Here's what Xerxes5 wrote me about his project:

I picked up the car in San Jose, it hadn't been run in 20 years. the car had ZERO rust anywhere. totally straight body too. I went though, upgraded the shocks to Spax Adjustable, Put in poly bushings, had master cylinders resleeved, had the brake calipers re-sleeved, Pulled the engine, rebuilt the bottom end, had the valve guides and seats replaced with lead-free variety, oh... got it ported and polished while I was at it. Put on triple Webers (a la Sebring), Tossed the distributor for a new electronic 123 distributor with programmable curves, new alternator, new front wiring harness, recovered dash, upgraded to H4 halogen headlights, replaced the tired stock seats with some full leather corbeau vintage style racing seats. I also have a matching leather cover for the rear, wilton wool carpeting and a complete new panel collection for the interior. What remains is to have the Webers jetted on a dyno, and to repaint and put the interior in.


Let's continue the tradition of making PCH Demotivators, shall we? But first, we vote!

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Ever since I caught that '69 MGC-GT on the street in Alameda, I've been toying with the idea of buying a one-way ticket to Crazy Town by getting my very own MGC project. As a former MGB owner, I should know better, but there's just something so perfect about a sporty little British Leyland-built machine with a primitive six-banger installed by Ozzy Osbourne and his BL coworkers using sledgehammers, gin, and anger as their primary tools. Fortunately for me, the C is hard to find... but if you really look, you can get one. Say, this 1969 MGC (go here if the ad disappears), which is currently full of Colorado snow and available for a mere six grand. The car appears to have been exposed to the elements for many years, and you figure most buyers might want to know about the rust situation... but the seller knows that it's a waste of time to describe a car you want to sell; what buyers really want is a block of copy/pasted stats about the car when it was new. But we do get the very valuable info that "all the parts are there but the flywheel," a statement that tends to inspire more questions than it answers. But it's a genuine MGC, folks!

British sports cars are great fun, of course, and owning one will build up that all-important knuckle scar tissue that tells the world you're not afraid of a little Hell (which reminds me: I ran across a Whitworth socket in a seldom-opened drawer in my toolbox the other day, and I dropped it like a red-hot coal once I realized what it was). But what if you need to show your homies that you roll with class these days, in stark contrast to their Chevy Berettas with 24s, yet you still want to go British? That's when you need to go with a Bentley! And not some boring old Malaise Bentley, oh no- you need a Bentley that reeks of cocaine and junk bonds! Say, this '88 Bentley Mulsanne S (go here if the ad disapppears), available for less than the average value of the pharmaceuticals stored in its glovebox during a typical 1988 business day. The Mulsanne S packs the 411-cube Rolls-Royce V8 under the bonnet and a sporty suspension suitable for high-speed evasion of ex-business partners packing Glocks under their tuxedos. This example needs some work, we'll admit, but the asking price is only $3,000! Just head on down to your local Pick Your Part and grab a Mulsanne grille and... hmmm... well, OK, you might have to spend a few bucks on parts here and there. Does it run? Is the interior nice? These questions and more remain unanswered, but: $3,000 Bentley!

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Hey, that photograph sure looks familiar!


The MGC was basically an MGB with a 7-main-bearing version of the 3-liter inline-six engine used in the Austin-Healey 3000 (and a bunch of other British cars we've never heard of over here). To go with the new engine, the MGC got bigger brakes and some other goodies.


That sounds great, only the car got a rep for funky handling with the heavy new engine and the MGC never sold very well. Only about 9,000 were made, of which roughly half were the GT type.


This car is pretty much in showroom condition, only no MG ever came off the line with black paint this perfect. This car doesn't normally live on the street; I assume it spends its time garaged nearby. There's a 60s Mini on the same block (stay tuned for photos), so it's possible the same masochist connoisseur of fine British automobiles owns them both.


I drove a '73 MGB-GT as a daily driver for a couple years, and I loved and hated it in roughly equal measure. All I'm going to say is: everything they say about the Prince of Darkness is true.


So what? Just look at this thing! All is forgiven, MG!


Sadly, my B didn't have the wire wheels; I think most cars look lame with them, but 60s British designs really do well with the spokes.


Hmmm... does this car have true dual exhaust? I suppose I should have stuck the camera underneath to find out, but that might have triggered an unpleasant owner/photographer confrontation.


The six-banger fit in the engine compartment all right, but the radiator and carburetor failed to clear the hood. Rather than redesign the radiator and/or intake manifold, BMC's engineers took a very 60s-British (i.e., totally cheap) approach and put a couple of bulges in the hood. Sure, it looks funny, but it works!

That Pininfarina-designed hatchback body looks great, especially in black. This town really is Car Geek Heaven.