Do I detect some anti american sentiment from down under?
I have worked on British sports cars off and on for 40 years.
I think they are gorgeous and troublesome, just like most pretty women.
I think that most of the problems that we encountered here in the states is because we really put the miles on these cars. Many more miles than would be the norm in England. Now it seems that things down in Australia are pretty spread out as they are here in the states and so the possibility exists that you would add up the miles there too. Be that as it may, no one can argue with the unreliable wiring a mid 60s through late 70s triumph-mG-jag. The slide on spade connections commonly slide off when they shouldn't have.
No one has mentioned the terrible TR7 in this thread. I think that there was an air bleed in the cooling system that un experienced mechanics didn't know about. That killed a lot of engines in that car.
Twin and tripple carbs are great. I love them. But when they were brought to this country, the EPA required them to meet emission and fuel mileage standards which caused some real problems for mechanics who were just trying to get them to run well. this is in my opinion, the main reason that some american mechanics find fault with Brit cars. You Ausies didn't have to fool with those trashed carbs.
The electronic ignition in the 80's jags has personally stranded me, and it cost a fortune. $500 american for the crank trigger module at the Jag dealer and you can't buy it elsewhere. Shall we bring up the Delorean here? Is Northern Ireland considered English? Anyway, it had that terrible underpowered French Peigeot POS power in it. But the rest of the car was out to lunch as far as quality control too.
I love English sports cars. And the maintenance that they require, the tinkering, if you will, agrees with me. I love old British bikes too. My 1959 Triump Bonneville had an owners manual that instructed removing the muffler/exhaust pipe evry 1500 miles to "Decarbonize" by boiling it out. Now that is excessive maintenance!
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