Hi MGers,
Remember last week when someone told that funny story about the V-W powered
MG TD replicar? (see below):
>>The funniest, uninformed owner I ever met was the guy who showed >up at our
British Car Club with his new '51 TD. He was very proud, and >started to tell
us the story of how in the early 50's the MG Company >started to experiment
with rear engine cars. They only built a few, and >he managed to find one for a
reasonable price. This was the story the >seller told him. Was he pi$$ed to
find out he had bought a >Volkswagen!!
Well, one of the fiberglass MG TD replicar was actually called the Lafer
after the Company that built the darn things. They were manufacturerd in Brazil
where they were sold as complete "turn key" models. And shipped to North
Hollywood, CA. where they were sold as kits in order to pass through the U.S.
Customs
where they bounced anything that didn,t meet current strict air control(smog)
regulations.It just seemed funny when I tried to pronounce the name "Lafer"
and to me its "La-fer" as in HA-HA-HA...But maybe it was meant to fill in the
MG TE space bettween the MG TD & the MG TD. Legend has it that the initials MG
TE sounded to much like MG-Tee-Hee for the Abingdon crew, so they decided not
to have a MG TE model and in October of 1953 they debuted the "all new" MG TF
which was more modern in appearance with headlights that were molded into the
front wings (fenders here in the colonies) the radiator was lower, smaller and
was slightly raked to give it a smoother profile. But back to the Lafer OR as
the promo ads read "The MP Lafer" with the initials MP inside of an octagon
just like our beloved MG logo. Was this a copyright infringement? Possibly,
but this was 1979/1980 and the poor British Leyland mangled MG company was
barely alive itself, and unable to do more than produce the MGB LE, ad air
conditiong (to me it makes no sense at all why anyone would even want to have
an A/C
in a roadster/convertible anyway) But with all the regulations that constantly
hampered MG from producing a car to keep up with a growing crowd of
competitors, going after such a small business concern. I don't know how many
were
actually built or if there were other companies building or selling MG
replicars.
But that's the story of the MP Lafer! Oh yeah, the MP Lafer had glass windows
that slid up or down into the doors. And really plush leather bucket seats
instead of the simi-bench sets of the "real" MG TD. But I swear that it was
called an MP Lafer, the Lafer part was taken from the owner of the companies
name,
Percival Lafer who manufatured furniture in Brazil under the name Brazil
Contempo. Brazil was the largest automotive manufacturer in South America at
the
time, and it still may be. Read enough? Good 'cuz my wife is "calling" me to
take out the trash can and water the plants among other things!!
I had to tell you, though,
Albert Escalante, Editor
"THE CLEAR HOOTER"
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