Thinking of buying a British sportscar.

Being the owner of a few British sports cars over the years my advice? Run! Don't do it! If/When I get another it will probably be an MG, there is a special place in my heart for them. My Mom loves Sunbeam Tigers but I haven't really been around those much at all. She had a Tiger in the mid to late 60's and talks about them almost as much as her Jag she had in High School. She got rid of it as my Dad found it to be impractical for a "family" to own. Being born in 64 I don't have any memory of it.

 

I have to look - not many of them in my possession, but my parents probably still have the pics. So many stories about that car from my youth (and I was very young when he owned it)!!!

 

While MGAs are my favorite-handling MG, I can't recommend them if the car is primary going to be used for urban and suburban driving. The car is so low, you are invisible to SUV drivers. Pull up too close to one at a traffic-light, you aren't in their rear-view mirrors. Having to drive defensively all the time takes the fun out of driving it. I suggest an '80 MGB Limited Edition. Buy a good one and hopefully sell it for your purchase-price a few years later. It's got to be one of the easiest, least-expensive "sports cars" to restore!

 

As an owner of 5 British sports cars, I always tell everyone who asks what their first one should be the same answer: Triumph TR6. Easily attainable. Great parts availability. Body on Frame for easy restoration. Disc brakes and good solid reliable 6 cylinder engine make it a good driver in modern traffic. While I love the older cars, I've decided that I want my wife to be in a car with disc brakes, shoulder harness, good steering and capable of getting on the freeway with ease. It is very comfortable and a good cruiser.

Other option - MGB. Not quite as rugged as the TR6 but it keeps up with modern traffic, is fun to drive and very easy to work on. We also have a Triumph Spitfire but unless you upgrade the engine, it is a little challenge merging onto the freeway (ours has a GT6+ engine and is quite able to keep up).

If you want the best sports car driving experience - Lotus Elan. Yes, Lotus can mean Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious. But, the Elan is simple, easy to work on and if you do it right, be reliable enough. And the bonus - you end up with the best driving car possible.

 

I have a 1976 Triumph TR6 in British racing green that I am thinking of selling. Great car. Just had the engine rebuilt. Let me know if you are interested.

Jeremy
818-645-5459

 

This is around 1970 - my dad owned the car until around 1975 or 1976. Maybe a year after that, he bought an X1/9, but that never compared to the Austin-Healey.

I see my mother and my brothers in these pics, I'm absent - not sure where I am, I would have been about 2-3 when this pic was taken.

Still have very vivid memories of this car!!

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Good luck on the 3000!!! Go for it! They sound so awesome.

sjd

 

I had an A-H 3000 as my DD back in the '70s. Great car. I only had one issue in 3 years of ownership when something broke in the gearbox and I had to drive 150 miles home in second gear! Otherwise totally reliable.

 

If she likes the B as a convertible, get a sorted C; if she likes the coupe get a GTV8, of have the V8 put into a convertible (B). Save a huge amount of cash over the triumph (at least here), that’ll run the MG for a long time! Just get a chrome bumper model/conversion. Good luck.


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Old Lucas electrics are anything but reliable.

 

how big are you and your wife?

these cars are not big.

what is your tolerance for automotive bs? better be pretty high....british build quality from the era you are looking at makes ferraris look like they were made in germany....

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/very-clean-two-owner-mgb-for-sale.574798/

 

here is the skinny.....
i have or have owned, an mgb, an austin healey 100, a 61 xke roadster, and a 65 xke roadster....

and they all suck

cute, beautiful, lovely, somewhat cool, but they are built badly, uncomfortable, unreliable, fragile, dangerous, and a general pita.
to get them to run right will cost either a little or a lot, depending on which one it is.

but you have to be ready to put up with a whole bunch of bs.

 

Nearly 40, or over, year old cars. Bought to be driven hard, numerous owners, varying service histories.... you’d be surprised if there weren’t horror stories. Add in near industrial sabotage levels of disruption to British Leyland as most UK sports car companies were nationalised (eg MG, Triumph, Jag - Daimler, Vitesse, etc) and there are big opportunities for issue.

That said, if the car is still on the road, it should have been sorted by now! A lot - eg MGs, Spits / GT6s and others are pretty basic and don’t have a huge no of components. If the electrics are iffy - put in a new harness, it’s all pretty much available. They are loads of performance, modification / improvement kits available for engine management and suspension.

If the Op is looking at Healey, then getting an MG B which has been sorted should be easy. You could probably build a new one with a heritage shell for less than a big Healey(here).

A couple of other makes to consider - though may be far rarer to find - TVR, Gilbert and Ginneta. Although I would certainly suggest these could be quite a bit more tricky (pricey) to sort and prices far above the MG.


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There was a good as new restored B convertible at auction recently that went for something in the region of £10K - try getting a pristine Healey for even 5 times that!

Best to avoid pre-BL (1968) cars, not only for this reason, but also because the detail styling became less attractive after that.

Sounds like you were unlucky, Ross.

I have had two E-types ('67 4.2 OTS and '63 3.8 FHC) and they have both proved remarkably reliable for cars of that era. The 4.2 let me down once in 14 years when the clutch slave cylinder failed (hardly a major issue) and the 3.8 when water got into the fuel during a heavy downpour (yes, I do drive them in the rain!) because it had been fitted with the wrong type of fuel tank cap (so not really the car's fault).

I have never owned an MGB, but I had an A as my daily driver for 3 completely trouble-free years. Nor have I owned a Healey 100, but i had a 3000 as my DD for 3 years and it only let me down once, when something broke in the gearbox and I had to drive all the way home in 2nd. gear.

Build quality is not Mercedes-Benz standard - you could probably have bought two E-types for the price of a 280SL when new, and that's got to tell you something - but it's not that bad either and most will have been restored by now anyway.

No, they are not big, but most of us can fit reasonably well. I am 6'1" and 16 stone and have never yet had any problems in any of the cars I have owned (but avoid early, flat floor E-types unless you are built like Norman Dewis). I even fitted my wife's MG Midget perfectly well, and they don't come any smaller than that. And one advantage of not being big, is that they fit through gaps about which modern cars can only dream, which makes them very enjoyable on narrow back roads which would be a 488 owner's nightmare.



Like any 50 year old car, they will need regular TLC, but if you find yourself a good one, sort any outstanding issues, keep on top of the maintenance, and drive it with due deference to its age (by which I do NOT mean slowly), then you can look forward to many years of rewarding ownership. GO FOR IT!

 

I've owned my E-Type for 14 years, no issues. Granted, it's limited use, but it's been a tank.

 

Another vote for the TR6 and MGB. If budget is the issue MGB, TR gives you more power and a bit more modern and a great sound. Get one with or fit overdrive for much improved freeway cruising. A couple points-these days you can easily do things like convert to electronic ignition with a new distributor, a GM one wire alternator, a good quality electric fuel pump and better radiators with electric fans- this eliminates a huge number of problem areas on these cars. Just for a little Italian content-you could always consider a FIAT 124 spider-4 wheel disc brakes, twin cam engine superior suspension and ride

 

Check around for the British clubs and the specialty mechanics. I know there's a group in Los Angeles that meets in Burbank regularly and always had cars with FS signs. I also used to see my old Triumph mechanic doing bespoke builds of British cars back when I had them.