Your story is a perfect example of why MG's and other LBC got such a bad
reputation for reliability. The dealers were irresolute idiots and incompetent
too. The fact that many of us rebuilt and maintain our MG's to a state of utter
reliability causes me to suspect that if there were a moderate number of trained
dealer mechanics to service the cars way back then, the cars would have earned
the reputation they deserved instead of the one they got. It is clear to me that
the big revolution the Japanese brought to automobiles was not that they could
design and build a better car; it is their requiring the training and
certification of the dealers' mechanics and service departments.
IMHFO,
Jim
Rocky Frisco wrote:
> Charles D. Sorkin wrote:
> >
> > Dear List:
> >
> > What is the advantage of the MGA Twin Cam model over any other sort of
> > engineering that BMC ever developed? How does it work? How does it affect
> > regular maintenance and tune-up issues? What is the impact on performance?
> >
> > I saw one for sale this weekend in Connecticut. The owner said that the
> > engine had been replaced with a later model MGB block, which toned down my
> > interest, but it sure looked nice. With a rust-free body and a 90%-good
> > paint job, the owner was asking $8500.
>
> My only experience with them was when I blew the engine in my MGA,
> racing at Harewood Acres in Ontario, Canada, in the 60's. I went to the
> Austin/Morris dealer in Cooksville and asked if I could buy the Twin-cam
> engine they had in the back shed. I was told, "No way; first of all,
> they are crap and it will blow up on you; second, it's worth a fortune
> as a collector's item, since they all blow up eventually."
>
> He offered me a nice slick 1959 Morris Mini-Minor for $25 if I would
> promise to race it. I sold the MGA and prepared the Mini for racing
> (including rebuilding the engine, which had a bad big-end on number
> four) for under $250.
>
> -Rock
> --
> Rocky, JJ Cale Band & Pratchett Books: http://www.rocky-frisco.com
> Rocky's Mini Cooper Page: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/6437/
> Mini Books: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/6437/rockboox.html
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