The difference between hype and reality

[MajorFubar]

I'm on the vinyl again. From a practical stance it doesn't make sense but I grew up with it so pleased to hear those words 'vinyl revival'. It is bulky and the turntable needs treating carefully but for me it is my 'boy toy' .. The arm the cartridge, the stylus, setting up and the mechanical aspect of it. Don't know why watching a record going round and round on the platter with the arm gradually moving across gives me as much pleasure as listening but it does (maybe a case of simple things pleasing simple minds)

I agree, a lot of the attraction is the tactility and 'physical' appeal. But there's certainly no harm in that.

I had a 1.6 Montego which was a great car! It had done 200,000 miles before I bought it! Lol..(it had been clocked! I hadn't realised until I took out original radio and noticed radio had been serviced and label and mileage on back of radio!)I then had a Montego estate which was 2.0 diesel estate another great car terrible body work but great engine! People used to knock British Leyland? Good cars mostly..i had a princess 1.7 hl I loved that car! Got it cheap been in a smash up,over 55mph it shook like a jelly! I was a young man then.. The car felt like a limousine..

Princess probably just needed its wheels balancing lol. I never found BL cars to be less reliable than anything else we've owned, but certainly the 80s models like mine just dissolve when it rains, especially here on the coast

 

[Al ears]

I'm on the vinyl again. From a practical stance it doesn't make sense but I grew up with it so pleased to hear those words 'vinyl revival'. It is bulky and the turntable needs treating carefully but for me it is my 'boy toy' .. The arm the cartridge, the stylus, setting up and the mechanical aspect of it. Don't know why watching a record going round and round on the platter with the arm gradually moving across gives me as much pleasure as listening but it does (maybe a case of simple things pleasing simple minds)

I agree, a lot of the attraction is the tactility and 'physical' appeal. But there's certainly no harm in that.

I had a 1.6 Montego which was a great car! It had done 200,000 miles before I bought it! Lol..(it had been clocked! I hadn't realised until I took out original radio and noticed radio had been serviced and label and mileage on back of radio!)I then had a Montego estate which was 2.0 diesel estate another great car terrible body work but great engine! People used to knock British Leyland? Good cars mostly..i had a princess 1.7 hl I loved that car! Got it cheap been in a smash up,over 55mph it shook like a jelly! I was a young man then.. The car felt like a limousine..

Princess probably just needed its wheels balancing lol. I never found BL cars to be less reliable than anything else we've owned, but certainly the 80s models like mine just dissolve when it rains, especially here on the coast

I don't think that has to do with the rain Major.

 

[Frank Harvey]

They chose their words carefully. "Faster than a Porsche, a Ferrari, a Laborghini and an Aston...", said the advert. But you had to read the small print to see which ones. For example the Ferrari in question was a 'poverty spec' Ferrari Modial, which was indeed slower in a straight line than an MG Maestro Turbo. The Porsche was the 944, which in non-turbo trim was also quite a bit slower. The Aston was the Lagonda, which it also could comfortably see off. The Lambo was the Jalpa.

Great marketing!

 

[plastic penguin]

If you believe the advertising of the day the MG Maestro Turbo was supposed to be quicker 0-60 than a Porsche 911.

They chose their words carefully. "Faster than a Porsche, a Ferrari, a Laborghini and an Aston...", said the advert. But you had to read the small print to see which ones. For example the Ferrari in question was a 'poverty spec' Ferrari Modial, which was indeed slower in a straight line than an MG Maestro Turbo. The Porsche was the 944, which in non-turbo trim was also quite a bit slower. The Aston was the Lagonda, which it also could comfortably see off. The Lambo was the Jalpa.

I had a 1.6 Montego which was a great car! It had done 200,000 miles before I bought it! Lol..(it had been clocked! I hadn't realised until I took out original radio and noticed radio had been serviced and label and mileage on back of radio!)I then had a Montego estate which was 2.0 diesel estate another great car terrible body work but great engine! People used to knock British Leyland? Good cars mostly..i had a princess 1.7 hl I loved that car! Got it cheap been in a smash up,over 55mph it shook like a jelly! I was a young man then.. The car felt like a limousine..

The Montego Turbo was a crap car. I'm sorry, but I'm a real petrol head. MG, around the late 70s and 80s, produced hideous cars: They were proned to rust. 200 thousand miles? How many replacement engines did it have? What it says on the clock isn't necessarily the original car: engine, suspension, floor pans blah blah.

After 1975, BL (included MG, Rover, Triumph etc etc.) were complete rubbish. I owned Triumphs (numerous) made from 1967 to 1981. The best car was a Dolly Sprint, one of the last production models ever made.

 

[keeper of the quays]

If you believe the advertising of the day the MG Maestro Turbo was supposed to be quicker 0-60 than a Porsche 911.

They chose their words carefully. "Faster than a Porsche, a Ferrari, a Laborghini and an Aston...", said the advert.  But you had to read the small print to see which ones. For example the Ferrari in question was a 'poverty spec' Ferrari Modial, which was indeed slower in a straight line than an MG Maestro Turbo. The Porsche was the 944, which in non-turbo trim was also quite a bit slower. The Aston was the Lagonda, which it also could comfortably see off. The Lambo was the Jalpa.

I had a 1.6 Montego which was a great car! It had done 200,000 miles before I bought it! Lol..(it had been clocked! I hadn't realised until I took out original radio and noticed radio had been serviced and label and mileage on back of radio!)I then had a Montego estate which was 2.0 diesel estate another great car terrible body work but great engine! People used to knock British Leyland? Good cars mostly..i had a princess 1.7 hl I loved that car! Got it cheap been in a smash up,over 55mph it shook like a jelly! I was a young man then.. The car felt like a limousine..

The Montego Turbo was a crap car. I'm sorry, but I'm a real petrol head. MG, around the late 70s and 80s, produced hideous cars: They were proned to rust. 200 thousand miles? How many replacement engines did it have? What it says on the clock isn't necessarily the original car: engine, suspension, floor pans blah blah.

After 1975, BL (included MG, Rover, Triumph etc etc.) were complete rubbish. I owned Triumphs (numerous) made from 1967 to 1981. The best car was a Dolly Sprint, one of the last production models ever made.

My Montego was a standard 1.6..it always started! Got me from Eastbourne to Suffolk many times and back..I agree British Leyland wasn't the best! But the Montego's I had and my old princess 1.7 were great!

 

[knaithrover]

I had an Allegro in the 80's horrible car but it ran for years (until it literally started to fall apart)

Cars are a LOT better nowadays

 

[BigH]

My father had one of those MG Maestros, did not keep it very long, don't think he was that impressed with the quality.

 

[MajorFubar]

My father had one of those MG Maestros

I very much doubt it. In any case most people only ever remember the early MG1600 with talking dash.

 

[MajorFubar]

The Montego Turbo was a crap car. I'm sorry, but I'm a real petrol head. MG, around the late 70s and 80s, produced hideous cars: They were proned to rust. 200 thousand miles? How many replacement engines did it have? What it says on the clock isn't necessarily the original car: engine, suspension, floor pans blah blah.

Did you ever own one or drive one? I'm guessing probably not. I'm happy to have a factual conversation with anyone about the real pros and cons of 80s Austin Rover cars (ideally in the off-topic area) seeing I've lived with them on and off for 25 years (I've owned this Turbo for 15 years for a start), but I'm not really interested in fighting an uphill battle with people whose facts come from the likes of Top Gear and Auto Distress.

As for the mileage, there used to be a guy round my parts who ran an MG Montego as a taxi back in the day. He pushed it to nearly 400,000 miles before the engine blew. It had about five clutches and two gearboxes in that time, I'll grant you.

Oh and a real petrol head doesn't insult someone else's car.

 

[plastic penguin]

The Montego Turbo was a crap car. I'm sorry, but I'm a real petrol head. MG, around the late 70s and 80s, produced hideous cars: They were proned to rust. 200 thousand miles? How many replacement engines did it have? What it says on the clock isn't necessarily the original car: engine, suspension, floor pans blah blah.

Did you ever own one or drive one? I'm guessing probably not. Oh and a real petrol head doesn't insult someone else's car.

Yes/ It was a company car. Yes we do have a pop at cars, especially the ones where the workers were always on strike. It showed in the end product. As I mentioned before I've owned several Triumphs (Heralds, Dolly 1850, 2 Sprints) and the Triumphs were a relative BL success. The rest sadly were the butt of so many jokes...

 

[MajorFubar]

Yes/ It was a company car. Yes we do have a pop at cars, especially the ones where the workers were always on strike. It showed in the end product. As I mentioned before I've owned several Triumphs (Heralds, Dolly 1850, 2 Sprints) and the Triumphs were a relative BL success. The rest sadly were the butt of so many jokes...

Fair enough, you're welcome to your views and I have no intention of trying to change them. But I've lived with these cars for 25 years, there's nothing I haven't heard, and the only common factor seems to be that 99% of people who slag them off do so from third-hand 'facts' that their cousin's next door neighbour overheard someone saying on a bus one day. Or something similar. It gets tiring and repetitive after a while. By all accounts if I took notice of what I've heard over the years from peoples' third-hand tales it's a miracle my car starts.

We owned several MG Maestro 2.0i's (not all at once) as the daily driver for neary 12 years, so reliability was of utmost importance, and I can't really say in all honesty they let us down more or less than any other make of car. There's two sides to every story but no one wants to let good news get in the way of a good tale, expecially when it contradicts with the popular British cultural passtime of bashing our home-grown products then wondering why the hell they no longer exist.

If you had a Montego Turbo as a company car then you certainly had a rare beast whether you liked it or not.

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes/ It was a company car. Yes we do have a pop at cars, especially the ones where the workers were always on strike. It showed in the end product. As I mentioned before I've owned several Triumphs (Heralds, Dolly 1850, 2 Sprints) and the Triumphs were a relative BL success. The rest sadly were the butt of so many jokes...

Fair enough, you're welcome to your views and I have no intention of trying to change them. But I've lived with these cars for 25 years, there's nothing I haven't heard, and the only common factor seems to be that 99% of people who slag them off do so from third-hand 'facts' that their cousin's next door neighbour overheard someone saying on a bus one day. Or something similar. It gets tiring and repetitive after a while. By all accounts if I took notice of what I've heard over the years from peoples' third-hand tales it's a miracle my car starts.

We owned several MG Maestro 2.0i's (not all at once) as the daily driver for neary 12 years, so reliability was of utmost importance, and I can't really say in all honesty they let us down more or less than any other make of car. There's two sides to every story but no one wants to let good news get in the way of a good tale, expecially when it contradicts with the popular British cultural passtime of bashing our home-grown products then wondering why the hell they no longer exist.

If you had a Montego Turbo as a company car then you certainly had a rare beast whether you liked it or not.

The MG was a fast in a straight line - good for motorway driving. Give it a few windy bends and it was like a shopping trolley.

I know some Triumphs had a bad reputation. More often than it was the owners who hadn't a clue: The slant four cylinder engines fitted to the Dolly 1850 and Sprints and Stags (which had a twin Dolly engine) had awful reputation for blowing head gaskets. They would take it to the garage to have the gasket replaced but wouldn't question why they blew. The simple answer was poor cooling system. You could buy upgrades to a standard radiator - perfect. Although with mine I kept the standard radiator used to top up with distilled water (cooled boiled water). Never had a head gasket issue

Exactly the same with Alfas. If you know what to look for or hear you should pick up a real good'un.

 

[keeper of the quays]

Yes/ It was a company car. Yes we do have a pop at cars, especially the ones where the workers were always on strike. It showed in the end product. As I mentioned before I've owned several Triumphs (Heralds, Dolly 1850, 2 Sprints) and the Triumphs were a relative BL success. The rest sadly were the butt of so many jokes...

Fair enough, you're welcome to your views and I have no intention of trying to change them. But I've lived with these cars for 25 years, there's nothing I haven't heard, and the only common factor seems to be that 99% of people who slag them off do so from third-hand 'facts' that their cousin's next door neighbour overheard someone saying on a bus one day. Or something similar. It gets tiring and repetitive after a while. By all accounts if I took notice of what I've heard over the years from peoples' third-hand tales it's a miracle my car starts.

We owned several MG Maestro 2.0i's (not all at once) as the daily driver for neary 12 years, so reliability was of utmost importance, and I can't really say in all honesty they let us down more or less than any other make of car. There's two sides to every story but no one wants to let good news get in the way of a good tale, expecially when it contradicts with the popular British cultural passtime of bashing our home-grown products then wondering why the hell they no longer exist.

If you had a Montego Turbo as a company car then you certainly had a rare beast whether you liked it or not.

The MG was a fast in a straight line - good for motorway driving. Give it a few windy bends and it was like a shopping trolley.

I know some Triumphs had a bad reputation. More often than it was the owners who hadn't a clue: The slant four cylinder engines fitted to the Dolly 1850 and Sprints and Stags (which had a twin Dolly engine) had awful reputation for blowing head gaskets. They would take it to the garage to have the gasket replaced but wouldn't question why they blew. The simple answer was poor cooling system. You could buy upgrades to a standard radiator - perfect. Although with mine I kept the standard radiator used to top up with distilled water (cooled boiled water). Never had a head gasket issue

Exactly the same with Alfas. If you know what to look for or hear you should pick up a real good'un.

Is that all distilled water is? Cooled boiled water?

 

[MajorFubar]

The MG was a fast in a straight line - good for motorway driving. Give it a few windy bends and it was like a shopping trolley.

I heard the early ones were bad on corners but I never had an early one. They seemed to have sorted it by the post-88 facelift by all accounts. Completely different wheels and the suspension was changed. To relate a third hand tale from a lad I knew on one of the forums, he owned both a late Monty Turbo and an Astra GTe 16V (both beautiful condition and a credit to him), and he said the Astra GTe was far more scary round bends. Though of course again that's a third-hand tale.

Loved the 70s Triumphs.

 

[Frank Harvey]

You still see Triumphs on the road. But what you don't see are Maestros, Metros, Montegos, etc. Tells you something.

 

[MajorFubar]

You still see Triumphs on the road. But what you don't see are Maestros, Metros, Montegos, etc. Tells you something.

You don't see many 80s cars on the road of any description. Fords, Vauxhalls, VWs, you name it, you do see the odd performance derivative of them, brought out on the day the sun shines, but all the 'cooking' models have long since gone. 90s cars are vanishing even faster, proportionally, but it isn't because they were built worse, it's the disposable nature of the industry, helped along by the attrociously wasteful scrappage scheme.

 

[plastic penguin]

Yes/ It was a company car. Yes we do have a pop at cars, especially the ones where the workers were always on strike. It showed in the end product. As I mentioned before I've owned several Triumphs (Heralds, Dolly 1850, 2 Sprints) and the Triumphs were a relative BL success. The rest sadly were the butt of so many jokes...

Fair enough, you're welcome to your views and I have no intention of trying to change them. But I've lived with these cars for 25 years, there's nothing I haven't heard, and the only common factor seems to be that 99% of people who slag them off do so from third-hand 'facts' that their cousin's next door neighbour overheard someone saying on a bus one day. Or something similar. It gets tiring and repetitive after a while. By all accounts if I took notice of what I've heard over the years from peoples' third-hand tales it's a miracle my car starts.

We owned several MG Maestro 2.0i's (not all at once) as the daily driver for neary 12 years, so reliability was of utmost importance, and I can't really say in all honesty they let us down more or less than any other make of car. There's two sides to every story but no one wants to let good news get in the way of a good tale, expecially when it contradicts with the popular British cultural passtime of bashing our home-grown products then wondering why the hell they no longer exist.

If you had a Montego Turbo as a company car then you certainly had a rare beast whether you liked it or not.

The MG was a fast in a straight line - good for motorway driving. Give it a few windy bends and it was like a shopping trolley.

I know some Triumphs had a bad reputation. More often than it was the owners who hadn't a clue: The slant four cylinder engines fitted to the Dolly 1850 and Sprints and Stags (which had a twin Dolly engine) had awful reputation for blowing head gaskets. They would take it to the garage to have the gasket replaced but wouldn't question why they blew. The simple answer was poor cooling system. You could buy upgrades to a standard radiator - perfect. Although with mine I kept the standard radiator used to top up with distilled water (cooled boiled water). Never had a head gasket issue

Exactly the same with Alfas. If you know what to look for or hear you should pick up a real good'un.

Is that all distilled water is? Cooled boiled water?

Yup - pretty much so. Boiling takes out impurities that can contaminate the cylinder head. I still use it today with the Alfa. Keep a litre bottle (usually a washed out milk bottle)

 

[plastic penguin]

You still see Triumphs on the road. But what you don't see are Maestros, Metros, Montegos, etc. Tells you something.

You don't see many 80s cars on the road of any description. Fords, Vauxhalls, VWs, you name it, you do see the odd performance derivative of them, brought out on the day the sun shines, but all the 'cooking' models have long since gone. 90s cars are vanishing even faster, proportionally, but it isn't because they were built worse, it's the disposable nature of the industry, helped along by the attrociously wasteful scrappage scheme.

Around my neck of the woods you do.... 60s, 70s and 80s.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Mind you, I can't remember the last time I saw a TR7.

 

[plastic penguin]

Mind you, I can't remember the last time I saw a TR7.

Thank God! Sure it was designed like a wedge of cheese. I love Triumphs but the TR7 and the fabled TR8 were mingers.

 

[MajorFubar]

Around my neck of the woods you do.... 60s, 70s and 80s.

Very, very little round here pre-2000 still in general use. Pre-90 stuff you can sometimes find at classic car shows, if you attend one where the snooty grey-bearded old marshalls haven't turned everything away made this side of 1976. As for everyday cars, what hasn't been rusted away by our coastal rain gets sent to the crusher by the dealer when it's traded in and is too undesirable to sell, so pretty much anything over ten to twelve years old. From that perspective the classic car scene has a pretty depressing future really.

 

[plastic penguin]

Around my neck of the woods you do.... 60s, 70s and 80s.

Very, very little round here pre-2000 still in general use. Pre-90 stuff you can sometimes find at classic car shows, if you attend one where the snooty grey-bearded old marshalls haven't turned everything away made this side of 1976. As for everyday cars, what hasn't been rusted away by our coastal rain gets sent to the crusher by the dealer when it's traded in and is too undesirable to sell, so pretty much anything over ten to twelve years old. From that perspective the classic car scene has a pretty depressing future really.

Around our village the following cars are seen on a regular basis:

Triumph Herald 13/60; Morris Minor; 1960s Morgan; Ford Cortina MKI (1965 'C' reg); Porsche 928; Triumph TR4A; VW Beetle, the one with the rear cluster lights (circa 1973); 1981 Porsche 911 Carrera.

You don't see them everyday but they driven on regular basis. Then we get a lot of passing classics and vintage cars - we live a few miles down the road from Brooklands Museum.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Is that all distilled water is? Cooled boiled water?

Nope, it most certainly is not! Cooled boiled water still contains far too many impurities. Distilled water is condensed steam.

 

[MajorFubar]

we live a few miles down the road from Brooklands Museum.

Aha! That would explain a lot Have visited it a couple of times, once purely to visit while visiting friends that way, and once to display at a show (Brooklands MG Era Show). Beautiful on both occasions.

 

[The_Lhc]

Is that all distilled water is? Cooled boiled water?

Nope, it most certainly is not! Cooled boiled water still contains far too many impurities. Distilled water is condensed steam.

Exactly, you have to boil the water off, collect the steam in another container, recondense it and then you have distilled water, which has left the impurities behind. Boiled tap water will probably contain a higher concentration of impurities than unboiled tap water.