Silverstone Classic 22nd - 24th July

Post by **Peter Meyer** » Sun 10th Jul 2011 11:35 am

Unbelievable......worst part is I believe you!...........have fun

PM

Post by **martin k** » Sun 10th Jul 2011 12:56 pm

better not say how i feel about them either then !

Post by **Rick** » Mon 11th Jul 2011 3:37 pm

better not say how i feel about them either then !

Martin don't hold back, slightly off topic I know but as there seem to be some with not a lot of SOH here, these are my personal observations on MGBs,

I hate MGBs with a passion, so overated, so many wasted pages of Classic Car mags devoted to a re-bodied Austin A60, the best one that I saw was at the Gaydon Museum sliced in half, thats what should happen to all of them in IMHO, when I see them broken down at the side of the road I laugh, The "iconic British sports car" rubbish, what techincal boundries did the MGB ever break, at least the MGA came up with a twin cam, and the MGC had a six pot, not the wheezing asthmatic hedgehog of an engine that graced the MGB. oh and don't get me started on those lovely big fat black bumpers, and how you can build a brand new one off the shelf.

Seems the MG owners club also took some stick from Clarkson last night on Top Gear

Its the car that I have a problem with not the owners,

And due to the incident when I was in my pram I find that I have a terriets attack whenever I see one, its a medical thing you see

Martin over to you.

Post by **Pete G** » Mon 11th Jul 2011 8:19 pm

Rick wrote:
better not say how i feel about them either then !
Martin don't hold back, slightly off topic I know but as there seem to be some with not a lot of SOH here, these are my personal observations on MGBs,

I hate MGBs with a passion, so overated, so many wasted pages of Classic Car mags devoted to a re-bodied Austin A60, the best one that I saw was at the Gaydon Museum sliced in half, thats what should happen to all of them in IMHO, when I see them broken down at the side of the road I laugh, The "iconic British sports car" rubbish, what techincal boundries did the MGB ever break, at least the MGA came up with a twin cam, and the MGC had a six pot, not the wheezing asthmatic hedgehog of an engine that graced the MGB. oh and don't get me started on those lovely big fat black bumpers, and how you can build a brand new one off the shelf.

Seems the MG owners club also took some stick from Clarkson last night on Top Gear

Its the car that I have a problem with not the owners,

And due to the incident when I was in my pram I find that I have a terriets attack whenever I see one, its a medical thing you see

Martin over to you.

Having bought an MGC GT soon after my LC decided not to work in the late 70s, (I would have it back tomorrow in addition to the LC).
OK the B was a bit slow even then, maybe like comparing the GT to the Lotus, but at least the MG was totally built at Abingdon (I think) as opposed to our cars assembled at two different factories!
My school mate's older brother had a LC and drove it like a nutter (as it was meant to be driven) so there might be people out there with the same feelings toward LC drivers.

Post by **ozzy** » Mon 11th Jul 2011 10:13 pm

Most MGB's couldn't live with 1500 Anglia in the 70's yet alone a Lotus Cortina, I was'nt impressed by them then & I still ain't now , . . . Im sure most of the owners are spiffingly nice fellows though! Just hope Harry Hill ain't at Silverstone, . . . he might shout 'FIGHT' & cause a lot of trouble!

Simon G · Post by **Simon G** » Mon 11th Jul 2011 10:14 pm

You've made some good points there Pete.

Rick - I think you are over reacting here and I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make. Suggesting that we should torch other peoples cars just isn't nice and it's not the sort of thing we should be saying, particularly on a public forum. I realise that it was meant as a joke but jokes unfortunately often have a habit of going badly wrong. Look at the comments Lewis Hamilton made a few weeks ago suggesting that the F1 stewards were racist. He later said it was a joke but he was still hung out to dry by the media.

You may hate MGs with a passion but I like them. There's lots of classics that I like, not just old Fords. I particularly like classic Alfas and I have a very rare RHD 1750 Spider that I shall be restoring next year. They were years ahead of their time with a Twin Cam engine easily as good if not better than a Lotus Twin Cam. I accept that others may disagree with me but I would respect their opinions. I have owned, restored and sold several MGBs. They have also been rather profitable. I accept that they are not quick or particularly dynamic but they have a place in the classic car market. For someone looking to buy an old car they are an ideal choice, being affordable and with excellent parts supplies.

What we need to realise here is that we are all different. We all have different views and opinions and we should all uphold certain standards while using a public forum.

Simon

Post by **Rick** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 1:22 pm

Gettingback to the orginal thread, I have just taken a call from the ticketing agency handling the Silverstone tickets, all of the remaining tickets, passes and camping tickets will be sent out today, so all of those attending should have their documents by the weekend.

for those that are camping, do you want to all be together at the campsite? comments please.

Will return to the MGB debate later, with one more thing for now, M25 clockwise between Jun27 & 28 11.05am orange MGB GT being towed along, Oh how I laughed, made my day.

Simon G · Post by **Simon G** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 4:41 pm

The reason you are more likely to see an MGB broken down on the side of the road is all to do with numbers. There are far more of them on the road than any other classic vehicle. You don't see a Lotus Cortina broken down simply because they are so rare and hardly ever driven on the road ( I would estimate that it has been about 10 years since I last saw one out on the road in Norfolk). However, I guess when they were first launched you would have seen plenty on the side of the road minus their diff oil!

Post by **Lashman** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 7:22 pm

Bringing the subject back round to Silverstone

I'll be on the same campsite.

Post by **Rick** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 8:34 pm

Honda Hospitality then Louis?

Post by **Lashman** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 8:49 pm

Hospitality..Pah!
I'm happy if I've I got a truck to sleep in the back of, when I get too drunk to remember where my tent is!

Post by **ozzy** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 10:01 pm

[quote:="Rick"]
for those that are camping, do you want to all be together at the campsite? comments please.

What, all in one big tent?

Sorry, I've never camped there before so I'll just go with the flow Rick.

Post by **Will** » Tue 12th Jul 2011 10:40 pm

All sounds a bit camp.... Will it be pistols at dawn with the MGB owners!...

Will go with the flow as well.

Post by **Pete G** » Wed 13th Jul 2011 8:13 am

ozzy wrote:Most MGB's couldn't live with 1500 Anglia in the 70's yet alone a Lotus Cortina, I was'nt impressed by them then & I still ain't now , . . . Im sure most of the owners are spiffingly nice fellows though! Just hope Harry Hill ain't at Silverstone, . . . he might shout 'FIGHT' & cause a lot of trouble!

Anglias had either 997 or 1200 engines

Post by **tommy** » Wed 13th Jul 2011 1:42 pm

Pete G wrote:
ozzy wrote:Most MGB's couldn't live with 1500 Anglia in the 70's yet alone a Lotus Cortina, I was'nt impressed by them then & I still ain't now , . . . Im sure most of the owners are spiffingly nice fellows though! Just hope Harry Hill ain't at Silverstone, . . . he might shout 'FIGHT' & cause a lot of trouble!
Anglias had either 997 or 1200 engines

Well you are right about Anglia standard engine sizes Pete, but lots and lots of them got uprated in the 60s. Even my dad had an estate with a 1340 conversion, with extra gauges on the dash and oversize rear tyres. All very boy racer.

P.S. Sorry to wander this off topic again, but I couldn't help myself.
Tommy