Safety Fast! April 2021 by MG Car Club

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April 2021 Volume 66 Number 4 £3.95

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WELCOME DIARY DATES

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC This popular event returns to Silverstone on July 30 – August 1 2021. See the advert on page 19. Please visit www.silverstoneclassic.com for details

s we move into spring, things in the UK seem to be brightening up, the flowers are blooming and the trees are starting to bud with their luscious green leaves. And, more importantly for us MG enthusiasts, is that if everything goes to plan we’ll be able to meet at events in the second part of the year. One event to look forward to is the Triumph and MG Weekend being held over August 13-15 2021 at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. This event marks an historic collaboration between Triumph clubs, TR Register and TSSC and the MG Car Club, and promises to be a great weekend. More details are published on page 24 in this issue, or visit www.triumphandmgweekend.com There are quite a few other events on the horizon; published next to this column are a few you may want to pencil in your diaries. Before I venture out to events, I’ll have to give the MGF a once-over, for although I managed to get a few jobs that I’d been putting off sorted during the first lockdown last year, the lack of use and the fact it hasn’t been used at all for the past eight months means a good service is in order, including a check of all fluids, rubber pipes, brakes, tyres, battery and, of course, a full tank of good quality petrol. There’s been a lot of talk about fuel recently, with the Department of Transport announcing that they will legislate to introduce E10 petrol as the standard 95-octane petrol grade by September 1 2021. They will also require the higher-octane 97+ ‘Super’ grades to remain E5 to provide protection for owners of historic MGs. This product will be designated as the ‘Protection’ grade. You can read more on the fuel situation on the news page of this issue, and rest assured the Federation of British Historical Vehicles Clubs, of which the MGCC is a member, will bring us all the relevant findings and news, which we’ll relay to you, the members, within the pages of Safety Fast! The April 2011 issue of Safety Fast! marked a first for the MG635 Register. It was the first issue that featured the Register notes, shortly after the MG6 was launched at the Longbridge Factory in Birmingham. Although the MG6 is no longer sold in the UK, there’s still a strong following for this great car, which can now be picked up very reasonably. The MG635 Newsletter in this issue is a tribute to the MG6, with launch day photos and a basic buying guide for those who fancy buying a practical everyday MG. Until next month, drive safely. Andy Knott Membership Type

THE TRIUMPH AND MG WEEKEND Join us on August 13-15 for a weekend of everything MG and Triumph in the stunning venue of the Three Counties Showground www.triumphandmgweekend.com

MG & TRIUMPH SPARES DAY This popular show makes a welcome come back on August 22 at a new venue, the Telford International Centre. www.mgandtriumphsparesday.co.uk

CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW Direct Debit Rate

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Young Members 16-20

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Save the date for the largest classic car show in the UK, November 12-14. Held at the NEC in Birmingham. Details available from www.necclassicmotorshow.com With the everchanging situation, please visit the relevant website for the latest details.

The MG Car Club, Kimber House, 12 Cemetery Road, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 1AS Tel: 01235 555552 Fax: 01235 533755 E-mail: mgcc@mgcc.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 3

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JULY 2016 SAFETY FAST! 3 www.mgcc.co.uk

INSIDE REGULARS 7 Club Matters and Kimber House News 8 News 14 Postbag 18 Young Members Branch 20 Cherished News 69 Tech Tips 70 Race Torque 72 MGs on Track 73 MGCC Speed Championship 75 Centre Updates 84 Register Updates 92 Classifieds 98 Looking Back

NEWSLETTERS 43 Vintage Newsletter 48 Twin Cam Newsletter 51 V8 Newsletter 56 MG635 Newsletter

FEATURES 22 NEW TRIUMPH AND MG WEEKEND IN 2021

Jim Livingstone’s Glacier White MGB GT V8 pictured in a suitable spring setting. Photo: Jim Livingstone

Exciting new event marks historic collaboration between Triumph clubs, TR Register and TSSC, and the MG Car Club to create the Triumph and MG Weekend

24 MG PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA Tom Aczel gives a history of the production

of MGs in Australia

32 THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT Ian Pogson recalls his time working for NAC and SAIC

40 MAGNETTE SUMMIT MEETING Dietrich Krahn reports on the 2020 International Magnette Meeting

63 MGA WITH ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING How Colyn Firth fitted a Power Steering

56 www.mgcc.co.uk

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CHAIRMANS NEWS By the time the April edition of Safety Fast! is out, I will have had my first vaccination, so on the path back to some normality. My local mass vaccination centre is at the Stoneleigh Show ground, so the MG will be visiting the site later than usual in the year, but as the Awaiting the Ferry on my return from a Norwegian European Event of the Year trip has to be down an essential one, I may as well take the he restrictions due to Covid are MGF Trophy. Let us hope the Road Map planned to be released in stages works as planned and we can start to use here in England following the latest the cars again in earnest. Road Map issued by the government. There are still some events being Slightly different regulations are cancelled but things are looking much in place for the other three parts of brighter for later in the year. Sadly, we will the United Kingdom so keep an eye on be missing out on the first race meeting your local information. Even though the of the year on the Silverstone National, as restrictions are being relaxed in stages, it is the Motor Sport UK permit will still not be still going to be a few months before we available for the March meeting due to the can start to use our cars and meet up with restrictions still being in place. The Club is friends in the numbers that we are used to.

KIMBER HOUSE NEWS

www.mgcc.co.uk

now planning for the Brands Hatch meeting in April which should be able to happen. Events in July seem more than likely to be able to happen if everything goes to plan. The MGF Register is expecting that the postponed MGF25 event from 2020 will be able to happen at the British Motor Museum on the 24th and 25th. The Silverstone Classic is also online to happen. Most events have Covid-secure booking for the tickets so you can start to plan your return to events and add some dates to those empty calendars that we all have. The Triumph & MG Weekend in midAugust, a new event for the Club, is already receiving a lot of interest from members. This weekend will allow the Midget Register to celebrate 60 years of the Midget and the ZED Register, 20 years of the MG ZEDs. Colin Grant has recently resigned from the position of Company Secretary. We thank him for the time that he has been in the role. Edward Vandyk has now accepted the invitation to take on the Company Secretary role and we welcome him to the team. Keith Williams

We’re all hoping that 2021 is the year where we can go out and enjoy our MGs again. Over the past year, some MGs have been lucky enough to be daily driven but on the flip side, there are some MGs who are patiently waiting for show season to return! 2021 is a special year as there’s not just one model anniversary but two. This year sees the Club celebrating 20 years of the MG Zeds and 60 years of the MG Midget. Both of these anniversaries will be celebrated at the Triumph & MG Weekend, Malvern, August 13-15 2021. If you didn’t think things could get any better, the Club will also be celebrating the anniversary that, unfortunately, could not go ahead in 2020 due to Government restrictions. MGF25, the silver anniversary event for the MGF and TF, will be taking place at the British Motor Museum on July 24 2021. Further information on these events will be available in Safety Fast! over the next couple of months – stay tuned!

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 7

NEWS CHRIS TWIGGER Chris Twigger was a devoted and passionate man, not only in business but equally with his loving family and numerous friends. Chris was always drawn to his boyhood dreams of being involved in motorsport and he was approached due to his knowledge of Saab to be part of Erik Carlson’s Saab rally car team and in this endeavour Chris met and pitted beside one of his heroes, the late Colin McRae, as well as countless other rally icons. As Chris successfully built up Redhill Garage over 40+ years he suffered a heart attack, which put his racing ambitions on hold, but one of Chris’s two daughters, Kayleigh, showed an interest in motorsport. Like any loving father would do, Chris

encouraged Kayleigh! She went into his original ex-Dunlop Rover Tomcat and was soon lining up on the grid with the MG Cup. Chris being Chris couldn’t just watch, he wanted to be out there racing against/with his daughter! So, he purchased another Tomcat so he could be “out there”. Chris successfully competed in four MG Cup races before unfortunately falling ill to motor neurone disease. Chris was always a friendly, helpful man in the MG Cup pit area. He would help anyone and everyone and made many friends! Unfortunately Chris lost his short battle with the disease. Despite his valiant and brave efforts he sadly passed at home on March 10 2021 surrounded by his loving family.

Guy and Bob having fun in the MG K3

GUY MAATHUIS 1970-2021 Whenever Guy couldn’t be found at an MG meeting, one only had to search for an open bonnet, finding him hard at the repairs, that’s the type of man he was. If Guy couldn’t repair it, nobody could, and it was beyond repair. Whenever a light blinked on a dashboard or another problem occurred, he was the first to seek out. Thereby initiating a passion for cars and the Club among youngsters. For this reason, our Club is the largest in Luxembourg, counting some 250 members and the lowest average in terms of age in Europe. I got to know Guy really well ten years ago. Following the wish to erect the Cercle Triple-M once again, I asked for his help. His reply, “join the MG Club’s committee and I’ll join the Triple-M Club’s.” A deal I couldn’t refuse, and from that time onwards we worked closely and organised many events for our members. Working on cars with Guy was always a wonderful affair. To start off, his wife would ask if I wanted some coffee and I’d join her in the kitchen. We’d have a lengthy chat and I’d return to the garage. Guy, meticulously working on my car, would bark: “Are you here to work on the car or to chat.” Of course, he was right ...

8 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Chris leaves behind his amazing wife Gale, two equally amazing daughters Lisa and Kayleigh, his best friend and grandson Oby, a loving family and countless friends. RIP Christopher Twigger 13/01/59 - 10/03/21

Though he was a hard taskmaster when it came to my repairing skills, he was overwhelmingly kind-hearted when I got married some nine years ago. Three days before the date, he spontaneously asked me to join him on a Guy (left) and Bob Rallye. Of course, I said yes. My wife-to-be shared my delight... When the Rallye was about to start, he told me I was sitting in the wrong spot. Instead, I should drive the rally in his MG ‘K3’, his stag party gift to me. Those are exactly the Guy-moments every one of us holds dear. One of Eric’s memories is his first fish and chips at a P&O ferry, which was an experience in itself. Guy led them all into the restaurant for lorry drivers on the ship. The food there was cheaper and better and only occasionally, they were thrown out, especially if they were dressed too cleanly and weren’t looking like lorry drivers. However, if they had previously repaired the MG on the quay and then showed their dirty trousers and black nails in the truck drivers’ restaurant, they never had a problem. Every year, before the Stoneleigh event in February, they regularly had to share ten places at Guy’s favourite Indian restaurant with 20 people, because he invited all MG people he encountered that day. The loss of Guy is tearing a big hole in our hearts in the classic car scene of Luxembourg, and even beyond our borders into the MG Car Club scene across Europe. At Guy’s funeral, thousands of people around the globe were thinking of him. The days following the tragic news delivered proof of this sentiment via the hundreds of emails and messages that have arrived. Thank you for everything you did for the MGCCL and the CERCLE Triple-M. You can never be replaced. Farewell, my friend. May you rest in peace. Goodbye Guy! Bob Nosbusch and Eric Tanson

www.mgcc.co.uk

BROWN & GAMMONS FIRST FOR EVERYTHING MG! MG PARTS SALES Catering for MG T-Types, MGA, MGB, Midget, MGC, MGB V8, MGR V8, MGF, MG TF and MG Rover range Main MG dealer able to supply the full range of parts for the modern MGs including body panels Over 25,000 parts lines in stock Mail Order Worldwide or collection from our shop Approved British Motor Heritage stockist Ongoing remanufacturing programme

MG CAR SALES Sales of Brand New and Classic MGs Phone for latest offers on the new range of MGs Part exchanges welcome Finance Available - Call for offers Classic MGs Bought or sold on commission basis See our website for latest offers and stock

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NEWS FBHVC CLARIFIES THE INTRODUCTION OF E10 PETROL FOR HISTORIC MG OWNERS After an extensive consultation process, the Department for Transport has announced that they will legislate to introduce E10 petrol as the standard 95-octane petrol grade by September 1 2021. They will also require the higher-octane 97+ ‘Super’ grades to remain E5 to provide protection for owners of historic MGs. This product will be designated as the ‘Protection’ grade. The introduction of the 95-octane E10 grade and the maintenance of the Super E5 protection grade will be reviewed by the Government after five years to ensure they remain appropriate to the needs of the market. In relation to the E5 protection grade, such a review will examine market developments over the period. HM Government have sought to reassure MG Car Club members that, without a suitable alternative becoming available, it is highly likely the Super E5 protection grade would continue to be available. Filling stations that stock two grades of petrol and supply at least one million litres of fuel in total each year, will need to ensure one product is the Super E5 protection grade. While not all filling stations meet these criteria, almost all towns across the UK will have

a filling station that supplies the ‘Super’ grade and currently one major retailer, a national supermarket group, has committed to offer the product. The main exception to this is in certain parts of the Highlands, north and west coast of Scotland, which will be covered by an exemption process and allowed to continue to market the 95-octane E5 grade. The Federation therefore recommends that all vehicles produced before 2000 and some vehicles from the early 2000s that are considered non-compatible with E10 – should use the Super E5 Protection grade where the Ethanol content is limited to a maximum of 5%. If MG owners are interested in checking compatibility of vehicles produced since 2000, perhaps the daily driver for example, then we recommend using the new online E10 compatibility checker: www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol However, we note that currently there is no MG data included on the Government checker at time of writing, so consult with your model Register within the MGCC to check if you are unsure. It should be noted that some Super E5 Protection grade products do not contain Ethanol as the E5 designation is for fuels containing up to 5% Ethanol. Product availability varies by manufacturer and geographical location and enthusiasts should check the situation in their location.

SELF-DRIVE MG CLASSICS FROM CLASSIC CONCIERGE

Classic Concierge is launching a classic car self-drive hire operation to work alongside their classic car storage, logistics and automotive care business. The first classic car that’s on their hire fleet is a lovely 1973 MGB Roadster in Teal Blue and in superb condition and to original specification. The company are based close to Abingdon in Oxfordshire and the MGB is available on hire packages from a day, weekend to a week or more. What could be better than a drive through the Oxfordshire countryside this summer, perfect for special occasions, a celebration or just for fun. A delivery and collection service is also available. Club members receive 10% discount from Classic Concierge’s storage and hire services. Contact Classic Concierge for further details. Tel: 07974 333789 or email: mark@classicconcierge.co.uk or visit www.classicconcierge.co.uk

MGB Register AGM Date: Saturday May 22 2021. Time: Starting at 11.00am. The meeting will be held via Zoom. To register your attendance please email: agm2021@mgb-register.org by May 18 2021. Agenda

10 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

1.Apologies for absence. 2.Approval of the previous AGM Minutes. 3.Matters Arising. 4.Chairman’s report. 5.Secretary’s report. 6.Treasurer’s report and adoption of accounts. 7.Registrar’s report. 8.Election of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer

CLASSIC CAR AND RESTORATION SHOW The next outing of the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, with Discovery, will now take place in March 2022. The show was scheduled to take place on June 11-13 2021 after moving from its usual March dateline. However, the recent announcement of Covid restrictions means that the show cannot be held at that time. Tickets already purchased will automatically be carried over to the same day next year (March 18-20 2022). Visitors also have the option to move their booking to the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show (November 11-13 2021) or Reis Race Retro (February 18-20 22). Please contact practicalclassicsshow@seetickets. com with your request, including your ticket booking reference if you have this available. and Committee. 9.Any other business. Nominations for Election to the Committee/ Committee Posts and AOB Agenda items should be submitted to the Secretary by May 10 2021. All communications to Neil Hyett, Secretary MGB Register. Email secretary@mgb-register.org

www.mgcc.co.uk

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www.mgcc.co.uk

NEWS PETER BROWNING 1936-2021 A true gentleman of Motor Sport takes the chequered flag

Peter Browning, renowned for his organisation skills in motor sport – as competitions manager of BMC/British Leyland and executive director of the British Racing Sports Car Club – has died, aged 84. His life-long interest in motor sport was instilled by his father, who raced at Brooklands, was founder member of the Veteran Car Club and later a senior RAC scrutineer and BRDC member. His work included restoring church organs and Peter became an accomplished organist and tuner. In 1955 Peter joined the Harrow Car Club, where he met many of the racing and rallying personalities who became friends and with whom he would deal throughout his career. He qualified as a Grade 1 international timekeeper and was invited by Geoff Healey to work with the Healey team at a number of long-distance races including the Le Mans 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and the Targa Florio. In 1961 Peter was asked by John Thornley, the General Manager of MG, to set up the Austin Healey Club alongside the MG Car Club that had been established at the MG factory in Abingdon. He was soon co-opted to edit Safety Fast! magazine. The BMC works team was on the same site and he began his association with them attending rallies as Competitions Press Officer. By 1966 he had a wider influence in the team and was instrumental in the excellent result obtained by an MGB winning the 84 Hours Marathon de la Route at Nürburgring. At the end of that year John Thornley told Peter that Stuart Turner was leaving and that he wanted him to take over as BMC Competitions Manager. He accompanied Stuart Turner on the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally to gain first-hand knowledge of the complexities of this event. Despite complicated service arrangements and tyre developments, the team’s Mini Cooper won the Monte for the third time.

UK BINS THE VNUK MOTOR INSURANCE LAW The UK Government plans to bin the EU’s ‘Vnuk’ motor insurance law which requires motor insurance even on private land for a wider range of ‘vehicles’, including ride-on lawnmowers and mobility scooters. The move will ensure every British driver is spared an estimated £50 annual increase in their motor insurance premium. The announcement on the GOV.UK website says that had the EU law been implemented in Great Britain, it would have meant the insurance industry would have been liable for almost £2 billion in extra overall costs. These costs would likely have been passed onto their customers – British 12 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Peter purchased one of the Austin Healey 3000 rally cars, and reregistered it with his personal registration number PWB 57. In 1967 with the opportunity to enter a prototype in the RAC Rally, the car was re-purchased from the works and prepared as an entry in that event. Sadly, the RAC was cancelled because of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. Many rally people consider the specification of this car as the best Healey 3000 ever prepared at Abingdon. Peter was invited to become an Associate Member of the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club in 1968. Leyland took over BMC in 1968 and the Competitions Department came under stricter financial control and was forced to reduce its programme of events. Nevertheless, Peter obtained agreement from the British Leyland Competitions Committee to enter both the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon and the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally and good results were obtained in both. But it was not enough to impress Lord Stokes, managing director of British Leyland, who closed the Competitions Department at the end of 1970. Peter was not idle for long. He worked behind the scenes on a number of rally projects and wrote a regular column for the sports pages of Autocar. He also completed the first of a series of well-regarded books: Healeys & Austin Healeys. That was to be followed by The Works Minis in 1971, Works Big Healeys in 1995 and Works MGs in 2000. Rallying was put aside when, at the end of 1971, he was appointed Executive Director of the British Racing and Sports Car Club but it was not forgotten. Peter had an ambition to bring the idea of the Tour de France Automobile – an event combining races and rally stages – to the UK and in 1973 the BRSCC organised the first Tour of Britain. Through the 1980s Peter was involved in sports promotions with a number of organisations and in 1998, Sportscene, the business he ran with his wife Sharon, organised a classic car rally with a route that included many of roads used in the Coupe des Alpes, one of the toughest events of the 1950s and 1960s. He brought in a number of ex-BMC team drivers and co-drivers as on-event marshals team. A light-hearted event, not seriously competitive, the Prix des Alpes continued successfully for 10 years. Peter’s 1973 marriage to Liz ended in divorce and his second wife Sharon died after a long illness in 2020. He is survived by Nichola and Oliver, the children of his first marriage and five grandchildren. Bill Price road-users. Now we have left the EU, the measures no longer need to be implemented, helping road-users across the country avoid increased insurance costs. Bypassing Vnuk will also protect the existence of the UK’s world-leading motorsports industry The EU rules would have meant any motorsports collision involving vehicles from go-karting to F1 would have been treated as regular road traffic incidents requiring insurance cover. This could have decimated the industry due to the additional insurance costs of roughly £458 million every single year. Scrapping the rules will save the industry from potential collapse and secure hundreds of thousands of jobs in the sector in the process. www.mgcc.co.uk

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POSTBAG DO YOU RECOGNISE THIS CAR? How many times have we seen this, and wondered what strange stories come out of the undergrowth. Try this one for size. My brother-in-law in South Africa sent me a copy of the Cape Town Crankhandle Club Magazine. He had never done that before, but had seen a “do you recognise this car” photo of an old MG, thought perhaps to be an N Type, and wondered if I would be able to identify it. I have somehow managed to acquire a reasonably good knowledge of the convoluted histories of the seven historic NEs, so when I saw the photo I recognised it as JB 4750. This did not require much specialised knowledge because the number was on the number plate! But only a few were likely to recognise it as an NE, because it didn’t look like one in its historic Tourist Trophy Trim, and neither did it look like one of the lightweight P Type Trials bodies, fitted between the 1934 and 1935 IoM TTs. The bodywork was neither of these, but a special lightweight body built by Tom Dargue in about 1947/8 because someone stripped off the TT body and had flogged it or given it away. Where that body ended up involves a long and convoluted yarn, which would take ages to repeat here. The story continued with me writing in triumph with the answer to the magazine editor, only to be told by his wife that he had very sadly dropped dead at a club natter only days before.

I was not going to be beaten, so I emailed my brother-in-law to see if he could locate the enquirer in the magazine, knowing only his name and home town about 50 miles up the coast. He found him, and we made contact. Among all the happy car chatter, it turned out that his brother, now long dead, had known the owner in Birmingham in 1955, and I was sent a good clear photo with the owner in the car. What was particularly gratifying was that the very sparse and unconfirmed one-liner in my research was confirmed and augmented, and a properly annotated photo has been added to the Club database. So, is this just another old MG identified and a bit of history added? Not at all. JB 4750 was one of seven pulled from the N Type production line and converted for racing in just a few months because the changed formula banned superchargers, and thus the very successful blown K3s. Abingdon managed to tune up an already good performance by the standard of the day from about 60 to 90 bhp per ton. The car won the IoM TT in 1934 in the hands of Charlie Dobson at a speed not much less than the K3 the previous year. It’s an historic piece of machinery, and we now know for sure where it was in 1955, and where it is now. Mike Edmondson

GEORGE PHILLIPS ARTICLES

UMG Monte Finish with Marc and co-driver Per Jonsson

I enjoyed the series of articles in which George Phillips described his motoring life with MG. I very much regret I did not have the opportunity to meet him. In the final article there was a photo of George with

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Gregor Grant and Gregor’s MG YB Reg UMG 662 on the quayside at Monte Carlo, having just completed the eponymous rally in 1954. The reason Gregor looks slightly glum is that they had just been disqualified

for missing (by a few minutes) the final time control. George doesn’t appear to be that concerned! I am the current owner of UMG 662. The car was the Autocar office hack and Gregor and George had also driven it as a press car on the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally. In my ownership the car has been back to the Principality three times on the Monte Carlo Classique Rally. I attach a photo of it in the same spot where Gregor and George were pictured 62 years previously. If, as George says, his final MG race in anger was in the September 1953 TT, his penultimate race must have been when he drove UMG 662 to third in class in the Daily Express Trophy Production Touring Car Race at Silverstone that May. The class was won by his old friend Dick Jacobs in another YB, UHK 111. That car, which I also own, is currently on display at the BRDC’s Silverstone Experience museum. Marc Hanson

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Safety Fast_Feb21_3-48.indd 35

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FEBRUARY 2021 SAFETY FAST! 35

25/01/2021 17:09

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 49 15 FEBRUARY

POSTBAG EARLY MG HISTORY It is most gratifying that Safety Fast! continues to uncover MG history of 85 or more years ago. I was, of course, delighted to read in last month’s Safety Fast! Philip BaynePowell’s letter about the ND Magnette of H.B. Shaw, and especially to see the MG publicity poster advertising the success of the P-type in the North West London Motor Club’s Team Trial of October 1934. Does anyone know what happened to Macdermid on that event, as he is not mentioned in the press report of the event?

Somewhere I have book titled “Advertising MG”, but it does not include any such posters of specific competition successes such as that shown on page 14 of the March edition of your excellent publication. I had not seen this poster before, but I have similar ones for the Exeter Trial of 1935, when the Cream Crackers (in blown PB Midgets) and the Three Musketeers (in the blown L-type Specials) teams shared the team prize; the Craigantlet Hillclimb of 1936 (when MGs won all five sportscar classes); the Experts Trial of 1937

(when the joint winners were both driving T-types, and both Team awards were won by MG teams) and the 1937 MCC Team Championship won by the Cream Crackers. I wonder whether anyone has a list and/or copies of other such pre-war MG posters proclaiming the success, even domination, of trials or speed events in that period. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has similar posters! Jonathan Toulmin

LOOKING FOR MG 2313

MARCH LOOKING BACK

Martin Butcher’s article “Looking for MG 2313” in Safety Fast! brought back some very pleasant memories for me. I purchased the car from Martin in 1973 for £150, as he writes, but I was prepared to pay more! After towing it home to Hertfordshire from Buckinghamshire, I embarked upon a restoration which ultimately took six years. As Martin says, there were a lot of unoriginal parts. Whilst looking at an MG J2 at an MGCC meet in Brentwood for some guidance, the owner came up and introduced himself as Ralph Bateman. This began a long friendship and Ralph took me along to the MGCC Natter at The Merry Fiddlers in Epping. What a revelation – there were so many J2 owners: Mike Linward, Len Bull, Ian Mackay, Colin Smith, Keith Hall, and another Mike whose surname escapes me. The rebuild was completed and was on the road in the early eighties and a chance to really use it, in company with the aforementioned friends from the Fiddlers. The photo is the VSCC driving tests at Brooklands 1982. I sold the car in the late nineties after many years of pleasure and it subsequently found its way to Barry Walker, who I believe sold it to someone in Surrey. I am still a member of the MGCC and attend the Natter at The Lion in Needham Market in my MGC GT, as I now live in Suffolk.

Flipping through the March Safety Fast!, I thought I’d look up which P-type was on show in that lovely 1950 Atlas Garage shot in the Looking Back section. You know, the one with registration number WO 9377? The Triple-M Register database quickly told me the car is PA1324, believed to be a survivor. Imagine my surprise when, going through the rest of the mag, proof of just that was found on page 77 where WO 9377 can be seen in all its colourful glory enjoying a Stay at Home Rally only last year! Going back to the black and white shot, flanking the TD on the other side is L0418, a four-seater L1 Magna, although I couldn’t find any proof elsewhere in the magazine of that one having survived! However, the database does say so, even though it’s been rebuilt to resemble an L2 (a two-seater) at some point and we’ve lost touch with the car in 2006 when it was last for sale. Hopefully, reading this, perhaps the current owner can come forward and show us what it looks like today?

Ken Gallop

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Cat Spoelstra

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YOUNG MEMBERS

Shaun Nelson shaunnelly@hotmail.com

MG AND TRIUMPH

ou have probably heard by now that this year’s big MG event is now twinned with this year’s big Triumph event, to form a conglomerate of British automotive goodness. If you’ve been reading our articles (this one marks my two-year anniversary of me writing on behalf of the YMB!) then you will probably be aware of the many misadventures featuring myself in my MGB

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GT, and TR Youth leader Charlie Crawshaw in his TR7. In the spirit of looking forward to what will no doubt be a hilarious weekend, and with plenty of collaboration between our two youth groups to be announced in good time, I’d like to recall a misadventure or two between MG and Triumph. The first that comes to mind is an epic hour-and-a-bit road trip from Derby to a greasy spoon café between Worksop and Doncaster. This was before we’d heard of the MGCC or TR Reg, and supposedly a Facebook group was hosting a young people’s retro car meet there. The journey up was completely uneventful, and the event itself was pretty quiet, so after a massive breakfast we hit the road again.

Main roads turned into country roads, and eventually we found a green lane through some woodland. Reasoning that both TR7 and MGB were cars with rally pedigree, we decided to tackle it. It got a bit tight and twisty through the tree roots, but the real problem came later on. I’m sure you’re familiar with old dirt roads, with tyre tracks either side with raised ground in the middle. These tracks soon became very deep, far too deep for our sports cars. This was easily overcome though! Just line up one pair of wheels with the centre, stick the others onto the verge, and straddle the deep stuff. We got home no issue at all. Another is the annual February MG Triumph spares do that we attended in the TR7. After arriving late having fitted new front wheel bearings en route, some proper TR7 seats were purchased at a bargain price. So good was this, in fact, that we didn’t even consider how we were going to get them home! We thought about doing a seat swap in the car park and flogging the old ones for 50p. However, it turns out that if you put the roof down and the seats fully forward, you can cram another pair upside down behind them. It was a chilly winter’s day, but not unbearable. That is, until it started raining and later snowing heavily. I can attest to the fact that the faster you drive, indeed, the less wet you become! But you do get colder. There are far too many daft stories to tell within this one page alone, and there will certainly be many more to tell after the Triumph MG weekend. I hope to see you there.

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BE PART OF HISTORY JOIN US FOR OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT 30 JULY – 1 AUGUST 2021

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CHERISHED NEWS Pete Barrett MG Car Club Insurance Manager

Cherished.vehicle@aplan.co.uk

elcome to my first Safety Fast! column. Firstly, let me introduce myself… My name is Peter Barrett and I manage Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services. Both the Team and I are extremely proud and very excited that we have been appointed as the recommended insurance scheme for the MG Car Club. My Team and I are all very passionate about cars and are for the most dedicated “petrol heads”. Between us we have three MGs: my TF160, a ZT190 and a ZR160. I have also got access to an MGC that I use regularly when the weather is fine. Cherished Vehicle Insurance are one of the Specialist arms of A-Plan insurance brokers and we have set up a scheme to suit the needs of the members along with organising further discount for products like home insurance when organised by ourselves at the Worcester branch. I am looking forward to writing this section every month to let you know the answer to any questions that may regularly arise when we speak to members and also give you an update on what we have been up to with our cars. Personally, I got into MGs at a young age (six) when I used to be picked up after school by my friend’s mum who had a chrome bumpered MGB GT – I remember the back-bench seat being very hard – but the smell, noise and feel impassioned me forever and after this experience I was forever hooked on classic cars. Over the years, my family have had a few MGs, including an Abingdon MGF, and a TF cool blue. I then went on to purchase a TF160 which I sold to my uncle shortly after my second daughter was born. In December 2019 I bought “Emma” a 102K mile 2002 TF160 as I missed my previous one. This car, it seemed, was in great condition and I really enjoyed putting another 1,500 miles or so on her. As with most cars, I have had a few problems including the airbag light coming on, an easy fix under the driver’s seat connection, then the alternator packed up which I dutifully changed. When I purchased “Emma” I was under the impression that the cambelt had been changed. This unfortunately turned out to be untrue and it decided to snap on my birthday in September 2020. Hopefully she will be back with me soon, as it’s currently having the head rebuilt after I bent most of the valves, and some remedial rust replaced with metal. I will keep you updated with what we get up to with her. As part of the launch of the insurance scheme I am currently offering to do Zoom PowerPoint presentations covering the scheme benefits, including a Q&A session. So if any of the regional Centres or Registers would like this please email me at peter.barrett@aplan. co.uk. Also I would like to thank the MGB Register for being my guinea pigs and for listening to what I had to say!

20 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

The Benefits of the policy include: • Free and simple Agreed Value service - Completed in house by our specialists • Member to member cover • Reinstatement cover available • Salvage Retention – Subject to qualifying Criteria • Modification cover • 90 Days European Cover – included as standard • Multi-Vehicle Cover – we can look to put all your vehicles, even non MGs, on the same policy • Laid Up Cover – if it’s not on the road it can still be insured • Spare parts cover – up to £1,000 cover for your spares • Occasional Wedding Hire – can be arranged on application • Business Use – can be arranged on application • Limited Mileage discounts • Young Accompanied Driver cover from age 18 • Track day Cover– can be arranged on application This is administered as part of the A-Plan Holdings who have a whole panel of insurers and can give you independent advice for your Private Car, Buildings and Contents, Commercial, HGV, Life and Travel Insurance. Please note that the MG Insurance scheme powered by Cherished Vehicle Insurance uses one insurance provider only, KGM Underwriting Services whom we have selected due to their experience in the classic car market. Please note there is a promotion specifically designed to reduce MGCC members’ Home Insurance. This gives a £25 discount off the standard administration charge for new policies if you are an existing MGCC member. Just call 01905 930747 and let the team know you are a MGCC member. And that is it for this month! If you’d like any more information on any of the above feel free to give any of us a call here at Cherished Vehicle Insurance on 0345 250 8282 – we’d all really love to hear from you. MG Car Club Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of A-Plan Holdings. The MG Classic Car Insurance Scheme is managed and administered by A-Plan Holdings Ltd. Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services is a trading name of A-Plan Holdings who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Calls to 0345 numbers are charged at ‘normal’ rates from landlines. MG Car Club Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of A-Plan Holdings. The MG Classic Car Insurance Scheme is managed and administered by A-Plan Holdings Ltd. Cherished Vehicle Insurance Services is a trading name of A-Plan Holdings who are authorised and www.mgcc.co.uk 2021 SAFETY FAST! 21 regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Ofﬁce: 2 Des Roches Square,Witney, OX28 4LE. Registered in England. APRIL Registration Number 750484 CVI 083 01/21 Facebook “f ” Logo

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EVENT

ew event marks historic collaboration between Triumph clubs, TR Register and TSSC and the MG Car Club to create the Triumph and MG Weekend at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern August 13-15 2021. It was one of the great rivalries of the British Motor Industry. The automotive equivalent, if you like, of City vs United – it was Triumph vs MG! But, whilst fans of these historic marques have traditionally existed as friendly acquaintances ever since, the global Coronavirus pandemic has brought all sorts of communities together closer than ever before and the Triumph and MG clubs are no different. It is with great excitement that the TR Register, Triumph Sports Six Club (TSSC) and MG Car Club announce that they have created an equal partnership to create a memorable, jointly run, inter-club weekend at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire, over the weekend of August 13-15 2021. The TR Register and Triumph Sports Six Club (TSSC) had already combined their annual international festivals into an inter-club collaboration with the Triumph Weekend in 2019. But, following the news that MGLive! at Silverstone had been forced

to be postponed until 2022, the hand of friendship from Triumph was extended to the “marque of friendship” in MG and the partnership has added the MG Car Club, joining as the event’s third organising partner. The weekend will feature specialist traders, an extensive Auto-jumble, Autosolo including the MG Car Club’s historic California Cup, technical seminars, plus inter-club challenges, evening entertainment, live music, live action arena show and Concours d’Elegance competition, anniversary displays – plus much more to be confirmed during the coming weeks. The collaboration between clubs isn’t limited to those organising the event either, as all marque car clubs are invited to come and display their vehicles and join in with this historic collaboration. The three-day event will also celebrate a number of historic milestones and anniversaries for each marque, including 60 years of the MG Midget, 60 years of the Triumph TR4 and Herald 1200, 20 years of the MG Zeds, and 40 years of the Triumph Acclaim and special display areas will be a focal point of what promises to be an event you will not want to miss! Lauran Gallacher, Assistant General Manager of the MG Car Club says: “Whilst we were sad that MGLive! was not possible this year, we have turned the challenges of

COVID around into an opportunity to offer a new, fun and landmark event for members of the MG Car Club. We need to come together more as a classic car community and this collaboration shows just what we can achieve when we do so.” Allan Westbury, Chairman of the TR Register, says: “It is important for the future of the classic car scene that clubs come together and collaborate and the challenges we all face as a result of COVID have made this even more crucial. Combining our events and resources in this way, means that we can bring Triumph and MG fans together for a really memorable and enjoyable weekend.” Chris Gunby, Chairman of the TSSC, says: “We are excited by the added interest this will bring to the show. We are all classic car fans at the end of the day and we think this will spark some lifelong collaborations and friendships across fans of these two marques, which have always enjoyed a bit of friendly rivalry. We can’t wait to meet our new friends from the MG Car Club and celebrate our love of classic British cars in the wake of what has been a challenging twelve months for everyone. ” Weekend entry packages, day tickets and other passes all go on sale from March 1 2021. You can find full details and purchase online via: www. triumphandmgweekend.com

NEW TRIUMPH AND MG WEEKEND IN 2021

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FEATURE

MG PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA By Tom Aczel

Tom Aczel from Australia, who is a keen MG enthusiast owning an MGB and MGA, gives a history of the production of MGs in Australia. 24 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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BACKGROUND PREAMBLE: Successive Australian Federal Governments from the early 1900s pursued protectionist tariff policies to encourage the development of local industries and infrastructure. (In fact, favourable rates applied for Commonwealth countries, especially the UK, or at least until Britain “turned its back” on Commonwealth member nations and joined the EEC in 1973.) Following the Second World War, the then Labor Federal Government’s advice was that a further world war within 20 years was probable, and that, without a substantial increase in the country’s

population and its industrial base, Australia was likely to face an Asian invasion from the north. In the jingoism of the late 1940s this was commonly referred to as “The Yellow Peril”. “Populate or Perish” became the guiding political motto. Consequently a massive immigration policy was instituted, predominantly from the UK, Ireland and Europe. Simultaneously, major encouragement was given to overseas motor vehicle manufacturers to establish production facilities in Australia. General Motors and BMC were the earliest to proceed with local manufacturing. General Motors-Holden released their first Holden in 1948.

VICTORIA PARK, WILLIAM MORRIS AND THE NUFFIELD GROUP The Nuffield facilties (later BMC (Australia), and later still, BLMC and then Leyland Australia) were located at Victoria Park, just 5.8 km from the centre of Sydney. The adjoining suburbs here were Zetland and Waterloo, (and hence the business address changed, depending which frontage the administrative offices occupied!). The area was originally a swamp, and then from 1900 a horse racetrack. A speedway track also occupied the site from 1908 to 1920. Interestingly, the first powered flight in Australia was made from this site, in 1909.

MGB Mk I cars on the line at Zetland, circa January-February 1968.

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William Morris had come across the Victoria Park site in 1945 on one of his visits to Australia. (He enjoyed spending the English winters in warmer climes!) As a patriotic British subject, Morris was eager to see the Australian market remain substantially British. He recommended to the Nuffield Group board that they purchase the Victoria Park site for an Australian factory. The board considered and rejected this proposal, whereupon Morris purchased the site himself. Morris subsequently sold the property to Nuffield a matter of months later, and what’s more, at a considerable profit! However, Morris only sold about half of the approximately 115-acre site to the Nuffield Group for their Australian factory. Morris then sold off parts of the rest of the site to support industries and feeder companies, such as to James N Kirby, Joseph Lucas Ltd, Champion Spark Plugs, Olympic tyres, etc. Clearly William Morris was an extraordinarily astute and successful entrepreneur. Nuffield Australia commenced operations in 1950. The first factory was completed in 1952. By 1957 BMC in Melbourne had been shut down, and all assembly moved to Sydney. The factory site was later named BMC (Australia) after the merger in 1952 of Nuffield and Austin. From 1968, it became The British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia and Leyland Australia in 1971.

The BMC (Australia) factory from the air. The MGB and the MG Midget were assembled in the left side of the building at the top of the photo. APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 25

BMC (AUSTRALIA) Most people overseas were and remain quite unaware of just how large a venture BMC (Australia) was. The factory employed about 5,000 people, and by the late 1950s was producing a car every four minutes. Apart from extensive and progressively expanded factory floor area for assembly, the factory, on its 57-acre site, was equipped with its own panel pressing facilities, (the largest presses in the Southern Hemisphere). Engines, transmissions, axles and bodies were all cast, assembled and/ or pressed locally. (Major castings were supplied by “Australian Forge and Engineering” and others in NSW, Victoria and South Australia). Heat treating of components for hardening, and metallurgical control was in-house. (*) The “Unit Plant” was where engine, transmission, axle and suspension components were manufactured, ready for vehicle installation. The transfer machines in the unit plant machined cylinder heads, engine blocks and gearbox casings. These transfer machines could index the part automatically from station to station, allowing 30 sets of operations to be performed on three faces without any human intervention. (*)

The production lines at the Pressed Metal Corporation factory in Enfield Sydney. The middle line carries MGAs being assembled.

The Paint Shop included a “Rotodip” where all assembled vehicle bodies were located onto a frame and rotated through a series of baths and ovens. All trim was locally sourced and fabricated on site. There were production engineering offices, drawing and design facilities, a service department and research laboratories, and a department termed “Experimental”. There was an active apprentice training programme with related facilities. As a result of the highly developed engineering facilities and capabilities available, in addition to the various mainstream vehicles produced by the parent company in the UK, suitably modified for Australian conditions, a number of vehicles unique to the Australian market were constructed here. The original prototype MGC, incidentally, as conceived by Sydney Enever, employed an Australian-produced 2.4 litre 6-cylinder engine based on “one

and a half” 1622cc ‘B’ series engines, named the “Blue Streak 6”. This was a much lighter and much more compact engine than the Morris C-series engine ultimately used. This engine could potentially have been manufactured as a relatively small lightweight 2.7 litre 6-cylinder engine. Even the 1622cc version of the B-series engine for that matter was conceived and produced in Australia, long before its UK counterpart; the parent company engineers initially claimed that 1500cc was the practical limit of the B-series engine.

MG ASSEMBLY IN AUSTRALIA Despite the highly developed significant local manufacturing facilities available to Nuffield-BMC, because of the smaller production volumes of MG models, prior to 1957, MG cars were shipped to Australia completely built up, (CBU) but partly disassembled. Wheels/tyres and bumpers, for example, were removed and stowed in or under the cars.

The administration offices at Pressed Metal Corporation. Note the roof line visible over the top of the office roof, clearly showing the aircraft hanger origin of the factory building. 26 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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MGB body in finishing, BMC (Australia).

Unlike at Abingdon, where the bodies were received assembled and painted, the MGB body was assembled from the very smallest of panel sections

THE MGA IN AUSTRALIA

PRESSED METAL CORPORATION

As the MGA, which had been introduced in 1955 was proving to be in significant demand, and there remained encouragement through tariffs to assemble motor vehicles in Australia, a decision was made to commence local assembly in Australia of the MGA. Due at this stage to having insufficient spare capacity at the Zetland facility, this task was subcontracted by BMC (Australia) to Pressed Metal Corporation, which like BMC was based in Sydney, in the suburb of Enfield. Consequently shipments of batches of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) MGA cars commenced to Australia in 1957. Until the later part of 1962 these were assembled at Pressed Metal, with ever greater local content. Indeed, the degree of assembly of these cars here in Australia was very much greater than at the MG factory in the UK, where in contrast to Australia, MGA bodies were received at Abingdon already fully built up and already painted. Ultimately 2,040 MGA roadsters were built in Australia. (The Coupes and the Twin Cam models remained fully imported due to their lower numbers.) Again because of the production volumes, major mechanical components such as engines, transmissions and chassis were imported (though in the case of the MGA 1500, the engines were built here, from imported components).

Pressed Metal Corporation was a joint venture established in1930 between the Larke Hoskins group, the Austin agents for NSW and Larke, Neave and Carter, the Chrysler distributor. The PMC factory after WW II occupied a 22-acre site, and had extensive capability for the complete assembly of motor vehicles. A number of the factory buildings were redundant aircraft construction hangars, imported into Australia from the UK after WW II. Apart from assembling a range of sedans, light commercial vehicles (“utes” and panel vans), trucks and buses, Pressed Metal Corporation also assembled a very significant number of sports cars on behalf of BMC. Between the years of 1957 and 1967, inclusive Pressed Metal Corporation assembled: MGA roadster (1500, 1600, 1600 MkII): 2040 vehicles. Austin Healey Sprite: MkI (Bugeye) through to the Austin Healey Mk 3A: (approx) 3,600 vehicles.

MGB roadster: MkI (approx) 4,625 vehicles. (Based on VIN plate images, somewhere between 4,600 and 4,650) TOTAL: Around 10,265 sports cars, in a little over 10 years.

THE MG MIDGET IN AUSTRALIA In the latter part of 1967 Austin Healey Sprite production ceased at Pressed Metal Corporation. The model was replaced by the MG Midget. Unlike the UK and world markets, the Australian market was not deemed large enough to run the two similar models in parallel. The MG Midgets were assembled at the BMC (Australia) plant, again from CKD packs. Building the MG Midget commenced at Zetland in November 1967, with the vehicles offered for sale from early in 1968. Features and changes in the series generally reflected those in their UKassembled brethren, but again with a significant inclusion of locally produced components, including electrics, paint and of course local labour, which constituted a significant proportion of the overall vehicle production costs. Approximately 788 MG Midgets of the series YGGN4 and YGN4 were assembled in Australia. (As with all Australian BMC vehicles, “Y” indicated Australian assembly. It has been said that the “Y” was meant to represent an upside down “A”, A for Australia. Some with factory first hand knowledge dispute this as the

Various badges unique to Australian built cars www.mgcc.co.uk

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 27

MGB bodyline production.

reason for the choice of Y in the series nomenclatures). October 1969 saw the introduction of the (ahem) “Facelift” model; GAN5 for the Abingdon assembled MG Midgets, and typed YGN5 for the Australian cars. These cars reached the market about 6 months earlier than the similarly revised black recessed grille MGB models. A total of 788 MG Midgets were assembled prior to the final Facelift model, of which 396 were built; 1,184 Australianbuilt MG Midgets in total, until production was wound up in December 1971.

THE MGB IN AUSTRALIA The MGB was assembled in Australia from 1963 to 1972. A total of something in excess of 9,000 examples were built over this period. The Australian content was ultimately 45% of the car’s value. As with the MGA, the Mk1 MGBs were constructed at “Pressed Metal Corporation” in Enfield, commencing in April 1963. At the time, the BMC plant at Zetland was fully occupied with the production of the Mini and preparations were under way for the upcoming introduction of the other FWD models, the Morris 1100 and later the Austin 1800.

28 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

The MGB engines and gearboxes were received already mated at the BMC Zetland works. They were hot run tested, and then transported to Pressed Metal. Suspensions were assembled and painted at Zetland, and similarly transported to Pressed Metal. Springs, electrics, paint and a rapidly larger proportion of the trim were locally sourced. As a result, and as had occurred with the MGA, local body colours, though similar to their UK counterparts, were unique to Australia. Early colours included colours such as ‘Sky Blue”, ‘Monza Red’, ‘Nurburg White’, Katoomba Grey, and of course, British Racing Green. (The last had been also available on locally assembled MGAs, unlike their UK counterparts.) Because of the relatively small production numbers compared to more mainstream BMC models, all Australian MGBs were similarly specified. Only roadsters were ever built locally. All cars

Chassis plate off Toms MGA 1600 Mk11.

had wire wheels and (until 1970) packaway style tops only. Oil coolers, front sway bars, front overriders and ash trays were standard fittings. Like the preceding MGA, the interior trim was, for both cost reasons and because of the harsh local climate, always in vinyl. Contrasting piping disappeared after 1964, and progressively thereafter ever more of the interior trim became black only. The only options were (an initially rarely fitted) heater, and the dealer-fitted radio. Overdrive was not available in Australia, even as an option, until the last of the MGB Mk1 vehicles were assembled, between late 1967 and August 1968. As with the MGA, and in contrast to the MG cars emerging from the MG factory in Abingdon, the Australian-built MGB bodies were locally built up from their most basic pressed components on locally created jigs, whereas the Abingdon factory received the MGB bodies completely painted and assembled. Rust proofing on these earlier Enfieldassembled cars was unfortunately rudimentary at best, with the bodies just “slipper dipped” in primer. (The author’s own Mk1 MGB was already visibly rusting by the time it was five years old!)

MG ASSEMBLY AT BMC ZETLAND BMC ultimately purchased Pressed Metal Corporation, and, as with the MG Midget, production of the MGB was transferred from the PMC factory to a dedicated production facility in the CAB 3 building (Car Assembly Building 3) at the Zetland facility. New jigs were commissioned from Dorman’s in Victoria. Bodies were here far more elaborately rust proofed, going through the “RotoDip” process, as described earlier. Even though the MGB MkII had been introduced in the UK from November 1967, between January and August 1968 it was still the MGB MkI being assembled at Zetland. The MGB MkII was finally built and introduced in Australia 9 months after its UK debut. It is difficult not to draw the conclusion that left over redundant superseded

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 29

THIS ARTWORK IS THE PROPERTY OF CLASSIC MOTORING MAGAZINE.

Mock furneral being performed on the last MGB built in Australia

stock of MGB MkI car components was offloaded by the British parent company for sale to their less important colonial Australian customers to make way for the MGB MkII in the UK for the home and other export markets. A very similar situation had occurred in 1961, immediately prior to the introduction of the MGA MkII in the UK, when suddenly a large volume of MGA 1600 cars for assembly arrived on these shores, far in excess of the volume needed to fulfill immediate Australian market demand. As a result, the MGA MkII was first assembled in Australia from February 1962, nearly a year after its arrival in the UK. The intervening period was required to build and sell the excess volume of already shipped MGA 1600 cars. The MGA MkII consequently had a short run in Australia of just a few months prior to the arrival of the MGB, with a mere 148 MGA MkII roadsters assembled in Australia. From August 1968 onwards, the models and changes were again more in line with their UK counterparts, although these running changes always generally arrived three to four months later than in the Abingdon cars because of the time needed for shipping and the sourcing of components. The “automatic” option was also offered in Australia, from 1969, and though well received by the press, it was, as in other countries, not especially popular, though sales continued right through to 1972. Unlike their British counterparts, the Australian-assembled MGB vehicles carried ‘MkII’, ‘Overdrive’ and ‘Automatic’ badges whenever applicable. The Australian version of the (debatably termed) “Facelift” model was assembled from April 1970, and reaching

Mock funeral procession

the dealer showrooms from about June 1970. Unique to Australia, this series of the MGB was ascribed the model description of MGB BL (for British Leyland). Unlike the Abingdon MGB, these black recessed grille models in Australia also had the area forward of the radiator diaphragm painted black to hide this area as seen through the grille in the lighter coloured cars. Australian assembly of the MGB ceased late in 1972. The Federal Government had announced a restructuring of the tariff arrangements, whereby an 85% local content was to be required for a favourable import duty. In any case, by this time sales of the MGB had dropped to a trickle. The buying public’s interest in small, responsive but relatively low-powered sports cars was waning, with a growing interest in high-powered sedan

derivatives (the local equivalent of the American ‘Muscle cars’). Cars such as the Holden Monaro and Torana XU1, the Ford Falcon GT/HO and Chrysler Valiant Charger were extremely fast cars. (The Ford Falcon GT HO was, in its time, the fastest four-door sedan produced anywhere in the world.) These locally built power-houses could be seen competing most weekends on the various circuits around the country (most famously at Bathurst) and it was these cars that now fired the imagination of the young (and young-at-heart). These two factors, along with the impending P76 large sedan’s introduction requiring freeing up of production space, led Leyland Australia to take the decision to wind up local assembly of the MGB. * “Building Cars in Australia” BMC-Leyland Australia Heritage Group Published 2007 The author would like to acknowledge input from John Lindsay, Garry Kemm, John Clarke and Roger Sharpe

The writer at home with his 1965 MGB which he has owned for 51 years. 30 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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FEATURE

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT By Ian Pogson

The author posing in front of the first RHD MG6 body on the Longbridge System. Photo: Author’s Collection 32 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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s a seasoned veteran of corporate wrangles, take-overs, give-aways and site closures, I and others were expecting MG Rover to run out of money as we beavered away in Shanghai trying to teach young Chinese engineers fresh out of University. This was January 2005 to the end in April. When a typically sensitive Patricia Hewitt announced (before the Company seniors were briefed) that MG Rover was going into Administration, I was asleep. My wife called me with the news, understandably frightened and concerned. A stop-gap loan gave us another week’s work, which saw me and others removing confidential information and data sources from the SAIC offices where we were based in Pudong. During that last week, Gan Pin, one of the senior Chinese directors, had asked me if I would consider staying on and carrying on with the work to localise K-Series parts manufacture in China. I said I would love to but could not work directly for a Chinese company. He asked if I would were something “joint” set up. Colleagues and I lounged around the pool at our apartment block until everyone’s tickets home became valid, as any chance of swapping them for earlier ones was expensive or just not possible. The BBC, looking for the usual media angle, tried to infiltrate our ranks and bought drinks at the local bar “The Maudesley” to try and loosen tongues, but soon got as bored as we did. The flight home was a blessed relief and I arrived to an emotional welcome. The weeks passed and with 6,000 people fresh on the dole, local jobs were hard to secure back home. Then the call came from an ex-colleague asking if I would like to join a new company, Ricardo 2010, who were 50/50 SAIC and Ricardo owned in the latter’s offices at Radford Semele. It was August before I was sent back out again to Shanghai, to restart our original work. In the interim, NAC (Nanjing Automotive Corp.), which had been successfully working with Fiat-Iveco building Daily vans, had bought the equipment and (they thought) the IPR for the MG vehicles. SAIC had stolen a

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 33

The local Shanghai team in the new KV6 assembly facility. Photo: Eddie Harris

The MGTF Coupe. Photo: Stadco

march on NAC as they had been evident in the offices at Longbridge for some time from at least mid- to late-2004 and consequently thought that they knew more about the products. Incidentally, SAIC had been preceded by China Brilliance (who were allied to BMW), who had tried and failed to negotiate a JV (Joint Venture) with MGR. I had been tasked in 2003 to pick, pack and despatch 75 engines-worth of parts, so they could assemble K4s and KV6s in their facility. The idea died on the vine, after I had sent the parts, which were beautifully packed. I have no idea if they were ever built up. NAC had drafted in a complete workforce to clear the CABs, East, North, South and West Works as well as the LPS

34 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

(Low Pressure Sand) foundry that made K4 heads and blocks. They slept on Z-beds in the old Purchasing Block and elsewhere around the site, supported by ex-Rover employees advising upon facility removal and later re-installation in China. It was a masterful piece of lift and shift, similar to that conducted in record time by the Cowley and Longbridge teams when MINI went south and Rover 75 ventured north, except this time there were several thousand miles and the odd ocean to cross. SAIC’s plan had been to create their “own” first car – a Rover 75 update, for which they had the BoM (Bill of Material) and in parallel, NAC were to create a ZT variant, the MG7. SAIC had finally been

enlightened over the use of the Rover name at the 59th minute of the 11th hour by Ford ‘suits’ from Detroit HQ, then owners of Land Rover. The badge tooling had already been made and so a hastily rehashed Roewe badge in the familiar shape was to adorn the front and rear. As this was going on, a number of us were tasked with sifting through the hard copy drawings and database to decide which documents were Rover and which MG, to suit the plans already outlined. The job was to be conducted in the offices of a Birmingham solicitor, who were later to be our poorly prepared adversaries in an Employment Tribunal. (Warning: do not take on a bunch of disillusioned Engineers who are up for a fight – we are very skilled at assembling data and drawing conclusions!) Of course as we all know, this was a nonsense job, as so much was shared, e.g. core engine as well as base body and suspension components. SAIC and NAC slugged it out for some time via UK-based legal firms, paying UK rates (ouch!) until the Central Government said “Stop!” SAIC then absorbed/ assimilated NAC. In what was later to appear a little silly, SAIC (my team) set about creating a new line to machine the KV6 and K4 engines whilst NAC re-installed the exLongbridge facilities in Nanjing. It was strange to me to be able to walk around the old familiar line 6,000 miles away from its original location. To their very great credit, the good ole’ boys in the ancient capital (Nanking) were hard-bitten, proper grey-haired manufacturing types who recreated a first-class facility which in many ways was superior to that which had been in East Works, especially in the late and post-BMW days. Both companies are to be commended, as they implemented all the design and process improvements that we had been asking for but had been denied by parsimonious and short-sighted top management (MLS gasket, PRT, etc. – although in place on Freelander engines – and a much cleaner assembly track). Attempts were made to manufacture the PG1 gearbox, but the difficulties of annotated ex-Honda drawings and a lack of the right UK personnel hampered

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West works body repair Photo: MG Rover

production and it was this and (some would say) lacklustre Sales and Marketing that caused the cessation of TF production. What amused me greatly when I visited the Pukou plant in Nanjing, was the product line-up display area, which plainly and without embarrassment showed the 1.8L ‘N’ series engine (check!), a PG1 box

The first KV6 engine off SAIC line. Photo: Eddie Harris

(hmmmm?), an L series diesel (what? In China?) and a lovely, but very Ford-looking V8 (Ha!) Dreams of mice and (Chinese) men. When the Central Government finally caused SAIC to absorb NAC, as their UK legal battle was perhaps embarrassing, it was not long before I was sent from Radford back to Longbridge to seek out

the MGTF Engineering team and see what they had been up to. While we had been supporting SAIC to build up their own production facilities for the Roewe 750, the NAC team had been building TF test cars and proving out the parts supply chain from China. Also, the bodies for the MG Rover TFs were latterly built by Coventry-

The NAC factory at Pukou, Nanjing. Photo: NAC

36 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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K4 engines on a very clean assembly track at Pukou. Photo: Author’s Collection

based Mayflower, now known as Stadco. The latter had a facility on site in CAB2 to make bodies, but disagreements with NAC caused manufacture to be taken to China as well. All in all, it had been a busy time for the small NAC team, who were not only proving out massive changes to the engine (now N-Series) manufacturing

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SMTCUK team build first RHD car at Lingang. Photo: Author’s Collection

process (such as removing the electromagnetic pump in the LPS), but were also using parts from suppliers with no previous TF or often any car-component experience. I set about reporting to Ricardo 2010 seniors what I had seen at Longbridge, having audited the Paint Shop and GA (General Assembly) processes. I was keen

to have these gents view the impressive progress themselves and become involved. There were issues that I had uncovered for sure, but the small team had worked hard and diligently. As is often the case, an adversarial air existed between both companies, with the SAIC team wanting to concentrate on their trips to Shanghai for Roewe products and the NAC team desperate to show they were capable of resurrecting the TF. It has to be said that plenty of advice was given by the UK team not to restart TF manufacture, as the weakest car in the MG line-up, and to bring the evergreen ZR back, but for good reason, the Chinese have become wary of Western advice! And so, as TF production ended (see my previous article in the December magazine), the first Roewe 550 body arrived at the plant, part-built, trimmed but without running gear or powertrain. It was packed in a sea container and six weeks later dragged out, loaded on to the System and began its lonely, slow journey down the back line of the old Rover 75 line and around the bend towards the ‘stuff-up’ area. This is nothing to do with poultry preparation, but manufacturing speak for the way the powertrain subassembly is ‘stuffed up’ into the engine bay, as the body makes its way along the line, barely stopping in its progress. And so began a new chapter for Lord Austin’s old factory complex. No BIW in West Works, indeed, no West Works at all, as in the usual premature haste the landscape was cleared of anything to remind genteel

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 37

Trial Roewe 550 body on Longbridge System Photo: Author’s Collection

Conservative voters that such dirty things ever went on in England’s green and pleasant land. How is it that old office blocks can be left intact, or even new ones erected, when there is no call for such space? How does that work economically? Sorry about that; the ruminations of a Manufacturing Man. No East Works either, that’s houses now, no Trentham or Trim Shop with its hoard of somewhat dangerous women, no suspension manufacture in Dalmuir, no block line in North Works, no Toolroom over the railway tracks; all gone. The powertrain arrived with the body, the steering, cooling and associated ancillaries were in the container with wheels, exhaust and all the other bits. This was a new dawn for Longbridge: a screwdriver operation.

38 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

MG3 and MG6 process flow in CAB 1. Photo: Author’s Collection

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FEBRUARY 2021 SAFETY FAST! 71

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 35 39 FEBRUARY

EVENT

MAGNETTE

SUMMIT MEETING I

n the adversity of the pandemic in 2020, we were still fortunate enough to hold a Magnette Gathering. The meeting point was the area around Salzburg in Austria. Fortunately the local authorities saw no problems and the first official meeting of the MG Car Club Germany in 2020 could be held, albeit not in Germany but perfectly organised by our Austrian friends Vroni and Jörg Wiefler and Christina and Thomas Nebauer, who even ordered beautiful weather for the weekend, Thank you so much! The basis of the weekend was the rebuilt and just opened Erentrudisalm,

40 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

By Dietrich Krahn

1,000m above sea level with magnificent views of the city of Salzburg. We travelled from Kassel with a stopover in Regensburg to the Salzburg area. The steep approach to the lovely guesthouse was a first adventure for our ZA‘s mighty 60 hp. Ms Adler had to struggle with some really fast E-bike riders. Everything went well. All the 15 cars arrived without any major problems, with only two of Gerald Palmer‘s masterpieces needing some fettling before their journeys. The Magnette Day was an international meeting with participants from Austria,

Switzerland, Luxemburg and Germany, all in all 30 enthusiasts and four dogs. Worth mentioning was the fact that four actual presidents of Classic car clubs were aboard, representing the MG Owners Club Austria, the RR Enthusiasts Club Sektion Austria (driving an unrestored ZA), the MG Car Club Luxembourg and the MG Car Club Germany – such an honour to have them with us. The Friday was a very relaxed day, meeting and greeting new and old friends, the initial tenseness due to the virus vanished fast. Our southern neighbours manged to establish a very nice

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EVENT

atmosphere, as we had the Erentrudisalm Gasthaus and Restaurant exclusively for our group. On Saturday we made our way to a salt-mine in Hallein. It was really too hot for the dogs – a short walk and then a siesta under some trees was enough, the Golling waterfall cooling our four-legged participants and their human counterparts at the opposite ends of the leads. Meals and drinking are very important for every family life, the team at the Erentrudisalm was very helpful, and the Saturday barbecue was excellent!

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Sunday was the day for the Ray Cairn Trophy. This year the trophy was handed over to Vreni and Joe Keller from Switzerland and then came the tearful farewell as we all parted to head home. Conny and I had some spare days so we headed to the Berchtesgaden area to relax and then we made our way to Kassel via Bayreuth. The only problem was a non-

working windscreen wiper; fortunately I found a loose contact and after fixing it everything went well. Whatever the Coronavirus has in mind, the planning of the Magnette Day in 2021 is well on its way. Pictures taken by: Erentrudisalm, Günter Graskamp, Conny and Dietrich Krahn

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 41

Rob Constant rob@littleabingdon.co.uk

NEWSLETTER

WELCOME TO THE

VINTAGE NEWSLETTER With my dear chum Peter Jones somewhat preoccupied ‘with the builders in’, this particular Vintage ‘six-monthly’ comes from far-flung Cornwall; written, if I might say, with the wind and rain lashing at the window. I thought this was meant to be early spring! Perhaps, by the time you get to read this, it will seem like winter is behind us and the worry of salt on the road all gone. I do hope so. After events of the last year, getting out and about again in interesting cars has never seemed so appealing. For the first ever occasion the VR committee recently ‘met’ by way of an online platform, ‘hot on the heels’ soon coming the first ever online VR AGM… Such 21st Century landmarks for the Car Club’s first ever Register. My word. We are indeed breaking new ground! Also, by the time you read this, our stalwart Chair, Peter Mace, will have stood

down. I wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank Peter on behalf of us all for his steady stewardship and enthusiastic, affable approach. You are a gentleman, Peter. We are all very fond of you and grateful for the work you’ve undertaken for the Register over the years, first, as VR Secretary, and then Chairman through your various 18/80 ownerships. Now enjoying a lovely Morris Isis tourer, Peter retains a passion for Vintage MGs and for the Register he has contributed to for so long. It is ‘typically Peter’ that, without hesitation, he agreed to stand again for a general post on the VR committee, in order to assist in the next chapter of the Register, ensure continuity, and give assistance to those in-coming to new roles. Sincere thanks again, Peter! Rather appropriately, Peter recently spotted this month’s first photo in ‘Morris Monthly’ – The Morris Register Club

magazine – and sought permission for us to use it. How delightful! Anyone for a picnic? It is of course a Morris Garages ‘Bullnose’ 14/28 Four Seat Tourer that sits quietly in the background. Ideal for two couples’ motoring – the charming lady in the foreground gone all bashful at, presumably, having her photo taken or some cheeky witticism her date had just made. Looking at the car, rather than the fashions or refreshments (tea, milk, beer – they seem well kitted out) – I particularly like the luggage strapped to the rear of the car – (perhaps they were touring?) and wonder what eventually happened to SF 3774. Grateful thanks to one Ian Letham of Berwickshire who provided the pic to the Morris Register and, in turn, to Rob Symonds of the MR for his kind permission to reprint the photo here. It would also be remiss of me not to also offer particular thanks to John

This charming photo of a Bullnose 14/28 tourer recently surfaced via The Morris Register www.mgcc.co.uk

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 43

NEWSLETTER

A purposeful ‘Kethro era’ GU 8413 – sporting cycle wings, Brooklands screens and tri-headlight arrangement

Cooper for his long and much appreciated contribution as VR Treasurer. John’s entertaining AGM reports and illustrative pie charts are stuff of legend! Thank you also John for agreeing to stay on the committee in a general role, like Peter. You and your beautifully developing M type restoration are incredibly welcome; always. It is a nice facet of our group that owners, ex-owners, friends, relatives and admirers/ supporters of the cars are all equally treated in the VR. As with so many parts of the Club, it is the cars that initially bring us together, but it really is the people who make us stay…

Hopefully, the ‘other’ photos in this newsletter will provide a rather nice surprise for one of our overseas members! In late 2019, after meeting John at the Goodwood Revival, Norman Herr of Texas offered to buy John Venables’ 1929 18/80 Mk. I Speedmodel – GU 8413 – aka ‘Black Beauty’. (Copies will be sent via email, Norman!) These pics originate from the Laurence Kethro era of GU 8413, who was custodian of the car during the fifties, having purchased it from Reubens Welch as a bodyless chassis in 1955. Kethro was a great friend of Morgan Marshall and,

referring to Jonesy (plus dipping back into the Register archive) the body shown in the photos was made by none other than Julie Kethro, Laurence’s daughter. Through acquiring welding experience, she formed the body from a tubular-steel-skeleton over which was mounted a metal skin. Julie was, to Jonesy’s mind, probably the closest Morgan ever had to a daughter and he encouraged her car efforts – being very proud of her body making abilities! Kethro himself was, like Morgan, an active member of the Bristol Motorcycle and Light Car Club. Those who remember Morgan and, of course the well-used era of ‘KX’, will remember that rather battered old club badge affixed to the angle-iron badge bar / headlight-steady of said motorcar. Kethro also once owned GG 554 – the Mk II 18/80 four-door Saloon which passed between Morgan and himself before ‘sticking with’ Morgan, prior to Phil Green inheriting the car in, I think 1987 or 1988, along with many of Morgan’s extensive fleet. This car is also now beautifully restored by Fred Body and resides in the hands of Chas Howe in Dorset (who, we should note, we are much relieved to hear finally ‘saw off’ Covid last year, despite complications). Your ongoing future good health, Chas. After Kethro, GU passed through a number of hands in and around Bristol before settling in 1965 with the late Geoff Tozer whom we knew well from his

GU 8413 alongside GG 554 which Kethro also owned for a while, before passing the car back to Register hero, Morgan Marshall 44 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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NEWSLETTER

Side-on, the rather Spartan-looking Julie Kethro ‘sports’ body with strapped-on bonnet side removed for inspection

Again side-on, GU 8414 alongside the outline of GG 554’s Saloon body. Originally GU was supplied by MG as a Saloon to someone who Geoff Tozer always maintained had by reputation been quite a racy lady! If only these old cars could talk, there would be some stories to tell, I’m sure.

Rear view of GU with spare wheel unceremoniously thrown in the back and rear ‘bumper’ or ‘luggage facility’ off which the number plate dangles

Goring-on-Thames days. Although Morgan approved of the Kethro body, Geoff was rather less convinced and decided to do away with the home-made Sports body. To fill the void, Geoff purchased ALB 3

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in 1967, an18/80 Mk II Speedmodel as an engine-less car for the princely sum of £100. It is from this chain of events that GU exists, unusually, as a very early car with a very late 18/80 body. Happily, through Jim

Bowman’s intervention, although then sans engine and body, ALB 3 also survives to this day with a reproduction single-door Sports Mk III body. Fast forward to the late eighties/early nineties and Geoff Tozer was incredibly helpful to Constant senior and I (in teenage mode!) in providing ready-access to ALB 3’s stripped Speedmodel bodyframe for careful photographing, measuring and the taking of ‘rubbings’ on rolled out wallpaper! These learnings have been invaluable in understanding the construction of the Speedmodel bodies, and provided crosslearnings/reference points in terms of the Tigress, which would later show itself in physical form by way of the reproduction Tigress body Dad built for WL 6135, the Mk II Prototype, Geoff Radford ‘brought forward’ towards Mk III spec. One of Dad and my favourite memories of studying the slides of the bare bodyframe projected on to our old dining room wall, was when the penny eventually dropped that on Dad’s full-scale Speedmodel body drawings we had faithfully reproduced the ‘rear end sag’ that had over the years taken place due to the body being stored off the car! Normally supported obviously by the chassis, the weight at the rearmost part of the body had created the temporarily mind-baffling phenomenon of Dad having diligently drawn up the fruits of our investigations from an original Mk II Speedmodel body, only to find that it could not ever sit on an original Mk II chassis!!

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 45

NEWSLETTER As an aside, Geoff Tozer was an interesting character, having been a setdirector in the film industry, including the epic ‘Where Eagles Dare’, starring of course Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. He confessed that however many times he watched the film, even though he helped make it, he could never quite be sure whether Burton’s character had really come clean on which side he was really working for! Sadly, not long after finishing GU Geoff Tozer died, and his car was purchased from the estate in 2002 by Jonathan Tilley, who we will remember as also having once owned Jerry Salaman’s car ALW 522, the 18/80 Mk II four-seat Tourer. By 2005, GU had moved on once more to our dear friend John Venables, who thoroughly enjoyed the car until reducing mobility led to his sale. Christened ‘Black Beauty’ during John’s ownership, his enthusiasm for GU was, I must say, infectious. I must confess, however, that my fondest memory of John’s time with the car actually comes from a hotel foyer, rather than his exploits behind the wheel. After one Vintage Register AGM, at the Shillingford Bridge Hotel, Wallingford, both John and I were a little startled by the staggeringly beautiful Polish (I think) hotel receptionist. Fortunately for me, however, John was ahead of me in the queue paying for lunch. This both shielded my

MG 1124 during Phil Jennings’ long custodianship of the car at ‘Cwmfrain’ during one of the great Jennings ‘Welsh Weekends’; sat alongside is ALB 3. The happiest of days

similarly affected demeanour, and provided me with one of those wonderful ‘naturally occurring moments’ of life’s humour, as I witnessed John attempting to pay our gorgeous host with his bus pass!!! (Sorry John! But that anecdote is simply too good to keep under wraps.) I trust these light-hearted notes on the Kethro/Tozer/Venables era of GU 8413 have been entertaining to not only its new custodian across the pond, but also

the Vintage readership at large. I shall close with a wee taster of another very well-known car which has latterly found an enthusiastic new home. As I write this, with a deposit paid, MG 1124 the ex-Phil Jennings (and subsequently Peter Mace) Mk I 18/80 Fabric Saloon is heading for pastures new, but more on that exciting development another day… In closing, stay safe everyone, keep in touch and keep looking forward.

Present era GU again driver’s side on, showing what a ‘conventional’ Speedmodel side profile looks like. Compared with the picture on the previous page, note how the tax disc has changed sides. 46 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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MERCHANDISE

KIMBER STORES Ladies Rose Gold MG Watch £60.00

Irish Mini Check 100% Lambswool Scarf £28.50

MG Car Club Keyring (new style) £5.00

MGCC Crumbly Clotted Cream Fudge £4.75

MGB GT LE Jubilee Socks £9.99

MGCC 90th Anniversary Large Grille Badge £40.00

MGCC 90th Anniversary Tie £17.50

MG Wing Protector Cover £24.00

MGCC 90th Anniversary Conference Folder £17.50

All prices exclude P&P

To order please visit shop.mgcc.co.uk Email office@mgcc.co.uk or phone 01235 555552 www.mgcc.co.uk

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 47

NEWSLETTER

Colin Manley mgatcgscribe@gmail.com www.mgcc.co.uk/mga-twin-cam-group/

WELCOME TO THE

TWIN CAM NEWSLETTER You will recall that I have been appealing for some time for material from Twin Cam owners. The job of the Scribe is to collate, organise and set out the content of the newsletters; it is not the job of the Scribe to write every word of every article for every newsletter. This newsletter and our other communication, the emailed Twin-CaMGazette, are only as good as the input I get

from you, the membership. The size of this newsletter reflects the lack of material I have had from you, the considerable readership of both media types. The fate of both these publications now rests with you………. You can send me material at either mgatcg@outlook.com or mgatcgscribe@gmail.com

MERCHANDISE

One of the items of merchandise available from the Twin Cam Register. Press Day Pack A3 size, contains reprints of four factory photos, two launch day documents and the sales brochure

Committee member Dave Pearce has kindly taken over the handling of Merchandise from me. Please contact Dave on d.pearce@nemco.co.uk for any enquires. The Twin Cam Group does not sell a lot of merchandise and we get no income or revenue from any MG Car Club membership

48 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

fees, so every item purchased helps towards the costs that the Group incurs. If you are interested in anything, please email Dave on d.pearce@nemco.co.uk to obtain a final price for your purchase(s) as postage and packing will vary wildly depending on what you buy and the destination address.

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NEWSLETTER SLAVE TO A RECURRING PROBLEM The problem of suppliers offering incorrect length clutch slave cylinders arose again last year. The cylinders offered by the regular sources had the distance between the mounting holes and the cylinder base too great a length i.e., they were too long. The offending item is usually originally for an Austin Healey and material must be removed from the bell housing flange or the rear end of the cylinder, or both, to enable the cylinder to sit correctly. Why on earth the two items were not originally rationalised in the 60s beggars belief because the bore and mounting centres are identical between the original Twin Cam and the Austin Healey item; nowadays this would have been subject to a value engineering exercise. We contacted a variety of suppliers and had mixed results. Some were very helpful, others not so. The net result is that, as far as we are aware, the only product offered for sale for a Twin Cam clutch slave cylinder that fits is that available from Bastuk, in Germany, under P/No. C31 AH. (At present they are reluctant to ship outside Europe, but this may be overcome.) The Bastuk cylinder has a dimension of circa 52mm from the mounting holes to the rear of the cylinder, whilst incorrect units usually have a dimension of circa 62mm. This dimension for the original 313280 cylinders was 52.5mm.

The Bastuk slave cylinder

I have written to a few suppliers asking them to either delist the incorrect item for Twin Cam application or advise that fettling will be required. I am pleased to advise that Moss UK have updated their listing to explain that fettling is required. More detail, of both the problem and the solution, has been uploaded on Barney Gaylord’s website. http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/twincam/tc220.htm

HOOD BRACKETS A topic that was interesting on the Twin Cam io mail group was asking if anyone had seen the use of brackets to hold the stowed hood frame back so that it didn’t chafe against the back of the seats. The photos show such a bracket (but we do not have dimensional detail). It was also pointed out that if the spare tyre is pushed far enough into the bulkhead and the spare tyre clamp used, the tyre holds the frame higher up to aid in preventing the frame chafing the seat. If anyone does make up some brackets after seeing this, please be good enough to send me a drawing with suitable dimensions etc. that I can publicise it.

Face on view of bracket

Side view of bracket

THAT’S ALL FOLKS.

If you want to see some content in the December 2021 Twin-Cam Newsletter, you need to send me some material.

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 49

Victor Smith 0208 392 9434 victorsmith@v8register.net www.v8register.net

NEWSLETTER

WELCOME TO THE

V8 NEWSLETTER

DOOR MIRROR INSTABILITY

Peter Spurrs found the two door mirror fixings on his MGB GT V8 were unstable. Here is how he solved the problem. The method the Factory used for fixing the mirrors to the door was a quick and easy solution for the production line, but did not give a stable mounting. First, on the production line, the two plugs on the plastic base plate were fitted into the two holes in the door. Next, the mounting plate was held in place with two selftapping screws. Finally, a single screw held the mirror in place on the mounting plate.

The single screw is on the rear facing side of the mirror to allow the mirror to break off on impact. The logical steps are to make the mirrorto-mounting-plate connection more robust, then to improve the mounting-plate-todoor connection. To make the mount more robust, I glued in place a small aluminium plate to the plastic screw contact face. I then filed the base of the mirror to lower the point at which the grub screw contacts the plate. Sufficient material was removed to ensure the point on the grub screw contacted the middle of the aluminium plate and did not ride over the top. Securing the door mount The first job is to remove the door card to gain access to the inside of the door: 1. Remove the four screws holding the door capping and lift off the capping.

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2. Remove the two screws on the door pull. 3. Remove the single screw on the window winder. 4. The door lock surround is in two pieces which can be pushed apart. The upper surround needs to be fed carefully over the trim strip to avoid damage. 5. With all of the components taken off, the door card can be removed. It is held in place with a number of plastic push-on clips. In my case, finger pressure around the edge of the door was adequate. It may be necessary to use a lever of some sort. Whatever it is, some padding may be needed to prevent damage to the door paint. 6. The final layer is a plastic sheet used to form a waterproof barrier between the door card and the door inner. It is glued in place. Careful removal will allow it to be reused. 7. Repair any damage and corrosion. In my case, the rust around the mounting holes needed to be addressed. Once I had access to the inside of the door, I cut down the plugs on the base plate leaving enough plastic to hold the plate in the door and protect the metalwork. I then fitted the base plate into the two holes and placed the mounting plate over it. Two 25mm M5 countersunk machine screws were then threaded through the mounting plate to hold the parts in place. Fitting the plastic and spring washers and nuts onto the machine screws was technically simple but physically difficult. Without removing the window, the only access to the machine screw is through the door and upwards. The length of my arms

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 51

NEWSLETTER meant that all I could use were my fingertips. It is also worth noting that some of the edges are sharp – long sleeves are advised. As the screw points downwards through the door, the washers tended to fall off and into the bottom of the door where retrieval can be difficult. A dab of light grease held the washers in place whilst I threaded the nut. Once threaded and spun on, it was relatively simple to

hold the nut with an 8mm spanner whilst the screw was tightened. Whilst I had access, I took the opportunity to grease the window winding mechanism. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched since 1973. To copy the phrase from workshop manuals, replacement of the door card is the reverse of removal. Result, two stable and useable door mirrors.

INTERIOR LIGHT INTERMITTENT FAULT

MGB owners find the interior light often fails to illuminate when a door is opened on their MGB GT V8. Here is how to solve the problem.

When opening either passenger door, the interior light should come on. On an increasingly regular basis, it was failing to do so. The short-term solution was simple – waggle the jamb switch to make a contact. When the door is closed it pushes the contacts apart, breaking the circuit. Opening the door allows the contacts to close, providing current to the light. Being low side switched, the light is on when either door is open. For the majority of the car’s life the jamb switch is ‘off’ as the contacts are open. Forty-plus years of corrosion takes its toll on the contacts. A second issue is that the door does not press straight onto the jamb switch. The swing of the door describes an arc, so presses the pin at an angle. Over the years, the pin has a tendency to bend. A bent pin has a tendency to stick. The solution was to remove the switch which is a straightforward matter of unscrewing the two cross-headed screws and withdrawing the switch. But take care the free length of wire is short. Both contacts can be sanded to remove the corrosion. After cleaning the contacts and adding a little grease to the pin, the switch can be replaced. If the light then works properly all the time, the job is complete. In my case it didn’t, so I removed the switch again and applied gentle pressure with pliers to eliminate the worst of the bending. Eventually, after several attempts, the pin was straightened sufficiently for it to slide smoothly in the housing. With the passenger side fixed, I applied the same process to the driver’s side.

DOOR PANEL MOISTURE BARRIER REPLACEMENT Whilst working on maintaining your door mirrors, you may need to replace the door panel moisture barriers. Here is a guide to how you can undertake that replacement. The MGB GT V8 was built at a time when British Leyland thought it was perfectly acceptable to make car parts out of hardboard. Admittedly, the parts weren’t structural, but hardboard is neither durable nor waterproof. The door card is one such component-it is a sheet of hardboard with the flexible interior plastic stapled to it. It is inevitable that water gets inside the door, especially via the outside window seal. To help reduce (but certainly not eliminate) the amount of water reaching and soaking the hardboard door card, a plastic moisture barrier is glued onto the door inner.

52 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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NEWSLETTER What problems develop over time? The moisture barrier can decay and become unstuck, allowing water to penetrate the hardboard in the door card. Also, when working on the interior of the door, the barrier has to be removed and can tear, especially at the glue line. The replacement access to the membrane entails removing the door card. That removal procedure is described as a step-by-step guide in the article covering door mirror stability.

In a V8BB thread Paul Atkinson’s solution was to use polythene from a mattress wrapper. Mike Howlett uses self-adhesive carpet protector, available from most DIY outlets. A certain amount of cutting and trimming will be needed, whatever the option chosen. A decent pair of scissors is good enough. Unless a self-adhesive membrane is chosen, an adhesive will be needed. Primarily because I had nothing else to hand, I used a blue gasketing compound. I’m not putting that forward as the best answer, just Hobson’s choice.

FITTING A HEAT SHIELD TO AN MG V8 STARTER MOTOR

In a post on the V8 Bulletin Board Paul Taylor asked if anyone had a photo showing how the aftermarket ‘Starter motor heat shield’ is attached. He added that he had assumed it was via one of the starter’s fixing bolts but that doesn’t seem to be possible. John Brown responded saying: “I fitted mine many years ago. The heat shield has a slotted bolt hole so it’s just a case of offering the shield up from underneath. This will then indicate which set screw needs loosening to slide the slotted hole behind.” Paul

then replied that he had wrongly assumed the curved shape of the shield had to contour the cylindrical shape of the starter – but when held in that position the fixing bracket was hanging in mid-air! It turns out it’s designed to ‘cup’ the end of the starter motor. His photo illustrates this. The shield shares the same fixing bolt (arrowed alongside) that also secures the offside engine mounting. The shield bracket is open-slotted so it’s only necessary to undo the bolt a couple of turns in order to slide the bracket in and re-tighten. Starter motor heat shields suitable for both MG V8s and RV8s are available from Clive Wheatley mgv8parts. The shield provides protection from water and dirt collecting around the electrics at the rear of the starter motor.

AVOIDING A DASHCAM DROP Most dashcams are attached to the windscreen with a suction pad fixing just to the side of the rear view mirror, so from the driver’s position only the bottom edge of the dashcam may be visible. That suction pad is usually very reliable but just occasionally, when the external temperature or the humidity changes, the suction mount that holds the dashcam on the windscreen can fail and the dashcam then falls to the floor in your car. There is a risk the dashcam can be damaged as it falls. A simple fix is to cut a length of grey cotton thread from a reel in the home needle box and then create a loop round both the dashcam and the arm of the rear view mirror so then, if the suction pad fails, the dashcam will drop only a matter of an inch or so before it is held in suspense below the rear view mirror by the cotton loop waiting to be fixed to the windscreen again. For further information on dashcams see our “More” webpage at www.v8register.net/more.htm

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 53

NEWSLETTER WARRANTY CLAIMS DURING RV8 PRODUCTION COMING IN 2023 In 2023 we have the 50th anniversary of the launch of the MGB GT V8 model in August 1973 and the 45th anniversary of the formation of the V8 Register five years later in 1978. At the end of March 1993 the first production RV8 was completed and the first six customer cars followed as a batch by mid-April. So in 2023 we will also have the 30th anniversary of the start of RV8 production in 1993. As the 50th anniversary is a major milestone, we are beginning planning ahead with ideas of how we can celebrate that milestone year and the anniversary date of the launch of the MGB GT V8 on August 15 1973 at the Earl’s Court motor show in October.

Some interesting information has been revealed from recently obtained archive material with RV8 warranty claims records. Whilst the claims documents are still being reviewed, what can be seen is that there are warranty claims records for 132 RV8s, 6.6% of the production run. Not surprisingly, just over 70% of the claims were during the first 20% to 25% of the RV8 production. Whilst examining the warranty claims records some copies of very useful RV8 documents were found at the back of one of the ring files. They included a Service Action Bulletin issued to all main and retail dealers and three Autocourse New Product Update Bulletins provided by Rover

Group covering a product review, detailed information on the in-car entertainment (ICE) system and detailed information on the Engine Management System (EMS). As these documents will be of interest to RV8 enthusiasts, copies of each of those documents have been made and added to the useful information in the “Manuals” folder in the sets of RV8 Workshop Notes supplied to members by the V8 Register. Copies of those four documents are also available to members with an Updates Subscription for a set they purchased earlier. Check if your RV8 had a warranty claim via a link on our “More” webpage: www.v8register.net/more.htm

V8 KENT TOUR 2021

As the end of Covid lockdown in England is in sight, Ian Quarrington has plans in hand for the V8 Tour to go ahead in September, based at the Little Silver Country Hotel in Tenterden. There will be a visit to Canterbury and the cathedral, a tour of the Royal Historic Naval Dockyards at Chatham and visits to several National Trust properties in Kent. For further updates see the “More” webpage.

V8 NW HIGHLANDS TOUR 2023 MGB GT V8 in the relatively rare colour, Aconite. Photo: Peter Spurrs

One idea many members would find particularly enjoyable for the 50V8 anniversary year is a V8 Tour in the NW Highlands, as we had a V8 Add-On Tour based at Dundonnell near Ullapool in 2013 that proved very popular. It followed the very successful European Event of the Year held at Aviemore, arranged by the Caledonian Centre.

ANNIVERSARY PHOTO COLLECTION FOR 2023

As part of the run-up for the 50V8 anniversary in 2023, we have launched a rolling collection of members’ photos of all MGV8 models, which will run until 2023. The series has got off to a good start with a member survey to find the photo which is most members’ choice of the best photo in the collection. Send in your photo now.

MGB GT V8 (Tundra 2117) with Keith Young 54 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Sunset down Little Loch Broom. Photo: Mario Kloostra www.mgcc.co.uk

High Torque Starter Motor. British made £262

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URGENT PROOF Please check this proof carefully for errors in style, content and layout. Although every care is exercised in preparing your advert, we cannot hold >&?)#%-&#-1&$%#.$#1$+&(/$#+#@+/#A$1-/$#*&#*)#/$+B5#&-#C-,#A(&#&'*)#-%$#*)#)-#)D$@*+E#.$#.+%&$B#&-#C*2$#D-&$%&*+E#%$.#-.%$/)#2*)*A*E*&5#-1#*&#$+/E5F#7'*)#9:;<# ourselves responsible for any inaccuracies you may overlook.

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FEBRUARY 2021 SAFETY FAST! 71 FEBRUARY APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 85 55

NEWSLETTER

Sean Round sean@seanround.co.uk www.facebook.com/groups/MG635Register twitter.com/635register

WELCOME TO THE

MG6.3.5 NEWSLETTER Lisa proudly drives the first MG6 customer car off of the line. Photo: Colin Grant

As I mentioned in last month’s notes our AGM is still planned and will be held virtually, soon. We will confirm a date to you and the medium which we’ll hold this through as soon as it is confirmed. Both Andy Littler and Richard Bibby-Brooke have taken the decision to resign from our committee. As this is the case, we need to fill both roles. Should you wish to find out more about these roles then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me to discuss further. With the Government’s road map in place, we can hopefully start planning some events that the Register will be able to attend later on in the year. We’ll bring you news and details via Safety Fast! and the Facebook page as and when we can. April 13 2011 marked an exciting day in the history of the iconic MG brand as the first new production car for 16 years rolled out of Longbridge.

The world’s press gathered at the famous MG Birmingham plant to see the first MG6 customer car being driven off the final assembly line. As the screen hiding the car went up at 11.00am, line worker Lisa Ponter edged the Regal Red MG6 off the line to meet the gathering crowd who burst into a rapturous applause. The MG Car Club were there to greet the new arrival off the line, and with the MG6 Register already formed at the March council meeting, the April 2011 issue of Safety Fast! carried the first MG6 (later to become MG635) Register Newsletter. Within that very first Register spread, Julian White, then General Manager of the MG Car Club, gave his thoughts on the new MG6 after being invited to road test the car in late March of that year.

MG6s head down the track at Longbridge. Photo: Andy Knott

Engine and front assembly being worked on, ready to be bolted on to an MG6. Photo: Andy Knott

56 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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NEWSLETTER INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE MG6

Julian gets to grips with the MG6 on a bright spring day in Oxfordshire. Photo: John Watson

Having read torrents of column inches and heard endless doses of tame rumour, it was a liberating experience to finally get behind the wheel of a UK spec MG6. The series of media road-tests granted the car an opportunity to shake the shackles of speculation and strut its stuff where it really mattered – on the open road. It also gave the media and the MG Car Club a first real chance to get to grips with the first new MG for 16 years. The MG6’s DNA can be traced back to earliest ancestry of MG cars. Indeed, when the MG design team were planning the capabilities of the car they spent a day in Abingdon, at the MG Car Club, gleaning inspiration. MGB designer Don Hayter spoke to the group of 30-plus designers who were then shown the MGCC archives and sat in Kimber House’s Douglas Mickel room generating ideas for a new MG. From the very start the MG6 was drenched in Octagonal spirit. The MG6 is part of the MG family and the driving experience is perfect proof of that. The car has been carefully constructed, considered thoroughly and the end result offers terrific value for money. Powered by a 158bhp turbo petrol engine, the car is front wheel drive with a five-speed manual gearbox. There is plenty of pace on offer and the power delivery from the vehicle is good. The interior is attractive, too, nothing razzmatazz but a

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practical cabin with lots of space. And you get loads of equipment as standard: electric windows, air con, alloy wheels and USB connectivity on entry-level cars, and sat nav, heated electric leather seats, cruise control, reversing camera, Bluetooth and 18in wheels on rangetopping TSEs. When I put it the MG6 through its paces at all speeds, it performed without complaint or biting back. During cornering it remains balanced and there is a lack of body roll, only producing body roll when severely provoked. The steering is pin sharp and not too light. With discs all round backed

up by a servo and ESP, you should never end up facing the wrong way after braking hard to avoid an obstacle. From a passenger’s point of view, the ride quality is firm but by no way harsh. Bumps and ruts are brushed aside with the merest of vibration in the cabin. The engine revs very sweetly to the red line of 6,500rpm and changing up a gear just enhances the driving pleasure. The gearbox is light and notch-free and the ratios are well spaced to give a governed top speed of 120mph. The clutch is again light but not without a good deal of feel around the biting point. The cabin is large enough to

The cockpit of the MG6 is a comfortable, bright place to sit. Photo: John Watson

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 57

NEWSLETTER easily swallow five adults in comfort, with the front two seats designed to make the driver feel ‘at home’ behind the wheel. All the information you need is displayed in the LCD screen between the

dials; this screen also doubles as the readout for your setup display or, if you choose the right level of trim, the reversing camera. The car is well sorted, handles everything the road can throw at it without complaints.

With the youngest MG6 being five years old, and the oldest 10 years old there’s a few things you should look for if you’re considering purchasing one of these practical MGs. Adam Sloman gives us some pointers below.

BUYING AN MG6 Perhaps the biggest barrier to MG6 ownership is finding one. During its fiveyear lifespan, it’s fair to say it did not live up to MG’s expectations, suffering from poor marketing and a lack of exposure to the public. Those low sales figures meant that the 6 was hit hard by depreciation, which for second-hand buyers means the car represents a terrific used car proposition. Look out for… Overall, MG6s tend to wear the mileage well, with one or two exceptions. Paint is particularly thin, however, so expect a decent selection of stone chips across the car’s nose. Interior plastics on early cars can wear, particularly on high-mileage examples, and the leather trim can look tired on older cars. Early 6s can suffer from a selection of electrical gremlins – gremlins that will throw up error warning lights, such as “Traction Control Fail” or “Stability Control Fail” – these are usually traceable to a faulty earth and can normally be resolved. CD players on early cars are

The top of the range TSE MKI MG6 in Platinum Silver. Photo: Adam Sloman

renowned for failing to read discs – a problem largely negated if you opt for the Mk2 model with its ability to stream music via Bluetooth. Worries about head gasket failure are all but a thing of the past with the 6 – the revised engine having benefited from significant re-engineering to cure the one blight to the otherwise-excellent K Series engine. The petrol 6 is fitted with a coolant warning sensor and these can sometimes stick, giving a false low-coolant warning. Cambelts on the petrol should

be changed every five years, or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. If it’s a diesel you’re viewing, listen for a rattle from cold – this could indicate a faulty timing chain tensioner. Mechanical parts availability for the petrol 6 is good, thanks to its similarity to the K Series, while some parts for the diesel are more challenging to source, down to the limited production run of the vehicle. Other items such as brake discs and pads share an ancestry with the MG ZT and Rover 75, so supply is plentiful. Most panels are available through MG, or independent specialists such as College Motors, or Martin Smith. Owning one If you put your cash down on a 6, you’re joining something of an exclusive club. Less than 2,000 are currently registered in the UK, so it’s rare to see another ‘in the wild’ – that said, the MG635 Register do a fantastic job supporting the car, and you’ll be warmly welcomed by the Register. It stands out in the crowd, but be prepared to explain to non-MG fans exactly what your car is! Despite being a relatively recent MG, the 6 is decidedly old-school on the road – UK models had the chassis dynamics expertly tuned by the engineers

The booted Magnette wasn’t as popular as the GT hatchback. Photo: Adam Sloman 58 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

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NEWSLETTER

The MG6 Turbo Diesel engine. Photo: Adam Sloman

at Longbridge, meaning it’s a genuinely engaging car to drive and will not fail to bring a smile to your face down a winding B-road. The gearshift is good, while the steering is responsive and accurate, but the star of the show is the chassis. It’s firm, but never to the point of being jarring. Anyone with fond memories of the original ZS or ZT will be immediately at home behind the wheel of a 6. It also does an excellent job as a motorway car, with most models boasting cruise control. The additional fuel consumption benefits of the diesel are underlined further here. Find a stretch of motorway free of average speed cameras, roadworks or congestion and the 6 will do an admirable job of hustling you from A to B in quick, quiet comfort.

The MKI MG6 Diesel interior, with the six speed gearbox. Photo: Adam Sloman

The practical MG6 GT. Photo: Adam Sloman

Model Specs MG6 Petrol 1796cc, 4 cylinder 157bhp, 159ft lb torque 0-60 8.4 seconds 37mpg

MG6 Diesel 1849cc, 4 cylinder 148bhp, 258ft lb torque 0-60 8.9 seconds 57mpg

The facelifted MKII MG6 in Regal Red. Photo: Adam Sloman

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 59

e Type t i s web nd Td e cat MG a m i m d De r the .co mg.co g o ly f .xpagm xpag l a i @ c w spe ww ingdon b il: a a Em

NO PART OF THIS ARTWORK MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED OR OTHERWISE All restoration work USED BY ANY OTHER PUBLICATION UNLESS PRIOR PERMISSION IS GIVEN BY undertaken THE PUBLISHERS - © MS Publications (2001) Ltd. Engine refurbishment including lead-free conversions

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on Servicing, Sales, Restoration, SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ANY ALTERATIONS TO THIS PROOF PLEASE Insurance repair work Modifi cation and bespoke approved TELEPHONE BEFORE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AND QUOTE ADVERT NO. _ _ _ _ _ refinishing work to a wide range of UK & Europe collection classic MG’s and delivery service

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I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every one of you who contacted us last year. It has helped us remain open, keep MG’s active and provide you with the service we always have. To repay your continued support, I will be extending our free collection and delivery service this year. If you would like to reserve a space for big or small jobs, I will be very happy to hear from you. We celebrated our 10th anniversary last year and still managed to do it in style, with a workshop full of wonderful MG’s! Kindest and warmest regards,

Jason View all our work at www.xpagmg.com

TECH TORQUE Toyota Yaris EPS motor and upper steering column

New upper steering column brackets

ECU

Diff mounted speed sensor

Speed sensor bracket

Main power connector and cut -out New lower section steering column New motor mounting bracket

The components needed

Motor mounting bolts

MGA WITH ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM By Colyn Firth

www.mgcc.co.uk

ome would ask, why fit power steering to a perfectly good MGA? Well, in my case, mostly because a couple of years ago, I tore my right biceps literally in half on a skiing holiday. No, it wasn`t due to a skiing accident, it actually happened when I was helping to pull a car out of a snowdrift. Because it was the first day of the trip, I foolishly decided to leave the arm untreated until I got back home over a week later, by which time it was too late to fix and so I now only have half a biceps and only half the strength in that arm. Before this, I had always found the steering effort manageable, but the injury has made the heavy low-speed steering on my MGA a bit more of a challenge for me than it was and one that will probably become worse as I get older. My MGA came with a really nice 14” Mota-Lita steering wheel instead of the standard original 16.5” wheel and I have to say that this wheel has a great feel to it. Also, the Moto-Lita does give an inch or so extra space between the wheel rim and the seat, which makes getting into and out of the car a little easier for me, but it does make the steering heavier. The car also has 6” wide alloy replica Twin Cam wheels with similarly wide 185 x 65 x 15” tyres which I think, really suit the car, but these also add quite a lot to the steering effort, particularly at slow speeds. I know that I could probably make the steering lighter by retro-fitting a standard size 16.5” steering wheel, plus narrower standard width wheels and tyres, but I really do like the way the car looks and handles with the wide wheels and tyres. I did have a quick look online to see how much it would cost to do this and, if I bought everything new, it turned out to be close to £1,000! So, when recently I was offered a Toyota Yaris based, Electronic Power Steering conversion kit for the MGA at a much lower price than that, I was immediately, very interested in it. The overriding factor was the fact that I really loved how my MGA handled and I didn`t want to lose any of the steering sharpness and feedback you get through the steering wheel.

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 63

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TECH TORQUE Although the reduced steering effort would be much appreciated, it was more important to me to find out if I liked the way the car drove with the EPS installed.

Probably just as importantly, you have to be agile enough to get down low enough to be able to work in the MGA’s cramped footwell.

INSTALLATION After first removing the original steering column and the original upper steering column bracket from under the dashboard, you then fit the new stainless-steel motor mounting plate onto the back of the two lower master-cylinder mounting bolts where they come through the inside of the bulkhead (photo left).. Then the new upper steering-column mounting bracket bolts into the same holes as the original steering column bracket, beneath the scuttle.

The new EPS mounting bracket bolted onto the rear of the lower master cylinder set screws

The kit is designed and built by Giovanni Delicio in Germany and is based on a pre-ABS Toyota Yaris system. I was also interested in Swiss resident Dominic Clancy’s development of a Speed Related Dynamic control for the kit. This reduces the level of steering assistance as the road speed increases, whilst still giving excellent steering feedback from the road to the driver through the steering wheel. You can also choose the manual adjustment option which uses a potentiometer to set the assistance to the level that you prefer. Another reason I was drawn to this kit, is that it fits the car without any structural modifications necessary. So, in other words, if it turns out that I don`t like it, it will all un-bolt and nothing will have been changed.

THE KIT COMPRISES:A combined electric motor/upper steering column. A new shorter, lower steering column to fit from the bottom of the EPS motor unit to the steering rack universal joint in the engine compartment. A new stainless-steel EPS motor mounting plate that fixes inside the bulkhead onto the bottom two master cylinder bolts, inside the footwell. A new set of upper steering column brackets to replace the original front column mounting bracket. A complete set of wires and connectors and an ECU for either manual or dynamic control. The kit will come with either a potentiometer to adjust the level of steering assistance, or a speed sensor for the diff which allows the ECU to calculate the road speed and reduce the steering assistance as the road speed increases. So, everything is there to let you complete the conversion and, in theory, you just need to be able to use a set of spanners, to be able to understand and complete fairly simple, electrical connections.

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New fabricated upper column mount.

Initially, I had a slight problem in getting my steering column to correctly align with the dashboard, at first it tilted about 15 degrees to the right. Gio and Dominic were really helpful here and we realised that the RHD version of his EPS kit required the stainless-steel mounting plate to be modified slightly to allow it to move further over to the right and yet still clear the grommet hole through the bulkhead, through which the oil pressure gauge pipe runs. Once I had modified the mounting plate, the steering columns alignment became spot on.

Modified EPS backplate

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 65

TECH TORQUE

Showing spacer tubes fixing motor to bracket

Mine was the first RHD MGA to be fitted with Gio’s kit and so we had kind of expected to find some snags in the installation process. Both Dominic and Gio have been amazingly helpful here. Gio has called me from Germany quite a few times to offer advice and has even sent me a modified motor mounting place FOC to improve the fit. This in spite of the fact that I bought my EPS kit from Dominic as an unwanted project at a much-reduced price. Gio has since modified all subsequent RHD motor mounting plates like this and he has now also completely re-designed the upper column mount to make it even easier to fit and align.

The Toyota Yaris EPS kit assembled

WIRING UP THE CAR My EPS kit came with a complete set of cables and connectors which are already wired up. There are four individually shaped plugin connectors that fit into the ECU and will only fit into their correct sockets. You have to provide a high amperage, permanent supply to the ECU and a separate low amperage, switched supply, from the ignition circuit, plus a couple of good earth connections. I mounted the ECU beneath the scuttle on a hinge so that, once it was connected, I could push it up, out of the way. I went for the Dynamic Progressive control option instead of the manual (potentiometer) control because I wanted the EPS to automatically reduce the amount of steering assistance as the road speed increased, rather than having to adjust it whilst driving. To achieve this, a Hall-Effect sensor is mounted onto the diff housing which reacts to four (or more) tiny powerful neodymium magnets that fit into a special collar that clamps around the narrow part of the diff flange. Dominic Clancy came up with this clever system which mimics the Toyota’s original speed sensor; he designed the magnetic collar and had it 3D-printed to fit perfectly. We are presently testing fivemagnet and a six-magnet collars to find if these will reduce the steering assistance level at lower road speeds. The shielded two-core cable from the sensor runs forwards alongside the wiring loom beneath the car and up by the front bulkhead, over the battery shelf and in through into the upper footwell to the ECU.

The manual control option

up on the axle stands and the steering effort needed was so low that the EPS sensed that no assistance was required. So I dropped the car to the ground and tried again. When I applied a little turning effort to the steering wheel, once again there was still no electric motor sound but I then realised that I could hear the tyres turning on the garage floor. When I leaned over the door to look at the front wheels, I was surprised to see how much they were steering with only light, one-handed, input to the steering wheel, so it worked!

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS Well, my initial thoughts when I first switched the EPS on were: “It isn`t working!” There was no electric motor noise or any sign that it was running. It turned out that this was because the car was still

66 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

The EPS motor rotated so that it fits vertically and tucks neatly away beneath the scuttle www.mgcc.co.uk

TECH TORQUE

The Toyota Yaris EPS installed. It only encroaches around 2” further into the footwell than the standard steering column, and is not visible from the driver’s seat

Then I started up the engine and reversed the car out of the garage and out onto the road. Again it was a one-handed operation instead of the usual two-handed wrestling match with the steering wheel, which was really nice. Once I was out on the road, I could feel the steering become a little heavier as the speed increased. The level of power assistance seems to reach its minimum at about 40 mph, but it is still a little lighter to steer than the standard MGA steering and there is still no sound at all from the EPS motor. Although I installed the EPS to the MGA over the winter, I have only had some relatively short runs in the car due to the Covid-19

The modified sensor bracket, showing the hole visible on the side where the sensor is supposed to fit, and the hole facing directly up which is the extra bracket which approaches the magnet collar from below at an angle of approximately 45 degrees

Modified bracket fitted with the speed sensor located underneath instead of the right hand side, due to the longer length of the sensor

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3D printed plastic collar on the diff flange, containing the four neodymium magnets

situation, but I have experimented a little with how the car feels both with the EPS switched on and off. With the EPS switched off, the steering feels pretty much as a standard MGA does, which was a pleasant surprise for me. Apparently, with the EPS switched off, the motor doesn’t add any steering assistance and you are steering through a pretty much standard direct steering column, and to me the steering feels pretty much the same as it did before I installed it. But when you switch it on, the torque sensor detects your steering input and automatically adds assistance to reduce the steering effort. What was also a surprise was that with EPS switched on, you can still feel all the tugs and twitches through the steering wheel in the corners, the same as you would with a standard set-up. There is still plenty of feedback and “feel” from the steering and I still enjoy driving the car as much as I ever did. So, for me, it still feels exactly like an MGA around the corners, but lighter! I am just beginning to explore the handling with the EPS in operation around the faster corners but from what I have experienced so far, it is pretty encouraging and the car still feel just great. Another bonus I have found is that, when you come to a very severe hairpin corner at speed, you just turn the wheel and you are around it. Previously, I would have had to almost stop the car to give me time to haul on enough steering lock to get the car around. I have nearly been caught out by this a couple of times in the past. Also, after couple of 100-plus mile drives, I have noticed that I am not as tired as I used to be at the end of the trip and parking the car is now a delight. So I am encouraged enough to live with the EPS for the foreseeable future, but I also know that if I do begin to feel a little guilty for having an MGA with lighter steering, I can always switch it off and go back to normal steering, just to remind myself why I did this conversion in the first place. HEALTH AND SAFETY Please do not undertake this work if you don’t have the necessary knowledge, mechanical skills, a suitable working area, the necessary tools or personal protective equipment. Instead, enlist the services of an MG Specialist to carry this work out for you.

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 67

Summit:Layout 1

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TECH TORQUE

TECH TIPS

We are frequently asked technical questions covering all varieties of MG. With the help of our Registers, members, and past Safety Fast! magazines, here is a selection of the more commonly asked questions and solutions. Tech Tip from: Phil Hamm Difficulty in introducing brake pipe nipples back into threaded wheel cylinders

The end of the nipples and tubing swell up, making it difficult to reintroduce

them back into the wheel cylinder causing cross threading. This can be made easier with the use of a standard pair of 8” pliers. Most quality pliers have below the nose a semi-spherical toothed gap. If this section is gripped on to the swollen end of the nipple and the nipple is turned with a spanner, it will shave off a small amount of material to enable the nipple to insert easily into the wheel cylinder. Then by twisting the pliers around the end of the ridged Bundy pipe will also be effective in inserting the pipes into the cylinders starting the thread a lot easier.

Tech Tip from: Mike Authers Fuel hose upgrade

My tech tip is to check and change any braided fuel hoses for plain rubber. I’ve had many instances of perished hoses hidden by the metal braiding leaking fuel. As the fuel is under pressure from the pump and the vicinity of the hot exhaust manifold it’s a recipe for disaster. I change all fuel hoses as a matter of course on my sales Midgets and have stopped using the braided hoses due to so many leaking. Here is a photo of a customer’s car that lost a full tank of fuel as he drove the car while it pumped six gallons out into the engine bay!

Tech Tip from: Bob Zannetti Brake Clip suggestion

At the risk of sounding too much like Practical Boat Owner, I came up with a practical and inexpensive brake line clip for our cars. Investigating the subject ‘on-line’ I found a paucity of clips that, when found, were generally pretty costly. Obviously it is possible to just tie wrap the pipe to, say, the axle, but metal-on-

metal possibly rubbing together was the cause of some concern. My solution is super low cost, solves that problem and looks, well, reasonable. The first picture shows the components, a tie wrap and 10-15mm of small fuel line. The second shows the components assembled and in use.

Note: The above solutions should only be carried out by a home mechanic who has the necessary tools and experience to be able to do the work safely. If you are unsure of your ability then you should entrust the work to an MG specialist

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 69

RACE TORQUE

RACE TORQUE by Mark Baulch Photos by Colin Murrell

bviously, we were really disappointed to have to cancel our first race meeting of 2021, at Silverstone National on March 20. We had received a really strong level of entries for the meeting and were looking to have a really great event. Of course, we understand the reasons behind the decision and now watch with interest as the roadmap towards leaving lockdown unfolds. At the time of writing, we have over 100 Competitors already booked in for our Brands Hatch event on April 24-25, despite some uncertainties around overnight stays and general arrangements. Some of our MG ‘family’ are a little concerned about having to travel all the way to Kent without being able to stay and we will do our best to resolve this within the guidelines that are handed down to us. In fact, even one driver from an almost neighbouring county said that he could not race without it! Our guests are also reporting strong entry levels, so a fantastic return to racing beckons. We are very lucky to have an experienced, committed and extremely enthusiastic organising team, which

70 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

proved last year that it could rise to the challenge of meeting the restart guidelines. This means that I can very confidently say that we will deliver another COVID-secure event for all our Competitors, Officials and Volunteers. All of our Race Championships will be in attendance, with the exception only of the North-West-based Cockshoot Cup, and we will also be joined by the Triple M racers. There is always a joy in seeing a grid of these cars and you really have to see them ‘in the metal’ to appreciate not

only the sight of them, but the sound and smell too! You may have to wait until they join us again at Donington Park to do so, but watch the MSV website, as a limited number of spectators might be allowed to enjoy the experience in April. Of course, the Cockshoot Cup will be with us just four weeks later, as we head to Oulton Park for a meeting much earlier in the year than of late, on Saturday May 22. As this date falls past another potential milestone in the unlocking process, this may be our opportunity to have a wider audience. As we know more, the news pages of the Motorsport part of the MG Car Club website will be updated and I know that the North West Centre will also be keeping Members apprised of any additional plans. In the meantime, stay safe and well and we really do hope to see some of you soon.

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APRIL 2021 71 FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 2021 SAFETY SAFETYFAST! FAST! 49 31

MGs ON TRACK

MG on track

Duncan Wood duncanw@mgs-on-track.com

INTRODUCING THE COMMITTEE

t MGs on Track’s AGM held via Zoom back in February we had a redistribution of the roles and responsibilities within the committee, so this seems an appropriate time to remind you who we all are. In true Top of the Pops style, we have a non-mover at number one, for Nigel Silman continues as Chairman with all the pressures that entails, plus he writes and sends our regular newsletters. Nigel has a sensibly upgraded TF that he uses daily and out on track, whilst recent retirement and lockdown means that his K-Series Midget is tantalisingly close to being complete (he tells us). Fran Guy has retired from the Treasurer’s position after a dozen years of hard work and, no doubt, frustrations. All on the committee are immensely grateful for her unstinting efforts over these years in this most important of roles that remains hidden from most members. Fran shares an MGF VVC with her husband Tim. John Robertson has picked up the baton from Fran to become our new Treasurer

72 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

and is now able to experience at first hand the joys of making website bookings and accounting software work in harmony, balancing the books, and so very much more. John has an MGB V8 that he drives with that certain ‘joie de vivre’! After five years James Mumford retires from the Secretary position to take on the responsibility for attracting and retaining members; ongoing experimentation will ascertain the optimum length of nail to secure a newcomer’s feet to the floor! James has an MGF and an MGB V8. I have taken over from James as Secretary, so have bought a new ribbon for my Corona typewriter and plan to hone my shorthand skills. I have a 1275 Midget and the use of a ZR 120. Our Vice-Chairman Dave Pearce is also Contracts Manager; even in normal times this can be challenging, but the postponements and cancellations introduced by lockdowns have clearly raised this to another level. Careful negotiation and agreement with the circuits and our partner clubs have ensured

the least possible disruption over this past year. Dave has cars, quite a few of them MGs!! Mark Peters drives an MGB V8 which is not the only reason he is suited to the Webmaster role, but it no doubt helps! Taller men than him have been driven to the brink of despair by our website, but I believe it has met its’ match in Mark. Steve Hill is a founder member of MGoT and brings a wealth of experience to our meetings; he will be providing publicity support and owns an MGF. Another founder member is our President Dave Livingstone who also drives an MGF, albeit rather heavily tweaked. One of the joys of moving meetings to Zoom has been that we now see Dave much more regularly than hitherto, so can not only draw upon his wisdom but also benefit from his calming aura, something that strangely deserts him once he gets on track! Long-standing committee member John Dignan continues to have considerable success rallying his MGB and has proven adept at adapting our event requirements to those introduced by the pandemic. Julian Hepburn is currently checking and updating our documentation and has an immaculate semi-race MGC GT. As our quartermaster, Martin Holmes keeps us supplied with the essentials needed to run track days and runs an MGF VVC, a combine harvester, and a baker’s oven! All committee members, whatever their official role, also take a turn at organising track days, helping at shows, answering queries, and generally tackling those myriad tasks that continually arise. Last, but certainly not least, may I introduce our newest committee member Richard Gormley, who has a pair of MGBs. In a selfless act that I view as heroism and my regular reader might consider a blessed relief, Richard will be contributing these Safety Fast! reports from next month onwards, ending my five-year tenure as ‘Scribe’. In closing, many thanks to Andy Knott and the team for continuing to give Car Club members such an excellent magazine, and to you for reading this page until…. The End.

www.mgcc.co.uk

MGS ON TRACK – 2021 CALENDAR

MGCC MGCCSPEED SPEEDCHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIP

Please visit www.mgs-on-track.com to register, check availability, or to book a track day. Registered members will receive regular newsletters and notification of event opening dates.

John Wilman, Beechfield, Fern Bank, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak. SK23 0JJ Tel: 07778 165186 www.mgspeed.net

Cadwell Park – April 12 A twisty and hugely scenic circuit in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Goodwood – April 27 Take a step back in time with the first of two visits to this atmospheric venue; live like a Lord for just one day! Snetterton 300 – May 21 A fast and open track; long straights combined with a challenging infield section. Castle Combe – June 21 The first of two annual visits to this very friendly circuit in Wiltshire. Anglesey – August 9 Experience this challenging circuit and splendid views on a day shared with the Lotus 7 Club. John Hawley in his Midget pushing hard at Curborough in 2016. Photo: David Doolan

Blyton Park – August 16 Not a traditional racing circuit, but a fun and friendly venue boasting a layout with real character. Castle Combe – September 8 A second opportunity to enjoy the thrills of this ever-popular track which includes a couple of chicanes and high-speed, technical corners! Donington Park – October 4 A circuit with a long history, this is a firm favourite with all. Includes plenty of changes of elevation and the swooping Craner Curves. Goodwood – October 25 A second visit in case you missed the first due to popularity! Brands Hatch ‘Indy’ – December 6 Our season finale; don’t miss the chance to enjoy this undulating circuit including Paddock Hill Bend!

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he first event of the season is the Curborough Sprint on Sunday April 11, organised as always by the Midlands Centre of the MG Car Club. All the signs are that it will go ahead with covid restrictions in place. That is to say that entries and signing-on will all take place online. In addition, there will be no spectators allowed and a restricted amount of back-up crew in line with the entry requirements. We can only hope that these rules will be relaxed as the year goes on. The following weekend, Saturday April 17, will be the Goodwood Sprint. This is a very popular event at this historic circuit and the same restrictions will apply. May 1-2 takes is to the Anglesey weekend. This consists of two different layouts. The Saturday event consists of two laps of the upper circuit and Sunday a single lap of the international outer circuit. This event is organised by the North West

Centre and has already created a lot of interest from the various invited clubs. As many of you will know, this is a superb venue and the lack of spectators will sadly curb the atmosphere. A word of warning, however. The Welsh government tend to have their own agenda with regard to Covid restrictions, and we can only hope that Anglesey Weekend will be able to go ahead in May. The rest of May is busy. There is a sprint at Llandow circuit on the 8th which could well suffer in the same way as Anglesey. The following day is the Farnborough and District Motor Club Sprint at Rushmoor. On the 15th is our first visit to Wiscombe this year. The following day, the 16th, is the annual Scammonden Hill Climb near Huddersfield, organised by the MGCC North West Centre. Perhaps by this time things will be opening up and we can return to the full enjoyment of our sport.

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 73

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CENTRES ABINGDON WORKS Tony Cotter sfscribe@mgabingdon.org.uk www.mgabingdon.co.uk There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel, and for the first time in over a year, we can realistically expect that it isn’t another Inter-City 125 hurtling towards us. The PM has announced his roadmap to normality, and at the time of writing, public events are a real likelihood in the coming weeks. Of course, we all need to remain compliant with the regulations while they are still in place, but we at least have some target dates for meeting up and enjoying our MGs once again.

Sezincote House, May 2010

ANGLIA

Cotswold Woollen Weavers, April 2016

The first AWC event post lockdown will be the Summer Day Out. We expect this eagerly awaited restart of the events calendar to be on Sunday August 22 2021. Boy, it feels good to be able to write those words! The Summer Day Out involves a trip to Chawton House, the ‘Great House’

Cotswold Motor Museum, April 2014

Restoration Trophy At the February committee meeting the shortlist of candidates for winner of the Restoration Trophy was voted on by the committee. The result was a unanimous vote in favour of a truly amazing restoration of a 1977 MG Midget owned and restored by Stan Carter. Stan, who is a member of the Club’s Young Members Branch, did all the work

himself with the exception of the welding which was completed by a friend of his. What makes the restoration all the more incredible is that Stan doesn’t have a garage to work in, not even a small lockup. The whole restoration was carried out in the front driveway of his home, under a gazebo, except that is for the spray painting of the major panels, which Stan completed on an old kitchen table in his back garden! A charming man, Stan has always had an interest in engineering and how things work which has led to his current employment as an aircraft engineer.

Stan’s Midget during restoration in his driveway

Stan Carter’s completed restoration

Rob Muir 01206 862619 scribe@mgccanglia.com www.mgccanglia.com

www.mgcc.co.uk

referred to in Jane Austen’s letters. Please check the AWC Newsletter for further details and how to register for this day out. It is also advisable to keep an eye on our website for the most up-to-date information regarding events, as the situation regarding social distancing is still subject to change www.mgabingdon.org.uk/ As you will have seen from previous AWC notes in this splendid monthly magazine, the St. George’s Day and Old Speckled Hen runs have been cancelled for this year. So here’s a little reminiscence of previous years, and a reminder of what to look forward to in 2022. Stay safe and healthy everyone, and we look forward to seeing you all plus our new members at an event soon.

From the moment he could drive, he wanted to own a classic car. Initially he was on the lookout for a Triumph Spitfire, but when a friend of his told him about a Midget for sale, he bought it on the spot. It was in a sorry state. Someone had decided to cut the gearbox crossmember away and even cut the front chassis legs with a view to fitting an engine from a Mazda. Most people would have walked away but Stan knew he wanted to save the car, all credit to him. With members of Stan’s calibre, the MG Car Club will have a very bright future indeed.

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 75

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CENTRES CALEDONIAN Bob MacGillivray 07870 407111 mgcarsscotland@gmail.com www.mgcaledonian.com I had hoped to be able this month to encourage you all to get your Glamis Extravaganza entries in. However unfortunately, like so many other shows, the organisers have taken the difficult decision to cancel the event for this year. That means that all the shows we had hoped to attend this year have been cancelled also, including the September Bo’ness event. It will run but only as a competitive hillclimb, and not at Kinneil but at Forrestburn on a date to be

Norwegian race MGB

DEVON & CORNWALL Young Janner II bobslatter@hotmail.com www.mgccdc.org Hopefully by the time you read this, the future is starting to look brighter with an easing of all the restrictions placed on all of us for everyone’s protection. Unfortunately, there is still some bad news to go along with the good. Events that require a huge amount of pre-planning are still being cancelled for 2021. We have just received news that the Historic Vehicle Gathering at Powderham Castle near Exeter and organised by the Crash Box and Classic Car Club of Devon is off for this year, but they have already booked the dates of July 9-10 2022. We will have a Centre stand |there once again so let’s hope we can make it a special display. Now on to some good news. Due to the current situation, technology has made us all look at modern ways to keep in contact. The Committee has met over a Zoom meeting to see what we may be able to organise as things improve. Also,

www.mgcc.co.uk

announced. Incidentally, I understand that one of our members has bought the ex-Kenny Baird competition MGB which I imported back from Norway a few years ago. Earlier in its busy life the car had competed in various MGCC race events south of the border. Perhaps Bo’ness/Forrestburn will be its first competitive event in new hands. However, there is perhaps a little glimmer of hope on the horizon... Last year the team at East Ayrshire Car Club managed to run an excellent show at Kames AND stay within the Covid rules. Rumour has it that it may run again this summer. If so, I expect numbers will be restricted and that the event may be oversubscribed, so if you would like to attend then keep an eye on our website, Facebook and our emails for updates and enter without delay! Other than that, it is likely that as soon as restrictions allow, we will try to organise some one-day runs. These are likely to be informal picnictype events possibly arranged at relatively short notice, so again check our website,

P Type MG at Kames in 2020

social media, and emails for info. You will have read in SF! about the plans for the joint MGCC/Triumph Clubs event at Malvern on August 13-15. As I write this, it is not clear what involvement Centres may have in this but in any event, it is likely that a number of our members will be planning to attend. If you are intending to go then please let me know just in case, we might want to involve you in a Centre stand! Obviously, too, it will depend on whether or not cross-border journeys will then be allowed!

details as they become available will be the Natters have kept in similar contact with their circulated via the newsletter and email, etc. regular attendees. A fortnight later, on Sunday September I think that the Natters will play a very 19, Pete and Lin Opie will be running a touring important part in getting us back together again, assembly. This had been planned for 2020, but when we are able to safely gather in groups, as obviously had to be curtailed. I have no further they are the lifeblood of the Centres and can be details at the moment but contact Pete on organised at short notice. webmaster@mgccdc.org to show an interest. Roger Punch, a Centre member, has sent in I realise that these items are a long way off, details of the Saltram Rotary Club Classic Car but when things resume there will probably be Show being held on Sunday September 5 from a plethora of such events to attend which all 11.00am to 4.00pm in the beautiful setting of organisations have postponed from 2020. the Lyneham Estate, near Yealmpton, Plymouth, PL8 2LG. This is principally supporting Devon Air Ambulance, a very worthy cause. We would like to organise a Centre display once again at this event and Roger has reserved a space for us. More information is available by emailing rotaryclassiccars@ Mel Jones’s 1986 MG Montego Turbo, one of only seven still on the road. gmail.com Further

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 77

CENTRES LINCOLNSHIRE Ian Mackenzie 01529 497849 MaccaV8@aol.com www.mgcclincolnshire.co.uk Sadly, it seems that we are unable to gather for the National Drive Your Classic Car Day event, the anniversary date falling as it does within Boris’s ‘continuing protection period’. So, if you have the opportunity to undertake an independent unnecessary journey in your MG on April 25, remember to wave. Or copy our Google Street

View Virtual New Year’s Day Run (but you’ll have to provide your own tea and cakes). However, what we can arrange is the first autotest of the year! We look forward to our visit to East Kirkby, for the first round of our autotest season on April 11, at the now familiar Fen Road site. See our Facebook page, or contact Dave Stonehouse on 01790 754774 for details. Hopefully, we will have the Triumph and MG weekend to build up to on August 13-15 at Three Counties Showground, Malvern. A further East Kirkby Autotest date for your diary is Sunday May 16.

Bob Welch with his trusty Midget (in a previous incarnation) at MGLive!

MIDLANDS John Fry jcfryza@gmail.com Website: www.mgccmidlandcentre.co.uk Midland Centre Facebook: @mgccmidlandcentre COVID unfortunately continues to play havoc with our Events Calendar, so it is essential please that you keep a close eye on our website - see above - for up-to-date position. Your Committee set out again to be adventurous in our planning/listings of events for 2021, and like everyone else are keenly looking forward to exercising our cars legally, as distinct from wearing out walking boots! As has been mentioned in previous notes, we did succeed last year in putting on a successful and MSUK-compliant Trial in Bromsgrove, and a Curborough Sprint, these being scheduled again this year. In fact, at the time of writing these lines some 50+ entries have been received for the latter on April 11 – but unfortunately our MSUK permit does not allow spectators, even if they do arrive, and in an MG! Hopefully things will be a little easier for August Curborough.

78 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

We hope to hold the Centre’s AGM on Thursday July 1, at a venue yet to be confirmed. Hopefully, clan Mackenzie will have seen most of you by then.... As stated last month, our Centre Webmaster has retired from the role, and we are in need of a willing volunteer to step forward into the breach. Thank you Bob, for all your help and support in informing and entertaining us all. If you feel you would like to take on the role, please contact Hon. Secretary Sue at MaccaV8@gmail.com or on the above number.

The end of the line at one of our Drive Your Classic Car Days

Bob Blackstock is busy organising separate Regularity and Naviscat runs for June 5 in the Worcestershire/Herefordshire area, as we are confident necessary MSUK Permits will be available, but entrant numbers will be limited. So, if you would like to have a go, entry forms can be downloaded from our website. Alternatively, why not spend a pleasant day marshalling? As you will be aware, Kimber House has announced news we have all been waiting for – a major event, to be held jointly with the TR Register and TSSC, over the weekend of August 13-15. The event takes place at the Malvern Three Counties Showground, which being within the Midlands Centre boundary will allow us to work with our Triumph friends and KH to bring you an exciting couple of days. We envisage an organised run to or from the site, and hopefully Autotests/Autosolo. Watch this space! Pictures this month have a V8 flavour. Not JOK, but Brian Osborn participating in an Autotest/Trial some years ago at Bromsgrove, and a Rocket Propelled Vehicle about to leave on a high-speed removal job!

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CENTRES NORTH WEST Paul Goodman 01625 876300 As you will know by now, the first Cockshoot Cup race meeting of the year was cancelled in March because of the timing of the lifting of restrictions. The better news was that motorsport was going to be allowed to start in April. It is hoped that the two rounds lost can be re-scheduled for later in the year. The April go-ahead means that the Speed Championship can commence on schedule with the Midlands Centre event at Curborough on April 11. This will be followed by a southern round at Goodwood on April 17. Next up are own events at Anglesey on May 1-2 and Scammonden Dam on May 16. At the time of writing, the future of Welsh motorsport depended on mid-March announcements. Everybody is keen to run the event at Anglesey if possible. An announcement will be made on the Centre website when a decision has been made. There is much more certainty about the Scammonden Dam Hillclimb at which cars run up the steep tarmac road against the clock from the base of the dam until they are level with the M62. We need quite a few volunteers both on and

SOUTH EAST Ray Ruffels and William Opie raywillmg@gmail.com www.mgccse.co.uk Excellent news as Motorsport UK has restarted organised motorsport, under licence and compliant with Covid guidance, from March 29 and the Government Road Map out of the pandemic reaches Stage 2, of 4, on April 12. The above means that SE events in the next quarter are subject to revised planning and change, therefore it is essential to

Winning entry from George and Geraldine for the Valentine’s day photo competition 80 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Drive it Day April 2017 with the Woodford Vulcan. Photo: Paul Goodman

off track to run the meeting, so get in touch if you would like to be involved. It also seems highly likely that spectators will be allowed at our race meeting on May 22 at Oulton Park. More news to follow about this next month. If pubs can open on the schedule given by the Government, then we may be able to meet in a limited way, probably in groups of six, at the Plough and Flail on April 20. This might be at lunchtime rather than in the evening. Those members who are on the email circulation list will get notification and the information will also be on the website.

Looking further ahead, there is a possibility that the Tatton Park outdoor show will be held in early June, and if it takes place the Centre will be displaying a range of cars. There could then be more outdoor events as the year goes on and more displays can be staged to promote the Centre. There will also be the two summer race meetings at Silverstone on June 12-13 and Donington Park on July 17-18 at which spectators will be allowed. Finally, if any members run into problems getting their MGs back on to the road then please contact the Centre for assistance.

contact your local Natter or Wanderers leader/s or check status of all events and official car runs at www. mgccse.co.uk April MGCC events start with Brands Hatch on April 24-25, providing a busy two days of MG Championship racing on the Indy circuit. For latest info and spectator entry status check first at https://brandshatch.msvcom /BH-21-MGCC Valentine’s day photo competition runners-up John and Jenny Morgan with their entry Unfortunately, the Brooklands MG and British Marques Day on Our independent judge, Denise Smith, April 15, the Battle of Britain Run on May 2, studied the entries and congratulations go Spring Gathering on May 16 and the Isle of Wight to the winners George and Geraldine Tour are postponed due to government Homewood with their loved-up picture of Covid regulations. their MGB roadster in the snow. John Morgan In February we were unable to run the came second with a wonderful image of an Traditional Valentine’s Treasure Hunt so instead we MG Midget – see all pictures on thought you would like to show how much you www.mgccse.co.uk love your MG by providing a picture as part of a Thank you to all those who took part in this Valentine’s Photo Comp! light-hearted Valentine’s competition.

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CENTRES SOUTH WEST Andrew Owst 01761 221893 andrewowst@hotmail.com website http://www.mgccsw.com/ Facebook www.facebook.com/MGCCSW Twitter @mgccsw Just prior to writing these notes, our government announced the road map out of lockdown, and also MSUK announced that motorsport could

TYNE-TEES Tony Wood anthony@scrutonvillage.co.uk Our AGM, held via the wonder that is Zoom, brought memories of better times. Our previous AGM was the last monthly meeting we were able to attend in person, so my first year as Chairman has been less demanding in time than I expected but has unexpectedly tested my computer skills. Things will hopefully improve towards the latter half of the year and we are planning to revive and revamp our calendar accordingly. As things stand, we will restart events proper with the Fish and Chip Supper run on July 9 followed by Newby Hall on the 18th. We have plans well advanced for August for two extra events which should be ready for next month’s notes, so watch this space. Breakfast meets and Coffee and Cars will restart as soon as regulations allow. As usual, Tyne Tees Tidings and this column will have details. AGM business was slightly altered, as you can imagine. The past events report was thin to the point of non-existence and coming events

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resume after March 29, i.e. about the time you will receive this magazine. There are several events planned for this year, but as the immediate future is still uncertain, please keep visiting the SW Centre website for up-to-date details. The photos are from the Summer Picnic at Stourhead back in 2014, and I thought they were good examples of what we will hopefully, optimistically be able to enjoy later this year! On March 1, the SW Centre held its AGM via Zoom and 25 members attended. Jim Lott has

kindly agreed to continue as Chairman for another year. and all the existing committee were willing to stand again. We are pleased to welcome two more members to our committee, Neil and Oliver Lock. I will repeat the reminder published in last month’s SW Centre notes, that all new and existing Club members are required to hold an MSUK Club Licence to take part in events such as MGs On Grass. This should not put members off, as the licence is FREE and can be renewed or applied for online from Motorsport UK.

were tentatively optimistic. The Treasurer’s report was the simplest David has ever had to produce. The good news is that we are financially stable. We started the year with £5,188 and ended it with £4,379 but we paid £700 in deposits for event venues pre-lockdown. Those deposits have been carried forward into this year and are for events which should be held if the current exit strategy is adhered to. The main business came with role changes. As you know, our Secretary David Alexander wished to step back from the role which he has held since 2014 and I am pleased to tell you that Noel Lindford has been elected in his place. David did not escape completely, being elected to the Committee and agreeing to continue as Competition Secretary. His tenure was marked by the surprise presentation of the MGCC “Marque of Friendship” award, given to members who have made significant contributions to the Club. This has to be approved at Board level, the scroll and special badge reminding us that David has put in a lot of work over many years and it is appreciated throughout the Club. The bottle of single malt Scotch given by the Centre will probably run it

a close second. Thanks to Matthew for keeping the secret, presenting the award and not drinking the Scotch!

David with his Marque of Friendship Award

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CENTRES YORKSHIRE Ken Cothliff kencothliff@hotmail.co.uk https://mgccyorkshire.co.uk At last, there is good news on the horizon with the hopeful easing of restrictions over the spring months. Perhaps by July we might be back to having our Natter meeting. As a precursor, the end of February saw a rise in temperature, so my wife and I took the opportunity for a run out in “Marmalade” our MGB, to Nidderdale and the south western edge of the Dales in glorious sunshine with the hood down. 50 miles round trip to the DIY store for some paint was a bit of a long way round, but we felt much better afterwards. A word of caution from the South Natter, about a chap who lived a few doors from one of the

ULSTER Carol Willis (028) 9079 9997 or 07831 345560

www.mgcculstercentre.co.uk carol.mgulster@hotmail.co.uk As he finally stands down, we wish to thank Stephen Dawson for everything he has done as Treasurer within the Ulster Centre. He has carefully

82 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Members, who left his car on charge over winter using a trickle charger. The owner had a car which was used by just one family member to do just local journeys for about 800-1,000 miles per year. When the car was not in use it was connected to a trickle charger in their garage. On this occasion it appears a fault developed with the trickle charger which started a fire in the garage. By the time the fire brigade arrived, they found difficulty getting to the actual fire source due to the garage being round the back of the house and the back of the garage was up against a very tall boundary wall surrounded by bushes at the side of a main road. The end result was that the car, garage, two sheds built alongside the garage and their contents, plus a caravan parked at the other side of the garage, were all lost. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

A salutary lesson to be learned to use a Battery Conditioner to look after your classic MG. South Natter also had their Annual Meeting via post and there were no role changes. Vale of York have decided to hold their AGM when the summer allows their Natters to recommence. South is hoping to hold a 25th anniversary party for the Natter, but this will also be held in the summer. Obviously the spring Daffodil Run is cancelled, and the forthcoming Centre Zoom AGM will decide on when to recommence planning summer events. Certainly, speaking to other Centre members, we all can’t wait to get going again. We include a few photos from past events, including Vaughan Rich in his MGA Coupe, a shot from the Heartbeat Run, and two ‘golden oldies’, an M-type and VA at the 2016 Drive Day run.

recorded our income and expenditure, prepared and submitted our VAT returns and finalised the Centre accounts for submission to the main Club. Richard McCracken, already a member of committee, is taking over and we welcome him in his new role. With everybody not venturing very far from home it isn’t easy to find something different for Safety Fast! but I am sure you will see some familiar faces, from wedding bells to babies.

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REGISTERS TRIPLE M CATHELIJNE SPOELSTRA +31 (0)6 41216600 cathelijnespoelstra@outlook.com www.triple-mregister.org April already and not much hope of any sizeable lockdown lifts yet! It looks as if the Club’s Brands Hatch race meeting is on, though, on the 25th, but, at the time of writing, no news yet on whether spectators will be allowed or not. Whatever the case may be, Safety Fast to the racing boys and girls! Our Members Group on Facebook (282 members and counting!) raised an interesting matter the other day when someone suggested that the choice of the number 251 as the first of any batch of MGs was based upon the Works’ Abingdon telephone number. I did recall having read something somewhere about that not being entirely true, but where? Luckily, to the rescue came our President, Mike Allison! As these things need repeating every now and then, I thought I’d copy his words for the benefit of us all: “The 14/40 chassis numbers started at 2251, the phone number at Edmund Road, Cowley, preceded by ‘Oxford’. The 18/80 started at 6251,

SVW Paul Campbell svw.safety.fast@gmail.com www.svwregister.co.uk As the vaccination programme continues apace, we can see the possibility of getting out in our cars and meeting again with our friends and fellow enthusiasts. In the meantime, many of us are tackling the jobs we didn’t previously have time for. The SVW Facebook group has seen quite a few parts exchange hands in recent weeks, including an original gear knob that’s never been used, ‘Auster’ repro windscreen tags, brake master cylinders and a VA exhaust manifold, amongst others. Parts seem to go via social media before they reach the website, although we have a fair number of parts on there, too. Speaking of the website, when you visit each time, you may see a useful tip that pops up, that can be something technical or important news/ announcements. They generally remain for a few days then get replaced by another if we have one. If you have a particular tip you’d like to pass on then please contact me.

84 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

as it was thought that not more than 500 14/40s would be built. The Mark II was the original A-type and started at A-0251, while the B-type was the Tigress model, starting at B-0251. M-type production also started at Edmund Road in 1929, these also starting with 251. Apparently, when the Abingdon factory was opened, ‘Admin’ asked for the same phone number. Only having a few lines, they offered ‘Abingdon 0251’ early in 1930.” So there we have it; one to remember! Another thingie I came across on Facebook is this rather lovely photograph of 20-year-old

Arthur Clapham of Keighley, West Yorkshire, sometime in the second half of the 1930s. Now you may of course be excused for thinking it’s ‘just another F1 Magna’, F1111 in fact, but what of the writing on the bonnet? Precimax apparently refers to a trade name of the company Arthur worked for as a precision engineer. Could it be we are looking at the first use of a car as an object to be used for advertising? Oh, and if you can help identify the venue and the event Arthur is seen taking part in, I’d love to hear from you!

Last month I said that the new Bangers & Cash series was due to start on March 4, which was correct, but I also said that the first episode would include the two SA Saloons with Mark Boldry being interviewed about their family SA Saloon. Contact with the production company revealed that the SA episode would be delayed until the autumn so they can include a follow-up on the progress of their restoration. The article on my VA Tourer has at last been published in the April edition of MG Enthusiast, following the photoshoot last August between lockdowns! In February, the work on my rear wings was completed. When last resprayed in 1979, the body shop fitted the rear wings with the original piping and painted the car afterwards, so the paint on the piping cracked and it spoilt the look of the car. Removal of the wings revealed no rot other than a small section in

the inner wing behind the nearside running board. The internal woodwork was treated then the hole sealed with a membrane and light coat of filler. The hidden sections of the wings were only in primer and were rough but solid (see photo). They were stripped and repainted professionally then reassembled with new piping (the Trafalgar Blue piping from Woolies being an ideal match for my Saxe Blue bodywork). Enjoy the spring and hopefully some SVW outings.

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REGISTERS T TYPE Paul Plummer 01926 854574 scribe@tregister.org The Government has now released its road map describing the steps to be taken on the journey back to normality and if all goes to plan, we might be able to get back out and enjoy our cars during the second half of the year. Who knows!

T Register Spring Tour, 2021 – Rescheduled for July 5-9 First, the bad news. Inevitably the Spring Tour has been postponed from its original dates. However, stage three of the lockdown allows international travel to resume from May 17. Now the good news. The hotel has been very accommodating in allowing us to move the dates forward and the tour has now been re-booked for the week beginning July 5. Any cancellations, new bookings, or any other info, please contact Sally Silcock (sally.silcock@ntlworld.com) ASAP.

members who learnt all about stripping down and rebuilding the braking system on a TF. By the time you read this, our second webinar will have been held on Saturday March 27 with the subject being ‘The implications of E10 in fuel’, which I’m sure will prove to be an interesting topic. T Register Autumn Tour, September 10-13 This is the re-scheduled 2020 event which will be visiting parts of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire and the Malvern Hills, hopefully by September normal life will have resumed. However, watch this space!

Rebuild Seminar Due to the pandemic this seminar had to be cancelled from March/April time, and organising a suitable replacement date later on in the year has proven to be a real challenge. So, we decided to hold a series of virtual, online seminars in its place, with the first having taken place on Saturday February 27. This webinar, entitled ‘Brakes – or how to make your car stop’ was attended by 17

Y TYPE Jerry Birkbeck 01926 258691 Mob: 07855 566325 birkbeckjerry@gmail.com www.mgccyregister.co.uk Fitting a Temperature Gauge One of the few drawbacks with both the Y and the YT is the lack of a temperature gauge. The instrumentation in both models includes an oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge and an ammeter, which are essential. However, the obvious lack of any means of indicating that the water level is low and the engine is running hot is surprising. This can occasionally catch drivers out with potentially damaging consequences. So, you may reasonably ask, where would I locate such a vital instrument without detracting from the character of my dash panel? The dash on the Y saloon is of course finished in veneered walnut, which adds so much to the distinctive character of the car. An inappropriately located additional gauge would certainly visually jar and reduce the `feel’ of the car. There are four possible options, although just three I would suggest for the saloon.

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The Vertical Gauge The vertical gauge fits on the radiator shell, as an integral part of the cap. These were manufactured and patented in 1912 by the Boyce MotoMeter Company and fitted to the unpressurised cooling systems found in most cars up until the early 1950s. Although they became obsolete when dash-mounted gauges became more commonplace. I am aware of examples fitted to Ys and Neil Cairn’s YB displays such an example. They are available, at a price, though whether they are aesthetically pleasing is a personal decision. They can be easily removed, which has obvious advantages and disadvantages.

to our YT. It is not visually intrusive, which is a downside and it can be awkward to read! The Panel Fitted Gauge I think that visually this only works on the YT. The dash is fabric covered and providing an original gauge is fitted the instrument is not obtrusive and does not materially affect the character of the car. The photo shows such an instrument fitted to a TC on the offside of the panel (which in this case is veneered).

The Gauge Mounted Bracket This is a relatively straightforward fitting, with the gauge mounted in a bracket and affixed to the underside of the dash panel. The parts are readily available and straightforward to fit. The Steering Column Fitting The photo shows the temperature gauge as fitted

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 85

REGISTERS MAGNETTE Stephen Tickell 01737 760330 stephen.tickell@gmail.com www.magnette.org We were probably tempting fate by putting out a Register events programme at the start of the year, but it appears so far only the Somerset weekend scheduled for April 24-25 has definitely had to be postponed. The current plan is to move this to early July, and hopefully there’ll be an update by the time you read this. Our first event should therefore be the visit to Crich Tramway Museum, May 29.

“Guy’s many Magnette friends are all shocked to hear of his tragic, premature death. He has been a charming and hard-working ambassador for MGs and the MGCC for many years, following in Ton’s footsteps. We especially loved to see him, with his whole family in his ZA Magnette, at the annual European Magnette Day wherever it was held across the continent, when every Saturday evening he would lead us on his guitar in a sing-song

around the embers of the fire, long into the night. It was also a joy to catch up with him at Silverstone, Beaulieu, the European Event of the Year and many other events. The world will be a much sadder place without him but he will live long in all our memories. Our thoughts and condolences are with Miriam, Goya, Gene and Greg and of course his mother, Frederike.”

Guy Maathuis You’ll find a report elsewhere by Dietrich Krahn about the 2020 Magnette weekend in Austria, which for those who were there will be a poignant reminder of the loss of Guy Maathuis, a regular at this long-running event. Of course with the family collection of MGs he was well-known in many different groups, but I understand the ZA that he inherited was in fact the very car that brought him home from hospital after his birth. Register Chairman Paul Batho wrote this tribute: Guy with Magnette and family

MGA Edward Vandyk 01488 608810 mgascribe@vandyk.co.uk An end, if not the end, of the restrictions we face in going out for a drive in our MGAs is at least in prospect and we must remain optimistic that we will all soon be on the road again. Quite how this experience will alter our behaviour, by diktat, recommendation or personal choice and thus the nature of our events in future, remains an open question to which our events, both scheduled and proposed, will need to respond. MGA Spring ‘Drive it Day’ 2021 A chance to dust our cars down and get them out for local social runs with other MGAs. This was initially planned in place of our Spring Tour over the weekend of May 8-9. However, the current government, staged, restrictions do not allow social gatherings of more than six people from two households to take place until at least May 17. From this date social gatherings of up to 30 people may be allowed and on this basis

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the proposed MGA social runs should not take place until after May 17 or when the stage three restrictions come into force. The aim remains the same: to get as many MGAs out on the road as possible, ideally along with other MGAs, in local Social Runs. Whilst the Register Committee are happy individually or collectively to facilitate such events there will be no central organisation for these runs and it will be left to the initiative of individual MGA Register members to make arrangements with other likeminded MGA owners for their get-together. Hopefully, this may lead to new members and demonstrate that MG and in particular the MGA Register is the ‘Marque of Friendship’.

car #37297 had the engine number stamped onto the plate but by car #37413, the VIN plate omitted the engine number and “SEE ENGINE” appeared in its stead. Many thanks to Roger Parker, who is the Technical Support at the MGOC, who sent in a photograph of his original VIN plate for 37318 which has “SEE ENGINE” stamped on it. Roger’s car started build on August 30 1957 so the change point is now narrowed to 21 cars and is clearly late August 1957. Having covered weddings, I asked for examples of any different related MGA use. Thank you for your emails in response.

VIN Plates In last month’s Safety Fast! I made an appeal for photographs of VIN plates between cars number 37297 – 37413 on behalf of Nick Kopernik in the USA, who is seeking to clarify when the MGA production change to the VIN plate format, as set out below, occurred. Hitherto he had narrowed the time frame to late August - early September 1957. VIN plates up to and including

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REGISTERS MGB David Broadhurst 01209 614704 newsletter-editor@mgb-register.org www.mgb-register.org

mgbforum.mgb-register.org I got this interesting e-mail from John Prewer, who thought it could be of interest. Certainly a novel experience! Let me take you back to Sunday June 5 1983, and no I don’t know what I was doing! I was just at the start of my second year of MG ownership with my 1978 MGB GT DVV 350T and was rebuilding my current MGB AER 155B which would be finished just three months later. But it was the day that the Space Shuttle Enterprise visited the UK on its the way back from the Paris Air Show. The crowds were insane on the Sunday to watch the Shuttle arrive atop the Boeing 747 and I stayed away (I was probably rebuilding my MGB!), electing instead to try my hand at the inevitable traffic queues with a visit a couple of days later after finishing work on Bridge Street in Cambridge. A swift trip down the M11 and there were… no queues! I was able to park close to the

MIDGET Chris Hale c.hale1962@btinternet.com www.midgetregister.com As I write these notes at the end of February, there is some glimmer of hope that we will be able to get back to some kind MG activity in our cars. Whilst MGLive! has been postponed, there are a number of events planned that hopefully will deliver on that promise including the Triumph and MG Show at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern which promises to be an exciting new addition to the calendar. Despite the restrictions, Max Authers had a surprise final ending to 2020’s autotest season in his Midget. At the last autotest run on December 6, Max had FTD (fastest time of the day) and clinched the South Oxfordshire Motor Club championship by one point. This came as a complete surprise as the Midget has usually lost out to faster and more agile FWD rally cars. With a couple of ‘first in RWD’ class wins over the year, the conditions in December with an extremely wet/muddy pea

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I knew that there would be changes to the events list as published in the March issue, and here they are! I wonder if that’s definitive? 2021 Events Sat May 22 MGB Register 2020 AGM Zoom Sun June 27 MGB Spring Run Millets to Stowe Sat - Sun July 17-18 Classic Nostalgia Day Shelsley Walsh Sun August 1 Crich Tramway Museum Crich Derbyshire Sun August 8 MGB Classic Car Picnic Millets Abingdon Fri - Sun August 13-15 Triumph & MG weekend Malvern Thurs – SunAugust 19-22 British Classic Car Show Farnborough Fri – Mon September 17-20 MGB Weekend Scottish Borders Sat – Sun September 25-26 Kopp Hill Climb Festival Aylesbury Sat October 9 Don Hayter Day Tues AM October 12 Guided tour for MGB owners Bicester Heritage 2022 Events Fri – Sun March 18-20 Sun September 25

Practical Classic Restoration Show NEC MGB60 Gaydon

Shuttle and get plenty of photos, including my car with the Shuttle in the background! A pleasant and slower drive back ended with a pint at the Baron of Beef on the aforementioned Bridge Street. It was a very a very memorable evening, topped only by a later trip to Florida to see a launch: STS-48 on September 18 1991.

shingle car park, the Midget with new Uniroyal rain expert tyres found grip much better than anyone else. A special tuning LSD obviously helped! The car weighed an extra 80 kgs at the end of the day as the wet shingle was like wet concrete and had attached itself in every wheel arch, the engine bay and floors! However, work to the car is now needed as it had been jumping out of first gear all year and has got extremely noisy, so Mike Authers has bought the straight cut/close ratio box from a Downton built Midget that the owner changed for

a Ford type 9 box. The engine was also starting to burn a lot of oil and after a compression check the first cylinder was down to 10psi. So, it’s engine, gearbox and diff out as they all are due for rebuilds. Mike and Max had entered the Monte Carlo Classique this January (2021) to get experience before the Historique next year, but decided to pull out with the Covid-19 situation and the cancellation of the Banbury Start, plus it would have been a struggle to get the car ready in time, but then there’s always next year!

Max’s Midget after the December Autotest

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 87

REGISTERS MGC Mike Haughton mgc_mike@btinternet.com www.mgcc.co.uk/mgc-register/ April sneaks up on us, and we are starting to be optimistic about getting to some events – especially the joint three-dayer with the Triumph clubs in Malvern. We are also trying to sort out an MGC day, probably in the second half of July, so watch this space as they say (and the Facebook page).

FWD Ben Hatton ben2692@hotmail.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk/fwd-register/ The journey to the NEC, Part II In March 2019 the Metro made its first pilgrimage back to Brum since the day it left Longbridge in 1988, and certainly the longest trip it had made in our ownership to set up the MGCC FWD stand without a hitch. It displayed for three days attracting a lot of attention, including from many ex-Longbridge workers and Harold Musgrove himself. Thanks to Ben Hatton for letting me have the car on stand that weekend, I truly enjoyed it. Since the NEC, I have slowly been overhauling key components in the name of reliability and

88 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

It seems early to be thinking of the end of the year, but if it’s safe to do so, and there is enough interest, we will try to arrange a meal in a hotel at the end of November – let Mike know if you would be interested. For those still tinkering in their garages, our Tech Guru Vic Young has the following parts available for sale to Register members – contact him at vjyoung@btconnect.com or 01737 551141 - MGC overdrive gearbox with a v8 o/d - A pair of HS8 2” SU carbs fully set up for MGC, with needles, piston springs - straight swap into the UK spec manifold (bored 2” manifold available on exchange basis) using the original linkage. - And he has an overhauled original Girling Mk2 servo in stock for Register members. We are always happy to hear your MGC stories – if we can

restoration. This includes brake callipers, braided brake hoses, brake master cylinder, aluminium coolant pipe, new radiator (after my car took a pee at the British Motor Museum in the concours display area!), alternator, sound deadening, cavity waxing and so on. I have also made other improvements, as some OEM parts are either poor quality or hard to source. One of my single favourite changes is the Maniflow stainless exhaust that I had made for the car and looks and sounds awesome. I currently have the coolant hoses sent off to a specialist who before too long should be able to offer a silicone hose set for the MG Metro in a matte black finish, as close to the originals as possible. Watch this space… At time of writing, the car is tucked up in the garage after having its rear subframe and fuel

squeeze them into this space we will – or just share your car photos for all to see! Here’s a thought – how do you know if someone is hitch-hiking, or just likes your car? Anyway – here’s hoping we get to see you and your cars sometime over the summer. In the meantime, here are a couple more great photos that didn’t quite make the calendar.

tank removed for overhaul, which as ever is taking longer, and costing more, than I anticipated. Do we ever learn?! I hope that in 2021 I will be able to get out to shows, meets and enjoy the car more than in 2020. In memory of my Dad, Gerald Collins. David Collins

www.mgcc.co.uk

Period style seat belts for pre-1973 vehicles, not forgetting your modern classic post-1973 • Seat belts and harnesses supplied and fitted • Bespoke service • Original belts refurbished • New original equipment available on certain vehicles

Be safe not sorry, in your classic! T: 0208 206 0101 E: sales@quickfitsbs.com W: quickfitsbs.com

REGISTERS MGF Tim Morris 01932 882467 scribe@mgfregister.org www.mgfregister.org For the second time we have not been able to present our MGF Register awards in person. So, it was back to Zoom and the winners were announced after the AGM on March 6. Whilst on the subject of the AGM, it was carried out differently this year, being online, and all the reports were circulated to those attending in advance. This saved considerable time and the AGM was over within half an hour… a record! The Committee remained the same with the exception that Keith Williams stood down as Vice-Chair and Dave Tynan replaced him in that role. A big thanks to Keith (who remains dealing with our regalia and shop) and good luck to Dave in his new role. Back to the awards, and we list all the 2020 winners here:- Tanswell Trophy Members of the Year – Keith and Liz Cooper, Priests Trophy for Significant

ZR/ZS/ZT JOHN THOMPSON 01702 298866 johnt5@btinternet.com www.mgcc.co.uk/zedregister The second half of this year is starting to look quite busy with postponed shows mixing in with our existing events. The dates for some of these events have been confirmed and published elsewhere by their organisers. Once any outstanding dates have been confirmed we’ll publish our events calendar for the remainder of the year. Please continue to use social media to share your projects and activities with us. Zed 20 - Update As you might have seen, we’ve had a change of venue for our twentieth anniversary event Zed 20 in the summer. Following a clash of dates, we have been invited to become part of the Triumph & MG Weekend at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. This event is being jointly organised between two Triumph owner’s groups and our club. We’d like to reassure you that the plans we had already made for our own event will still be going ahead at the new venue. We’ve also had the opportunity to turn our event into a two-day show which will now take place on

90 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Contribution – Tim and Hazel Rowe, Dee Walker Trophy for MGF/TF of the Year – Mike Carter (2004 MGTF), Brian Griffin Competition Trophy – Brian Butler, FasTForward Trophy – Adrian Tucker-Peake, Photographic Cup – Marc Pearson, ICHBABDA – Not presented this year as it could have been a better day for everybody in 2020!, Special Award – Neil Rushton (Lancashire Region). You can find all the details of the winners and the 2021 committee on our revamped website www.mgfregister.org. MGF25 MGF25 on July 24-25 is looking highly likely to go ahead, barring any further COVID-19 disasters, and booking has now opened up again for the show, party and road run – go to www.mgf25.org for all the details of how to book. Camping Weekend and National EventThe camping weekend at England’s Rose in the Chilterns on August 20-22 is also looking likely to happen, as is the National Weekender in Wales at the Chain Bridge

Hotel in Llangollen on September 17-20. There are vacancies at both events at the moment so contact “Worzel” at events@mgfregister.org if you would like to join us. Regions Finally, we are likely to be free to arrange events on a regional basis in the summer so do keep an eye out on our regions’ Facebook pages and the Internet forum for any details of those. We are also still on the look-out for a Rep to take over the North Wales/Cheshire Region and the Lancashire Region – so if you are interested in running an MGF Register group then please get in touch with Tim at regions@mgfregister.org

Mike Carter’s restored 2004 MG TF, winner of the Dee Walker Trophy

Saturday 14 as well as Sunday August 15. The facilities the showground has to offer will allow us to celebrate twenty years of the Zeds in a much grander style. We will keep you up-to-date with the details of our main event as they are confirmed. In the meantime, please visit www. triumph&mgweekend. com for information on the weekend, tickets sales and camping arrangements. Please visit our website/Facebook group for the latest information on register activities and event updates. We will continue to be guided by club announcements in this matter.

www.mgcc.co.uk

CLASSIFIEDS

MARTIN MARTIN SMITH SMITH

SPECIALIST IN CLASSIC SPORTS CARS

www.martinsmithmgspares.co.uk

The MG specialists for MGF-MGTF-MG3-MG6

MARTIN SMITH Quality new and used spares. Car trimmers/upholstery. MG car sales and MG repair service

Tel: 07722 175473 Units 1&2, Westlane Farm, Westlane, East Lydford, Somerset TA11 7HD Email: smudgemg@yahoo.co.uk

MG TD 1953

1972 MGB Roadster. British Racing Green, black trim. Leather seats. Antique red carpets. Fast road engine, balanced and stage 11 head. 15” minilites, carbon ﬁbre dash, moto lita, superb driving car in super condition. Nice engine bay, superb shell, fast and fun £13,795.00

1976 MGB Roadster, Black (with red ﬂeck-range rover colour), black leather trim, antique red carpets, 15” minilites, Oselli fast road engine. Restored car, all new chrome. Red mohair hood, walnut dash. Drives superbly, well maintained, excellent car ready to use and have fun. £11,995.00

1952 MG TD, Black, red leather interior, tan hood, tonneau and hood cover. A superb MG TD original spec . Restored in the 1990s and still superb , massive history ﬁle , drives superbly ,panel ﬁt is excellent, one of the nicest TDs we have had in a long time. well sorted and maintained car, has been used reguarly so lovely patina looks and feels like a 10 yearold well maintained car. Original R/H/D car, was exported and returned to uk before being completly restored. If being very picky has a slight 3rd synchro lag, Super car £22,995

1964 MGB Roadster Pull door handle car, Iris blue, black /white trim. Excellent restored car done a while ago in the 90s but still excellent and one of the early Californian imports when they were really good. O/drive, interior really as good as new, lovley engine bay, superb shell and superbly original, painted underside, alloy bonnet, w/wheels, original steering wheel. Fitted with better 5 brg engine, original banjo axle. A superb older restoration and ready to enjoy with no work required £15,995.00

1963 MGB Roadster, Iris Blue, Blue trim. Pull door handle, original 3 brg engine, chrome wires, blue everﬂex hood with incredibly rare very early folding frame, overdrive, again very very rare on a 3brg car. Totally restored with photographic history, during the 1990s. Superb condition. Has been impeccably maintained by last owner for 25 years. A super car and rare to ﬁnd an early car so original and usable. £21,995.00

1957 MGA 1500, Iris blue, Black trim, walnut dash, chrome wire wheels, immaculate restored car, painted underneath, everything is new or reconditioned, lovely panel gaps, a superb car and ready to use, would cost double asking price to restore. £32,995

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MG ZR 1

Built from a Paul Luti (D seam welde porated. On seals in plac always gara No expense race winnin many toys a Please note leaving glea £6995ovno.

A NEW NAME FOR MG MECCA CAR SALES

Unit 1, Roudham Trading Estate, Roudham Rd, East Harling, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2TW

www.moderngarageclassics.co.uk Tel: 01953 717100

WANTED

SPECIALIST IN CLASSIC SPORTS CARS

!"#$%&'()*+)&),#-.%$/)#0#/$)&-/$/)#1-/#-2$/#34#5$+/)

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WANTED ALL MG MODELS!

Reduced sell £26,495 All conditions wanted, from barn finds totoconcours. Complete collections purchased. Cash()*+,-.-)/0.12304 buyer. Discretion assured. Please do not hesitate contact meOldifEnglish youwhite, are interested 1972 MGB Roadster. British Racing Green,to black trim. MGB 1972 red leather trim. Total bare shell Leather seats. Antique red carpets. Fast road engine, rebuild, immaculate all round car, all new trim, leather recliners. in selling your MG and are looking for a prompt hasslebalanced and stage 11 head. 15” minilites, carbon fibre dash, Fully rebuilt body, bare metal respray. Fully restored. O/drive motofree lita, superb drivingbuyer! car in super condition. Nicefeel engine free gearbox.to Fastcontact road 1900 engine, floweda head. cash Please megasfor noA superb bay, superb shell, fast and fun £13,795.00 example and drives like new. £27,995.00 obligation friendly chat.

1997 (D

BRG in abso only 13,156 new with la miles (05/17 and 2x keys Leather (cre set of Falken (06/18) and Tel. 07785 3

I am especially interested in the following models: MG TC, MGA, MGB, MGC, MGB V8, Magnette and Midget.

CALL DIRECT ON: 07787 528131

UK Based Buyer “Export or die” was the mantra for British industry in the post war years and MG’s hugely successful TD Midget saw roughly 95% of production go 1952 MG TD, Black, red leather interior, tan hood, tonneau 1964 MGB Roadster Pull door handle car, Iris blue, black and hood cover. A superb MG TD original spec . Restored /white trim. Excellent restored car done a while ago in the 6'*)#1*%$#>+/#.+)#/$?+&/*+&$@#1/-A#&'$#BC#*%#948<#+%@#(%@$/.$%&#+%@#*%#@$?&'#D-@5E-11#/$)&-/+&*-%F#6'$#$%@#/$)(G&#*)#+#>+/#-1#)&(%%*%H#+??$+/+%>$#&'+&# overseas between 1950 and 1953. in the 1990s and still superb , massive history ﬁle , drives 90s but still excellent and one of the early Californian @/*2$)#+)#.$GG#+)#*&#G--I)F#6'$#>+/#*)#/$+@5#&-#H-F#J()&#1(GG5#)$/2*>$@#+%@#+G&'-(H'#!K6#+%@#&+L#$L$A?&#*)#-11$/$@#.*&'#+#%$. !K6#+)#+%#$L&$/%+G#+%@# superbly ,panel ﬁt is excellent, one of the nicest TDs we imports when they were really good. O/drive, interior Leading makers of 1:18 resincast models, Cult Scale Models have have had in a long time. well sorted and maintained car, has really as good as new, lovley engine bay, superb shell *%@$?$%@$%&#2+G*@+&*-%#-1#*&)#*%&$H/*&5#+%@#M(+G*&5F beautifully replicated a late example of the type, with plenty of fine kerbside been used reguarly so lovely patina looks and feels like a 10 and superbly original, painted underside, alloy bonnet, yearold well maintained car. Original R/H/D car, was exported w/wheels, original steering wheel. Fitted with better 5 brg 6'$#!"#67#.+)#&'$#G+)&#-1#&'$#!"#N)M(+/$#/*HH$/)O#P +#@$)*H%#&'+&#.$%&#D+>I#&-#&'$#$+/G5#Q4R)#.*&'#&'$#*%&/-@(>&*-%#-1#&'$#!"#J9F# detailing and a colour choice of either BRG as shown or cream bodywork. and returned to uk before being completly restored. If being engine, original banjo axle. A superb older restoration and

FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING 6'$#@$)*H%#&$+A#+&#!"#'+@#.+%&$@#&-#*%&/-@(>$#&'$#!"#S#*%#$+/G5#8;39#D(&#&'$#'$+@#-1#&'$#/$>$%&G5#1-/A$@#BMU#A-&-/#>-/?-/+&*-%#V$-%+/@#V-/@# IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF .(G@#%-&#+GG-.#&'*)#+)#'$#@*@#%-&#.+%&#&'$#!"#S#&-#+11$>&#)+G$)#-1#&'$#S()&*%#W$+G$5#&'+&#'$#'+@#X()&#+H/$$@#&-#?/-@(>$#+1&$/#*&)#)$%)+&*-%+G#G+(%>'#+&# very picky has a slight 3rd synchro lag, Super car £22,995

ready to enjoy with no work required £15,995.00

Just £156.55* + £6 p&p** *RRP £173.95. **UK 6'+&#.+)#&'$#-11*>*+G#G*%$#D(&#&'$/$#.+)#+#D*&#A-/$#&-#*&#Y#V$-%+/@#V-/@#'+@#.-/I$@#1-/#Z*GG*+A#!-//*)#*%#&'$#$+/G5#Q4R)#D(&#'+@ only, overseas postage at cost. Quote OCTMGTD &'$#8;39#!-&-/#)'-.F# when ordering. D$$%#)+>I$@#D5#'*A#+1&$/#D$*%H#>+(H'&#N*%#1G+H/+%&$O#.*&'#-%$#-1#&'$#)$>/$&+/*+G#)&+11F#6'*)#G$1&#'*A#.*&'#+#@$$?E)$+&$@#+%*A-)*&5#&-.+/@)#Z*GG*+A#!-//*)#

+%@#'*)#?/-@(>&),#.'*>'#-1#>-(/)$#*%>G(@$@#!"F V-/@#&-G@#&'$#@$)*H%#&$+A#+&#SD*%H@-%,#&'$#'-A$#-1#!",#&-#H*2$#&'$#!"#6[#+#1+>$G*1&#.'*>'#&'$5#@*@#*%#9#.$$I),#1+*/*%H#&'$#'$+@G+A?)#*%&-#&'$#1/-%&# Grand Prix Models .*%H)#+%@#$L&$%@*%H#&'$#/$+/#.*%H)#&-#H*2$#&'$#>+/#+#)G$$I$/#?/-1*G$F#6'$#/$)(G&#.+)#A(>'#@$/*@$@#+&#&'$#&*A$#D5#!"#?(/*)&)#D(&#.*&'#&'$#?+))+H$#-1#&*A$# 4 Thorpe Close, Thorpe Way &'$#67#*)#%-.#-%$#-1#&'$#A-)&#)-(H'&#+1&$/#>+/)#-1#&'*)#$/+F 1960 Austin Healey 3000, stage 2 engine , totally 1957 MGA 1500, Iris blue, Black trim, walnut dash, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 4SW, UK restored bare shellnrebuild, genunine works top, chrome wire wheels, immaculate restored car, painted K(/#>/$+AE>-G-(/$@ $L+A?G$#.-%#N\$)&#U+/#*%#C'-.O#8;<]#&-#8;]^#+&#&'$#?/$)&*H*-()#_)G$#-1#!+%#UG+))*>#66#*%#S(H()&#948`,#+%@#&'*)#>+/#1*%*)'$@#*%# tonneau, green leather trim, Fern Green over Old english underneath, everything is new or reconditioned, lovely Tel: 01295 278070 white, side exhaust ,superb car a true british iconic panel gaps, a superb car and ready to use, would cost DG+>I#*)#X()&#+)#H--@F#T-.#*)#&'$#&*A$#&-#D(5#D$1-/$#?/*>$)#/*)$#*%#C?/*%H#a mail@grandprixmodels.com classic. £79,995 double asking price to restore. £32,995 _1#5-(#'+2$#$)>+?$@#&'$#@$+@G5#2*/()#.'5#%-&#&/$+&#5-(/)$G1#&-#)-A$#&/(G5#$%X-5+DG$#>G+))*>#A-&-/*%HF#b*%H#J-'%#+%@#/$A$AD$/ &'$#>G+))*>#!"#G*%$# NcKB#UST#[K#_6#_T#ST#!"OF A NEW NAME FOR MG MECCA CAR SALES THE MARQUE OF FRIENDSHIP

www.grandprixmodels.com

August 2019 Volume 63 Number 08 £3.95

PLEASE CALL NICK ONwww.moderngarageclassics.co.uk 01452 730770 Tel: 01953 717618 dG$+)$#2*)*&#...FM(+//5>G+))*>)F>-F(I 1-/#A-/$#@$&+*G)#+%@#?*>&(/$),#-/#>+GG#J-'%#[$%&-%#-%#4``84#^4^4^<F THE

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CAR

Unit 1, Roudham Trading Estate, Roudham Rd, East Harling, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2TW CLUB

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ABINGDON-ON-THAMES FO U N D E D 193 0

THE BATTLE OF THE BABIES ● CLUNKING AND CREAKING ● JEKYLL AND HYDE

Safety Fast_Cover August2019.indd 1

www.mgcc.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk

94 SAFETY FAST! FEBRUARY 2021

25/07/2019 09:09

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 91 FEBRUARY 2021 SAFETY FAST! 91

CLASSIFIEDS

church square

autos FAMILY BUSINESS ESTABLISHED 1981. Our ofﬁce/ showroom is at 62B HIGH STREET SHEPPERTON TW17 9AU VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT PLEASE

We are Celebrating 40 years, 1981-2021.

How to Advertise

Members can advertise their cars free of charge in Safety Fast! The cost for non members is £20. The advert will also be posted on the Club website in due course. To place an advert in Safety Fast! please email colingrant@mgcc.co.uk with an attached photo of your car, details of your car, your contact details, price of your car, area where you live and membership number. Please keep your advert to 70 words, the editor reserves the right to edit longer adverts. This is for one insertion only, for additional insertions please email colingrant@mgcc.co.uk

2004 MG ZTT 260 SE

Rare Monogram Poseidon, 2004 Facelift Estate, 71k, excellent condition, full very extensive service history/paperwork. SE with Extras pack, Sunroof, Leather/ Alcantara, Xenon, Heated Power seats mirrors. Powerfold mirrors. Rare chance to acquire. £11,995. Mob 07474471034 Email: ZTT@mg-rv8.co.uk

Just open our new Parts Warehouse / Workshop

1937 M

Very good c TA1734. Bri leather uph previous ow tion 5085. serviced an ist. Black To covers. MO exemption. on request dating back photos. £33 mike_simm (Suffolk)

MGA Roadster 1600 Mk.1

MG MGF Stepspeed (automatic) just 24,000 miles Due in soon Rare very low mileage Stepspeed (automatic), just going though our workshop, being fitted with a new headgasket/cambelt/water pump plus serviced and a new mot. Outstanding condition. IN SOON. £3,895

Manufactured in 1960 and owned since 2002. Chariot red with smooth running MGA engine and gearbox and wire wheels. Excellent hood and trim. Boot rack for spare wheel. Built for proven reliability on European tours with twin fuel pumps, twin coils and electric radiator fan. BMIHT Production Record and Trace Certificate. Kept in dry garage. Offers around £35,000. email: mg2000@btinternet.com (Leicestershire)

1994 MGRV8

Woodcote Green. Mileage 24000. Returned from Japan in 1997. Air conditioning, power assisted steering, alarm, tonneau cover and wind deflector. Walnut veneer and wheels in excellent condition. Since 2012 annual servicing and improvements including new tyres, high torque starter motor, spax shocks, radiator, water and fuel pumps, windscreen frame, boot stays and much more. Drives beautifully. MOT. Price £20,500. Tel: 07966 275756. (East Sussex)

SOLD

MG TF 160vvc 80th ltd edition Just 37,000 miles Finished in Goodwood Green with a Tan cockpit wood finishes tan leather with black alcantara sport seats +logo. Car was a cat’D’ back in 2007, Just serviced, new headgasket/cambelt/water pump, new tyres with refurbed unmarked alloys, also has stainless sports exhaust rear box.Supplied with MG’s Certiificate of Authenticity. Sold with original BP54 XHJ registration £6,295

MG MGF 1.8i vvc, just 28,000 miles, Immaculate 1997 MGF 1.8vvc ,this outstanding MGF. We have just imported back into the UK. Finished in Flame Red with full Red leather seats, wind deflector, mud flaps. Documented history file and in outstanding immaculate condition thoughout. New Mot. Supplied with a new headgasket/cambelt/water pump & full service. £5,995

1968 MGC GT

18719 on the clock. British Racing Green Restored 6 years ago. Power Steering, Chrome Wire Wheels, Stainless Steel Exhaust. Clutch replaced 2020. Webasto sliding sunroof. Black leather seats. Piped in White. Carpet and trim in Black. KenLowe fan,overdrive Full respray 2017. Annual service and Mot’s. Dry Garaged. This car was featured on front cover of Classic Car November 2011. Offers around £24,000. Tel: 01384 891513/07803137109 (West Midlands)

1968 MGB Roadster

In Snowberry White. Fully rebuilt a year ago on new British Motor Heritage shell with new red interior, leather seats, hood and tonneau cover. Oselli 1800 balanced fast road engine, completed 32,000 miles, and NEW Mazda 5 speed gearbox. Servo assisted brakes, electronic ignition and cooling fan. Painted wire wheels. Quadoptic halogen headlamps fitted. Excellent car for touring. Considerable history file including all receipts for the rebuild. £29,950. Phone Roy on 07802253937 (South Oxon)

THIS IS JUST A SMALL SELECTION FROM OUR STOCK

01932 241843 OR 07836 281493 mgsales@churchsquareautos.com www.churchsquareautos.com

SALES &PARTS FOR YOUR MGF/TF 92 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

True M-Typ plenty of po brakes. ‘Res for 25 years rebuild from original pla engine, race seized engin 1930) sourc completed tie rods, bra radiator, ele pins, hartfo exhaust, co Factory reco inspection. Extract from ing first reg Triple-M Re registration as standard Tel: 01493 3 Email: mike (Norfolk)

1952 M

MG TF 135 Sprint ltd edition, just 65,000 miles These where the first MG TF ltd edtition models and just 600 made. Finished in Trophy blue/ blue hood/ Smokestone grey cockpit with black leather seats with grey alcantara inserts, sports pack 2, chrome packs, front fog lights, chrome roll hoops etc, new headgasket/ cambelt/water pump, new Mot, also recently fitted with a new rear exhaust box/cat/ down/ felix pipe and alternator,. £3,795

1930 M

2003 MG ZT-T 116 CDTi +

Manual. Royal Blue and cherished, 101k miles, sadly have to sell owing to living within the confines of London’s ULEZ. We are the second owners (first was MG Rover’s management fleet) and have had the car now for 17 years and it has FSH. I even have the original laminated vehicle details from its sale in 2004. Paintwork remains in great condition and the wheels have recently been refurbished and it has a set of excellent Avon tyres. There is some wear on the driver’s seat (small tear), but otherwise the car hides its age and mileage well. Price: £1,195. For more info: email rob.bell@ucl.ac.uk or Tel: 07940573534

1970 MGB GT

Flame red 1800cc 5speed with electronic ignition and alloy radiator. Chrome wire wheels including spare New chrome bumpers front and back. Chrome badge bar and twin spotlights. Heritage certified body and good all round condition. Regular participant on MGCC runs and shows. Spare chrome bumpers, radiator, painted wire wheels all good included. MOT March. £10,000ono. Call Allan 07807812242 or email: tessllan@gmail.com (Cramlington Northumberland)

www.mgcc.co.uk

Full history This car has ing the bod in 1999. Cha this excellen I have main but reluctan it on to som help preser in good me good oil pre car garaged preserve th refurbish to many spare including a percharger. on 07860 50 (South Oxfo

OUR SPRING SALE..... GENUINE REDUCTIONS Estd.1968

B32 - MIKE ROLLS SERVICES_MIKE ROLLS SERVICES 13/12/2012 09:50 Page 1 1933 1933 MGMG J2 J2 to to J4 J4 Specifi Specifi cation. cation. A totally A totally restored restored mint mint condition condition J series J series MGMG to to J4 J4 specifi specifi cations cations withwith Phoenix Phoenix crank, crank, 1933 1933 MGMG J2 J2 - Totally - Totally restored. restored. A really A really beautiful beautiful example example of of thethe archetypal archetypal cycle-wing cycle-wing J2.J2. Totally Totally restored restored from from thethe Corello Corello rods rods & Cosworth & Cosworth pistons. pistons. Genuine Genuine ENV ENV cross cross tube tube gearbox gearbox Nose Nose mounted/‘centric mounted/‘centric 160’ 160’ s/charger, s/charger, fullfull J4 J4 dash dash chassis-up chassis-up withwith c/balanced c/balanced crank crank andand rods, rods, lighted lighted clutch clutch andand all all new new head head gear. gear. Quality Quality bodywork, bodywork, de-luxe de-luxe dash, dash, period period 1933 MGGreen J2 towith J4 Specifi cation. Ainterior mint condition JA series series MGrestoration J4specifications specificationswith withPhoenix Phoenix crank, 1933 L counter, Type 6 cyl, MAGNA. How nice todash-lamps, find an original 6 cyl. open tourer with enough ‘ooomph’ to doleather its job. Whether you 1933 MG J2 to J4 Specification. Atotally totally&restored restored mint condition MG totoJ4 withwith 6” 6” rev.rev. counter, Ki-gas Ki-gas pump; pump; switch switch bank, bank, dash-lamps, etc;etc; Full Full Brooklands Brooklands exhaust; exhaust; bucket bucket seats seats in in grey grey leather extras extras and and fihave nished finished in Br. in Br. Racing Racing Green with apple apple green green leather leather interior all & all new new weather weather equip. equip. A PROPER PROPER restoration crank, Corello rods & Cosworth pistons. Genuine ENVtube crossgearbox tube gearbox. Nose mounted/‘Centric 160’ s/charger, dogs, golf-clubs, grand-children orcoachwork, just a partner with aset lot luggage, these Magnas give you comfort & room to do proper touring, Corello rods &investment Cosworth pistons. Genuine ENV cross Nose mounted/‘centric 160’ s/charger, full J4 dash to to compliment compliment thethe superb superb Ocean Ocean blue blue coachwork, & a& full a full set of of of black black double-duck double-duck weather weather equipment. equipment. A wonderful A wonderful thatthat willwill offer offer long long service, service, and and aJ4sound a dash sound investment when when thethe Covid-free Covid-free rush rush arrives arrives ..............................................£43,500 ..............................................£43,500 full with 6” rev. counter, Ki-gas pump; switch bank, dash-lamps, etc; Full Brooklands exhaust; bucket seats in which hopefully we’ll all be doing very soon. In one ownership for over 50 yrs, the car has a fully rebuilt orig. ‘L’ engine, restored withgrey 6” rev. counter, Ki-gas pump; switchOcean bank,blue dash-lamps, etc;& aFull bucket seatsequipment. in grey leather opportunity opportunity to obtain to obtain a very a very rarerare MGMG ..........................................................................................................................£69.950 ..........................................................................................................................£69.950 leather to compliment the superb coachwork, fullBrooklands set of black exhaust; double-duck weather original bodywork and superb upholstery in Cereleun Blue leather, full weather gear & new Blockley tyres. Comes with orig. Reg. to compliment superb toOcean coachwork, & a fullroad setcar of .................................... black double-duck weather equipment. A wonderful A wonderful the opportunity obtainblue a very rcompetitive/fast REDUCED to £67,500 number and history file. In really good order with a lovely patina. Well below market value ............................REDUCED to £48,500 (You could always buy arare T/QMG for..........................................................................................................................£69.950 more!!) opportunity to obtain a very

1933 MG J2 - Totally r chassis-up with c/balanc extras and ﬁnished in Br that will offer long service

LAST CHANCE before we break it

NOW REDUCED...£42,500...Just view it

WE HAVE SPARES, SPARES, SPARES FOR ALL PRE-WAR MGs – BOTH NEW & USED 1934 MG PA. A TRUE BARN FIND. Discovered after 58 yrs. in hibernation. Requires complete restoration Visit www.barrywalker.com or phone or email

but entirely complete and original as driven into the garage in 1962. Nothing missing; all matching Nos., orig. HERE SOME OFTEN AVAILABLE reg.ARE from new; old buffRARE log book;& V5;DIFFICULT and the best thingPARTS to come outNOT of 2020. Such an easy rebuild. Every bracket, every bolt unlike a misc. kit of bits ……….. REDUCED to £15,950 P Series cyl. block...excellent...............................................................£850 * SHIPPING ARRANGED FOR ALL CARS WE OFFER, WITHOUT HASSLE * P Series cyl. head...excellent..............................................................£950 1933 1933 L Type L Type 6 cyl, 6 cyl, MAGNA. MAGNA. How How nice nice to fitondfind an original original 6 cyl. 6 cyl. open open tourer tourer withwith enough enough ‘ooomph’ ‘ooomph’ to do to do its its job.job. Whether Whether youyou 1934 1934 MGMG PA.PA. A TRUE A TRUE BARN BARN FIND. FIND. Discovered Discovered after after 58 58 yrs.yrs. in hibernation. in hibernation. Requires Requires complete restoration butbut entirely entirely corner.....................................................£250 of 12”restoration cable brakes...per COMMISSION SALES: Our highly regarded service isaanalways available toMagnas you. * Setcomplete complete complete as as driven driven intointo thethe garage garage in 1962. in 1962. Nothing Nothing missing; missing; all all matching matching Nos., Nos., orig.reg. orig.reg. from from new; new; oldold buffbuff loglog book; book; V5;V5; have have dogs, dogs, golf-clubs, golf-clubs, grand-children grand-children or or justjust partner a partner withwith a lot a lot of luggage, of luggage, these these Magnas give give youyou comfort comfort & room & room to do to do Set of orig. J/F/D cable brakes...whole car...........................................£650 • andand Off-the-shelf restored &Don’t rebuilt MMM & TA/B/C DYNAMOS &* STARTER MOTORS, OUTRIGHT OR EXCH. (2-BRUSH thethe best best thing thing toFULLY come to come out out of 2020. of 2020. Don’t miss miss it. Includes it. Includes delivery delivery UKUK ..............................................................£18,750 ..............................................................£18,750 proper proper touring, touring, which which hopefully hopefully we’ll we’ll all all be be doing doing very very soon. soon. In one In one ownership ownership forfor over over 50 50 yrs,yrs, thethe carcar hashas a fully a fully rebuilt rebuilt orig. orig. OUR MOST RECENT NEW PARTS... MMM also available) V. rare 4-star steel J/L/P/N differential.................................................£975 ‘L’ ‘L’ engine, engine, restored restored original original bodywork bodywork and and superb superb upholstery upholstery in Cereleun in Cereleun Blue Blue leather, leather, full full weather weather gear gear & new & new Blockley Blockley * P/K/N solidBARN centre/twin ‘O’ ring fuel taps............................................................. £195 but entirely • Coming NEWShortly LUCAS 160 REAR VIEW MIRRORS FOR ALL MGs FROM 1950, ‘King-Of-The-Road’ Medallion…… 1934 PA. A TRUE FIND. Discovered 58 yrs. in hibernation. Requires complete restoration 1933 L Type 6 cyl, MAG ROAD after WHEELS....................................................................£50 each tyres. tyres. Comes Comes withwith orig. orig. Reg. Reg. NoMG No andand history history fi le. fi le. What What a super a super thing thing Coming Shortly - a-TYPE fully a fully restored restored 1938 1938 MG MG TATA ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... £29,500 rare –MG ‘M’WITH 9:44£29,500 REBUILT diff........................................................£850 * V. 1930 All MMM models clutch centre plates ................................................................. AVAILABLE with RH & LH arms. complete as driven into the garage in 1962. Nothing missing; all matching Nos., orig.reg. from new; old £185 buff log book; V5; have dogs, golf-clubs, gr V. rare J2 windscreen...£650..........................................P type..........................£550 J/F/L/P 2-SEATER HOOD FRAMES ............................................................ £168.50 * MOST RECENT SECONDHAND SPARES include: J/P/L/N engine radiator mountings ....................................£135 and the best thing to come out of 2020. Don’t miss it. Includes delivery UK ..............................................................£18,750 proper touring, which hop COMMISSION COMMISSION CAR CAR SALES: SALES: Our Our highly highly regarded regarded service service is is cheap cheap and and always always available available toto you. you. MM thru thru TF.TF. V.restored rare D/F1 dash panel, complete...totally P/K/N PILLAR BOX engine breathers ............................................................ £35.00 Very good J2 engine, fully assembled ............................£6,500 Fully differential (may ratios) for all MM & rebuilt T type, as new......................£950 * ‘L’ engine, restored origi NO NO SPARES SPARES WORRIES WORRIES - OVER - OVER 1,000 1,000 LINES, LINES, BOTH BOTH NEW NEW && USED USED FOR FOR THE THE TYPES TYPES OFOF CARS CARS WE WE SELL SELL (MGs (MGs 1929 1929 - 1949) - 1949) SU 12v PetroLIFT – D/F/J models .....................................£120 all guaranteed ..........................................................from £850 NEW S uperb die-cast MG crested bonnet catch handles ......................... £22.50 ea. SO,SO MUCH MORE TO SEE IF YOU CALL IN - a fully restored 1938 MG TA ....................................................................................................... £29,500 Coming Shortly tyres. Comes with orig. R Very rare J4/L type double plate clutch assy. ....................£350 Pr. 1’½” L/K/N org. SUgocarbs .................................£625 Just Just go to:to: www.barrywalker.com www.barrywalker.comcar set NEW Superb die-cast MG crested door handles.............................. sp. Offer £65 pr. ALL.............................................£55 PRICES PLUS CARRIAGEMushroom & VAT OR CALL IN FOR BARGAINS ON PRICE £29.50 Set totally restored bronze TA carbs ............................ £850 set Bronze clutch bearing carriers headed chrome wing fiBETTER xing bolts/nuts ........................................... COMMISSION CAR SALES: Our highly regarded service is cheap and alwa Last remaining h’brake c/shaft assy. .................................£550 Almost every type of steering wheel. lock catches £18.50 NEWwith 12”nose cable brake sets now coming back on stream, as........................................... full sets or pairs. * 8:43; 8:39 brandP/K/N new reverse crown wheel & piston(new setsquality to suit castings). 2 or 4 star......................................... diff. units.............the very best available. *J2Complete radiator shell cone .......................................£350 Many available cord strung from8:41; £150-£550 Adaption bkt. For fittingNO friction shocks to rear of PA/PB ................................. £69.50 SPARES WORRIES - OVER 1,000 LINES, BOTH NEW & USED FOR THE TYPE * LUCAS ORIGINAL LAMPS...HEAD/TAIL/SIDE for all early MG models...all totally restored, outright or exchange. Off the shelf FULLY restored & rebuilt MMM & TA/B/C DYNAMOS & STARTER MOTORS, FOR FOR EVERYTHING EVERYTHING YOU YOU CAN CAN GET GET ELSEWHERE ELSEWHERE AND AND FOR FOR EVERYTHING EVERYTHING ELSE ELSE YOU YOU CAN’T CAN’T *NA/NB hood frame assy… RARE .....................................£395 D/J/F fully rebuilt rad. with new core .................................£985 NEW BATCH of MMM/T TYPE F27 LUCAS FOGLAMPS..................................£385 Just go to: www.barrywalker.com INSTRUMENTS carry one400181 of the largest the244104 shelf’ stock of early MG gauges, OUTRIGHT EXCHANGE (2-..............................£350ea. BRUSH MMM also available). TA – 2 ground OR & tested crankshafts PA orig. rev. counter. Excellent cond....AS *NEW ...............£395- we Tel: Tel: 01789 01789 400181 Mob: Mob:&‘off 07836 07836 244104 MMM/T TYPE hardened ground track-rod ball pins ............................... £26.50 ea. – Fully rebuiltTYPE ORIG.160 Rev.REAR counter with MIRRORS clock ........o/r £550 Fully FROM rebuilt PA/NA please ’phone ’phone before calling calling in in NEW LUCAS VIEW FOR ALL MGs 1930 -g’box 1950................................................£1,950 all types, any model, outright or exchange. *TC MMM please flywheel ringbefore gears… NEW OLD FACTORY STOCK! .............................. £165 • with Steering boxes under restoration: 1 x M type / 1 x J2 type / 1 x B. Cam type Email: Email: barry@barrywalker.com barry@barrywalker.com Web:www.barrywalker.com www.barrywalker.com British British Motor Motor ‘King-of-the-Road’ medallion....................................available with RH & LH arms. - factory specification KITS...NO REPROS. original, all correct, all MMM & TA/B/C. .....for .....forthe thevery verybest bestininvintage vintageMGs..... MGs..... MMM wiper TOOL systems –Web: everything exceptAll motor ............................................. £94.50 * Remember Heritage approved approved • Heritage Complete set brand new, N/K3 s/absorbers. Front & rear….£1100 reduced to £850 (lot) MMM horn button dip switches - we carry NEW off theLUCAS shelf, both & SIDE MOUNTED 6V &NOSE-MOUNTED 12V wiper motors ................................................................ £285 * We can now offer original large button/parallel sided * Remember All include 20% VAT. - MIKEinstallations ROLLSforSERVICES_MIKE SERVICES 13/12/2012 09:50 Page 1 FOR EVERYTH EXCEPT UK ORDERS in black or brown with chrome plinth..............long overdue.........................................£96.50 each. B32 supercharger all pre-T models. NO VATROLLS FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN GET ELSEWHERE AND FOR EVERYTHING ELSE YOU CAN’T WWW.BARRYWALKER.COM

2016

BBARRY ARRYW WALKER ALKER

BARRY WALKER

TRADE MEMBER

MIKE ROLLS

SERVICES FOR MGs Specialising in all MG’s BTEL/FAX: ARRY W 01258ALKER 820337

B32 - MIKE ROLLS SERVICES_MIKE ROLLS SERVICES 13/12/2012 09:50 Page 1

.....for the very best in vintage MGs.....

www.mgsforsale.com

01707 876089

07831 556666

MGCGT PA1968 Midget 1934Older Nut & Bolt Restored MG AUTOMATIC (RWD628G) MGaCGT 1968, automatic, excellent Mineral Two Seater delightful Blue coachwork with nicely el pre-war example in mellowed original Black leather trim, original leather bound MGC e TL Creaminterior coachwork withgenuine enquiries@mgsforsale.com steering wheel, nicely detailed engine compartment 0 miles Black leather interior trim, housing the smooth 3.0 litre engine ideal with the Borg rease) 18” a known examplegearbox that has Warner automatic making this particularly rare T’d until appeared in Mike model an ideal classicAllison’s today, this vehicle apparently formed part of a collection of a deceased ads as well book “The Magic of the estate, on inspection one can see the of theAUTOMATIC rebuild fromOlder a number yearsRestored ago and or, satMGquality CGT 1968 Nut &ofBolt Marque”, with likely littlealthough miles since not is still very fresh in appearance, just automatic, arrived £24,950.00 ll service (RWD628G) MG CGT 1968, excellent Mineral or 2016 UK Tech-MG6 aGT concours dieselshow car it Blue coachwork with nicely mellowed original Black MG 1972 37 Years (LLF951K) . Spacious, leather interior MG trim,BGT, original genuine leather bound MGC doesBGT emanate original Facelift model. Top-of-the rangeLast TLanOwner owner 37and years, bumpers, overdrive, MG. £6500 steering nicely detailed for engine compartment model. 1.9 turbo1972, diesel.last 48,000 miles ‘time warp’ feel is achrome credit to itswheel, former custodians its upkeep and chrome Rostyle wheels, nowsmooth requiring 44(daily driver so mileage housing the engine ideal with the Borg will increase) 18”Aqua maintenance, the car also coachwork has had the benefi t3.0 of litre an overhauled engine with some improvementuntil but a very solidWarner vehicleautomatic indeed with a gearbox making this particularly rare alloys, red bumper inserts. little milesMoT’d since, aappearance, history fileoriginal has invoices both past & present accompanied nice original feel and style navy cloth June 2020. Recent discs and pads as well by copy documentation from when supplied by Turnhill North & Co. new in gold satseal engine fitted mid 80’s and drives as new tyres. Fullinterior leathertrim, interior, 1934. TheFull weather of black hood, side screens and tonneau are in nav, Bluetooth connectivity. service delightfully, good historyequipment file with original documentation good condition, the leather interior specialists provides aBrian niceBrown patina and also history – servicedback by SAIC Tech- of invoices toserviceable theMotor 80’s, aUK plethora from renowned Classics &B nical Centre. In good condition. Spacious, Hive, original Unipart Goldinstrumentation, Seal papers, old mot’s etc.a etc. just arrived £5,950.00 benefi ts from deluxe this is matching numbers car and whilst economical engaging modern MG. £6500 maintaining so many original features does also have indicators fitted which can ono. Call Adam on 07530734044

01707 876089

Emai

Email: barry@barrywalker.com Web: www.barrywalker.com

2016 TRADE MEMBER

MIKE ROLLS SERVICESROLLS FOR MGs MIKE Specialising in all MG’s SERVICES FOR MGs

TEL/FAX: 01258 820337 Specialising in all MG’s TEL/FAX: 01258 820337

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 8am-6pm, Wed: 8am-5pm, Sat: 8am-1pm

TRADE MEMBER

Mon, Tues, Thurs, MG MIDGET, 1973 Fri: 8am-6pm, Wed: 8am-5pm, Sat: 8am-1pm

Round wheel arch in racing green. High spec hillclimb/sprint/track car built on a Heritage shell in 2004 by Oselli. www.mgsforsale.com Fitted with with full race 1380 engine with weber, Maniflow straight through exhaust, 4 Speed dog engagement straight cut gearbox, Quaife 4.2 diff with Quaife LSD, 4 Pot calipers, plumbed in Fire extinguisher, Alloy radiator, lightweight battery, 2 x set wheels with tyres ( Road and Track) , Drivers harness, Works style hardtop, Frontline roll cage and Soft top with frame. Engine was built and fully balanced by CCK Historic in 2017 with Omega forged pistons, Swiftune camshaft, Ported and polished 11 stud head and weber and exhaust as above, lowered and stiffened suspension, polybushed, negative front camber, Panhard rod, Lightened flywheel, Uprated rear leaf springs .7.5 Helix clutch, Peter May halfshafts etc the list goes on. Spec sheet upon request. This is a stunning well sorted Midget in excellent condition having had a large amount of money spent with good history/invoice file. £18.995.

07831 556666

be reversed of course if desired, priceY reduced, £34,495 URGENTL WANTED

ANY ANY MG MG

URGENTLY WANTED

ANY ANY YEAR YEAR ANY CONDITION

On the ANY CONDITION EU approvproved SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF OUR STOCK he motor o lead h a beige Do not confuse the above vehicles with cheaper inferior quality models offered elsewhere. Part exchange . MG A 1600 any make of Motor Car with generous allowances. Discounted cash purchases. Viewing by appointment only the In car. good condition, built 1961. On the please (available evenings & weekends) no obligation to purchase. All our vehicles carry a warranty, have an MOT and are areItfully fully serviced prior to to collection/delivery. collection/delivery. GBP. The MOT and prior tacho are 58’000 miles. hasserviced EU approvce.alPhone papers (before this it was approved in Switzerland) The power of the motor is 79 PS and had be changed to lead free petrol. The car is black with a beige www.mgcc.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1953 717618 Fax: (0) 1953 717850 Barry Walker October 20.indd 1 interor. It’s in a good condition. The wheel is on the left side of the car. Price 38’000 Euro or £34’200 GBP. The

www.mgsforsale.com www.mgmecca.co.uk

please ‘phone before calling in

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 8am-6pm, Wed: 8am-5pm, Sat: 8am-1pm 2016

enquiries@mgsforsale.com

Tel: 01789 400181 07836 244103 .....for the very best inMob: vintage MGs.....

MGB GT - 1967

Finished in black with painted wire wheels and Michelin XAS Tyres, it comes with an impressive spec of a 1950 fast road engine, Weber, 3 branch big bore manifold with stainless steel exhaust to match, 123 Ignition, twin coils and fuel pumps, 5 speed gearbox, Ridgard RS9 seats with Willans harnesses’s, and Motolita wood rim steering wheel. This car has been built for Rally, Fast road, Track day use, it has a very sound body and excellent paint, it drives like a proper sports car with loads of torque, it has a Heritage certiﬁcate, good history ﬁle and is Tax and MOT exempt. £15,995

Units 9/10 Fifehead Business Park, Manor Farm, Fifehead Magdalen, near Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5RR

E-mail: mikerolls4mgs@compuserve.com • www.mikerolls.co.uk

Units 9/10 Fifehead Business Park, Manor Farm, Fifehead Magdalen, near Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5RR Mail Order “Friendly Quality Service”

E-mail: mikerolls4mgs@compuserve.com • www.mikerolls.co.uk Mail Order “Friendly Quality Service”

CM02.13/B32/d CM02.13/B32/d

British Motor Heritage approved

APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 93

15/09/2020 09:27

How to Advertise

2004 MG ZTT 260 SE

1937 MG TA

Very good condition. Chassis number TA1734. British Racing Green. Green leather upholstery. Restored in 1989 by previous owner. Mileage since restoration 5085. Seller owned since 2006 and serviced annually by Classic Car Specialist. Black Tonneau cover and two other covers. MOT annually in July despite exemption. Extra photos are available on request by email. Large history file dating back to 1988, including restoration photos. £33,000. Tel: 07763-459185 or mike_simmonds@btinternet.com (Suffolk)

1974 MGB GT V8

Absolutely original low mileage RHD factory car in excellent condition with just three former keepers. Original factory V8 alloys, unmarked interior, finished in glacier white with autumn trim. Ziebarted from new, always garaged and used sparingly on summer months only. Heritage certificate, matching numbers car just as it left the factory with 47k miles only. £25,500. Contact Jon 07813 881848 (East Kent)

MGA Roadster 1600 Mk.1

Manufactured in 1960 and owned since 2002. Chariot red with smooth running MGA engine and gearbox and wire wheels. Excellent hood and trim. Boot rack for spare wheel. Built for proven reOld on English White, liability European tourswith withred twintrim. fuel pumps,Originally twin coils aand electric radiator North American fan. BMIHT Production Record and Trace Export. Brought back into the Certificate. Kept in dry garage. Offers UK £35,000. in the late eighties and given around email:amg2000@btinternet.com ‘Nut & Bolt’ restoration to (Leicestershire) concourse condition. Restored to

1956 MGA ROADSTER

RHD spec. A stunning example

1994 MGRV8 1956 MGA 1500

Woodcote Green. Mileage 24000. In Signal Red. Restored in the Returned from Japan in 1997. Air conditioning, power assisted steering, late 2000’s by MG specialist alarm, tonneau cover and wind deflector. Simonveneer Robinson, and religiously Walnut and wheels in excellent condition. Since 2012year annual servicing serviced every after. Red and improvements including new tyres, trim and black carpets. Kenlowe high torque starter motor, spax shocks, radiator, water and fuelchrome pumps, windfan, period radio, wire screen frame, boot stays and much more. wheels, full weather equipment, Drives beautifully. MOT. Price £20,500. motor, Tel:new 07966starter 275756. (Eastalternator Sussex)

and one of the best MGA

conversion. Recent full body

Roadsters we have owned.

respray & detailing by ourselves.

£36,995

£32,995

1968 MGC GT

18719 on the clock. British Racing Green Restored 6 years ago. Power Steering, 1968 MGB Roadster Chrome Wire Wheels, Stainless Steel In Snowberry White. Fully rebuilt a year Exhaust. Clutch replaced 2020. Webasto ago on new British Motor Heritage shell sliding sunroof. Black leather seats. Piped with new red interior, leather seats, hood in White. Carpet and trim in Black. and tonneau cover. Oselli 1800 balanced KenLowe fan,overdrive Full respray 2017. fast road engine, completed 32,000 miles, Annual service and Mot’s. Dry Garaged. and NEW Mazda 5 speed gearbox. Servo This car was featured on front cover of assisted brakes, electronic ignition and Classic Car November 2011. Offers around cooling Painted wheels. Quadop5 Speed gearbox, Power Whitefan. with Blackwire Interior piped £24,000. Tel: 01384 891513/07803137109 tic halogen headlamps fitted. Excellent steering, Custom Metallic Blue White, Black Mohair Hood, Still (West Midlands) car for touring. Considerable history file paint, Beige trim with blue retains all itsreceipts ‘original’ including for registration the rebuild. carpets. Blue Everflex Hood, £29,950. Roy on 07802253937 numberPhone ‘OOB 21G’ Stainless (South Oxon) Wood trim dash with a Mota Sports Exhaust, Spax Shocks Lita steering wheel. The car Conversion – front and rear. was rebuilt in 1993 with many Painted Wire Wheels, upgradesNot for the purists, but Superb history going back over beautifully detailed and a lot of many years fun! Invoices, photographs, Original The car has just come in and it is Sales Brochure etc.Please call to awaiting preparation. Please call arrange inspection or to discuss 2003 MGforZT-T CDTi + more116 details. further. Manual. Royal Blue and cherished, 101k miles, sadly have to sell owing to living 1970 MGB GT within the confines of London’s ULEZ. Flame red 1800cc 5speed with electronic We are the second owners (first was MG ignition and alloy radiator. Chrome wire Rover’s management fleet) and have had Forforfull stocklist our website wheelssee including spare New chrome the car now 17 years and it has FSH.please I bumpers front and back. Chrome badge even have the original laminated vehicle bar and twin spotlights. Heritage certified details from its sale in 2004. Paintwork body and good all round condition. remains in great condition and the Regular participant on MGCC runs and wheels have recently been refurbished shows. Spare chrome bumpers, radiator, and it has a set of excellent Avon tyres. painted wire wheels all good included. There is some wear on the driver’s seat MOT March. £10,000ono. (small tear), but otherwise the car hides Call Allan 07807812242 or its age and mileage well. Price: £1,195. email: tessllan@gmail.com For more info: email rob.bell@ucl.ac.uk (Cramlington Northumberland) or Tel: 07940573534

1971 MGB V8 ROADSTER.

£23,995

1968 MGC ROADSTER

£24,995

Upton Fields Garage, Upton Road, Southwell, Notts. NG25 0QB. www.sherwoodrestorations.co.uk sales@sherwoodrestorations.co.uk or call us on 01636 812655

94 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

1930 MG M-Type

True M-Type engine. drives really well, plenty of power, accurate steering and brakes. ‘Rescued’ in 1966 and dry-stored for 25 years, subject to a very slow rebuild from scratch, body rebuilt to original plans in 2004. Fitted with Morris engine, raced once at Bo’ness in 2013, seized engine!2017 correct engine (July 1930) sourced and rebuilt, refurbishment completed including: King pins, drag link, tie rods, brakes, dynamo, starter motor, radiator, electrics, road springs, shackle pins, hartfords (correct 298’s), clutch, exhaust, coil, speedo. Documents: Factory record on build date + post build inspection. Guarantee registration card Extract from Essex Records Office showing first registration. Inspection record by Triple-M Register. V5C shows date of first registration 20/02/1930. VSCC buff form as standard vintage. £21,700. Tel: 01493 394926, mobile 07974 421827 Email: mike.lees@outlook.com (Norfolk)

1951 MGTD

Original RHD which spent much of its life in USA. Purchased 2006 following its return to UK 2005/6. Restoration over the next couple of years including respray. Existence of an old green log book enabled original number plate to be acquired. Garaged at all times and hardly used due to knee problems hence selling now. £20,000 Contact Dick 01327352983 Mob 07779610153 (near Silverstone)

1947 MGTC

Stunning Red Coachwork / Red Leather interior. Complete nut/bolt rebuild in 1991 by Steve Baker (photo history). Very good runner / fully maintained mechanics. Good body / Paint / Chromeworks. Full tonneau cover. Fawn soft-top & side screens. Fully ready to use for the summer season. £27500 Call Dave on 01702337766 (Essex)

2009 MGTF LE500 1952 MG TD

Full history available. I am the 5th owner. This car has many original features including the body and the engine – overhauled in 1999. Chassis No TD 16082. I bought this excellent car from John Day in 2003. I have maintained and enjoyed this MG, but reluctantly, it is time for me to pass it on to someone who will care for it and help preserve the MG brand.This TD is in good mechanical condition and holds good oil pressure. I have always kept this car garaged. A future owner may want to preserve the original nature of the car, or refurbish to concours condition. There are many spares to be incuded with the sale, including a previously fitted Shorrock supercharger. £15,500. Contact Jerry Green on 07860 502926. (South Oxfordshire)

All usual LE 500 extras plus air con.black in and out 33k miles new tyres ,good cond. health forces sale.Hinckley Leic. £6000. Tel. 01455 615868. pm please.

1956 MG Magnette ZB

Varitone model. Good body and interior 4 new tyres and new starter motor. Extensive history. Shown in club magazines in past. Regretful sale but my age and a medical condition means I cannot give it the attention it deserves. £13000 ovno Tel 07598549939 (Beds/Cambs.border)

www.mgcc.co.uk

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£27,995

We proudly present our “Lockdown MGC restoration” We discovered this car in early 2020 under a sheet where it had lain for over 20 years.

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!"#6#"7#89:;<= The then owner, a retired engineer, had bought relevant enclosed sections. the car in 1996 and ran it for about 2 years (he Suspension is all new and polybushed. also has a 1930s Chrysler 8 cylinder “imperial”, a Brakes are all new, with particular attention to collection of barrel organs, long case clocks and a the correct shape of the new cupro-nickel pipes (so Windermere yacht). many cars are let down by poor brake pipes). The car was very sad. We got it into the Engine fully rebuilt in house from my past workshop and discovered it was the 11th produced experience working in David Brown’s engine in the UK market. development department. >&?)#%-&#-1&$%#.$#1$+&(/$#+#@+/#A$1-/$#*&#*)#/$+B5#&-#C-,#A(&#&'*)#-%$#*)#)-#)D$@*+E#.$#.+%&$B#&-#C*2$#D-&$%&*+E#%$.#-.%$/)#2*)*A*E*&5#-1#*&#$+/ The ever helpful MGC registrars, Barry and E5F#7'*)#9:;<# !"#6#"7#*)#-%E5#&'$#99&'#D/-B(@&*-%#!"6#&-#A$#A(*E&#8:&'#-%$#*%#&'$#GH#I+/J$&=F#K$1-/$#+//*2*%C#*%#-(/#.-/J)'-D,#*&#'+B%?&#/(%#1-/#-2$/ Gear box fully rebuilt with all new bearings and Ginny Cartmel, advised that it was built on the #L4#5$+/),#+%B#* @(//$%&E5#(%B$/C-*%C#+#1(EE#/$)&-/+&*-%,#*%@E(B*%C#+#1(EE#$%C*%$#/$A(*EBF# synchro’s. 27th December 67, presumably as a “launch stock” Axle stripped, diff and bearings perfect but new M%B#'$/$?)#+#D*@&(/$#8E$1&=#-1#)-I$&'*%C#&'+&#5-(#D/-A+AE5#'+2$#%$2$/# car and dispatched to A Smart MG dealers of half shaft bearings fitted. )$$%#A$1-/$#-/#.*EE#$2$/#)$$#+C+*%F#>&?)#&'$#(%B$/%$+&'#-1#&'$#@+/,# Newcastle on 14th February 68. )@/+D$B# A+@J#&-#A+/$#I$&+E,#/$D+*/$B,#/$)&-/$B,#/$+B5#1-/#D+*%&*%C#+%B# All new interior trim, wiring harness, all new lights. We know nothing of its early life but MG /()&Nwas D/--1*%C#N car club records revealed that the car first O$#B-%?&#)D/+5#PAE+@J#)DE-BC$?#(%B$/#-(/#@+/)QQ In short, no expense spared. restored in 1985 when its original mineral blue End Result? The car drives magnificently. O$#C$&#&'$I#+)#%$+/#&-#%$.#+%B#+)#)&/-%C#+)#D-))*AE$#.*&'#-(/# colour was bare metal changed to tartan red. If we did not have 2 C GTs all ready, a university R*%#and '-()$S#I+C*@#.$EB$/#T+%F Mileage was recorded then as 77,500 was motors example, owned by me for 49 years and 90,500 as we found it. We soon decided that this my Father’s car from 1968, this tartan red example car was the ideal lockdown restoration project. would definitely be a “keeper”. As such we stripped to a bare shell, carried out Will only be sold to the “right man or woman” U*)*&#-(/#.$A)*&$#8...FV(+//5@E+))*@)F@-F(J=#&-#1-EE-.#&'$#@+/#+)#*&# @-% all necessary repairs to the body and refinished &*%($)#*&)#D/-C/$))#A+@J#&-#&'$#/-+B#%$W&#)D/*%CF who will cherish and love it. in two-pack tartan red with wax injection to all

Please go to our website www.quarryclassics.co.uk for more information and videos of the engine on bench test. XE$+)$#2*)*&#...FV(+//5@E+))*@)F@-F(J 1-/#I-/$#B$&+*E)#+%B#D*@&(/$),#-/#@+EE#Y-'%#T$%&-%#-%#4ZZ94#<4<4<[F Ring John Denton on 07710 808084.

Callfor fora aquote quotetoday today Call

01376574000 574000 01376

Insurancefor forall allMG’s MG’s Insurance classicand andmodern modern classic

URGENTLY WANTED MGA/MGB/MGC/V8/ MIDGET/SPRITE ETC

Please call Edward 01923 840236 or any time on 07774 484497 Email: ejwclassiccars@btinternet.com Website: www.mgandporsche.com 23/9/09 16:22 (Northwood, Middlesex)

DON HOODS UNBEATABLE QUALITY – UNBEATABLE VALUE! DIRECT FROM THE MAKERS – WITH OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE

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AL MAKES & L incl: MG, MODELS Tr Escort, Giumph, olf etc.

mingham B23

Hampton Road, Bir

13 Tel: 0121 373 13FICE SOUTHERN SALES

00 Tel: 01202 7422

CARPET SETS FOR MOST

How toto Advertise How How to Advertise Advertise

MG Y Type MG MG TF TFAnniversary Anniversary

Members can advertise their spares grillestwo available. Seat SeatCovers CoversGenuine Genuine MG MGRover RoverNever Never Members Members can can advertise advertise their their spares sparesRadiator free ofof charge forfor items lessless than isused. complete with Logo. radiator and cap. 1924-2004 1924-2004 Logo.Blackleather/Red Blackleather/Red free free ofcharge charge foritems items less than than Oneused. £250 in Safety Fast! The cost for is free of Best dents, straight slats. Alcantara. Alcantara. BestOffer Offer secures secures £250 £250ininSafety SafetyFast! Fast!The Thecost costfor for Grille spares more than £250 is £20. TheThe needs rechroming as it is dull but spares spares more more than than £250 £250 isis£20. £20. The Ideally Tel: Tel: 0208675 0208675 8321/07773755441 8321/07773755441 advert will also be posted on the advert advertwill willalso alsobebeposted postedon onthe the no flaking. Second item consists of grille, Club website. To To place an an advert in inin falseUnisex Unisex MG MG car car jacket nose and slats only, freejacket of dents Club Club website. website. Toplace place anadvert advert Safety Fast! please email colinSmallsize. This This 3 3way wayjacket jacket has hasanan slats insize. good condition, chrome Safety SafetyFast! Fast!please pleaseemail emailcolincolin- withSmall grant@mgcc.co.uk Please keep adjustable adjustable removable removable hood hood with with a apeak peak be grant@mgcc.co.uk grant@mgcc.co.ukPlease Pleasekeep keep has reasonable shine , ideally should your advert to 60 words and anda aremovable removable inner innerblack black fleece fleecethat that rechromed. Will sell separately. Open your your advert advert to to 60 60 words words The editor reserves the right to edit can canbebe worn wornseparately. separately. Thejacket jackethas has Contact Andrew onThe 01761 The Theeditor editor reserves reserves the theright righttotoedit editto offers. longer adverts. two twozipped outer outerpockets pocketsand anda alarge largein-in221893. Orzipped andrewowst@hotmail.com longer longer adverts. adverts. This is for one insertion only, for How Advertise This Thisisisfor forone oneinsertion insertion only,for for (Bristol ner nerarea) pocket, pocket, the theto waist waist isisalso alsoadjustable, adjustable, additional insertions pleaseonly, email Members can advertise their spares additional additional insertions insertions pleaseemail email MGBV8 worn worntwice twice so solike like new.£15.00. new.£15.00. Contact Contact Radiator Colin Grant please free of charge for items less Colin ColinGrant Grant Pete Pete Macwaters Macwaters onon 01280 01280 821442 821442 In good condition, internally clean. Hasthan £250provision. in Safety£50. Fast! The cost for Otter switch MGC MGC spares more than £250 is £20. The MGB Bootlid, good rust free condition, 1974 Midget 1275cc. Brass Brass expansion expansion tanks tanks slightdifference difference advert will also beslight posted on the MGF/TF MGF/TF XXPower Power hoops hoops tartan red. modified to carry spare wire A veritable Cornucopia of spares. Too in in pipe pipe connection. connection. Standard Standard fitting. in Club website. To place anfitting. advert Plus Plus fixings fixings for for sale. sale. They They won't won't fit fit wheel complete with fixing spinner. much to list, but includes panelwork, Safety Fast! please email colinSome Some original original rubber rubber bushes bushes for for MGC MGC Page 1 engine/gearbox with withmy myelectric electric hood. hood. Cutmy myvarilosses losses (free-up boot space for her shoes!)£60. 3 types ofCut Carbs. grant@mgcc.co.uk Please keep suspension, suspension, justask. ask. £150ono. £150ono. Collect Collect South Warwickshire. Warwickshire. Buyer collect forjust both items please ous diffs. wire wheelSouth axle and wheels, your advert to 60 words Remanufactured Remanufactured MGC MGCalternator alternator pulleys pulleys Email EmailDave: Dave: brassokid@gmail.com brassokid@gmail.com from Leicestershire. Please phone Keith rostyles, instruments, lights, Manifolds Thewater editor reserves the right to edit Alloy Alloy waterpump pump pulleys. pulleys. 07551653890. and exhausts etc.,etc. longer adverts. MGF/TF MGF/TFSpares Spares MGC MGCo/d o/dgearbox gearboxwith withv8v8o/d. o/d. All located Didcot. Collection only. This isalloy forManuals one insertion only, AP APBig BigBrake BrakeKitKit-comprises comprisessingle singlepot pot Workshop Polished Polished alloy wheels wheels set setofof5 5to tofitfitfor Email- kduncan1940@gmail.com The MG Workshop Manual From 'M' email additional insertions please red redcalipers calipersembossed embossedwith withMG, MG,304mm 304mm mgc mgc6j.6j. Mike Satur MGF/MGTF type to T.F. (Tenth impression Published Colinset Grant discs, discs,pads padswith with fitting fittingkit, kit,New Newand and Period PeriodAlloy Alloywheel wheel set ofof4 4for formgc mgc5.5j 5.5j

Any Condition from non runners to rebuilt cars

DONHOODS-SFAug07.QXD:Layout 1

www.peterbestinsurance.co.uk www.classiccarinsurance.co.uk

MODELS

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STEVE McKIE SPORTSCARS

CLASSIFIEDS

Sunmate Total Protection Hood Cover. unused unused £180. £180. 16inch 16inchAbingdon Abingdon alloy alloy 1967) university universitymotors motorssupplied. supplied. New and unused due to sale-of car beMG TF Oil Pump (New in box) wheels wheels ininused used condition condition 3- 3available available Smith’s Smith’soiloilpressure pressuregauge, gauge,0-100psi 0-100psi fore use. Gives protection from rain or MG TC Plywood Dashboard blank atat£20 £20each. each.Chrome Chromefuel fuelfiller fillercap capwith with brass brassbezel bezelMarked Marked k70972, k70972,can canbebe heat build up in cabin. Heavier weight MG Head Gasket Set HS1A532 Plus fixings for sale. They won't fit one onekey keyininused usedcondition condition£15. £15. shown working. working. nylon with an aluminised surface to Anyshown queries and offers to Nick Harrison, with my electric hood. Cut my losses Photos Photosavailable availableononrequest. request.Email: Email: Pair Pairofof hif6 hif6 carbs carbsfull fullmanual manual throttle throttle reflect heat. Water resistant. Fully covnmharrison9@gmail.com £150ono. liam.mccarthy@tiscali.co.uk liam.mccarthy@tiscali.co.uk and andchoke. choke.Collect South Warwickshire. ers the windscreen door windows and MGTC Parts Email Dave:HIF7 brassokid@gmail.com Four FourJaguar Jaguar HIF7 carbs carbs seals giving protection from seal leaks. Headlamps, pair in good condition One Onepair pairheadlamp headlampprotector protectorgrills grillsand and Suitable for all year round protection for missing rim clips and one rim Launch Launchbrochure brochure-fast -fastforward forwardpub. pub.No No except Lucas Lucas headlamp headlamp converters converters including frost and of snow. In protective AP Big Brake£250. Kitcomprises single pot chroming. 4850. 4850.The TheDrive Drive ofyour your Life, Life, Abingdon Abingdon needs Water Water pump pumphousings housingsmodified modified for for bag. Cost £60, so £49 to a good home red calipers embossed with MG, 304mm 01344424258 Limited Limitededition, edition,Freestyle, Freestyle,SE, SE,Trophy Trophy Tel: electric electric water water pump pump now! £3.50 postage or collect in perdiscs, pads with fitting kit, New and 160, 160,TF, TF,TFTFSprint, Sprint,Sunstorm, Sunstorm,LELE500, 500,135 135 Vic SPARES WANTED Vic Young. Young. 01737551141 01737551141 07831701028. 07831701028. son. 01983 761382 or 07802 170135 unused £180. 16inch Abingdon alloy Fun, Fun,TFTF8585Anniversary. Anniversary.Contact ContactPeter Peter (Surrey) (Surrey)in (Isle of Wight)” WANTED wheels used condition - 3 available Balme BalmeTel: Tel:01872 01872510373. 510373. £20 each. Chrome fuel filler cap with Books from the late Bob Forat1971 MGBcondition £15. one key in used Automatic gear lever knob - original in Clare’s Collection Photos available on request. MGRV8 MGRV8 Burr Burr ElmGear Gear Knob Knob Email: black. Automatic Elm gear lever illumination MG A Pictorial History John Tipler £12 liam.mccarthy@tiscali.co.uk supplied supplied bybyTerry TerryStarkey) Starkey) light(as -(as original. Tel: Lawrence 07934 Magic of the Marque Mike Allison £8 roger.moran@yahoo.com/07920 roger.moran@yahoo.com/07920054422 054422 599501 Magic of MG M Allison. £18

MGF/TF X Power hoops

MGF MGFbrochures brochures

MGF/TF Spares

MIDGETS! WANTED

Please Pleasenote notethat thatthe the Advertising Advertisingdeadline deadlineisis April April10 10for forthe theMay May Works MG 1st edition issue issue of of Safety Safety Fast! Fast! Mike Allison/Peter Browning £30 Contact the Midget Specialist

SPARES SPARESWANTED WANTED Wanted Wanted

MGF brochures Wanted Wanted Launch brochure -fast forward pub. No

For For1953/5 1953/5 TFchrome chrome radiator radiator sursur4850. The TF Drive of your Life, Abingdon Works MG 2nd edition £22 round, round,chrome chrome condition condition not not important important Limited edition, Freestyle, SE, Trophy MIKE AUTHERS on Abingdon MG Log. Peter Haining £5 but butmust must bebe straight straight and andundamaged. undamaged. 160, TF, TF Sprint, Sunstorm, LE 500, 135 07703 465 224 CHROME The Classic MG Richard Aspen £10 Contact Contact Graham onon07956 07956 244708. 244708. Fun, TFGraham 85 Anniversary. Contact Peter MG by McComb. WilsonMIDGETS McComb £12in BUMPERED Balme Tel: 01872 510373. MG excellent 1911 to 1978condition Peter Filbybought £15 up to Great Marques – MG C Harvey £8 £8,000. View current stock MG Sports Cars, Autocar road tests £10at www.mgmidgets.com M-type to TF 1500 1975 Paperback £12 Classic MG Yearbook 1973 £18 Suppliers of parts for Triple-M 1993 Yearbook £4 • MGA • MGB • MGC • Midget Project Phoenix –the birth of the MGF IanAdcock £7 • T Type • MGF/TF A to Z of Cars of the 1930s Michael Sedgewick £10 Repairing & Restoring Classic Car Components, Peter Wallage £10 Tel 01246 454527 • Fax 01246 453681 Autocar motor manual – 33rd edition (1950s)£4 Albert Street North, Chesterfield, S41 8NP Haynes Classic Car interiors £8 Haynes Workshop manual for the Mini (1969-87) £6 Safety Fast:- Volume 39 (1995) Nos 3-12, Steve McKie Sports Cars Hi-Res.indd 1 23/06/2010 13:46 Volume 40,41,42,43,44 all 12 volumes £3 each All conditions wanted, from barn ﬁnds to concours. Octagon Car Club Bulletins:- No. 177 purchased. Cash buyer. Discretion (AugustComplete 1984) to 191, collections and No.302 (June 1995) to 435 (August 2006) (54 total) assured. £30. Please contact Bayne-Powell Please do Philip not hesitate to contact me if you are interested on 01483 811428 or e-mail in selling your MG and are looking for a prompt hassle1942mgman@gmail.com to buy any nigelguild@hotmail.com book orfree cash buyer! Please feel free to contact me for a no to obtain further information. CHESTERFIELD

•

DERBYSHIRE

Specialists in the repair and restoration of MG cars

FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING Please note that the IN THE NEXT Advertising deadline is April 10 for the May ISSUE OF Fast! issue of Safety

www.stevemckiesportscars.co.uk

TED

lory

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N WA G M UR O Y

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01844 281700

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SAFETYFAST! FAST!FEBRUARY APRIL 20212021 9696SAFETY

WANTED obligation friendly chat.

note thatinterested the IPlease am especially in the following models: MG Advertising is MGB V8, Magnette and Midget. TC, MGA, deadline MGB, MGC, PLEASE CALL NICK February 10 for the March

MG TF

Seat Covers used. 1924 Alcantara. Members B Tel:charge 020867 in

members Unisex

postedsize. on Small To place a adjustable co andemail a remo attached p can be wor car, your two zipped car,pocket, area w ner number worn twice 70 Macw words Pete to edit lo insertion MGC Brass expan co in pipe con Some origin suspension Remanufac Alloy water MGC o/d ge Polished all mgc 6j. Period Allo university m Smith’s oil p brass bezel shown wor Pair of hif6 and Builtchoke. from Four Paul Jaguar Luti (D One pair he seam weld Lucas head porated. O Water pum seals in pla electric wat always gara Vic Young. 0 No expense (Surrey) race winnin SPA many toys Please note MGRV8 Bu leaving gle (as supplied £6995ovno roger.mora

MG ZR

For 1953/5 round, chro but must be Contact Gra

1997 (D

BRG in abs only 13,156 new with la miles (05/1 and 2x key Leather (cr set of Falke (06/18) and Tel. 07785

CALL DIRECT 07787 528131 issue of Safety Fast! UKON: BasedON Buyer 01452 730770

FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

www.mgcc.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk

The “Lo

Cisitalia Spe

My 1932 Vauxhall VX FB Call for a quote today 4/90 1963. When Lanchester did you last see L10 is a gem one! Beautifully that I’ve been restored throughout meaning to and in lovely finish for www.peterbestinsurance.co.uk condition.With a myself to use. big photo album of It appears work carried out to have only to a high degree. 32,000 miles It drives so well... on it and there twin carbs.. pulls are various like any modern and Alan Bartlett supporting facts to this including a large folder of dedicated service car ... original Vauxhall 14 J. A plaque with this imposing and nicely used history. It’s barakes have been attended to, radiator recored, and email barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk upholstery, in family car says’ It was used by a Vauxhall main dealer for dash beautifully refubished with the correct instruments. It needs the smashing condition. apprentice training, It was bought in kit form and renovated to rewiring finishing and has a new loom fitted, a small job. It drives A nice 5 seater well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red its present condition by Mr Gough. So there. 2 ring folders of period saloon with leather all origional.to Its body had surface paintfor disturbance, but I that’s coming through our doors, history,Classics rare handbooks Plush original interior 1800cc 6 performance I’veand decided create space the work MG’s,and Race cars, of etc... all types. wouldn’t it, it’s partNOW of itsIScharm. I love TO it. Hope do.YOUR £7,250 NiceTO body chrome... Drives very well. £6,950 WE AREtouch OPEN AND THE TIME HAVEyou ALL WORK CARRIED OUT, SO THESE SALE CARS ARE AT,elegance. OR WELL£8,750 BELOW THEIRcyl.COST ME.andI’m very dealable!

rie Carter

01376 574000

Insurance for all MG’s classic and modern

07885 rie Carter r a B - ‘T-type’ ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’ 768830 868884

and Alan Bartlett arriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk 01308

07885 ‘T-type’ - ‘T-type’ - ‘T-type’ ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’ 768830 coming through our doors, MG’s, Race cars, e Caofrtalletypes. iClassics r r a 07885 r 01308 ED OUT, SO THESE SALE CARS ARE AT, OR WELL BELOWB THEIR COST TO ME. I’m very dealable! arter 768830 rie C r 868884 ‘T-type’ - ‘T-type’01308 - ‘T-type’ ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’a - ‘X-pag’ B

Vauxhall VX FB 4/90 1963. When did you last see one! Beautifully restored throughout and in lovely condition.With a big photo album of work carried out to a high degree. It drives so well... twin carbs.. pulls like any modern car ... original upholstery, in smashing condition. A nice 5 seater period saloon with performance and elegance. £8,750

and Alan Bartlett email barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk

My MGA race car. This My 1932 Vauxhall VX FB fully prepared virtual FIA 4/90 1963. When Lanchester My MGA race car. This TD/TF Engine rebuilt ex-championship winning did you last see L10 is a gem race car is available as one! Beautifully fully prepared virtual FIA that I’ve been Unused, rebuiltwith for theclutch, coming restored throughout meaning to ex-championship winning season. It’s 1840cc and in lovely finish for gearbox, carbs. A steel totalfull race engine was sealed by condition.With a myself to use. race car is available as an MSAWe scrutineer during big photo album of package. can offer It appears rebuilt for the coming its build at Sigma and has work carried out to have only only service rolling road running a ﬁtting too. to a high degree. 32,000 miles season. It’s 1840cc steel full time. The suspension, straight cut CR gearbox, LSD etc were all rebuilt to It drives so well... on it and there £6,000 the correct specs and the car was repainted at the same time. It handles twin carbs.. pulls race engine was sealed by are various superbly, especially in the wet. It has had 2 Thoroughbred andcar. Classic like any modern My MGA race This My 1932 Vauxhall VX FB supporting facts to this including a large folder of dedicated service an MSA scrutineer during Championship wins historically and is capable of winning again in the car ...1963. original fully prepared virtual FIAright 4/90 When Lanchester Vauxhall 14 J. A plaque with this imposing and nicely used history. It’s barakes have been attended to, radiator recored, and hands and with its correct full width screen is eligible for just about every upholstery, ex-championship winning did you lastinsee L10Itisneeds a gemthe build Sigma anddealer hasfor family car says’ It was its used by a at Vauxhall main dash beautifully refubished with the correct instruments. classic race series available. I’m 79 nowEarly and the years, aching bones smashing condition. race car is available asand a one! Beautifully T Type Engine. that I’ve been apprentice training, It was in kit form and renovated to rewiring finishing and has a new loom fitted, a small job. It drives promise to my dear late wife, mean I’ll no longer be racing after 55 years. A nice 5 seater onlybought rolling road running rebuilt for the coming restored throughout meaning to well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red its present condition by Mr Gough. So there. 2 ring folders of lovely A needs nothing doing to it and is ready for the owner to full period saloon with Used. Converted season. It’snext 1840cc steel in lovely finish for but I 1932 FB on its sucessful career. It is a UK car, and is road registered with its time. Theand suspension, straighthistory, cut My CR gearbox, were all rebuilt to 6 Vauxhall VXMy leather and all origional. Its body had surface paint disturbance, rare handbooksLSD etc...etc Plush original interior 1800cc carry performance and race engine was sealed by condition.With a 4/90 1963. When Lanchester myself use. to canister wouldn’t touch it, it’s part of its charm. I love it. Hope you do. to £7,250 Nice body and chrome... Drivestime. very well. £6,950 exchange I oil like ﬁ it.lter. elegance. £8,750 an MSAif scrutineer during big photo album did you lastoriginal see number. £35,000 I may take a part the correct specs andofthe carcyl. was repainted at the same It handles L10 is a gem It appears one! Beautifully its build at Sigma and has that I’ve been work carried out to have only Inspected with superbly,toespecially in the wet. It has hadto 2 Thoroughbred and Classic restored throughout meaning only rolling roadhead running a high degree. miles and in lovely TC Racer32,000 Although time.a The suspension, straight cut CR gearbox, LSDgood etc werecondition. all rebuilt to It drives wins so well... Championship historically andfinish is forcapable of winning again in the right condition.With off and it and there myself to use. there hason been the correct specs and the car was repainted at the same time. It handles twin carbs.. pulls big photo album of It appears are various much interest in my hands and its correct full width screen is eligible for just about every superbly, especially in the wet. It has had 2 Thoroughbred and Classic likewith any modern work carried out £2,250 to have only supporting facts to this including a large folder of dedicated service ex-championship and a high degree. Championship wins historically and is capable of winning again in the right car ... original 32,000 classic race seriesin available. Vauxhall I’m 79 now the with years, andused a toIt drives 14 miles J. and A plaque thisaching imposingbones and nicely history. It’s barakes have been attended to,well radiator recored, sohands well... and with its correct full width screen is eligible for just about every known T.C.and race upholstery, on it and there twin carbs..classic pulls race series available. I’m 79 now and the years, aching bones and a family are carvarious says’ It was used by a Vauxhall main dealer for dash beautifully refubished with the correctcar, instruments. It needs I don’t want thethe smashing condition. promise to tomy dear late wife,apprentice mean I’llservice no longer racing after It wasbe bought in kit form55 andyears. renovated tolike any modern rewiring finishing and has a new loom fitted, a small job. It drives TD/TF/Y supporting facts of dedicatedtraining, part xs offered. It is promise to my dear late wife, mean I’llEngine no longer be racing after 55 years. A nicethis5 including seater a large folder ... original Vauxhall 14 doing J. A plaque withis this imposing well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red its present condition by Mrfor Gough. there. 2 ringto folders of car history. It’s barakes have been attended to,doing radiator recored, and is ready My lovely A needs nothing to it and the So next owner nothing to it and ready for the and nextnicely ownerused to already very cheap period saloon with upholstery,My in lovely A needs family car says’ItItand used by a Vauxhall main dealer for its Used but inspected incar,very condition. dash beautifully refubished with correct instruments. It needs the leather and all origional. Its body had surface paint but I history, rare handbooks etc... Plush original interior 1800cc 6 smashing condition. carry on its sucessful career. iswas a UK and is nice road registered with performance andthecareer. and hasdisturbance, so many rare carry its sucessful is a UK car, and is road registered with its apprentice training, It was bought in kit form andit.renovated to rewiring on finishing and has a new loom fitted, cyl. aItsmall job. It drives A nice 5 seater wouldn’t touch it, it’s part of its charm. I love it. Hope you do. £7,250 Nice body and chrome... Drives very well. £6,950 original number. £35,000 I may take a part exchange if I like elegance. £8,750 and expensive parts well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red its present condition by Mr Gough. So there. 2 ring folders of Ready to install. £2,750 period saloon with original number. I may a part I’m not giving it away. leather and all origional. Its£35,000 body had surface painttake disturbance, but Iexchange if I like it. history, rare handbooks etc... Plush original interior 1800cc 6 performance and L.S.D. Derrington inlet NOW and ex. 13/4 50s vented wouldn’t touch part of its charm. you do. £7,250 THEIR COST TO ME. I’m very dealable! cyl. Nice body and chrome... Drives very well. £6,950 elegance. £8,750 WE ARE OPEN AND ISmanifolds, THE TIME TO72Although HAVE ALL YOUR WORK CARRIED OUT, SO THESE SALEit, it’sCARS ARE AT,I loveORit. Hope WELL BELOW Racer brakes, trampbars, telescopics, alloyTC panels, spoke Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000 miles and 3 owners, there has 16” wheels, Avon ZZR. To build thisMywould costbeen £50k but My MGA race car. This 1932 Vauxhall VX FB TC Racer Although Absolutely unmarked body that is in as new, unrestored much interest it’s a proven car. It can be sold as a rolling chassis in allmy fully prepared virtual FIA 4/90 1963.this Whenlovely Hawk for a customer. Lanchester Humber Hawk. I’m selling there has been gorgeous condition, the interior is as faultless as the restex-championship of this ex-championship and winning you lastin seeall respects. Excellent paint and is a gem complete but less engine, or with aL10less modified engine much interest in my It’s a very imposingdid vehicle rare RHD beauty, and race car is available as well known T.C.and race one! Beautifully I’vevery been ex-championship andA Treasure that has never been restored or whatever combination you wish.that It’s cheap will superb leather and restored interior.throughout Plush opulence for the price of a rebuilt for the coming meaning is lovely. £8,999 car, ItoRing don’tfor want the well known T.C. race give you lots of fun, road or competition. a price season. It’s 1840cc steel full Mini wreck!! £7,500and in lovely finish for xs offered. car, I don’t want the part It is race engine was sealed by condition.With a myself to use. part xs offered. It is an MSA scrutineer during already very cheap big photo album of It appears already very cheap its build at Sigma and has work carried out andonly has so many rare to have and has so many rare only rolling road running to a high degree. 32,000 andmiles expensive parts time. The suspension, straight cut CR gearbox, LSD etc were all rebuilt to and expensive parts It drives so well... on I’m it andnot theregiving it away. the correct specs and the car was repainted at the same time. It handles twin carbs.. pulls I’m not giving it away. are various superbly, especially in the wet. It has had 2 Thoroughbred and Classic like any modern L.S.D. Derrington inlet and ex. manifolds, 13/4 50s vented L.S.D. Derrington inlet and ex. manifolds, 13/4 50s vented supporting facts to this including a large folder of dedicated service Championship wins historically and is capable of winning again in the right car ... original brakes, trampbars, telescopics, alloy panels, 72 spoke brakes, trampbars, telescopics, alloy panels, 72 spoke Vauxhall 14 J. A plaque with this imposing and nicely used history. It’s barakes have been attended to, radiator recored, and Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000 miles and 3 owners, hands and with its correct screen is eligible for just about every upholstery, in Saab 99 2 litre 33,000 miles andfull3width owners, 16” wheels, build would cost £50k carAvon says’ ZZR. It wasTo used by athis Vauxhall main dealer forbutwith onlyclassic dash beautifully refubished the correct instruments. It needs the 16” wheels, Avonwith ZZR. To build this would cost £50k but race series available. I’m 79 now and the years, aching bones and a Absolutely unmarked body that is in as new, unrestored smashing condition. it’s afamily proven car. It canIt was be sold as in a rolling all to unmarked body that is as new, unrestored Humber I’m selling thisI’lllovely Hawk for aafter customer. apprentice training, bought kit Absolutely formchassis and renovated rewiring and car. has a It new loombe fitted, a small It drives chassis all promise toHawk. my in dear late wife, mean no longer be racing 55 years. nice 5 seater gorgeous condition, the interior is as faultless as the rest of this it’s afinishing proven can sold as job. a rolling Humber Hawk. I’mAperiod selling this lovely Hawk for less a customer. but engine, with aSoless modified engine well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red its present condition by MrorGough. there. 2 ring folders of veryAis imposing vehicle initall painttoand gorgeous condition, the It’s interior as nothing faultless the this My alovely needs doingas to andrespects. isrest readyof forExcellent the next owner saloon with complete rare RHD beauty, A Treasure that has never been restored and complete but less engine, or paint withdisturbance, a less modified engine or whatever combination you wish. It’s very cheap and will It’s a very imposingperformance vehicle inand all respects. Excellent paint etc... and leather and all origional. Its body had surface but I history, rare handbooks Plush original interior 1800cc 6 A Treasure carry on its sucessful career. It is Plush a UK car, and is road with superb leather and interior. opulence forregistered the price ofitsa rare RHD beauty, that has never been restored and is lovely. £8,999 givecyl. youNice lots of fun, road Ring for a price or whatever combination youit. wish. wouldn’t touch it, it’s part of its charm. I love Hope youIt’s do. very £7,250cheap and will and chrome... Drives very well. £6,950 original number.£7,500 £35,000 I may take a part exchange if I like it. Mini wreck!! superb leather and elegance. interior.£8,750 Plush opulence forbody the price ofora competition. is lovely. £8,999 give you lots of fun, road or competition. Ring for a price Mini wreck!! £7,500

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I’ve decided to create space for the work that’s coming through our doors,CLASSICS_BUCKS MG’s, Race cars, Classics of all types. MG16 - BUCKS SPORTS SPORTS CLASSICS 26/09/2012

Lancia My 1932 Lanchester L10 TC Racer Although Appia 1960 is a gem that I’ve been there has been RHD. This meaning to finish for myself much interest in my superbly to use. It appears to have ex-championship and restored Car 32,000 miles it and well known T.C. race Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000only miles and 3 onowners, is a 4 door there are various supporting car, I don’t want the Absolutely unmarked body that isfacts in as new, unrestored pillar less to this including a part xs offered. It is replica of the gorgeous condition, the interior islarge as folder faultless as the rest of this of dedicated already very cheap history. been It’s barakes same car as and has so many rare RHD beauty, A Treasure that service has never restored and Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000 miles and 3 owners, have been attended to, competed in rarebody andthat expensive Absolutely unmarked is in as new, unrestored Humber Hawk. I’m selling this lovely Hawk for a customer. is lovely. £8,999 radiator recored, and dash the Acropolis gorgeous condition, the interior faultless as the rest of this parts I’m notis as giving It’s a very imposing vehicle in all respects. Excellent paint and rare RHD beauty, A Treasure that has never been restored and beautifully refubished with Rallye in 1960, It has had £ thousands spent making it the it away. L.S.D. inlet and ex. manifolds, 13/4 50s superb leather and interior. Plush opulence for the price of aDerrington is lovely. £8,999 wreck!!instruments. £7,500 theMini correct It superb example you see, Luxurious red leather trim, All the vented brakes, trampbars, telescopics, alloy panels, 72 needs the rewiring finishing and has a new loom fitted, a small job. It drives required navigation equipment, Drives free and flowingly, I spoke 16” wheels, Avon ZZR. To build this would cost £50k well and sweetly, stops good too. The interior is sumpmtuous red leather and doubt there’s a better one anywhere. Enormous amount of but it’s a proven car. It can be sold as a rolling chassis all all origional. Its body had surface paint disturbance, but I wouldn’t touch it, it’s boxed history and receipts, Gorgeous, £19,995 - May Part/ complete but less engine, or with a less modified engine part of its charm. I love it. Hope you do. £7250 Ex for something tasty. or whatever combination you wish. It’s very cheap and will give you lots of fun, road or competition. Ring for a price My MGA race car. This fully prepared virtual FIA exchampionship winning race car is available as rebuilt for the coming season. It’s 1840cc steel full race engine was sealed by an MSA scrutineer during its build at Sigma and has only rolling road running time. The suspension, straight cut CR gearbox, LSD etc were all rebuilt to the correct specs and the car was repainted at the same time. It handles superbly, especially in the wet. It has had 2 Thoroughbred and Classic Championship wins historically and is capable of winning again in the right hands and with its correct full width Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000 miles and 3 owners, screen is elligible for just about every classic race series available. I’m 79 now and Absolutely unmarked body that is in as new, unrestored 1936 Morris Eight Tourer. the years, aching bones and a promise to my dear late wife, mean I’ll no longer gorgeous condition, the interior is as faultless as the rest This absolutely beautiful car has had only two owners and be racing after 55 years. My lovely A needs nothing doing to it and is ready for the of this rare RHD beauty, A Treasure that has never been has been fully restored by it’s last owner of 29 years. I next owner to carry on its sucessfull career. It is a UK car, and is road registered restored and is lovely. £8,999 don’t think you’ll find another one like this. £11,995 with its origional number. £35,000 I may take a part exchange if I like it.

TC Racer Although there has been much interest in my ex-championship and well known T.C. race car, I don’t want the part xs offered. It is already very cheap and has so many rare and expensive parts I’m not giving it away. L.S.D. Derrington inlet and ex. manifolds, 13/4 50s vented brakes, trampbars, telescopics, alloy panels, 72 spoke 16” wheels, Avon ZZR. To build this would cost £50k but it’s a proven car. It can be sold as a rolling chassis all complete but less engine, or with a less modified engine or whatever combination you wish. It’s very cheap and will give you lots of fun, road or competition. Ring for a price

original number. £35,000 I may take a

email barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk

WE ARE OPEN AND NOW IS THE TIME TO HAVE ALL YOUR WORK CARRIED OUT, SO THESE SALE CARS ARE AT, OR WELL BELOW THEIR COST TO ME. I’m very dealable!

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TC Racer Although there has been much interest in my and Alan Bartlett ex-championship and that’s coming through our doors, MG’s, I’ve decided to create space for the work cars, Classics of all types. emailRace barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk well known T.C. race WE ARE OPEN AND NOW IS THE TIMEcar, TOI HAVE ALL YOUR WORK CARRIED OUT, SO THESE SALE CARS ARE AT, OR WELL BELOW COST TO ME. I’m -very dealable! ‘T-type’ - ‘T-type’ - THEIR ‘T-type’ ‘X-pag’ ‘X-pag’ - ‘X-pag’ don’t want the Call for a quote today part xs offered. It is I’ve decided to create space for the work that’s coming through our doors, MG’s, Race cars, Classics already very cheap WE ARE OPEN AND NOW IS THE TIME TO HAVE ALL YOUR WORK CARRIED OUT, SO THESE SALE CARS ARE AT, OR WELL BELOW THEIR COST TO ME. I’m and has so many rare and expensive parts www.classiccarinsurance.co.uk I’m not giving it away. L.S.D. Derrington inlet and ex. manifolds, 13/4 50s vented brakes, trampbars, telescopics, panels, 72 spoke Vauxhall 14 J. A plaque with this alloy imposing and nicely used and Alan Bartlett Saab 99 2 litre with only 33,000 miles and 3 owners, 16”family wheels, AvonItZZR. To build would £50k car says’ was used by a this Vauxhall maincost dealer for but Absolutely unmarked body that is in as new, unrestored time. The suspension, straight cut CR email barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk it’sapprentice a proven training, car. It can be bought sold asinakitrolling chassis all specs and the car was rep Humber Hawk. I’m selling this lovely Hawk for a customer. It was form and renovated to gorgeous condition, the interior is as faultlessthe ascorrect the rest superbly, especially in theof wet. this It has complete butcondition less engine, withSo a less engine Championship wins historically and is its present by Mr or Gough. there.-modified 2‘T-type’ ring folders of It’s ‘X-pag’ a very imposing vehicle in -all‘X-pag’ respects. Excellent paint and ‘T-type’ ‘T-type’ ‘X-pag’ hands and with its correct full width s rare RHD beauty, A Treasure that has never been restored and classic race series available. I’m 79 n or whatever combination you wish. It’s very cheap and will history, rare handbooks etc... Plush original interior 1800cc 6 superb leather and interior. Plush opulence for the price of a promise to my dear late wife, mean I’ My lovely A needs nothing doing to it give ofto fun, road or competition. Ring for a price I’ve decided create space for work that’s coming through our£7,500 doors, MG’s, Race cars, Classics of all types.is lovely. £8,999 cyl.you Nicelots body and chrome... Drives verythe well. £6,950 Mini wreck!! carry on its sucessful career. It is a UK

14:24 Page 1

Triumph 2000 MK II Estate. I’ve seldom seen car that looks like it’s just come out of the showroom as this does, Not only pristine top, but underneath too, It shows 47,000 miles and is fitted with Power Steering, so us older gentry don’t get tired arms, Interior is in reddish brown and Mint, Exterior is likewise and you’ll never find another like this. £9,750

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MG YB Saloon Still they emerge! MG YB, the rarer of the forgotten MG. 3 owners, 1 for 40 years and owner history from new. It has never been restored and is still wearing its original and very nice paint. Being interred for so long it has missed the ravages of time and has no apparent rust problems on its very straight original body. The interior, always a problem with “Y’s” is intact and only needs cleaning. The carpets are very original and the sunroof water tight. Excellent chrome and square tyres make this the barn slumberer of the year. Unrepeatable and complete with dust £8,950

For friendly advice contact Pete Giles on Tel: 01296 433550 or Mob: 07831 404968 www.mgsonthenet.co.uk

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APRIL 2021 SAFETY FAST! 97

EST’D

1989

LOOKING BACK The official publication of The MG Car Club Incorporating ‘The M.G. Magazine’, ‘The Sports Car’ and ‘Brooklands Track and Air’, Safety Fast! Copyright MG Car Club 2021

Editor: Andy Knott 01235 849730 / 01235 555552 andyknott@mgcc.co.uk Deputy Editor: Colin Grant 01235 849733 colingrant@mgcc.co.uk Editorial Committee: Andy Knott, Colin Grant, Adam Sloman PR and Communications: Advertising: Hine MarketingJade 01452 Beckett 730770 01233 849731 Published by:Hine Advertising: HineMarketing Marketing, 01452 Hill Farm 730770 Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Glos, GL2 9LN. Tel: 01452 730770 Published by:Norton Hine Marketing, Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Distributed Lane, Bishopsby: Norton Air Business. Glos, GL2 Merlin 9LN. Centre, Tel: 01452 4 The, 730770 Acrewood Way, St Albans Tel: 01727 890600 Distributed by:AL4 Air0JY Business. Merlin Centre, 4 The, Acrewood Way, St Albans President: John AL4 Day 0JY Tel: 01727 890600 Vice Presidents: President: John Day Ron Gammons, Peter Best, Ian Quarrington, Bill ViceSilcock Presidents: Ron Gammons, Don Hayter, Peter Best, Bill Chairman: Keith Williams. Silcock. Vice Chairman: George Wilder Chairman: Dave Tynan Treasurer: Richard Colston Vice Chairman: George Wilder Directors: Saunders, Treasurer: Dave Richard ColstonPeter Cook and George Wilder Company Edward Directors: Secretary: Dave Saunders, PeterVandyk Opie and Peter Cook Staff Members: Adam Sloman (General Manager 01235 849732), Company Secretary: Colin Grant Andy (01235Adam 849730), Lauran Gallacher (Assistant General Staff Knott Members: Sloman (General Manager 01235 849732), Manager 01235(Competitions 849735), Liz Allsworth Secretary John Hutchison Secretary(Membership 01235 849738), 01235 849734), Mark Baulch (Motorsport 07554 160840), Andy Knott (01235 849730), Lauran Gallacher (Assistant General Colin Grant (01235 849733), Cherina(Membership Scarrott (Finance Manager 01235 849735), Liz Allsworth Secretary Officer 01235 849736), and(01235 Gemma849733), Bray (Communications 01235 849734), Colin Grant Jade Beckett Administrator) (01233 849731), Cherina Scarrott (Finance Officer 01235 849736) and Ineke Sherman 01235 849737) Honorary Members: Michael(Merchandise Allison, Ron Gammons, Peter Best, John Quenby, Paddy Hopkirk, Norman Rob Oldaker, Honorary Members: Michael Allison,Ewing, Ron Gammons, Peter Best, Steve Hanegan, McGovern, AnnMoss, Hawke, JohnHopkirk, Dutton, Don Hayter, JohnGerry Quenby, Sir Stirling Paddy John Day,Ewing, Julian Piers White,Hubbard, Bill Silcock. Norman Rob Oldaker, Steve Hanegan,

his month the photos in Looking Back come courtesy of Nigel Pratt. During lockdown Nigel took the opportunity to go through some old photo albums and whilst doing so discovered a few old photos of MGs in action at various events in the 1980s. The first image shows an MG VA Tourer charging up Test Hill at Brooklands on a sunny May day in 1988. A real mix of MG machinery appears in the second photo, A KN, a TC, and M

98 SAFETY FAST! APRIL 2021

Type, Nigel’s Midget and an MG Montego and MG Maestro in the background, taken at (Nigel believes) the Devon and Cornwall Weekend in June 1988. The cars are competing in the Smithaleigh Concours Event. The final photo shows a couple admiring this very smart MG SA which is parked up and basking in the sun on Madeira Drive, Brighton, at the end of the 1988 Regency Run.

Gerry McGovern, June Wallis, Ann Hawke, John Dutton, John Day, Company by guarantee Julian White,limited Bill Silcock. The Club, as a corporate body established as the MG Car Club Limited, is a company limited by guarantee. Every member of the Company limited by guarantee Club undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Club in the The a corporate established as the MG Clubone eventClub, of itsasbeing woundbody up while he is a member, or Car within Limited, is a company limited by guarantee. Every member of the year after he ceases to be a member, for payment of the debts Club undertakes to contribute to the before assets of Clubtoinbethea and liabilities of the Club contracted hethe ceases event of its woundcharges up while is a member, or within member, andbeing the costs, andheexpenses of winding up, one year after ceases to be a member, payment of theamong debts and for theheadjustment of the rights offorthe contributors and liabilitiessuch of the Club contracted before henot ceases to be a themselves, amount as may be required, exceeding member, and the costs, charges and expenses of winding up, one pound. and for the adjustment of the rights of the contributors among Whilst every effort has beenasmade the not accuracy of themselves, such amount may to beensure required, exceeding information one pound. at the time of going to press, neither The Publisher (herein referred to as Hine Marketing), the Editor, nor the MG Whilst every made to ensure accuracy to of any Car Club caneffort accepthas anybeen responsibility or lossthe occasioned information time of going to press, Publisher person actingatortherefraining from action as neither a resultThe of any material (herein referred to The as Hine Marketing), the are Editor, norown theand MGHine in the publication. opinions of authors their Car Club can lossare occasioned toto any Marketing, theaccept Editorany andresponsibility the MG Car or Club not bound agree person acting or refraining from Reproduction action as a result of anyormaterial with opinions expressed herein. in whole in part in the publication. The opinions of authors are their own and Hine without written permission is prohibited. Safety Fast! and The MG Marketing, the Editor and the MG Car Club are not bound to in agree Car Club badge are protected through trademark registration with opinions Reproduction in whole in part the UK and in expressed the foreignherein. countries where Safety Fast! or circulates. without permission is prohibited. Safety Fast! andorThe MG Readers written are warned that if they attempt any mechanical other Car Club badge protected through trademark registration modifications or are methods referred to herein, they do so at theirinown the in the foreign countries Safety risk UK andand no liability will attach to thewhere MG Car Club,Fast! the circulates. Editor nor Readers are warned thatshall if they mechanical other Hine Marketing. Neither theattempt MG Carany Club, the Editorornor Hine modifications or methods referred to herein, they do so at their own Marketing have any responsibility for the accuracy of the content of risk and no liability will attach to the MG Car Club, the Editor nor the editorial, neither the content of any advertisement published in Hine Marketing. Neither shall the MG Car Club, the Editor nor Hine Safety Fast! Marketing have any responsibility for the accuracy of the content of Ittheshould be noted that Hine the Editor, nor the MG editorial, neither theneither content of Marketing, any advertisement published in Car Club make any recommendation in respect of any goods and/ Safety Fast! or services advertised or featured in this issue. It is the responsibility Itofshould neither Hine theservices Editor, offered nor the or MG readersbetonoted satisfythat themselves that Marketing, the goods or Car Clubtomake any recommendation in respect any goods and/ referred are bona fide and in no instance shallofHine Marketing, or advertised or featured thisresponsible issue. It is for thethe responsibility theservices Editor or the MG Car Club be in held quality or of readersof toany satisfy suitability suchthemselves items. that the goods or services offered or referred to are bona fide and in no instance shall Hine Marketing, the Editor or the MG Car Club be held responsible for the quality or suitability of any such items.

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T&Y Type or MGA & Z series catalogues- email or phone for your copy

Disc brake conversion TD/TF/YB Steel wheels £822 Wire wheels £879 Also available for MGA & Magnette.

NTG Motor Services Ltd 282-284 Bramford Road Ipswich IP1 4AY Tel: +44(0)1473 406031/2 Fax: +44(0)1473 742087 sales@mgbits.com British Motor Heritage Approved - founded 1966

Safety Fast! April 2021

Articles inside

Race Torque

Centre Updates

MGCC Speed Championship

Looking Back

MGs on Track

Tech Tips

Twin Cam Newsletter

Cherished News

News

Vintage Newsletter

V8 Newsletter

Young Members Branch

Postbag

Club Matters and Kimber House News