OK, it's a slow day, so here's a trivia question that will _only_
interest the Truly Initiated, and for which I have no answer.
What's with the "M|G" painted on the trannie cases? I have yanked
about half a dozen from A's and B's, and they all have this rune
slopped on the upper side of the bell housing. It was green for the
A's and red for the B's, though this might not be a general rule.
One might presume that this was used to separate production, since
these boxes were used in a variety of applications, but with different
ratios. Interestingly, the letters are quite similarly shaped and positioned,
indicating the possibility that they were all done by the same person,
inspiring the following scenario...
Doodleoodleoodleoodleoodleoodle (fade to....)
"This is Thornton Hornswoggle, and we are here today to interview one
of the last surviving labourers on the legendary Abingdon production
line, home of the MG motorcar until its closing in 1981. I am given
to understand that Mr. Arthur Git was a mainstay of the transmission
production team."
"'At's roight, Oi wukked on the transmiffions. Over for'y years it
were. They cudden do noffink wi'out me."
"And exactly what was your responsibility in the production of these
precision, highly-spirited motorcars?"
"Oi pain'ed the le'ers on the trannies, Oi did."
"I see. Forty years of dedicated service is a truly remarkable
record. This task must have required a good deal of training and
experience."
"Well, ya, sor' of. Oi mean, Oi hadda learn those two le'ers, the M
and the G, and then the stroke as well. Oi apprenticed for free years
before they let me go it my self, if ya know wha' Oi mean. They was
especially picky about the stroke, it hadda be done _jooost roight_."
"And did you make any innovative contributions to the design or
production of these complex devices?"
"Well, Oi should say so! 'Bout noin'een sixty free the blokes
upstairs (bugger them all) made some kind of changes and Oi reckoned
Oi wudd like, be creative and change the colour of the paint. It was
green til then, you know. So Oi sent in a request and about six monf
la'er Oi got a new can of paint. 'Twere red, and was a lo' o' trouble
at first, gettin' the strokes just roight. Wif the red, Oi mean.
Before they was green."
"Well, from your years of experience do you have any words of
inspiration for the younger folk in our audience?"
"Well, after pain'in somefink loik harf a million le'ers on these here
trannies, Oi should fink Oi've got sommat to say. And that is you
shudd allways clean yer brooshes at the end of the day. Because if
you don't, then the le'ers are kinda splotchy loik when you start the
next day, and we gotta have some pride in wot we do, eh?
"Thank you Mr. Git for your enlightening comments. This is Thornton
Hornswoggle for the BBCSnooze...." (fade to black)
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