del sol whenever you want.
Not sure exactly what you looking for but i bought cause its a bulletproof car that has amazinig MPG
My Dad had a MGB GT and a Midget. Both were fun cars, and a lot of work. I owned a Fiat X-19 at the time. This was fun as well, and a lot less work. We also had a Triumph TR-7. This was not a good car. It looked mean as hell, but it had no go, and had constant problems.
I also had a VW Dune Buggy with the classic fiberglass body, huge chrome rear wheels, roll bar, and a custom removable soft top. I built the engine myself, and out of all of them, this one was the most fun to ride around in.
Today, I would get nothing but a Miata if I was looking for the same kind of fun.
:worthless:Quote:
Originally Posted by tsorfas
Back in the day when the TR7 was new, I drove a VW Scirocco in time trials at Loudon. There were half a dozen Sciroccos, it was a very popular autocross and track day car along with Mazda RX7's, BMW 2002's, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregp
This fellow showed up with a TR7 and he would barely deign to speak to the lowly Scirocco owners because they were not "real sports cars."
After the first season when he discovered he was about 7 seconds a lap slower than the slowest Scirocco, he became quite a bit more friendly.... Motor not found in those things.
are you interested?Quote:
Originally Posted by zxme