Oh, To Have an MGB, Part II
By
Mark Dodd
As those attending the last MG club meeting may remember, An ode to MGBs was
read by
Skip from the Miata club's newsletter. In response to that, I will repeat
the original, and
make a few comments along the way.
Oh, to have an MGB, by Stuart Hellis
My MGB has a number of advantages over my Miata (insert tongue in cheek):
1) I don't have to check the oil in my MGB, because I can tell it's
out of oil when it
stops dripping on my driveway.
1a) As a conscientious MGC owner, I can report that I check the oil at the
start of each day.
Since the oil slick under this 26 year-old car is smaller than that
generated by either our 1990
Nissan Stanza or our Merkur Scorpio, I take slight exception to Stuart's
advice. Seems the
British do as well with oil retention as the Japanese and Germans.
2) I also don't have to worry about routine oil changes, just keep
adding fresh oil and
the MGB changes itself (see #1.)
2a) Uh, see 1a. There must be a reason I check the oil at the start of
each day.... Though I
can report that my C doesn't leak oil :-(
3) With the Vizard cam and high compression heads on my MGB I can run
*Premium* (92 octane) without being told, not to, and still can't keep
up with a Miata.
3a) This is a no brainer, it is all aerodynamics. Having the top down on a
car drastically
increases the car's wind resistance. Given less than 5% of the Miatas I see
have their tops
down, and 95% of the MGs do, it is easy to see why the Miata's out
accelerate MGBs.
4) I don't have to retorque my wheels 25 miles after having them off,
because the
MGB doesn't have aluminum mags.
4a) Ever wonder where the design for those aluminum mags came from? Take a
look at
most any racing MGBs from the 60's and their Minilights. Imitation is the
sincerest form of
flattery. And I would rather have my gorgeous wire wheels anyway for that
real sports car
look anyway.
5) I can run 34 lbs pressure in the tires if I want to, and it still
handles like a pig
compared to the Miata.
5a) That may be true. But if you ever drove an MG Midget, you would find
that MG knew
how to design a car that handles. Midget handling has been likened to near
Lotus handling,
and certainly the best of any mass produced car by an internet car group.
And yes, there are
a number of Miata owners on that group.
6) The MGB has non-power "fast" steering, which means I have to turn
the wheel
much faster to make a turn.
6a) Do I have to apologize if Muffy the Miata driver breaks a sweat driving
an MGB? If
you are worried about using a little energy turning the wheel, get a Lincoln
Towncar with its
over-boosted power steering.
7) There is no challenge to the Miata from Lucas electrics, which on
the MGB can
keep you amused for hours.
7a) Please keep in mind that the newest MG electrical system is at least 15
years old. Must
Lucas electric fun is due to poor connections. Are all Miata connectors
gold plated, or will
they corrode in 15 years? And I would rather have the alternator rebuilt on
my MG than on a
Miata, $60 versus $105. I guess if you pay three times as much for the car,
paying close to
twice as much for an alternator rebuild is a bargain!
8) You save money with an MGB because you can't put headrest speakers
in them
(like I had to with the Miata).
8a) I seriously doubt you HAD to put them in your Miata. Of course I can
understand the
need for a nice stereo. On an MG you have such wonderful exhaust sounds you
don't want to
cover them up. On a Miata? Let me quote from another portion of the Miata
club's
newsletter: "He now has for sale a Walker DynaMax TurboFlow muffler with
stainless steel
tip..... Sound is a very mellow low pitched note reminiscent of old English
sports cars." It
would be far cheaper to buy an MGB than a Miata and then put in an
aftermarket exhaust. If
you want the sound, get the original!
9) I can spend a whole day balancing the SU carbs on the MGB, and
still have it
running rough. The Miata has that darned fuel injection which has
nothing to play with.
9a) If it takes all day and it still runs rough you have a problem. There
was probably
nothing wrong with the SUs in the first place. And if there was, a $20
rebuild kit would
solve the problem. Those fuel injectors. Mazda recommended cleaning every
15,000 miles
with a cost of $100 (straight from the Miata newsletter). Another
disadvantage of those SUs
is that you can change the needles in them to optimize them for your
driving. Install a new
fuel injection system optimized for your style? I don't think so!
10) I love pulling into a full service gas station in the MGB and
asking them to check
the oil level in the carburetors! Can't do that with the Miata.
10a) Must be more of that Muffy and Uncle Biff deal. Full service gas
station? Poor Muffy
can't get her hands dirty, and Uncle Biff is headed to the yacht club and
can't smell like gas?
Again, the oil in the carbs allows one to further tune the MG to the owner's
driving style. So
what does a Miata owner do to tweak their car to their own driving style?
Don't know, but
I'll bet it isn't cheap!
11) The MGB has a much larger "boot" than the Miata, and you can put
stuff in it,
the Miata "boot" only holds the soft top. :-(
11a) May have to go easy on this one since you already know ours is bigger.
:-)
12) If caught in the rain, there is much more challenge to raising the
top on the
MGB, and, when it is up, you still get wet from all the leaks. The
Miata top is merely an
example of Japanese manufacture of a British design, and rarely lets
one enjoy the elements
when raised.
12a) I think most of the answer is in 3a above. Since the Miata owner
hardly ever has the
top down, of course they don't get to enjoy the elements. A person I work
with has had the
top down on his 91 Miata exactly once in the nearly five years he has owned
the car. And
that was when I as an MG owner, showed him how to put it down. Must be just
a difference
in character between MG ad Miata owners.
At least one other item of interest was noted in the Miata newsletter. They
have a nice article
on torque, horsepower, and optimal shift points with some accompanying
tables. The item
that caught my eye was that the Miata is the only car that I know of that
takes at least 0.6
seconds longer to reach 60 mph from 5 mph than from a dead stop. If a Miata
wants to race,
be nice to him and let him have a rolling start, it will kill his time!
Next time the Miata club wants to pick on somebody, maybe it should be
someone their own
size. Guess which car club has the largest membership worldwide? Hint:
The car wasn't
made in Japan. It should also be noted that Mazda's soon-to-be parent
company is also the
parent company of Jaguar and Aston Martin. Two other fine British marques.
Maybe that
will be the push Miata owners need :-)
The above article is strictly for your reading pleasure. If I have offended
anyone, go join the
Miata club and the yacht club, the country club, and the polo club ;-) :-)
:-O
Mark A Dodd Working in the dark (infrared)
email: dodd@el.wpafb.af.mil Working in the grease (MGs)
Snail: 2700 D St, Ste 2 Working in the dust (212 Central
WPAFB, OH 45433-7405 Dayton, OH)
(513) 255-5581
|