MG Car Club of South Australia
MGC NEWS
MGC mutterings from Richard Mixture, November 2017
much quicker than
the B, and it does:
top speed, for ex-
ample, was 118.2
m.p.h. for our hard-
top two seater, com-
pared with the 106.5
m.p.h. attained by
the similar version
of the MGB which
was tested in 1964.”
The release of the MGC at the Earl Court
Motor Show in 1967
Talking about the positive aspects in the
article it article says “Certainly the new
model amply satisfies one of the prime
requirements of grand touring – the abil-
ity to cruise with complete effortlessness
at high speeds.” “Also GT in character
are some improvements to interior
safety and comfort: rubber winders for
the windows, neatly recessed door locks
and some welcome additional fore-and-
aft adjustment for the driver’s seat.” It
does say that rake adjustments for the
seats are “primitive and inadequate as
ever, the heater has inferior controls
and remains an extra, the glove com-
partment is crude ...” “Despite these
faults, general comfort is quite good and
there are few cars that can outpace the
MGC at anything near its £1,163 price
tag” You’d have to fork out around
£20,000 to buy one today.
H
ello again, it's Richard here. Did
you read the English Motor maga-
zine on the 4 th November, 1967? Yes
that’s 50 years ago. That nice young
Register Co-ordinator gave me a copy
that he had received from that nice old
Queenslander, you know who I mean,
yes that’s right, it’s Bruce.
Well, 17 days earlier on the 18 th October
at the Earls Court Motor show the MGC
was released to the public and all the
journos were keen to test this new six
cylinder MG. The Motor article was one
of the best I have read. The heading
says “Softly, Softly – Stable high speed
cruising; smooth, quiet engine sluggish
at low revs; good roadholding; clumsy
steering; good brakes and economy;
seats comfortable but lack support;
dated finish and controls.” The MGC
they tested was NJB 649F which ap-
pears to be the only time this car was
written about in a magazine. The en-
gine was “described in detail in our Oc-
tober 21 st issue, the new engine is a
modified, lightened and seven-bearing
version of the old Healey six:” “With
53% more power yet only 18% more
weight the MGC can be expected to go
“Performance and economy
... it pulls without hesitation, pinking or
vibration making for pleasant driving
around town – and the quiet hum of the
exhaust is the predominant noise.” Yes,
we all like that noise. In fact on leaving
the October Register meeting that well
known spelling error, TD McNobb,
thought that Dean’s BV8 sounded won-
derful until he heard that beautiful six
cylinder throb, (err... should we call him
8