(alt. title - "Another one ticked off the list...") 
Much like my first thread on the Project Bentley there's some backstory to this. When I was growing up my parents, as a favour to the lady who lives over the road from their house, allowed her to store her 1951 MG in their garage as she no longer had the room for it but wanted to keep it. It had been her daily driver for many years, but she took it off the road in around 1980 and it had never been driven since then. Well, it was driven across the road to get into our garage, but that was it. And there it lay, for years. As a young, car-mad kid, I really wanted to drive it. I mean, a signal red MG, who wouldn't want to at least have a go? But it needed some attention, and being beyond my meagre skillset as a spanner man back then (still now!) I never really broached the subject of working on it to the owner.
Fast forward, ooh, maybe 15 years?
I guess my parents must have been away on holiday because there was only me around to sort things out, but the owner made arrangements to have the car restored. I think that was last summer, but it may have been a little later than that. I made room around the car in the garage, the transportation people came with a low-loader, and carted it off.
Fast forward again a few months.
The car arrived back, fully gone through. Chrome all re-plated, paintwork restored, engine fettled, brand new hood, interior cleaned up, bushes, brakes, trim, new Vredenstein cross-plies, the whole lot. And the owner put me on the insurance. I'd finally get to take a drive that I'd waited half my life for.
The day arrived. In between rain showers today (well, storms would be more accurate) I went out with the owner. Just a bit of a pootle around to get fuel, then drive from Stretton to Tutbury and back. But more than enough.
So, some thoughts.
1) I don't think they had 6ft, 16 stone blokes with long legs and size 11s in mind when they laid this car out on the drawing board. I wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but I wouldn't want to drive it with the roof up for long! There was also the problem of having to reach around my left knee to get at the gearstick, and my right knee almost prevented the indicator stalk from moving (or, more worryingly, the drivers door from shutting!). Pedal placement is good though, and the seat cushion is very comfortable. Getting in involved a bit of contortion, getting out is actually a lot easier. Ride quality....it's a 1951 MG, not a Rolls-Royce Still coped fine with the ****-poor road surfaces around here. It does have independent front suspension, unlike previous model T-types.
2) People complain about the flexing body on a cabrio Saab or the like....they should try one of these. I think if it was any quicker that might start to be a problem. Steering is ultra-precise in feel and direction though, even when the front of the cabin is vibrating like crazy.
3) Speaking of 'quicker'....it's not mega fast
The TD uses the XPAG-type 1250cc OHV I4, with twin carbs, putting a little under 60 horsepower through a 4-speed 'box with a very short ratio axle. The Motor tested one in '52, recording a top speed of 77mph and 0-60 in 18.2 seconds. I'm not sure that I believe the first one, because at the 50mph I reached the revs in top gear were pretty high (5000rpm, rev counter only goes to 6k). Frankly though, 50mph was enough for me. I like driving at huge speeds as much as the next speed freak, but not with tiny, unservo'd drums at each corner and not when it isn't my car! I've got no idea if it's a Mk2 TD with the higher (8.0:1 versus 7.25:1) compression engine, it certainly sheds speed quick when you let off the gas. I guess it wouldn't be hard to find out.
4) The noise it makes is suitably fruity, not obnoxiously loud but certainly loud enough that you feel close to the mechanical action. We were actually followed back into Stretton by an Austin 7, which I could hear over the exhaust note and engine of the MG. The gearbox doesn't make much noise once out of 1st, and the axle is pretty much silent.
5) The controls, quite apart from leg length issues, took some getting used to. The brakes were easy enough to figure out - they need a damned good shove, well ahead of time, or you're going to get into trouble very quickly indeed. The clutch was a bit trickier to work out. If you push it all the way down, it seems to partially re-engage so you can't select a gear. You need to push it down only part of the way to a veeeeeeeeeeery specific point, and then it'll let you select gears happily. Unless you rush the change, then you're back to crunching it (especially 2nd to 3rd). And the gas pedal pretty much works as an on-off switch at the lower end before becoming much more progressive as you pile it on. 'Interesting' while you learn it, fun and fluid once you've got the hang of it.
Overall, it was great fun. We did have one embarrassing moment at the petrol station when it wouldn't refire, in front of an audience. The starter was spinning the motor over fine, and would have fired the engine right up....if we'd remembered to turn the ignition back on In our defence, the keyring was actually covering the light that would have told us whether it was on or not! I did get in the way of a few people on the roads as well, as I wasn't exactly being gung-ho with exploring the performance.
I'll get some photos tomorrow (weather permitting) and post them up.
Much like my first thread on the Project Bentley there's some backstory to this. When I was growing up my parents, as a favour to the lady who lives over the road from their house, allowed her to store her 1951 MG in their garage as she no longer had the room for it but wanted to keep it. It had been her daily driver for many years, but she took it off the road in around 1980 and it had never been driven since then. Well, it was driven across the road to get into our garage, but that was it. And there it lay, for years. As a young, car-mad kid, I really wanted to drive it. I mean, a signal red MG, who wouldn't want to at least have a go? But it needed some attention, and being beyond my meagre skillset as a spanner man back then (still now!) I never really broached the subject of working on it to the owner.
Fast forward, ooh, maybe 15 years?
I guess my parents must have been away on holiday because there was only me around to sort things out, but the owner made arrangements to have the car restored. I think that was last summer, but it may have been a little later than that. I made room around the car in the garage, the transportation people came with a low-loader, and carted it off.
Fast forward again a few months.
The car arrived back, fully gone through. Chrome all re-plated, paintwork restored, engine fettled, brand new hood, interior cleaned up, bushes, brakes, trim, new Vredenstein cross-plies, the whole lot. And the owner put me on the insurance. I'd finally get to take a drive that I'd waited half my life for.
The day arrived. In between rain showers today (well, storms would be more accurate) I went out with the owner. Just a bit of a pootle around to get fuel, then drive from Stretton to Tutbury and back. But more than enough.
So, some thoughts.
1) I don't think they had 6ft, 16 stone blokes with long legs and size 11s in mind when they laid this car out on the drawing board. I wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but I wouldn't want to drive it with the roof up for long! There was also the problem of having to reach around my left knee to get at the gearstick, and my right knee almost prevented the indicator stalk from moving (or, more worryingly, the drivers door from shutting!). Pedal placement is good though, and the seat cushion is very comfortable. Getting in involved a bit of contortion, getting out is actually a lot easier. Ride quality....it's a 1951 MG, not a Rolls-Royce
Still coped fine with the ****-poor road surfaces around here. It does have independent front suspension, unlike previous model T-types.2) People complain about the flexing body on a cabrio Saab or the like....they should try one of these. I think if it was any quicker that might start to be a problem. Steering is ultra-precise in feel and direction though, even when the front of the cabin is vibrating like crazy.
3) Speaking of 'quicker'....it's not mega fast
The TD uses the XPAG-type 1250cc OHV I4, with twin carbs, putting a little under 60 horsepower through a 4-speed 'box with a very short ratio axle. The Motor tested one in '52, recording a top speed of 77mph and 0-60 in 18.2 seconds. I'm not sure that I believe the first one, because at the 50mph I reached the revs in top gear were pretty high (5000rpm, rev counter only goes to 6k). Frankly though, 50mph was enough for me. I like driving at huge speeds as much as the next speed freak, but not with tiny, unservo'd drums at each corner and not when it isn't my car! I've got no idea if it's a Mk2 TD with the higher (8.0:1 versus 7.25:1) compression engine, it certainly sheds speed quick when you let off the gas. I guess it wouldn't be hard to find out.4) The noise it makes is suitably fruity, not obnoxiously loud but certainly loud enough that you feel close to the mechanical action. We were actually followed back into Stretton by an Austin 7, which I could hear over the exhaust note and engine of the MG. The gearbox doesn't make much noise once out of 1st, and the axle is pretty much silent.
5) The controls, quite apart from leg length issues, took some getting used to. The brakes were easy enough to figure out - they need a damned good shove, well ahead of time, or you're going to get into trouble very quickly indeed. The clutch was a bit trickier to work out. If you push it all the way down, it seems to partially re-engage so you can't select a gear. You need to push it down only part of the way to a veeeeeeeeeeery specific point, and then it'll let you select gears happily. Unless you rush the change, then you're back to crunching it (especially 2nd to 3rd). And the gas pedal pretty much works as an on-off switch at the lower end before becoming much more progressive as you pile it on. 'Interesting' while you learn it, fun and fluid once you've got the hang of it.
Overall, it was great fun. We did have one embarrassing moment at the petrol station when it wouldn't refire, in front of an audience. The starter was spinning the motor over fine, and would have fired the engine right up....if we'd remembered to turn the ignition back on
In our defence, the keyring was actually covering the light that would have told us whether it was on or not! I did get in the way of a few people on the roads as well, as I wasn't exactly being gung-ho with exploring the performance.I'll get some photos tomorrow (weather permitting) and post them up.
