Jalopnik: british leyland

The Fastest MG In North American Road Racing: Les Gonda's 1973 MGB-GT

Murilee Martin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST

The Ford 302-powered MGB-GT we saw a couple months ago looked pretty good, but we want to see some V8 MGBs tearing up the race track! As if on cue, the not-so-sane folks over at BritishV8.org are back with an exhaustively detailed story on the '73 MGB-GT V8 that's beating up on Porsches in SVRA's Group 8, A-production class. No Malaise Era 62.5 horsepower B engine here; instead, there's a 13.5:1 compression, quad-Webered, 3.5 liter Rover V8, and it just keeps getting better from there. Make the jump to check out the photos and read the whole article.

[British V8]

1975 MG Midget Will Serve As A Light Snack For The Crusher

Murilee Martin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Even though the black-bumper Midget was a cruel parody of the ridiculously fun pre-Malaise version, it's still saddening to see one among all the Hyundai Excels and Geo Prizms in my local self-service wrecking yard. This one has the dusty, bleached look of a car that spent a decade or three rotting in a back yard prior to its final ride behind a tow truck. Look at all those good parts! Doesn't anyone want Midget parts these days?

Safety Good, Sanity Bad: Build Your Own Acceleration Warning Horn For $7!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Ford's Nanny Key is pretty effective, but how do you punish drivers for such dangerous acts as turning or accelerating? Bring seven bucks to the junkyard, my friends, and you'll find everything you need to build the Ozzy Osbourne Inertial Penalty Horn!

This all started out when the Sarah Palin punishment at the 24 Hours Of LeMons Toledo race raised the bar for innovative ways to penalize lousy drivers on the race track. I'll be judging at the Houston race this weekend, so a special Texas-themed penalty would be needed. But what? Then I remembered: In 1982, Ozzy Osbourne was arrested for pissing on the Alamo, drunk and wearing a dress, and his albums were burned by enraged mobs throughout the Lone Star State.

And what was Ozzy's day job in Birmingham, before Black Sabbath hit it big? He worked on a British Leyland assembly line, testing horns! Naturally, the Ozzy Osbourne Inertial Penalty Horn would require horns from a BL product. While you might find the occasional MG or Triumph in self-service junkyards, 70s Jaguars are always plentiful. Mount the pair of genuine Lucas Electric horns (high- and low-pitch units) on a crude bracket screwed together from scrap plywood, then add a Bosch-type relay pocketed at the junkyard (you can skip the relay, but the high draw of the horns will fry the switch contacts after a few applications, due to arc-welding-style sparking). Mount the bracket close to the driver, but not so close that he can reach it while strapped in!

The inertia switch- which is two-dimensional version of a pinball-machine tilt switch- can be made from junk just lying around; in this case, a piece of plywood (notched for easy zip-tie attachment to a roll cage bar), some coat hanger wire, plumber's tape, and a plastic windshield-washer tubing tee. Like all serious projects, the whole mess is held together with JB Weld.

The switch contacts are the plumber's tape on one side and a big Honda steering-wheel nut pocketed at the junkyard. Depending on how the switch is oriented, the contacts will close when the car accelerates, or turns, or decelerates… or when it hits a big bump, or gets a big gust of wind inside.

To get power, the alligator connector from a dead timing light clamps onto the car's battery. I added a 20-amp fuse inline and covered it with lots of electrical tape.

How to get the power from battery to relay? Cut a hole in the hood with this step drill and run the cord through the side window opening! Ram a sheetmetal screw into the car's floor near the horns and you've got your ground. Hey, they're $500 cars, right?

1973 MG Midget

Murilee Martin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:40:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. After the Shark and Minnow Midget/Continental combo, it only seemed right to share some photos of another street-parked Midget (ideally, one not overshadowed by some monster land yacht), and Kitt has shot such a car for us in her South Denver neighborhood. This one's for sale, and instead of a price it's got a printout of the NADA Guides retail value; hey, it's worth a try! I've done a fair amount of Midget driving, and they're a lot of fun… provided you carry every tool you own in the boot- you'll need 'em, thanks to the one-two punch of Lucas Electrics and SU carbs- and don't mind the disconcerting experience of viewing the undersides of truck trailers on the freeway.

DOTS FAQ

Your Mother Wouldn't Like The 1973 MGB

Murilee Martin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT

A bell-bottomed, braless British babe heads to her MGB after catching Last Tango In Paris- yeah, British Leyland was making cars for rebels back in '73. Need we refer to the legendary build quality of Malaise Era BL cars? We're envious, however, of the UK-market horsepower numbers listed in this ad; the North American '73 MGB packed a mere 78.5 horses under the bonnet.

1980 Austin Metro: We Shall Fight On The Beaches! We Shall Never Surrender!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Just when everyone figured British Leyland was going to surrender the British Isles to the hordes of low-priced imports pouring across the Channel, here comes the brand new Austin Metro! Good for 62 MPG (at a blistering 50 miles per hour) and ~~bashed together by drunks with hammers~~ built with pride right at home, there was no doubt the Germans, Italians, Japanese, and French trembled with fear at the sight of the Metro.

Princess: Car Of Choice For Off-Roading Germans

Murilee Martin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

You can forget everything you've heard about the utterly execrable build quality of British Leyland's nadir, the Princess. Turns out that front-wheel-drive setup, Hydragas suspension, and weight savings from all the parts that fell off during normal operation made for excellent off-road performance!

If It Runs, Sell It: More British Car Jokes!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:20:00 EDT

You know what's always good to cut through the oppressive miasma of a typical Monday in The Man's salt mines? British car jokes! Sure, fish in a barrel, but the jokes wouldn't be funny if we didn't all secretly love the cars. Leylandnügen: The Joy Of Towing! You'll see that and much more when you visit Trevor Boicey's Utterly Obscure British Car Humour site. [Utterly Obscure British Car Humour]

Insert British Leyland Joke Here: 1976 Triumph TR7

Murilee Martin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EDT

There's really not much we can add to the Legend Of The British Leyland Wedge here. American car buyers looking for a little car that weaves maniacally among mid-60s Galaxies and gets air cresting hills knew exactly where to go: follow the wedge-shaped British Leyland truck to the nearest dealer!

1971 MGB-GT

Murilee Martin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Many, many cars have passed through my hands since I first picked up a '69 Toyota Corona for 50 bucks, but only a few really make me feel a twinge of regret when I think about letting them go. One such car is the British Racing Green '73 MGB-GT I owned for a few years in my early 20s; it was slow, handled like a garbage truck, went through $40 carburetor floats like other cars go through oil changes, and proved that all those Joe Lucas jokes are based on painful reality... but I still loved it. Perhaps this is the evil lure of the British Car, but I was finally able to heed the rule posted on a huge sign at the only British-car wrecking yard in Northern California: IF IT RUNS, SELL IT. This beat-to-hell MGB-GT, which could be a '71, '72, or '73, might be my old car, after a couple of decades of neglect. Sure, mine was pretty nice when I sold it, but a lot can happen in 20 years!

I spotted this B parked while going out to dinner a few weeks back (on the same commercial strip where we saw the '71 Karmann Ghia). The sun was setting and I was using a borrowed camera, but I was able to capture this super-rare machine.

Yes, MGB fans, I know you can make these cars drive pretty well with huge swaybars, sticky tires, and more power... but in stock form they'll get blown away by your average mid-70s Civic.

That Pininfarina design sure is pretty, though! These things sold new for about $3,600 back in the early 70s, which was $1,300 more than a Datsun 510 and about $900 less than a BMW 2002.

DOTS 1-200 • DOTS 201-250

The Triumph TR6: Built For Hoonage!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT

If your typical drive involves jumping through fiery hoops and playing chicken with walls of hay bales, British Leyland had the car for you! With a six-cylinder engine and legendary UK Malaise build quality, the TR6 sold pretty well in North America (though smog, bumper, and headlight-height regulations made it perform at a level a few notches lower than its British counterpart).

Patrick Mower Has The Antidote To British Malaise: Value For Money!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:00:00 EDT

After yet another shuffling of gut-shot British Leyland brands produced the Austin Rover Group, the ARG marketers decided to get serious about moving some iron off the lots. No more Triumph TR7s or MGBs- now they'd have television actor Patrick Mower pitching the Morris Ital, Rover SD1, Mini Mayfair, and other early-80s British Machinery offering Value For Money, otherwise known by the awe-inspiring acronym VFM.

Big-Bumper Spitfire Saves The Day!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:20:00 EDT

Try to imagine a not-so-hot pursuit between a Malaise Triumph Spitfire and a smog-motored mid-70s cop ~~Mopar~~ Ford. Will the single-digit gas mileage of the police car result in a drained fuel tank before the British Leyland build quality of the Spitfire sends it coughing to a halt on the shoulder in a cloud of wire-insulation smoke? We'll never know, because it turns out the Triumph wasn't running from the cops after all. Whew!

Malaise? What Malaise? British Leyland Has Just What America Needs!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

You'll have fun in the sun, "motoring tops-down" in a spiffy new late-70s MGB, TR6, or Spitfire. Note how the horrifyingly ugly bumpers of the Spitfire are barely glimpsed as we see happy Americans driving hundreds of yards with no apparent electrical malfunctions. Sure, British Leyland gave up on the idea of selling MGs and Triumphs in the US just a year or two after this ad, but can't you feel the optimism here?

Marital Infidelity Prompts All-Triumph Car Chase

Murilee Martin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EDT

When you're caught in flagrante delicto by your special lady's husband and have to flee on foot while dressed in a towel, you might breathe a sigh of relief when you discover he plans to chase you in a Triumph Stag; after all, the timing chains probably won't hold out as long as your legs. But then, in one of those cruel twists of fate that seemed all too common in Malaise Britain, you find yourself in the waking nightmare of being forced to choose another Triumph in which to make your getaway!

San Diego Serenade: Triumph Stag and Buick LeSabre

Murilee Martin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EDT

The Bonus Edition DOTS cars just keep coming in. Today we're heading down to San Diego, where Brian B captured a very Jalopnik-centric pair of vintage cars: a 1968 Buick LeSabre and a 1972 Triumph Stag. One is a vast sedan with styling that may have been aimed at old people, but at least they were hip old people (like retired mobsters, etc). The other is a sporty British V8 machine with a reputation for unreliability so awe-inspiring that you can't help but admire its owner. Good finds! Make the jump to read Brian's descriptions.

(Buick): I saw this lovely ol' gal docked in Pacific Beach and thought you might enjoy. She appears to be original and the relative lack of rust tells me she hasn't spent her whole life in CO. I'd peg it as a '68, giving it the 2bbl 350, right?
(Triumph) I saw this beautiful Stag, replete with removable HT option, when I went to my neighborhood c-store today. Apart from the dirty water spots and the slushbox, the car is absolutely flawless. Don't know about you, but I don't see one of these every day - let alone in such great condition. Hopefully has owned it over the years has been insane enough to keep the original TR 3.0 liter V8.

1984 Jaguar XJ6

Murilee Martin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:20:00 EDT

Considering how many Jaguar XJ6s I see in the junkyard, they're not so common on the streets of Alameda. My guess is that dead Jags languish in back yards, garages, and driveways for year after year (it just needs a few "minor repairs," really!), until an enraged wife or landlord dispatches them to The Crusher. Whatever the reason, it's been quite a while since we last saw a Jaguar in this series, so I was pleased to spot this decent-looking '84, not far from yesterday's DOTS Porsche 912. Close examination of this car reveals a few warts, but try to imagine the post-Malaise ~~cocaine-fueled~~ optimism of Jaguar ownership in the mid-80s when you look at it.

I could sit and photograph a cool-looking animal hood ornament all day, and this cat is one of my very favorites. Such feline anger!

Of course, Jaguar owners displayed facial expressions similar to the one on their cars' hood ornaments every time the gentlemen down at the local British-car shop sent them a bill. But so what? Just look at this car!

Whoops! That's some genuine California-style rust there, and I'm betting there's more like it in all the areas that collect rainwater (i.e., trunk, rear floors) during the wet Alameda winters. It appears that the owner has attempted to sand away the problem, which indicates a willingness to take decisive action coupled with a lack of understanding of the rust MO.

First 200 DOTS

Project Car Hell, Malaise Custom Edition: Corvette or Jaguar XJC?

Murilee Martin — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST

With the cheapskates showing a slight preference for the free Musclecar Era Impala over the free Malaise Nova in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, you might think that we don't have a place for Malaise in our Hell Garages. Far from it, we're coming right back with a pair of machines from the middle of the 1970s- and not just any machines! What we've found is a pair of prestigious cars that have been treated to some tasteful customizing touches, applied by the hands of artists who appreciate the spirit of the Malaise Era. Thanks (and a PCH Tipster T-shirt) to bzr for the tip!

How can you tell if you're looking at a really good car on eBay? Some folks think you should do boring stuff like look at the seller's feedback, or maybe pick a car with really good photographs, but we think it's best to judge a car by the number of punctuation marks in the description. Oh yes, and you want the entire thing to be in capital letters, because that shows a seller with a point to make. With that in mind, take a gander at this 1976 Corvette. It's allegedly a "Duntov," but no elaboration on that claim is given by the seller... and why elaborate, when he or she knows "IF I HAVE IT LONG ENOUGH ILL FINISH IT ???? THEN IT WOULD BE WORTH BIG $$$$$$$$ DOLLARS !!! It's got the side pipes, the C5 taillights, and the primer hood; you'll just need to add the Lambo doors and the TV antenna and you'll be ready for Malaise-style action. Well, almost ready; you probably shouldn't assume it's ready for driving right now (although the seller does claim it will "YARD DRIVE"), because it needs brakes, the fuel tank is a gas can, and... well, who knows?

When you're talking Malaise, Detroit cars really need to stand aside for the products of British Leyland; since some say the KGB had infiltrated the trade unions building Jaguars in the 70s, the claim could be made that the legendary British Leyland lack of reliability was actually a communist plot! So let those Brezhnev stooges know where you stand, by defying their fiendish plan and buying yourself a Malaise Jaguar and customizing it in a manner that tells that mean ol' KGB to take their gulag and shove it! We suggest this customized 1975 XJC as the starting point for your project. It's got the requisite Chevy 350 swap (complete with some unnamed type of 5-speed transmission and Holley double-pumper). It's got Centerlines with spinners. It's got what appears to be the front spoiler from a Japanese 17-year-old's Dekotora Debonair crudely riveted onto the front. It's got scoops on the sides and vents on the hood. What it doesn't have is an interior, but that's actually a good thing; imagine the mink-and-burgundy-pleather custom upholstery job you could put in this thing! Upgrade the engine to a 406 with all the goodies and you'll be ~~snapping axles~~ burning up the quarter-mile in style!

Austin Princess: Hydrogas and Hitchhikers!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:00:01 EST

After seeing James May torturing himself with that British Leyland stalwart, the Austin Princess, on a recent Top Gear episode, we realized there's far more to the Malaise Era than 140-horse big blocks and tape-striped Brougham Edition Detroit land yachts. Thanks to British Leyland's inimitable devotion to engineering and build quality, the Princess set a new standard for, uh, luxury? Here we see how a Princess jaunt to the Continent with one's driver can lead to reversal of class roles and the possibility of Hot French Hitchhiker adventures.

James May: Malaise Era Unrest Made Cars Look Good

Murilee Martin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:30:00 EST

Sure, we all laughed at the shoddy rattletraps made by British Leyland, and the British Malaise Era background of boarded-up factories and long dole lines made it a bitter sort of laughter. Still, James May wants to point out that British Leyland managed to send some original-looking designs limping off the assembly lines. For example, the Triumph TR7; as Mr. May puts it: "But the 7 came from nowhere, and looked completely new in every way." Perhaps we on this side of the Atlantic should reevaluate the Chevy Monza? [Telegraph.co.uk]

The Morris Minor Family Tree

Murilee Martin — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:30:33 EDT

After photographing the '59 Morris Minor for the Down On The Street series, I became curious about the history of the Minor family of cars; we don't see many of them here in North America, but they seem to occupy a place in Britain's heart akin to the Dodge Dart's over here. Fortunately, the Morris Minor Owner's Club has a handy family tree diagram that will sort it all out for you. Yes, it all started with a side-valve 918cc engine! [MMOC.org]

The Fall and, er, Fall of Rover

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:00:00 EDT

Admittedly, the Northern Irish mum of der Jalop des San Pedro fell from the Roman Catholic side of the Ulster apple tree. As such, most of our relatives haven't had much taste for English cars out of sheer loyalty. When we were young, it was Peugeots, Mercs, Starlets and Micras. As we got older, Bimmers and Audis entered the equation. One uncle had an MG, but that was largely a project car, and only in his retirement has said uncle returned to buying British — in the form of German and American-owned examples of bits of British Leyland. Our only first cousin (out of around 30 on the Emerald Isle) who likes British cars happens to be an aircraft mechanic. Essentially, British cars have been crap since the end of the war. Sure, some were beautiful and innovative. Some performed marvelously. But did they suck? Oh hells yes; they were the provence of tinkerers, masochists and proud Britons. The Beeb tells the story of Rover; it feels a tad sugarcoated, as if Michiganders were spinning the tale of Chrysler. That said, it's a good watch. But we would like former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson to extrapolate on the exact moment that Buick put a V8 in a pickup truck. (Parts 2-4 after the jump.)

British Leyland 1977: England's Dreaming!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:47:09 EDT

Ah, good ol' British Leyland Motor Corporation, that epic semi-nationalized squishing together of Austin, MG, Triumph, Mini, Jaguar, Daimler, Princess, Morris, and Rover into one big hyper-bureaucratic, oil-leaking, negative-earth blob. All the BLMC stars of '77 are here in this funny-yet-sad ad, from the infamous black-bumper MGB to the execrably shoddy Rover 3500. Great cars and a great deal more! – Murilee Martin

Related:
TR7: The Shape Of Things To Come [internal]

Cross-Ply And Radial Tyres Don't Mix, Suckaz!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:25:17 EST

Mad scientists, Morris 1100s, cross-plies, and radials don't mix. Pay heed, kids, or you'll end up blowing off a few fingers in the lab and then rolling your car. – Murilee Martin

Related:
A Seatbelt Campaign That Would Work [internal]

Leyland Throws One Down Under: The P76

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:15:00 EDT

So what happens when British Leyland decides to build a car for the Australian market? The Leyland P6, developed at a nominal cost of $20mil and styled by Giovanni Michelotti. Because it's just not an Australian car without a V8 option, they tossed in the Rover 4.4 mill. And until its back was broken by striking workers and supplier problems, the car was a hit with the Aussies, and there was even coupe version, few of which were actually constructed before Leyland pulled the plug on its Australian operations in 1975. We blame it on the lack of a ute version.

Classic Cars: Leyland P76 [Belfast Telegraph]