Bill,
LOL...I can relat to your calling all MG's made after 19741/2 as being
Marinas'..But I can not agree with you.
I bought a new Marina TC in England in 1971..It had some sort of
a1800cctwin SU carbed engine.The damn thing ran to 6000rpm in a heart
beat(13in wheels with tractor gearing?).It also topped out at a scary 116
mph.That was at 6300rpm.
My particular TC had a bad habit of sheding axles in tight,power on
turns. The rear axle on the loaded side would just ease out of the rear end
assy and leave me with a track of about 80 in!This happened several times
before I decided to sell the monster.My MG's have never done anything foolish
like that.
Also,my MG's have a slightly better suspension than the Morris Minor
units fitted to the Marinas. Agreed ,the later MG-B has a slightly elevated
stance,but they still do a fair job of navaiating the twisties. The Marina TC
was simply a plow at any reasonable cornering speed.I ripped a set of Dunlops
off of mine in less that 10,000 miles.Each corner was an invatation for
disaster.I eventually settled into a setup routine which amounted to setting
the brakes,downshifting, pouring All of the power to the engine and then
turning the wheel as far as it would go to "plow "the corner into
submission.It was like a carnival ride only there was an element of sheer
terror involved as well.
I was never so glad to get rid of a car in my life..I feel much more
comfortable with my 4 MG-B's than I ever did with my Marina. But I will
always wonder where that funny 1800 got all of its' power from.
Yours, H4(Howard)
1974MG-Bgt
1974MG-B roadster
1976MG-B roadster
1977 MG-B roadster
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