[V.Narayan]

Dear Vid6639, thank you for this thread. I simply love the looks of those MG's from the 1950s and 1960s. Just thinking......

[{The Time you invested + The effort you made} x {by the grey cells you consumed writing this article}] - The fun you had = ??? ..... ouch I think you need to pay T-BHP a whole lot of cash

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by aah78

ps. Russ Swift did a segment in Top Gear a few years ago, right?

Yup same Russ Swift from Top Gear. He did 2 shows on how old people aren't slow and taught grannies to do donuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yir_ACxBslk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3_naVsl4Ew

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Dear Vid6639, thank you for this thread. I simply love the looks of those MG's from the 1950s and 1960s. Just thinking......

[{The Time you invested + The effort you made} x {by the grey cells you consumed writing this article}] - The fun you had = ??? ..... ouch I think you need to pay T-BHP a whole lot of cash

Haha. Thanks V.Narayan and yes I do agree with you

This report was sure a lot of work not just in terms of Photos and Videos but more because I wasn't too familiar with classic cars. I had to take help from fellow mod Karl for identifying some of the cars. Also had to do a lot of reading up and research on some of the cars to write about them.

But in the end it was all a fun trip and I have come out a wiser man.

Being my first tryst with old cars, I came away very impressed. After spending 2 days with cars from 1930's to 1970's I have been left wondering. With cars from 1930's to 1970's having technology like pre selector gear, superchargers and the way a 1950's car drove around a track made me wonder. They don't make them like this anymore.

We keep thinking that cars have improved from before and there is technological advancement but from what I felt this is not really the case. Other than electronics taking over the cars, they remain the same fundamentally.

Infact cars have lost their character and become more generic. It's all about FE and hybrid and downsizing. Sitting in the 1951 TD Mk2 over the track smelling petrol when the gas pedal was pressed, was a wonderful feeling. And the damn thing moved!

The real development and advancements were back then. Now it's just perfecting it more than anything.

PS: Has anyone guessed the mod in the opening post picture?

[Jaggu]

Nice write up Viddy, was not aware of so much heritage the brand had. Interesting!

I somehow can't come to terms with their new line up though, all look quirky and out of proportion. Right from wheel well to body. Though the interiors seems much better compared to what we get here. Surprised you felt Creta had better interiors

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

PS: Has anyone guessed the mod in the opening post picture?

Ajmat. That typical expression of his is still the same.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Ajmat. That typical expression of his is still the same.

Ain't I cute!

Here is the only colour pic that I have - my sister in the back. This was a 1965 MG Midget. My dad picked it up around 1968 if I recollect.



One day, I remember being told to look outside and there it was on the driveway. I, actually, was upset since it had replaced my mothers Mini. Any child in the UK loved their Mini, it was such a friendly unintimidating friendly little car. The MG supplemented an old Austin Cambridge which was the family car which my mother ended up using. That gave way to a VW Variant soon after. My dad used it to commute to his practice 10 miles up the road. It was the time when car theft and petty crime was unknown. In summer, the roof was down and a zip tonneau cover was in place to cover the interior. The drivers section was merely zipped up while parked in the town centre. My dad used to drive to his practice return for lunch and back again. When you live in the UK countryside, you cannot pass up the chance to buy a decent affrodable sports car for those moments.

My mother also used it. Imagine a quiet english country town and a lady in a saree driving around in a small sports car. It looked out of place to a stranger but everybody knew us (we were the only Indian family in the area). It was the days before rules and regulations kicked in. Us kids were thrown in the rear space and it was used for the occassional school drop. three of us in the back and one in the front. I remember the dashboard- crinkly black finish + chrome switches

One thing, I do remember is the etiquette when two MG's passed by, you always flashed your headlights and waved. This car had no headlight flasher. You had to make the effort of switching on the headlights by toggling a two stage flip switch - sidelights then headlights!)

In 1970, we outgrew the MG. My sister went to school near my Dad's clinic, I went to a school 15 + miles away which meant car pooling with 2-3 others so it was replaced by an orange Beetle (my dad got sold on VW reliability!).

The MG was simple and reliable. I can't say that I loved it but it was fun.

[Vid6639]

Just a heads up for anyone interested. Today 7PM Discovery channel will be having a special program called "The Art of Motoring: The Morris Garages Story".

This is basically the whole history of MG as well as the entire MG Live event I covered in the program. The film crew was with us shooting for this program.

Should be interesting.