Tunebug vs MGB, initial thoughts

[drooartz]

240z is on my list, as is an old Volvo (P1800 or 122). Lots of things out there to try!

 

[glemon]

I have only driven one 240z and it was clapped out pretty bad, the front end was really loose, but back in the day was still more than the Sprites and such I could afford back then. But certainly packagewise like my RX7 (the 7 obvioulsy copied the Z to some extent) and I loved the RX, I am sure the Z is much more torquey than the 7, but yes I would add a 240Z to my list of want to owns, and also a BMW 3.0CS for when I am feeling elegent and civilized.

 

[Silverghost]

I've had a wide selection of cars, many non Brits. There are 3 I'd have again when I win the lottery:

1) 1970 442 convertible. Cruise ALL day at 110mph with over 700lbs of "cargo" - DON'T ask me how I know! I can tell you it wasn't ME behind the wheel though.

2) 1969 Hurst SC/Rambler. The one with the RED sides and blue stripe over the hood. That car actually kept me OUT of trouble - impossible to mis-identify! LoL

3) My dad's 1928 Rolls Royce Phantom I Riviera Town Car. Some day the fates will put me and that car back together again.

 

[ralph_s]

My BE isn't quite ready for the road yet......but getting closer. I think a well restored B is just a great road car, add OD and it's a pleasure to drive. Noticed no mention of TVR's. Love my 2500M and it's quite diffrent from the B. Handles great w/ nice power from the TR6 engine. Will beat you up on a long drive, but it's a nice beating......can't get my wife to ride in it though, suspect the BE will suffer the same fate. Wouldn't make the TVR a daily driver, but have used B's as my daily driver for years.

 

[tdskip]

Drew - you can borrow the 122s once she is running. Not too far off now. Fun list of considerations and seeing everyone's thoughts here.

Don't forget that you can really tighten up how the B handles (true for most of the cars discussed).

 

[drooartz]

Thanks, Tom. May have to take you up on that one of these days.

At this point I'm just fine having the B as more of a touring car -- means the wife will join me every now and then.

 

[scoutll]

Love the Midget... This much fun could almost be government regulated.
I agree with previous posts on the "B". Great driver, but very different from a Spridget.
If I have the chance, my first choice for a second car right now would be a Jensen Healey.
Another car that nobody has mentioned yet is the Dolomite Sprint.. Almost the best of both worlds...If you haven't driven one, try to.

 

[tdskip]

You guys are missing out if you don't put a TR8 on the list. I may be biased but once you get all the preconceptions out of your head a properly sorted on makes a fantastic touring car and will suck the headlights out of anything else discussed so far. :laugh:

 

[JodyFKerr]

You guys are missing out if you don't put a TR8 on the list. I may be biased but once you get all the preconceptions out of your head a properly sorted on makes a fantastic touring car and will suck the headlights out of anything else discussed so far. :laugh:

I shall hopefully echo that statement once i get mine sorted. To date most of the words i've been using to describe my TR8 shouldn't be used in polite conversation :wink:

 

[DrEntropy]

I've trounced many a TR-8 at autocross in the Elan, Tom.

 

[Bob Claffie]

I hate to be hogging this thread but I would be remiss to leave out a few family cars too. Dad's '65 Alfa Gulia 1600 sweet ride, kind of wish I had inherited that one. One daughter had a MR2 another non-LBC super fun driver. Other daughter ran a first gen RX7 loved that one too, except in snow. One off the wall favorite was a 140HP '66 Corvair, wow, what a road car, once GM got it right they were terrific, just don't lose a fan belt in the middle of the night. Bob

 

[14dna]

I actually had a Yenko Stinger '66 Covair that was one of two great cars I owned.
The other was an '83 Honda Prelude.
I had a '72 240Z but it was always a little tempermental.
As I think about it, more come to mind, but those three were WOW!

Dvae

 

[tdskip]

I've trounced many a TR-8 at autocross in the Elan, Tom.

Come to El Toro (where the US version of Top Gear is filmed) and I'll run you on one of our fast road courses Doc.

OK, OK, you'd still probably win but the TR8 would sound better.

 

[DrEntropy]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] ...but the TR8 would sound better.[/QUOTE]

:wink:

 

[toysrrus]

MGBs are girlie man cars.
They corner like drunken sows plowing every chance they get.
Lots of low end power for those fearful of revving an engine.
Gawd it's so soft it's embarrassing.
LOVE to cruise in it with the ol lady by my side but that's about it.
Chick car.

Hey David,

I surely hope "Your Better Half / ol lady" does`nt know this website exists! If she does and reads this; You just may be in "Deep Duty"!!

Regards, Russ

 

[Hap Waldrop]

MGBs are girlie man cars.
They corner like drunken sows plowing every chance they get.
Lots of low end power for those fearful of revving an engine.
Gawd it's so soft it's embarrassing.
LOVE to cruise in it with the ol lady by my side but that's about it.
Chick car.

Hey David,

I surely hope "Your Better Half / ol lady" does`nt know this website exists! If she does and reads this; You just may be in "Deep Duty"!!

Regards, Russ

Russ, not only that, but since he soon be seeing alot of the rear end of a MGB GT, he will live to regret those words He'll need more than a Speedwell shift knob to keep up with me, he'll need really large attachments

 

[Legal Bill]

Just to add a car that I don't see mentioned in this thread...

If you have not done so, you owe it to yourself to drive a Honda S2000. Many fellow S2000 owners were former British car owners and we all agree that the S is just about everything we ever wanted our British cars to be. Although it weighs almost twice as much as a BE, you would not know it. It handles at near supercar levels. The brakes are fantastic right out of the box. The six speed tranny is so smooth and close that it feels F1-like (not that I would know, but I hear things). And that Vtech engine is just amazing, intoxicating and addictive. 240hp at 9000 rpm says it all.

Although they cost $30K when new, through the miracle of depreciation you can find nice examples for as low as $12K and some well used examples for about $10K.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

No one here as yet has weighed in on the virtues of a Boxster. I keep hearing "best ever", "perfect" descriptions to describe a Boxster but have never driven one. Of source adding Porsche in from of the car adds a significant $ level that members of the "We Tight Club" may not want to pay for. Part of the joy of a Spridget is the endless problem solving and engineering challenges we go through almost daily to keep this absolutely fabulous piece of British Engineering running.

And I agree on S-2000. I had the opportunity to drive one and they are indeed fabulous. Although local Autocross Guru here in Dayton says he can eat up an S-2000 with his '06 Miata with sticky tires.

 

[drooartz]

Funny how this thread has taken on a life of its own.

I just intended to give a bit of an impression of the difference between the Sprite and MGB. Lots of good suggestions here, though.

My experiences with sports cars are very limited. Other than a few test drives, I've really only driven the two that I now own. (I did have a TR4 briefly, but it wasn't running well enough to provide any sort of real experience.)

I've lots of cars still to try in this lifetime. Almost certainly more than I will get to.

 

[bthompson]

I haven't had many sports cars over the years, having mostly been enamored with cheap old Cadillacs growing up. Once I realized you should <span style="font-style: italic">never </span>buy a car you can't push, (or bump-start,) my life got easier.

I've had a Fiat Spider, which was beautiful, and a nice cruiser. The twin-cam was a revelation, despite the heavy block and less than stellar acceleration.

Then I got an Alfa GTV6. Fell in <span style="font-style: italic">love</span>. I never knew a car could do the things it did. Should never, <span style="font-style: italic">ever </span>have sold it. (To an old friend for twice what I bought it for...he promptly got it t-boned going through an intersection.)

My <span style="font-style: italic">intention </span>was to buy another Alfa after that, and to continue to buy Alfas until I was too feeble to drive, (and then I would park them in the living room and look at them.) Unfortunately, prices had gone up to the point where it didn't look like I could afford one. So I started looking around at other options, and my wife said "What about an MG?"

Small, cheap, convertible, close by. Why not? Never had one.

It was odd, this little Midget. It was like squeezing into a go-kart with the wheel in your chest, especially compared to the arms-out Italian wheels, but once settled in, it felt "right." The proportions worked, somehow. It was tired, and the carb was shot, but I was surprised how quickly I could get it sorted out. Everything was 'right there,' and it made sense. Not <span style="font-style: italic">Italian </span>sense: good old straightforward British sense.

It is slow. Oh, so slow. It must be; I'm being passed by everything, even though it feels like I'm speeding... The speedo is reading <span style="font-style: italic">ridiculously </span>low numbers, forget about the Interstate. But this can't be right; why am I having this much fun at 35mph? The Alfa blew past 35 in second gear, never even noticed it was there. 35 feels like 50; 45 feels like 70; 55 feels like Formula 1. And the twisties...wheee!

Yep...I'm in love again. I use the Midget for everything, drive it everywhere. Every other car is stupid: overweight, ponderous, numb, insulated, now. This car is perfect. It's not small, it's just right. Everything else is too <span style="font-style: italic">big</span>.