2024 Rendezvous

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by coppice

My daily driver is a Hyundai Kona . Which , in Portugese , apparently means the word very rarely heard even now on TV .

Yes, & do you remember when Martin Birrane raced a Mustang sponsored by Cona Coffee? I seem to recall his mechanics got arrested at the Portugese border when they turned up with a Mustang with 'Cona' written all over it.

There was also a story about the Ford Capri. Supposedly it was meant to be called 'Caprona' until someone discovered that meant goat dung somewhere in the world.

[Peter Mallett]

In other news, the internet is all a quiver because Goodwood has decided that the subject of its Festival of Speed centre piece is............................................... MG!

The comments from some quarters are quite entertaining, focussing on the Chinese ownership, human rights and EVs. I can see their point but the fact is before the collapse and subsequent takeover by Beijing (or wherever) the marque was known for its competition exploits. So I rote sumfing: https://mallettracing.com/2024/03/16/goodwood-does-mg/

[Tel 911S]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

In other news, the internet is all a quiver because Goodwood has decided that the subject of its Festival of Speed centre piece is............................................... MG!

The comments from some quarters are quite entertaining, focussing on the Chinese ownership, human rights and EVs. I can see their point but the fact is before the collapse and subsequent takeover by Beijing (or wherever) the marque was known for its competition exploits. So I rote sumfing: https://mallettracing.com/2024/03/16/goodwood-does-mg/

A few years ago they had Aston Martin as centre display .
https://external-content.duckduckgo....245&ipo=images
Not sure if link will work , but it is a replica DBR1 , which I helped build and delivered there for the display .
It was a bit daunting watching the haul it up [ very high ] in the air to go on the mounting .

[Mike Harte]

Yes, Peter, they certainly have pedigree, and the Midget should not be forgotten either. All along with the other marques within BMC like the Austin Healeys which obviously was a collaboration with Donald Healey.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Supposedly it was meant to be called 'Caprona' until someone discovered that meant goat dung somewhere in the world.

Interesting, John, never heard about this before, thanks. I just remember they'd already name one model Capri, t'was the Consul Capri.

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Yes, Peter, they certainly have pedigree, and the Midget should not be forgotten either. All along with the other marques within BMC like the Austin Healeys which obviously was a collaboration with Donald Healey.

Indeed it should not be! Otherwise I wouldn't have a screen name here, you'd think I was some kind of diminutive person......

"Collaboration" is a kind word, implying some kind of kinship when I believe there was a bit of rivalry. The Midget was originally designed as a slightly upmarket Sprite with opening bootlid for easier luggage carrying and a bit more room behind the seats. You can imagine how well it went down at Abingdon when Healey nicked the ideas to use on the Mk 2 Sprite :-)

[midgetman]

I do realise that I have been remiss, and some of you must be on the edges of your seats waiting for news of the Great Bromham Soggy Winter. Well, great excitement, but first an update:

The main lake in the village, Lake Tittibrombrom, is no more! The men with the machine did a good job, and there is no need for their return yet so my Sprinter serpentine belt seems safe. Other roads in the village aren't so lucky, and Hawkstreet in particular has been impassable to mere mortals although the Council hasn't seen fit to close the road or even put up a FLOOD sign. Meanwhile the main road, an A road, has dumped all its water into the gardens of some houses in St Edith's Marsh (I suppose the clue is in the name) and they've been forced to put up sandbags as defences.

BUT - and this is the exciting news - an end is in sight! The Parish Council has seen fit to appoint a sub committee to work with the County Council to discuss a way forward.

As you would expect there has been rejoicing in the streets and in the front bar of The Greyhound the news has been cheered to the echo.

We're a market garden village, and the fields are so waterlogged that every time it rains water and topsoil flood onto the roads meaning washing cars is pointless. The results of their deliberations can't some soon enough.

But enough doom and gloom! It's been a great winter because there's more profit in wets than slicks and they wear out even quicker. Got to love a 50/50 tyre call

[Mike Harte]

Max, you quite obviously have far more knowledge than me about sports cars; I was always a saloon type. It wasn't until I was in my lateish 30s that I discovered the joys of roadsters when I purchased a Racing Green Stag which was a fun car to drive about in, although never in heavy slow moving traffic. And it was one of the last twelve produced as well and they still hadn't cured the only real curse of the car.

[midgetman]

The cure for the Stag's woes was simple, summed up in three words:

Rover. Vee. Eight.

[Paul D]

Originally Posted by midgetman

The cure for the Stag's woes was simple, summed up in three words:

Rover. Vee. Eight.

Quite true Max: I seem to remember, back in the day when Stags were still considered relatively modern, just about every one you came across had been converted to a Rover V8. Why they didn't simply use the Rover from day one makes no sense - but, apparently, it was all down to internal politics at BL. The 'Triumph' faction wanted their own engine, and didn't just want to use an existing (and proven!) engine from the enemies at 'Rover'. So, approval was granted to design their own V8, but, as with all things at BL in those days, they were hampered from day one by having to do it on next to nothing budget-wise.

The result was a cobbled together affair achieved by effectively mating two four cylinder Dolomite engines into a 'V' block to create the Stag V8. Problem was, the compromised design led to the water pump being high up in the centre of the 'V', which meant that the water level only had to drop a little to leave the pump dry and the engine with no circulation. Voila! Lots of cooked engines, blown gaskets, etc, and a more or less instant reputation for unreliability.

Interestingly, as Stags have aged and gained 'classic' status, the vast majority of them have now been converted back to their original engines, as classic cars tend to retain their value better if they're in their original spec. Can't remember now when I last saw a Stag with a Rover still fitted, even though it was arguably the better engine.

Ironically, with modern components and better maintenance, the original Stag V8's problems can be cured and it can be made to run reliably without cooking itself. But they still should have just buried the hatchet and used the Rover from day one. The Stag could have been a world beater if not for the usual under-development and mis-management at BL.

[midgetman]

I never knew the whys and wherefores that's really interesting. Thanks.

The same sort of story as my Midget/Sprite tale of course. As you say a company riven with division, if they'd just worked together there would have been some great cars and probably very profitable.



Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

[E.B]

Originally Posted by midgetman

I never knew the whys and wherefores that's really interesting. Thanks.

Same here. Thanks Paul.

[Mike Harte]

Paul, my thinking at the time was that I wanted t keep the Stag as original so that it's theoretical value could be maintained. I had an financial interest in car body repair shop with a friend, and we had bought the Stag as part of a package of cars that personally belonged to a North London BL main dealer (about 10 cars all with consecutive registration numbers - the Stag was No.4) and it didn't stand us in much money ad was the only one left apart from a Jag which he had.

We needed to buy a more sophisticated jig to satisfy the insurance company who provided about 95% of our business, so we sold the cars to fund the purchase. I sometimes wonder if otherwise I might still have it, but instead I ended up with Merc SL for a time.


Edit to say that I actually knew that at the time; we tried everything to cure the potential to overheat, including installing a slightly larger, improved radiator with a better fan, etc. but the improvement was only marginal. Luckily, while I had it, at least the head gasket never blew.

[Paul D]

Thanks all! I should add the caveat that I had no first hand involvement with any of the aforementioned, but it's from what I've read in the past, and from different sources, so I assume there's some truth in it.

A life spent working on classic cars, however, means I've had dealings with one or two Stags over the years. And when you work on cars, you often see things which make you wonder why they weren't designed or executed better - and that was the case with the Stag. Which is a shame. The car was supposed to be a kind of poor man's alternative to the Merc SL and, had it been executed better and with better build quality, it could just have succeeded in that role.

Sadly, the almost instant reputation it earned for cooking engines killed off the demand for it from very early on.

[Peter Mallett]

It's Delta's birthday, so Happy Birthday Iain.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

It's Delta's birthday, so Happy Birthday Iain.

Happy Birthday Iain!

You've caught me up again, I think.

[gary396]

Congratulations Iain. Have a good day - you'll probably spend it in the workshop no doubt!

[E.B]

Have a good one Iain. The sun is already well over the yard arm here so raising a glass of red as I type.

[bauble]

Many felicitations on your birthday, Ian, I do envy you your youth.

Have a good day and even better night,

[Gerard C]

Happy Day, Iain!

[bauble]

Originally Posted by E.B

Same here. Thanks Paul.

I'm Staggered, by his depth of knowledge.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by bauble

I'm Staggered, by his depth of knowledge.

He gets the triumph he deserves.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

He gets the triumph he deserves.

Yes, he's Herald-ing another year but still goes with great Vitesse. TR-A!!

[GORDON STREETER]

We had a "slight" water problem the other day.
https://youtu.be/L6Uu8OEwZGw

[Peter Mallett]

Soggy!