What other cool vehicles have you owned?
- Thread starter Mhass
- Start date
Here are some of the other MGs I've owned. I owned about 15 going back to a 1036 TA and restored about half of them.
First car was a '71 VW Kharman Ghia.. a gift from my uncle. Four speed, two seats, three fenders (the fourth was kindly removed by a garbage truck on a tight Brooklyn street. Drove that until it fell apart.
Following that I had a few cool cars...
Triumph TR8 convertible. Regret selling that for sure. 289 V8 with side draft Zenith carbs. Ton of fun to drive.
Alfa Romeo GTV JR. Was owned by one of the Jacobazzi family members (still have the registration someplace). It was brought from Italy to the states in milk crates, and reassembled by a friend. Shankle suspension, ZF steering, four speed dog leg shifter. Another fun car to drive.
Audi S4 that I bought new and proceeded to fully customize to euro RS4 spec. Nearly 600 ft lbs of torque to the wheels in a AWD car. Stupid fast. Long Island roads weren't long enough to exploit that much power. Sold that and bought my first of eight Jeeps.
Two JKs back to back. The '11 had the entire PSC catalog hanging on it. Regret selling that too.
Had a two WJ's and a KJ before finding my current TJ.
Following that I had a few cool cars...
Triumph TR8 convertible. Regret selling that for sure. 289 V8 with side draft Zenith carbs. Ton of fun to drive.
Alfa Romeo GTV JR. Was owned by one of the Jacobazzi family members (still have the registration someplace). It was brought from Italy to the states in milk crates, and reassembled by a friend. Shankle suspension, ZF steering, four speed dog leg shifter. Another fun car to drive.
Audi S4 that I bought new and proceeded to fully customize to euro RS4 spec. Nearly 600 ft lbs of torque to the wheels in a AWD car. Stupid fast. Long Island roads weren't long enough to exploit that much power. Sold that and bought my first of eight Jeeps.
Two JKs back to back. The '11 had the entire PSC catalog hanging on it. Regret selling that too.
Had a two WJ's and a KJ before finding my current TJ.
Here's a cool vehicle I owned: an Ambulance painted like the one from the movie "Mother, Jugs, and Speed". I was a paramedic and owned an EMS company in the 70's and 80's and we just thought it would be neat to paint it up different from almost every other ambulance around. It was a fully functional Mobile ICU equipped/staffed ambulance, we used this one mainly at Motocross events.
OP
Holy crap! Did you buy that wagon from my dad in about 74??
Does it have cinder blocks and a 2 X 12 for a back seat? No reverse but starts even when it's 15 below out?
There is just something about a British sports car! I've wanted one for most of my adult life, but credit myself with being smart enough to know better. Still, an MGB-GT...
Ya gotta be dedicated to drive a British car...There is just something about a British sports car! I've wanted one for most of my adult life, but credit myself with being smart enough to know better. Still, an MGB-GT...
Grew up with an MGA - bright red with the very rare hardtop. ('56? Maybe?) I'd love to have an old Gull wing MG (GT?), or an old Jag. British make the most beautiful cars in the world - but as one of my bosses once said "Give an Englishman 1,000 lbs of metal, and he'll think of 2,000 stupid things to do with it!
And now Jags don't have Leapers on the hood anymore? That's like a Mercedes without a tri-star - uh, wait...
There is just something about a British sports car! I've wanted one for most of my adult life, but credit myself with being smart enough to know better. Still, an MGB-GT...
I owned MGBs and MGB-GTs and was always happier with the GT. The light blue one above was a total tear down and rebuild. The dark red one was really good when I got it at a few years old and I just kept up all of the mechanical and body maintenance. I camped a lot with the blue one skied a lot with the red one (my winter MG). Both were impractical for those purposes but a lot of fun.
The darker blue MGC-GT I showed above was quite different. For those who aren't familiar with them, Cs have a 6 cylinder engine, kind of like an Austin-Healey but not really. Relatively low production at 8,999 units produced in 1968-69. Why they didn't make one more is anyone's guess. They weren't as much fun to whip around town in but once you got them up to speed on the highway they were great for fast all day driving on long trips.
I owned and restored several MGA's and was quite involved in the clubs for many years. I was the Vice-Chairman of the N. American MGA Register for several years back in the 80s, a tech editor in "pre-forum" times and conducted restoration seminars at some events. They're a pretty easy car to restore but the coupe does have few extra issues.
I only owned one Jaguar and it was a mistake. It was a 1955 XK140 FHC (Fixed Head Coupe). It had 5 times as many parts as a MG of that era and every part weighed 5 times as much. I got it running and sort of road worthy but when I sat down and weighed the "real" body work involved I said "enough". I didn't like the car that much and I really didn't fit in with the Jag crowd. When I sold it I got wrapped up in a bidding war. Lucky me! It went straight back to England and that was the last I saw of it. Again ... lucky me! I have old late 70s photos of it that are thankfully buried somewhere. It looked like this one but not as shiny. Honestly, I liked my old red 69 CJ more.
That looks like the juices (OJ) bronco he was driving around L.A. with the police in hot pursuit.
I've often wondered if they were a little nose-heavy, and therefore, less agile. I suspect that is basically what you're saying with your "They weren't as much fun to whip around town in..." comment. Also, I know the hood was different (bulged for clearance), but is the wheelbase the same as the standard GT? I can't remember if there is increased length from the cowl, forward.
The MGCs were definitely nose heavy. Subject to roadster / GT variations and some changes to the Bs over the years (Cs were a 2 year model) the weight distribution was about 55 front / 45 rear for the MGC vs. 51/49 for the MGB. The whole front suspension (torsion bars for the C) and the sheet metal under the hood and the transmission tunnel was changed to provide more room. The over all length was the same. The hood bulge was needed to fit the higher sitting dual SU carbs or triples on the racing models. The 15" wheels on the C vs. 14" on the B and larger tires also contributed to the slightly different, heavier look. Both came with a 16.5" "banjo" steering wheel. The Cs were leather wrapped like they thought that was going make the extra weight up front seem less so.
Forget about all of the above though. NO MG is as fun to drive as a Midget ... not my opinion only. I had a 73 rear wheel round arch model (the nicest I think) and it was a riot to drive.
We had a few customers with Mk 10s. They were nice but even back then I thought no one would ever want to, or be able to afford to, restore one. Fortunately a lot of them were owned by "rich folk" and were well taken care of by others.
My wife has always had a thing for those. Closest thing I can think of to driving a slot car!
I went through a Datsun phase. The 1970 Datsun 2000 was just like the British sports cars.... except reliable and faster. 150hp and lighter overall.
I sold it and bought one of these (not mine.... it got T-boned when my girlfriend was driving it), a 1970 240. I converted it with Holley carbs and a new cam etc. After it was painted (like this one) I had it for 3 months before it's unfortunate end.
I sold it and bought one of these (not mine.... it got T-boned when my girlfriend was driving it), a 1970 240. I converted it with Holley carbs and a new cam etc. After it was painted (like this one) I had it for 3 months before it's unfortunate end.
That's probably true but I'd put a Lotus 7 right up (or down) there too. I've driven a few and some Caterhams too and you definitely feel more vulnerable in traffic ... not that ANY British would ever make you feel safe.
As I was scrolling down I saw your first sentence and thought... "cool.... Javelin, AMX, Marlin"... but no... station wagons....
I've owned a '68 Javelin, and a half-dozen Marlins (my favorite AMC model!). In fact, I still have a '66 Marlin project in the garage, next to my TJ. But I do have a thing for the long-roof cars...