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MG MGA - Owner's age and dumb question

Hi Folks. In a different thread titled owner's age, I noticed that many people have owned MG's essentially since they were children! These life inexperienced, "dumb as dirt" teen aged "children" (myself included) chose MG's over vehicles with much more powerful engines, and exotic names. My question is: why these children would gravitate to relatively unpowerful, relatively unquick vehicles in the first place? Why would a young teen age person feel compelled to own an MG when other more powerful vehicles could be had, which likely would have impressed one's peers more than a vehicle with a tiny 4 cylinder engine? Cheers! GLenn
Glenn

For myself, I have always gravitated to the 4 cyl vehicles. Big, powerful American V8's never really appealed to me. Maybe it's from growing up and putting a 2-1/2 HP BS engine on anything with wheels. Yeah, I even mounted one to a Royce Union "English Racer" once. Maybe that was my beginnings with things British.

I also root for the underdog and virtually never go along with the crowd in many other aspects of my life.

I would rather take a bucket of rust and bring it back to life than take an otherwise good car and run it into the grouns. Somehow it just seems right.

There must have been something with my upbringing that has created this character flaw. There must be somebody I can sue for this permanent damage that has been inflicted on me. Certainly I had no choice in this matter.


Chuck
Chuck Schaefer

As a young person, I always wanted a car, and being small myself, wanted a King midget, or a Crosley or........

And perhaps I've never really grown up.
As many of my friends would say.
LOLLOLOL

Maybe it's being the 'Underdog' or never having anyone wanting me to play on their football or baseball team?
'Cause I was small, and meek, and well nerdy?
LOL

Nerdy people tend to be more thoughtful, as a result of knowing how to escape some bully?
Maybe my physcy [spelling] is warped?

Now if only I could remember the name of that lawyer?
LOL

Oh yeah, it's sure fun to go run my underpowered, ox-cart suspeneded car, did I say old, at an auto cross and beat the pants off 'em?

SF
Dwight


DCM McCullough

Oh did I say?

The only dumb question is the one that is not asked!


SF
Dwight
DCM McCullough

I remember it as if it were yesterday,...I was around 8 years old. I was in the car with my parents when we pulled into our local small town "general" store. The owner, who was a friend of my Dad's pulled up in his shiny new red MGB. As he unfolded out of the car, I was blown away!! I immediatly fell in love with the cars at that moment. THEN, fast forward to my 9th grade year, freshman in high school. We were all sitting outside watching the homecoming parade, my little girl friend by my side, when a beautiful MG Midget came down the street. I casually stated,.."I'm going to own one of those some day". All my buddies around just laughed. It made me mad, and that afternoon, I started looking for an after school job. I landed my first job within a week. I worked all the remained of that year and all summer, putting every dime I made into my Mom's checking account. Then the day came. I was lookign throiugh the local news paper when I came across an ad for a 1967 MGB. It was British Racing green, wire wheels, and only $750.00, (which was a lot back in 1979). Of course I bought it,...and it was junk!! But I loved it just the same. I had been driving it for about a year when I was able to buy the car that my Dad's friend had that I origianlly fell in love with. Now I had 2 of them. From there, the sickness never ended. I have owned and driven every type MG ever since.


They just get into your blood!!!
Danny T

Glenn, What other "exotic" could a teenager afford back in 1984, let alone now? A SAAB Sonet? Not quick.

At the time I didn't know of any "exotic" names that an average teenager could afford. Back in 84 when I was in high school, most kids relied on rides from their parents, or borrowed their parents cars, mom's caprice wagon - nice. The few kids that did own their own cars were cruising in Vega's, Pinto's and any other S*** box on wheels that either they could afford or parents would buy for them. The coolest cars I remember from my class were a early 70's Buick Centurion Conv't (Mammoth) a late 60's Firebird 400 (fast), and a 320i (cool only because it was newish). And of course my MGA!

There is a certain cool-factor to the MGA, other kids always wanted a ride, none of them could drive it due to the no synchro 1st and lack of idle due to well worn carbs, I call this mystique. As far as being quick, I could beat anyone up or down hwy74, a twisty canyon rd from Morrison to Evergreen.

I ended up with my A because my dad had always had brit cars around and it was in my price range. We were raised with the understanding that nothing is free and I paid him $1000 bucks for it, which I saved up for a couple of years working various summer jobs.

I'm trying to think of an affordable quick exotic today - I just looked at an inflation calculator on Google and it says that the $1000 I spent in 84 is now worth $1775- maybe a 1st generation GTI on blocks?

j
JohnB

Economics played a part in my avoiding large cars with voracious appetites. The horsepower race usually went to the person with the most money to spend! Not being wealthy, I ended up with smaller cars, Corvairs, Fiat 600, old Chevrolets with 6 cylinder engines etc. My older sister had a boyfriend with a 1955 Austin Healy. I would hang around and annoy them until he would give me his car keys and tell me to go away! I was only 15 at the the time and thought the Healy was the neatest car around. That was what got me started on British cars. I'm now 61 and driving a 1962 MGA 1600 MK-II that my sister bought new in 1962.
Ed Bell

In short, they were cheap. From age 0 to about 6, our family car was a TR3, so the seeds had been planted early. When I was 14 my dad bought a barn full of MGAs for $500. For my help restoring the cars and on the farm, I was given one of them. At 15 I mowed lawns all summer and bought a $300 Midget. I was at a crossroads. It was either the Midget, a 914, or a Corvair. At the time it seemed like a tough choice. I've got six old British cars now, down from 10. They're simple cars and I'm a simple man. They're completely unpractical. Has anyone really used the back seat in a BGT to store humans? I like the smell of old, rotting interior and the sound of a single silencer exhaust.
Kemper

When I was 16 a friend of mine ended up with a black 1600 MK11 roadster. He was so mechanically inept. He called me out once because the car wouldn't run and made an awful sound with the key on. Car was out of gas and the fuel pump was dutifully clicking away. He thought is was blowing up. He grew up to be a lawyer. He hated the car but I fell in love with it. One Saturday we were going to the lake to go waterskiing. I borrowed his car to pick up a girl across town. After driving it I was in love. I saved all my money to buy a 58 coupe the next spring. No car ever made looks as good as a MGA.
R J Brown

I didn't start with sports cars until relatively late in life. Grew up in a small Oklahoma town where the only sports cars were one 62 Corvette and a 59MGA. I started reading the 'boys adventure books' at the library and remember being fasinated by titles such as 'The Little Red Car' and 'Four Wheel Drift'. My first sports car was a '59 Bugeye I bought when I was 21 and in the Navy. Someone had stuffed a Chevy V8 into it. I loved it for all it's understeer and lack of brakes. Got into street rods for a number of years after that and didn't get another British car until some 25 years later. I do like a bit more power for highway driving, so after my Midget was wrecked I installed a V6 during the rebuild. Still handles nice and easy to live with on long highway trips. My MGA is getting an inline 6 and 5 speed. (Don't scream, it was a complete basket case car without drivetrain or suspension when I bought it). I always wanted a big Healy, thought the MGA looked as good, just needed a little more power.
Bill Young

Glenn

I am probably one of life's exceptions. I never thought seriously about an MG until I was 45 years old and going through the mid life crisis! Prior to that I had always wanted (in order) a 3-wheeler Morgan, a Triumph TR3 and a square rigger like the WW2 pilots used to drive. However, I had never thought deeply enough to associate square riggers with MGs.

I bought a 1948 MG TC in 92 and have since been catching up for lost time.

Steve
Steve Gyles

As a young, pre-teen in the mid 50s, we lived in a very remote valley in Southern California. During the summer months, I would often sleep outside on a cot by choice and periodically I would be waken on a weekend morning by sports cars "roaring" through the valley on a ralley. I would lay there and watch them go by one at a time and the ones that looked the neatest were the T series MGs. I didn't know anything about them at the time (even had to ask people what they were), but the looked really "neat".


Page forward to June 1958, the end of my junior year in high school. My parents had purchased a used MG TD a couple of years earlier and, having gotten tired of it, gave it to me on my 16th birthday. All of a sudden I had one of those "really neat cars" and like all teen aged boys, I used it to bat around town and later to drive to school. It wasn't a big mussel car that would go fast and burn rubber at every stop light in town, but at the drive-ins, it was always the center of attention, even with the jocks in their big mussel cars. In 1960, when I graduated and enlisted in the Navy the TD was sold (for the princely sum of $400!) and that was that.

Page forward to 1974, when I was a young married father of two children and without a lot of discretionary funds. We needed a second car and a TD presented itself for sale locally and I expressed my desire (for probably the umpteenth time) how much I wished I could have another TD. My wife (the practical side of our family) said, "get it, I can drive a stick shift and I can use it for my errands" (have I ever stated how much I love that woman?). We got the car and I got to maintain it and drive it on the weekends while my wife drove it all week, hauling groceries, kids, dog and even lumber in it. 7 or 8 years later, I finally started restoring the TD, but only after I got an MGB for my wife to drive after she said "you aren't tearing the TD apart unless you get me another MG to drive".

Page forward again to 2005. I am now retired, our transportation needs are still met by the TD and the MGB (and an old Toyota pickup to haul the lumber now). I got a communication, through Classmates, from a woman that I had dated and been madly in love with during my senior year in high school (we were so much in love that we went our separate ways after I went in the Navy - common story). We exchanged a couple of e-mails about the "good old days" and one comment of her's probably sums up what the MGs were to teens back in the 50s and early 60s. She said, "I remember you had an old MG when we were in high school, it was really the "in car" (I guess I'll never know if it was me that she was in love with or the car, but I think I can make a pretty accurate guess now). Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

As a teenager in the 60's all I could afford was big old american iron, but I always liked the styling of the british sports cars. Couldn't afford a muscle car or sports car at the time due to insurance costs. I always liked anything with wheels and without a top. Guess I just like to go to extreams, early 70's had a midget and a 455 Olds Toronado, drove the midget year round with minimal problems.
When a car looks as good as an "A", it doesen't need to be fast, just fun to drive. They just seem to have a special effect on a lot of people. We all seem to have a silly grin on our face driving them and nobody grins and waves at me in my Thunderbird. They seem to get the same reaction from people from 8 to 80.

Given todays gas prices we can still afford to go out and drive our cars just for the fun of it while the guy's in the muscle cars go broke at the pump.
John H

When I was young there was a man from a neighboring town who drove through our town daily in an XK120. When I saw it it was love at first sight. A few years later a man down the street built a big Healey race car. I used to hang around his garage just to get a chance to hear the open header engine run and he explained to me the similarities between his Healey and that XK120. Also, a Sunday school teacher at the local church had a new E-Type and one Sunday I got caught admiring it as he came out of church. He offered me a ride and I've never been the same since.
...BTW: in those days a stranger could offer a young boy a ride without making the headlines...
Fast forward several years and I'm 19 years old, in the navy and stationed in Texas when what do I see for sale? An MGA! I've owned British cars continually ever since.

Bill
Bill Boorse

Glenn,
Two words....Chick Magnet!
Got my first MGA at 16. Took my drivers test in it. Had my first "romantic" encounter in it...(now that takes cooperation). Raced it, wrecked it, rebuilt it....traded it in for a new 68 Z-28 (talk about muscle). Bought my current coupe in 72...never looked back. My wife loves this car....

GTF
G T Foster

Glenn- in 1979 my girlfriend, now the better half, wanted to buy a mgb since a friend of her brother had one. We had a dealer in our small town and she became the proud owner of a new B. I had just bought a VW diesel Rabbit and found out I liked the MG so much better that I started driving it all the time. I had her convinced that since she had farther to drive to work the VW was cheaper to run. We started going to club functions and had a blast. I than came across the 59 coupe that is still with us,I still love the lines of that car but sadly the B had to go due to a growing family, could not justify 2 two seaters. It is now however in good hands as we found it at a british car show a number of years later and get to see it every year. Gary
gary starr

There just happened to be a 1972 B purchased new sitting in my garage that was rarely driven (family of 5). It was paid for, clean, and ran well enough. I used to spend hours pretending I was driving it. Sneaked it out once and it broke down 1 mile from home. Little did I know this would be a recuring theme.

I was able to drive the car from time to time, but due to insurance prices I was forced to drive the Draggin' Wagon 1976 'Spirit of '76' Vista Cruiser station wagon.

Finally, when I was 19 and off to Japan for the first time, dad gave me the B and I shipped it to Japan, did a fantastic (if I do say so) restoration, used it as my primary driver for 5 years and sold it for a nice price. Used the money for college.

During that time, the B became like an old comfortable shoe that just fit right. Even for a 6'2" guy like myself. Owned MG's ever since. This is my third A, first one that actually made it to the road!
Tom Baker

Glenn
The first car I remember my dad having was a 56ish Austin 850. Drove that thing from Toronto to North Bay for $2.15 in gas he would brag. That lasted till he fell in love with a 59 Chev. When I was 15 we briefly owned a 59 Morris Minor conv. which I still wish we had. Growing up I always loved the british cars but ended up with my dad's 59 Chev as my first car. It was free and it worked for the most part as long as you didn't want a heater or fuel guage and didn't mind the large holes in the floor. The best thing was it was so big I could lie across the front seat and not touch either door. Great drive in car as long as the current girl friend was no taller than me. No further expanation required. Didn't revisit the notion of another British car till a few years ago when as Steve said the mid life crisis set in. Now my first choice of car being an early vette was way out of the question price wise and the wife says I can't have a girl friend so I happily settled for a B for two years and now my 61A.
Kris
Kris Sorensen

I bought my first MGB a 1979 in 1981 when I was 22.
This was before young men bought "hot hatchbacks" in the UK and the MGB was relatively affordable, I would not have been able to afford to insure a more powerful car!
I now have a 1964 MGB. In a way we are recapturing our youth, and because the car is easy to work on, it becomes part of you as you know it intimately!
Also MGs are great fun to drive in comparison to the bland cars of today!
Robert.
R J Collier

Triumps (Spitfires, TR3 & 4s), Healeys (Sprites, 100 and 3000s), MGs (TC TD TF A & Bs) were all the go for young guys in the late 60s in Australia, especially engineering students at BHP Wollongong! we could fix them and they were chick magnets - I couldn't afford one then but always lusted after a big Healey. Still cannot afford a Healey but have settle for a MGA 1600 that looks almost as good and half the price. It only cost me a new kitchen!
Mike Ellsmore


Mike, you are spot on. My first car was a '53 TD (in 1966) and my brother drove a '57 coupe. Why? My little TD was a total babe magnet in the little town of Largo, Florida! The side benefit was an education in auto mechanics that probably exceeded anything our high school auto shop could offer.
Frank Nocera

Glenn

Probably all of those trips to the Sebring race every February when I was a kid in the 1950's. We always made a long weekend out of it which meant camping out at the site and walking around looking at all of the cars and talking to the drivers before the race. R. C. Adams wrote a nice story about trips like this "Midnight run to Watkins Glen" a while back.

I was hooked at an early age. I have, and still own bigger stuff since then but still enjoy my LBC.

Joe
Joe Wiley

It was the only car my Dad would alow to sit infront of his house. His first car was a 1956 A. I was infected the moment a got off my 10 speed and climed in for a test ride.
I sold it like a idiot. Got into a Midget (1972), sold it, Got a 1967 Midget. It took 10 years for me to get another MG. I knew what it had to be, another A. I was lucky to find a twin cam in a guys garage, he didn't want it, and had no clue about MG's (it was his dads car). $9000.00 later I drove it home, and now restoring her.
D.M. Black

Leonard and Miss Lillie were frequent visitors to the ranch. We'd hear them coming up the driveway about a quarter mile away about as soon as they turned off the highway. Their red MGA Coupe with that distinctive exhaust note would tootle up behind the house and impressed me as a very classy way to arrive. I jumped at the chance to buy a 62 MKII for $80.00... it ran well and looked like an $80.00 car. I was 16. Traded it for a big Healy which I sold. All this by the age of 19. Longed for an MGA again and lucked into one at 29. First car like your first lover is hard to forget. Unlike your first lover though your first car can be restored better and fresher than when you first met. (sorry about that, couldn't resist)
David Holmes

Being a Navy brat, and later serving myself, I spent lot of time overseas where small cars were the norm. Throughout high school, I had to settle for ten to twnety dollar clunks, as that was my budget range. Small sports cars were all the rage in the sixties, so it ws natural that my first car purchased as a young man would be of that type. The first was an 1100--swapped it in for a B because I needed a convertible to impress the girls.
R. L Carleen

My best friend in high school borrowed a A from his brother in law and the moment I saw it I was in love. A year later I was driving through Chicago and saw a delapadated A in the side lot of a Mercedes Benz dealer. The carbs were sitting in the seat and there were tires piled on the hood. I put the carbs back on, removed the tires and tried to start it - dead battery. They put a charger on it and I went to grab some lunch. When I came back and tried it it fired up immediately. I paid $375 and drove off thrilled. I owned the car for 3 months before I discovered that it didn't have any windows -So thats what those things in the truck are.
I've owned 7 now and still have #'s 6&7.

Randy Myers
59 roadster, coupe
Randy Myers

My older brothers had Healey 100/4,sprite,MGJ ?,I think i just got caught up in it and thought these were normal cars to have.I bought a 67BGT my last year of high school(77) met a wonderful girl fell in love with both.Speed and power were not a big thing but the car talks to you(you always hear if somethink is wrong)
B WALKER

I delivered newspapers in the neighborhood as a kid, and a doctor on my route had a red TD. I always liked it, and wanted a British car when I got my dl. Never did, but worked on a lot of American cars. Found mine in a salvage yard, and here I am.
mike parker

when i was 11 dad bought mom a TD as her car,it was a driver.a year later mom went out of town for a weekend
and dad decided to paint it while she was gone.2 years later after the nut and bolt restoration was finally finished,he was winning AACA awards and people were asking him to restore there cars.2 years later dad had his shop and was always full of healys,jags,cobras,mgs,
mercs,and shelbys.out of 2 wrecked A's i made one,even converted to rhd..sold it to buy a mustang..glad im not 15 anymore...the A i have now is a 1500 rust bucket.but thanks to e bay and this wonderful site,im reliving my youth,just wish dad was here.cheers!cc
c callaway

My first car was a 61 Pontiac with a decent V8 and 4 speed Hydramatic. A real Tuna Clipper. But the next car was a TR-3A and then a succession of 4-banger powered "hot rods" ~ Ford Cortina, Fiat 1200 sports, 61 MGA, Datsun 1600 roadster, 71 Datsun 510, Misc VWs, a Honda Accord, 68 MGBGT, 73 mgb roadster, and 56 MGA.

After the wallowing barge of GM excess of my first car, even the TR-3 seemed nimble, agile, and far more directly connected to the road and the driving experience. And frankly, after owning my first British car (buckboard tho it was) and driving various friends 1950s and 1960s sports cars at that time (mid 60s), small cars were simply more fun.
Bob Muenchausen

This thread was discussed between 01/03/2006 and 03/03/2006

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