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| MG's
old and new |
Broadcast
dates : 12th June 2005
18th June 2005 |
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Talk sports cars and soon you’ll
talk MGs. This famous name is over seventy years old, and being
linked to Morris cars, most people reckon MG stands for Morris
Garage. But South African MG expert Norman Ewing reckons has a
different take on the name’s origins.
The latest MG TF introduced a whole new generation to classic
sports car motoring. And talking of classics, Roger Pearce’s
MG TD is the only one of its type fitted with a six-cylinder
engine.
Roger’s car is controversial in MG car club circles. He
converted a standard 1950s MG TD into a six-cylinder special,
which some people feel is sacrilege. Others feel this is the car
the factory at Abingdon in England should have built
themselves.
Purists will concede that every part on the car is of MG
heritage. The wider wheels, for instance, are from a later MG C,
and give the car a pre-war look.
The Australian six-cylinder BMC engine was based on the old
B-Series four-cylinder, with two extra cylinders grafted on.
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The pushrod unit displaces 2,4 litres and in standard form is
good for 90 horsepower.
With some Pearce personal training, including triple SU carbs, a
hot cam and bigger valves, it’s pushing one-thirty horses
right now.
MG is going through a rough time right now, with the parent
company in England currently under liquidation.
But diehards like Roger Pearce and Norman Ewing view this as a
mere blip on MG’s radar screen.
MG has been through countless takeovers over the decades, they
point out, and each time, with such a strong brand, the cars
have simply got better!
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