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If you ever owned a British car...


muel

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On the bumper of my Jensen Healey I have a sticker that says//////You know why the British drink warm beer ?? Because they have Lucas refrigerators. I have never had electrical demons.

The 1974 Road and Track lists the Jensen faster than that year of corvette...lol . I bet that's hard to read for corvette fans huh.. 

Wish I could afford to re-do the interior make look better.

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When the 1968 Corvette style was tested at GM it took 100 more horsepower to power the vehicle at speeds over 100 mph than the 1967 body design so they added a 3 degree rake (lowered the front end) and a 2" spoiler on the bottom of the front to finally match the horsepower per speed and cooling capabilities of the 1967. So if you don't see that lowered front end on your 1968 thru 1980 Corvette you ain't gonna go very fast.

JJK

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My first car was a Triumph TR-3A purchased for $750.  Repurposed tractor engine (you actually got a hand crank) which was done at 5000 rpms.  Mine was slow and handled poorly but it was fun back in the day.

Recently bought a Honda S2000....altogether different except the top goes downB)

11598187.1475333587120.E82E952924B14E8FACF1F48B1DFA6B84[1].jpg

13335716_1188757791143677_8167191235768058564_n[1].jpg

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@burninator,

 

Do your Range Rovers have Rover V8s?  I suspect at least the two older ones do.  I'm sure you know the Rover V8 was a direct descendant of the 63 Buick Skylark motor in my avatar.  

 

In the UK, the Rover V8 is the equivalent of the "small block Chevy" in US.  It's used in hot rods, sports cars, Cobra replicas, you name it.  The Brits recognized a gem GM designed and discarded.  Naturally, it was improved throughout its extended life in UK.

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In ~ 1970, I purchased a1965 MG 1100 -- similar to photo, but left hand drive -- from a college buddy for $62.50.  The car would start but not move.  He was going to sell it to a junkyard for $75.  I offered $50, so we settled at $62.50.

 

The reason the car did not move was stripped splines in the right front hub of this front wheel drive car.  When the clutch was released, the right drive axel spun inside the hub/brake drum.  Since the car did not have a limited slip differential, all power went to the spinning axel, hence no movement.

 

Before. I made the offer, I called the nearest MG dealer to learn that a new axel and hub would be less than $100.  Voila, a 5 year old car for less than $300.  Even by 70s standards that was a bargain.

 

My younger brother drove the car while in high school at Glenbard West (GBWHS) in suburban Chicago.  He likes to tell a story about beating Bobby Rahal -- famous GBWHS alumnus -- in the annual winter hill climb.  

 

The year Rahal won the Indy 500, I met him during a job interview.  He claimed to recall my brother and was aware of the hill climb, but denied ever competing in it.  He agreed that a, then rare, front wheel drive MG would be the right car for the climb up the snow covered hill to the school.  The nickname of the school was the Hilltoppers.

 

After several years of relatively faithful service, the car was sold as a"parts car" when my mechanical engineer father was unable to get the pressure plate off the flywheel for its latest -- probably third -- clutch repair.

 

The transverse engined front drive layout brilliantly designed by Sir Alec Issigonis for the 1959 Mini was the template for most front drive cars today.  Putting the engine sideways and pushing the wheels out to the corners permitted a maximum interior volume in a minimum exterior space.

 

image.jpeg

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2 hours ago, DizRotus said:

@burninator,

 

Do your Range Rovers have Rover V8s?  I suspect at least the two older ones do.  I'm sure you know the Rover V8 was a direct descendant of the 63 Buick Skylark motor in my avatar.  

 

In the UK, the Rover V8 is the equivalent of the "small block Chevy" in US.  It's used in hot rods, sports cars, Cobra replicas, you name it.  The Brits recognized a gem GM designed and discarded.  Naturally, it was improved throughout its extended life in UK.

All three are 4.6L Rover V8 powered. US market Mk I & II Range Rovers and Discoveries were only available with Rover V8's.

 

I bought the Discovery with a bad engine, but I've got this one almost ready to go in:

IMG_9299.JPG

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I had an MGB when I was 20 years old. I traded my VW bug for it. They were about as different as could be. My VW ran forever, got great gas mileage, could not get stuck in snow...the MGB was totally unreliable, couldn't be driven in ANY amount of snow, leaked like a sieve, and yet it was my dream car. My friend gave me a bumper sticker which summed it all up. It read, "Yeah, but when it runs..."

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

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On 4/23/2017 at 10:07 AM, burninator said:

All three are 4.6L Rover V8 powered. US market Mk I & II Range Rovers and Discoveries were only available with Rover V8's.

 

I bought the Discovery with a bad engine, but I've got this one almost ready to go in:

IMG_9299.JPG

Perfect for a late model MGB!!!

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On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 11:47 AM, richieb said:

--- and this ever popular slight ----

LUCAS - Love Unfulfilled Cause Another Short 

 

Applies to Triumph bikes too. Always an eventful ride home after dark on a country road when s....uddenly your headlight was ---

the MOON. 

 

Been there on 650 Bonny.....

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