At 10:27 AM 6/20/2004 -0400, Matthew Hale wrote:
> We own MGs for emotional reasons, not practical
>reasons. So we are tainted....
>
>Why else would I have a car that doesn't run, cost more money then my daily
>driver and need a support group to boot!
>
>Now to get back on track: What type of fuel economy are people getting in
>their MGs right now and how much is a tank of gas costing?
>
>Matthew
>67B
>http://projectmgb.phathookups.com/
Well, those aren't the reasons I have owned MGs at all. Far from it. My
reasons are very practical. I have owned mine because they run, they are
fun to drive, they are way cheaper to operate then the modern American car
(and parts are much cheaper and easier to find), and I don't need a
mechanic to keep them running.
I own several cars. My 72 B, 67 BGT, and 74 Toyota Landcruiser are reliable
and totally maintained by myself. My 92 Ford Explorer is technically the
"daily driver" at least for insurance purposes and it is my daily bad
weather car. It has also served well, but whenever it has mechanical
problems (I think four times in the past 5-6 years), I have to take it to
a mechanic as it is too complex for the home mechanic. And it seems like
every time it has to be worked on, it costs around $300-$350. I explained
to my wife many years ago when I had to do some serious mechanical work on
one of the MGs that whenever we bought a "new" car (to me that means a car
less than five years old because I like to let someone else eat the
depreciation first), we would end up paying maybe $200-$300 monthly car
payments. My MGs are paid off and would be plum happy if we committed a
mere $500 per year for maintenance costs to them. And its rare that I need
more than that except for maybe some major overhaul once every ten years or so.
However, I have done some major restoration on my 72B the last couple of
years, finally spending serious money on my MGs for the first time ever.
And right now, with the new engine, it is getting an abysmal 16-18 mpg (or
in imperial gallons, figure about 19-21 mpg) city driving. Thats an
improvement as it started out more like 12 mpg but after various
adjustments of the carbs, float bowl levels, and timing, I have made some
improvements but I think I should still be getting about 20% better
mileage, something like 20-22 in the city. The car runs and accelerates
great, spark plugs are nice and tan. But the exhaust does show some soot.
Today or tomorrow, I'll look at the timing again to see if the centrifugal
and vacuum advances are working. If that checks out, then I'll have to turn
to this group for more suggestions as I'll be out of ideas.
Meanwhile petrol is quite cheap here in Montana, the medium grade 89 octane
that I use is just under $2/gallon so a fill up is going to be around $20
roughly. Maybe expensive in the US mindset, but listers in areas like
England will tell you that a tank is going to be closer to $50 USD as
petrol was running almost 80p/litre when I was in London a few months ago
(meaning well over $5/gallon). Ouch.
David Councill
67 BGT
72 B
|