MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Those were the days....

In a recent thread about brakes Terry Drinkwater used the phrase "those were the days" when refering to the grease that used to come in brake rebuilding kits. It got me to thinking about how much has really changed in our "hobby". For example:

master cylinder rebuild kits used to include all the pieces, even springs and pistons with the rubber seals already installed.

engine gasket sets included ALL the gaskets, they were made from good quality material and they actually fit!

British car parts actually came from England!

The kid behind the counter at the local parts store didn't give you a blank stare when you said you need parts for an MG!

Ah, those indeed were the days.....

GTF
G T Foster

Yep, and we bought the high-test No-lead gas at Amoco
Which reminds me, did anybody ever have burnt/corroded valve seats from doing that?
Ed

Sorry, Sunoco 260 was our fuel of choice.
mike parker

Yes, in the good old days, we didn't worry about lead in the gas, Esso Extra 100 octane.
Jeff Schultz

Those were the days when you could buy a LIFETIME battery from your local auto parts store. I have not bought one for my MG since 1978 but have exchange a few over the years!!!! The last time I went to exchange the battery, they offered me $150 to cancel the contract. I am stupid but not crazy!!!
JEFF BECKER

What kind of moron came up with a lifetime battery replacement deal? LOL!
Steve Simmons

Lifetime warranties usually voided when you sold the car...the warranty was not transferable. It was generally a good deal for the business, as historically, most people don't keep a car more than about three years, the average life of a Lifetime Warranted batttery....for which a premium was charged. Now they offer six--even ten year pro-rated warranties. The battery still only lasts around three years...but you'll come back to the dealer, because the thing was guaranteed. You'll only get a few bucks discount--but it's the way people think about these things that makes it work.
R. L Carleen

I have two of those guarantee. One from JC Penny which is now handled by Firestone and the other one is from Kragen. I am just too cheap to buy a new car or is it I love the old ones which I can work on.
JEFF BECKER

How about when a tuneup included plugs, points, and condensor? and when a Pirelli or Michelin radial tire was something really special?
Harley

Those were the days when, after an engine rebuild, you put a sticker in your back window saying: "Running in. 30MPH maximum. Please pass".

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve - I didn't notice your sticker whilst driving around Le Mans, I just thought your car was slow.
Those were the days !!

Thanks for the mention on the MOT thread, the cheque is in the post!

Terry
Terry Drinkwater

I can remember bitching about filling up my 67 GT0 when ethyl was over $.30 a gallon.
Bill Haglan

Murrays Auto parts still sells about everything with a lifetime guarantee. You pay a little more, but you can make out if you keep the car.
mike parker

Those were the days when an XKE was as alien as something out of Area 57. When we gave no thought to driving our cars, MGAs, TR-3s, AH 100-6s, Jag XK 120s across country expecting them to make the journey, because they were a car and that's what cars do. When a replacement part didn't have to look exactly as one that originally came with the car, as long as it was functionally correct and perhaps even did its job better than the original. And those were the days when the smell of exhaust leaks, heated oil, or a whiff of antifreeze didn't mean some impending catastrophe, just that the live rubber seals in the firewall had disappeared, rotted, or that our car simply smelled like an old car.
Robert Muenchausen

And the odor of Castrol in the fall air !!
george

And MGAs in nice condition could be bought for $500-$700! Perfect for high school boys with raging hormones!
Frank Nocera

Was a student in England when the ads first appeared
"The sports car today is an MGA"
Wonder if someone could not start re-making a beefed up version of the MGA like has been done on the VW beetle and on the Mini Cooper?
Tony

I paid $100 for my first MGA in 1971 when I was in college. It ran a little rough, and needed a top, but otherwise was in great shape with good paint and good interior. I ordered a top from JC Whitney. After I tuned it up, it ran great, and I drove it all over the country. Only problems I had until I wrecked it were the the fuel pump, and a bad starter. I drove it one whole summer without a starter, using the hand crank and parking on hills when I could. Those were the days.

Why would you want a modern car with a retro-MGA look, when you can have the real thing?
Jeff Schultz

Frank,
So right...'Bought a '60 1600 in '66. My wife and I still marvel at what we accomplished on Friday nights in the 'A. Ahh to be slim & supple again.
Doug









D Sjostrom

When you could tune up your car in the driveway on a Saturday morning WITHOUT having a computer science degree /a laptop computer and the neighbors 12 year old kid to help you make it work.
Gordon Harrison

You guys are making me feel old now. Really nice MGAs had a book value of $400 in 1968-1969. I had three in one year, because it was about the only thing I could afford to drive. The very last gas war was on and fuel was under $0.20/g everywhere for more than a year, some places as low as $0.179/g. Everyone bitched when it went up to $0.299 after the gas war was over, because it was only $0.259 before. Yeah, those were the good old days, when you could work for $1.60/hr minimum wages, and net $52/wk take home after taxes on a full time job. Hmmmmm. Somehow I don't remember the good old days being all that good.
Barney Gaylord

Jeff,
I could not use a 45 year old MGA for my general transport needs,especially on motorways ; that's why BMW have uprated the Mini and that's why I would like same kind of thing do be done on the A
Tony

You are right, Barney, we had less money, and fewer things offered to us, so less places for it to go. And many of the things we had offered to us then that we still buy today (TVs, cars, clothes, food) took a bigger bite out of our paychecks. But back then we still only needed one income to make ends meet. And today, we need two incomes plus credit to accomplish the same level of "satisfaction". I will take a smelly old car any day to a handful of debt.
Robert Muenchausen

I pumped gas at a Sinclair(dino) service station and I remember gas wars getting down to 14.5 cents per gallon. Shutting down the island pumps I was able to get a gallon or so out of the hoses for my 53 Ford.
I believe my father's take home pay was $65.00 and our grocery bill for a week to feed a family of 6 was $25. But, then again each of us kid's that was working had to give money to the household. This was 57 thru 61, I then moved out of the house to be on my own.. Oh, I paid $150 for the ford...
Mike
mike

I think BMW made the new Mini because they knew they would sell millions of them.

I could see a new version of the MGA selling well against the other modern roadsters. They could name it the MG A2. :)
Steve Simmons

In 1965 in a Porsche 911 during daytime,I travelled the 100 miles on the Motorway M1 from Birmingham to London at speeds of 100-120mph with an Alfa 2600 for company.At those speeds you start to feel the corners!
THOSE WERE THE DAYS.
Tony

... when I could fit into a midget.
Tom Balutis

Tom, no one fits in a midget, you are supposed to wear them.
John H

Mike,
Interesting you brought up draining the gas hoses. When I was in high school I ran out of gas in my 57 Ford late one night. Fortunately I was on a hill above two gas stations (both closed). I coasted down the hill and drained all the hoses at both gas stations into my tank. I got enough gas to make the gauge move and was able to start the car, drive home and drive to school the next day before putting in more gas (paid for this time). Nowdays a kid would get locked up for such a thing.
Bill
Bill Boorse

Why DON"T people drive their vintage cars more? Our local club had a poker rally last Sunday, they intentionally shortened the route, in hopes that more of the members who drove their SUV's to the meetings might participate. I had the oldest car there--My A, the next oldest cars were a few MGB's from the seventies and a late sixites Corvair. Most of the cars were modern Jags, Beemers Porsches amd Miata's. Lots of our members have beautiful older cars, you see then every car show, but not at meetings or events.
R. L Carleen

I have a newspaper that I found in a box of parts that came with a 62 MK11 basketcase I am restoring. The PO used this paper to wrap painted parts in. It is dated Sunday March 26,1972. The car has been apart for 33+ years. I plan on driving it this spring.
This paper lists a brand new Chevy Impala for $2688.
A brand new home in a nice area ran $20,000-$35,000. Other homes started around $10,000. But in the want ads $1.85 an hour. $500 a month and $6500 a year were all listed for workers. A professional made $10-15 thousand a year. A 53 caddie asking price $150 A 57 Nomad for $500. A brand new Chevy pickup $2188.
The thing I think is wild was the high cost of electronics. A 24 in dia console TV was $540, or about 1/4 the cost of a new car. Makes a $12000 plasma tv seem almost cheap today.
Sears auto center would service and fill an R-12 A/C system for $11.99. sell recaps for your MGA for $11.95 ea.
The paper didn't have car adds after the "Cs" so I couldn't look up MGAs. The PO had already used them to wrap parts. In 72 I was in Jr high school and worked after school for $.75 an hour at a hobby shop. That summer I helped building a house for $1.25 an hour cash and was rich.
Forget the good old days and enjoy today.
Randy
R J Brown

Talking of low prices,I recall the impact made at the launch of the Jaguar E Type in 1963-and with prices starting at 2000 Pounds Sterling!
The Chevy Corvette became its great rival in the USA
Tony

When I was a youth, I can remember looking in a sports car magazine and seeing an exotic sports car with a price tag of $12,000 and thinking "who could ever afford that for a car?"....ha!

At about the same time my Grandfather had a saying.....
"In the good old days, bread cost 5 cents, but nobody had a nickle. If you ask me, these are good old days"
(OK, that was the late 50's)

Wisdom of the ages....

GTF
G T Foster

Those were the days when you could fill up the "A" for £2 and get quadrupal green shield stamps!

And of course, then, "You could do it in an MG" apparently...

Pete
Pete Tipping

...when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny...
Peter

I graduated college in '67 and bought a brand-new 1967 Corvette roadster. With options that included the 350hp/327, 4-speed tranny and AM/FM radio, the car listed for about $4400. I paid $4050! The next year we bought Melon's A (we were engaged and it was her first car) for $800. It had about 35K miles on it and was recently repainted and looked like new!

The Vette was stolen in '79, but the A is back on the road after a full frame-up over the last 2 years. The NAMGAR gallery has a picture of Melon with both cars back in 1970.

Yes, those were the days! - Ken
Ken Doris

This thread was discussed between 13/11/2005 and 21/11/2005

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.