I thought that since there was such a dearth of knowledge about the Farina
Magnettes, I should put some information out about my own.
Why you should own one might closely follow the reason the original owner of
my car bought his.
In 1959, Alfred Locke needed a new car. Alfred was 72 years old, living in
Beverly Mass when he, feeling rather spry, bought an MGA. He had always loved
MGs, and this MGA was just the ticket he thought. He didn't tell his wife
though, and when she saw it she fell in love with almost everything about the
MGA... except for the fact she couldn't get in it. She was just as old as
Alfred, and had a bum knee. Torn between the new MGA and his wife of many
years, he took the MGA back.
Alfred wanted and MG, Mrs. Locke wanted a car she could get in. When Alfred
took the MGA back, beccause he simply couldn't keep it, he saw what had just
arrived. It was an MG Farina Magnette.
There had been ZB Magnettes when he was the dealer the first time, but the
Z's styling was looking seriously dated. More than dated, it was plain old
fashioned. At 72 Alfred was fresh, alive, new... The striking, even flashy,
new Magnettes suited his palet just fine. Even though it was half again more
expensive than the MGA, Alfred bought it on the spot.
The body had been designed by Pinninfarina, the famous Italian designer.
It looked like a modern, luxurious car. The styling introduced elements that
continued on later MGs... The forwarded tilted MG radiator was a new version
of the familiar grill. The unique way the MG shield was blended into the
bodywork later appeared on the MGB and is even on the MGF today... its an MG
element found first on the Farina Magnettes. The tail fins, with cathedral
window/beehive rear lights pre-dated the MGBs by years. Yet the car carried
over design themes from previous MGs, like the half-octagon speedo and the
cowl over the gauges.
Mrs. Locke was very happy. She sat in the rear passenger seat, and wore
high heels that poked holes in the wool rugs while Alfred drove her to market
(where she couldn't even hope to fill the cavernous trunk) or to church where
her arrival in the unusual MG was sure to cause a stir.
Saddly, with only 25,000 miles or so on the clock in 1961, the MG Magnette
had to be put in a barn due to Alfred's poor health. Alfred died soon after
and his wife followed him shortly.
Fast forward to 1981, and the MG Magnette is disentered for the first time
by George Brochu who bought the remarkable time-warp MG Magnette for his wife.
She drove it the short distance to work with virtually no problems for another
20,000 miles when the car, now looking not exactly new, was sold... for $1.
The lucky purchaser used it for a year (and did the car no help) and sold it
back to Mr. Brochu for... $1.
I didn't get it QUITE so cheap, but it was cheap for a car with 45,000 miles
on it.
What I've been doing with the little car, and some more about it, is
forthcoming.
John
|