Other Cars

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tommu
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Other Cars

Post by tommu » Thu May 05, 2016 11:11 am

I stumbled across this picture of the Costello V8 MG my Dad rebuilt in his retirement. So much power in something so light was a fear to behold!
PB140038reduced.JPG

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Amskeptic
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Re: Other Cars

Post by Amskeptic » Thu May 05, 2016 7:10 pm

tommu wrote:I stumbled across this picture of the Costello V8 MG my Dad rebuilt in his retirement. So much power in something so light was a fear to behold!
PB140038reduced.JPG

That would be something. I have a stable of other cars and a history of many other cars. You?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

phaedrus76
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Re: Other Cars

Post by phaedrus76 » Thu May 05, 2016 7:30 pm

I'd be interested to learn more about the V8 MG. That's some AC Cobra / Sunbeam Tiger kinda stuff there.
76 Sage Green Deluxe Westy w/ manual trans.

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tommu
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Re: Other Cars

Post by tommu » Fri May 06, 2016 8:21 am

phaedrus76 wrote:I'd be interested to learn more about the V8 MG. That's some AC Cobra / Sunbeam Tiger kinda stuff there.
The Rover V8 is story all of it's own. It was derived from a Buick Aluminium V8 produced in the 60s. Rover ended up buying the rights to it and using it in various guises up to 2005. Being Aluminium made it perfect for lighter British cars. Growing up in England post 70s fuel crisis it was pretty much the only V8 in production. As Rover sold the engine by itself, it would end up in TVRs, Morgans and of course MGs. All very exciting.

The MG v8 is another very British story told best here: http://www.britishv8.org/articles/ken-c ... b-v8-1.htm Invented by a maverick mechanic and Killed by partisan bureaucrats:
the car's short production run was the result of BL's upper management being run by Triumph men.... What stopped its export from the UK was BL's decision not to create competition for Triumph models, including the TR-7 which was about to be launched! ... Production ceased after only 2591 cars.
The death of the MGv8 was probably the beginning of the slow death of MG itself.

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tommu
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Re: Other Cars

Post by tommu » Fri May 06, 2016 8:57 am

Amskeptic wrote:
tommu wrote:I stumbled across this picture of the Costello V8 MG my Dad rebuilt in his retirement. So much power in something so light was a fear to behold!
PB140038reduced.JPG

That would be something. I have a stable of other cars and a history of many other cars. You?
Colin
My stable is too small. The car I miss most out in California is the Citroen. The weather out here would be prefect for a CX or even a DS.

Being under paid and feckless, all I could afford in England were cheap French hatchbacks such as the mechanically misunderstood Citroen BXs or the more sprightly Peugeot 205 GTis.
Those Citroens still had Hydropneumatic suspension which made them fun!. It made for a wonderful ride. Struts and rams replaced springs and gas filled spheres replaced shocks. Speed bumps could be taken at 60mph without feeling a jolt. As the brakes were also activated by pressurized mineral oil, the front end doesn't dove. I'll need to find some pictures. When the cars eventually died we would swap their engines to the smaller and lighter 205 Gtis for cheap, sub 6 second 0-60 thrills. At that time you needed to pay to scrap a car so we could pick them up for a couple of hundred pounds or less. My last 205 cost all of £50.

Citroen: Image
Peugeot:Image

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Amskeptic
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Re: Other Cars

Post by Amskeptic » Fri May 06, 2016 5:20 pm

tommu wrote:the Citroen mechanically misunderstood
I wanted a Citroen SM with the Maserati V6. I respected the Peugeot 505 only in brown with white headliner, a thoroughly handsome car that was disarmingly competent in corners even as it leaned precipitously.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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tommu
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Re: Other Cars

Post by tommu » Fri May 06, 2016 6:08 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
tommu wrote:the Citroen mechanically misunderstood
I wanted a Citroen SM with the Maserati V6. I respected the Peugeot 505 only in brown with white headliner, a thoroughly handsome car that was disarmingly competent in corners even as it leaned precipitously.
Colin
My father recounts a tale of 505 misery. He burnt a valve on the way to Dover but drove on via the ferry deep into Normandy. 5 people, 3 boys under 10 years old trapped in a car running on three cylinders and barely able to make 45 mph. I clearly remember being overtaken by a Renault 5 and then simultaneously, that Renault being over taken by something else being driven recklessly. Ours was white with a pale green headline IIRC.

I love the SM. An absolute beauty of a car with that most delicate engine. A Citroen mechanic I knew in North London was restoring one for Bono, of all people. I've seen a couple here in Burbank.

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