You can practically hear them rusting as they drive along the beach.

ha ha! a friend of mine is busy restoring an austin marina from this era. it has the body roll of a bass boat.

The pre-plastic bumper MGBs were far better looking than the Mk3.

The Spitfire with plastic bumpers though, simply euggghhh!!!

Don't

Malaise

Me

Bro!

Perfect timing! I just watched the whole Top Gear segment where the hosts tried finding a good British Leyland car.

@Tachman: Notice that all the driving was on super-smooth beach sand so the parts wouldn't fall off.

I call shenanigans. There's no way to keep 3 BL cars running long enough to film one 30 second spot. Though I think the cars were towed in series in the final "sunset scene".

@Tachman: That's probably my favorite Top Gear epsiode, if only because the hail of parts that cascaded off of their cars made me laugh until it hurt.

Obviously CGI'd photography. No Leyland product could run through the salt water and corrosive sand and keep sputtering along.

Malaise or not, that ad made me miss my Spitfire.

Note the woman in the driveway/car wash cut jumps as though the handbrake just let go. It probably did.

"All parts falling off this car are of the finest British manufacture."

@Tachman: Great episode. I love the suspension test where points were dedcuted to for every trim piece that fell off.

Is that jingle saying "zoom zoom"? I think somebody might be recycling BL's ad campaign.

OK, I'll defend at least the MG side of the BL debacle (I haven't owned a Triumph, though I'd love a TR250 thank you kindly, so they're on there own)...

We have 3 MG's in the family (yeah there must be an ointment that cures that):

Step 1: rip off the dual SU carbs and the Lucas coil and distrbutor and throw them in the lake

Step 2: replace with a Weber carb and a Mallory ignition

Suddenly, these little puppies are as reliable as anything from the Malaise era. The good news is that MGB was the first affordable unibody sports car, the bad news if rust gains a foothold in the rocker panels that double a frame rails the car can split in 2.

I drive my '74 whenever the sun is shining and never have a problem. Now about the 4.5 year frame off resto.......

But they're so pretty! How can they be bad? And look, they love to play! I want one.

I think these were the only drop tops on the US market at this time.

The man standing next to his fine MGB with a bucket of water next to him is a brave soul indeed.

Here's my Dad's MGB after its first snowfall.

[IMG][i180.photobucket.com]]

ok, link finally works:

[i180.photobucket.com]

[i180.photobucket.com]

Wow .. I fail so hard it hurts.

@SundaySundayFnC: I agree... what are the chances of ALL of those BL products continuing to run after being exposed to moisture by driving on the beach?

@Yurikaze: Just needs a little spit and polish...

@longrooffan: Nah... you could still get the Alfa Romeo Spider, Fiat Spider and Beetle Cabriolet

@longrooffan & petersterncan: And the Mercedes SL. Still, these were dark days-- the DOT threatened to ban convertible tops altogether, and American manufacturers simply abandoned open cars while the Europeans churned out slow rattletraps strangled by emissions equipment and weighed down by ugly rubber bumpers. Not coincidentally, this was the era when manufacturers decided that targa roofs and t-tops were really cool. God, what a horrible, horrible time to be a car guy. I'm glad I didn't live through it.

@eastaboga: The Weber 32/36 DGV is a gift from heaven.