PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - Are older British roadsters really so unreliable?

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Quote:

Originally posted by Peter Fearing
jjrodger: In our country if I where to shoot and intruder(heaven forbid) I would be cosidered a hero. You folks simply have it all backward. I've been to England and, althought pretty, its not really for me. We in the US call it FREEDOM.

Too true. As for freedom, the British may have invented it, but we have forgotten what it means.

nd I don't need a licsence to do it,

1970 - '73 B roadster is the coolest car ever

I have owned 3 MG's: an A (the last year they made them, 1962, I think); a '72 B roadster; and a '73 B roadster.

The A was a junker but treated me well.

The '73 B was a little bit of a lemon, but made it to 189,000 miles before blowing a hole in one of the pistons. Back then, 189,000 was a lot of miles for a gas engine.

The '72 B was a gem. That car was a blast to drive in all conditions, especially snow. Highly reliable. Got 30 MPG.

No offense to Triumph fans, but those cars are not in the same league as MG. MG's were rugged little cars. MG's classically British approach of taking a sound design and constantly improving it worked well until the early '70's. After that, the old tried-and-true methods could not keep up with smog and safety regulations.

I don't think you can do any better than an early '70's B roadster.

I agree that British roadsters have a bit of a bad rap. They are actually quite reliable once you get things sorted out. Until then, however, it can be a little frustrating as it seems something else goes wrong just as you've finished fixing the current problem! Good news, though, is that parts are readily available and very reasonable for an older foreign. Fuel pumps and starters have been a particularly tough experience fopr me, but (knock on wood) both systems seem to be okay now.

I have a '66 B with a Weber carb (a great upgrade for reliability and performance) and rear tube shock conversion. I agree with some earlier posts - the sound and smell of a well tuned B is really fun and addicting!

It is, however, only used on weekends and very light commuting not because of reliability issues, but rather for safety issues. When you ride in a car like this, you really sense your mortality when stuck in the shadow of a modern SUV. These things could easily roll right over me without registering more than a speed bump to the driver! And when Accords began to seem huge and fast and intimidating, I knew it was probably best to keep my little B out of LA commute traffic!

Keep in mind that the trade unions got so strong that they did not have to build good cars. In some countries this is called socialism. It don't work.