On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, John Steunenberg wrote:
> Dear fellow list readers
>
>
> Could I get some help on the real reason that British Leyland stopped
> production of our favorite LBC the MGB, I have heard many versions of the
> story but I would like to know the real truth if anyone out there knows it.
>
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Dan Steunenberg
>
> Safety Fast Motoring
The MGB was obsolete by the mid-sixties. Its front suspension was
brilliant when Issigonis designed it in 1938, but was no longer adequate.
It's rear suspension was used by American cars for many years after that,
but companies serious about cars had something much better. MGBs still
used siamesed ports with non-crossflow heads in 1982. Consider the
competition:
Datsun, Z and 510: OHC engines that had been beating up on larger cars
since 1968, and still do today. IRS and five-speeds. Reliable as a rock.
Fiat 124 Sport: Jewel-like twincam. All it needs is the exhaust and intake
opened up, and it's amazing. They all had simple and
inexpensive-to-service disk brakes all round, many parts of which are
common to all Fiats. Even today, rotors are replaced rather than turned,
because new ones cost $15 ea. They had five-speed transmissions and
four-link/panhard bar rear suspension. Reliability and smog controls were
their only problem.
Mazda: Rotary power; 100 hp from 1300 cc, revved to 7000rpm freely, past
if you felt like it. Lightweight, good handling, looks that will always be
good. Fast, cheap, reliable. Eventually won more IMSA races than any other
car in history.
Oh, yeah. The MGB had rubber bumpers, too.
Yeah, there were internal politics and problems with the British economy,
but the MGB's time was long gone.
All flames will be gladly accepted.
Dan Barnes dabarnes@osiris.ac.hmc.edu
Under the Smog
MISTRS2 http://www2.hmc.edu/~dabarnes/carguy.html
These are just opinions, and only my opinions. They may be wrong, so don't
act on them in a way that could cost you lots of money without getting
several others first. They aren't the opinions of my school or my
employer.
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