Your idea of a R107 car is a good one. My dad has a 1979 450SL that is an amazing car. It doesn't get great mileage (not much worse than a TR6 though...) and it isn't "light" or "agile" but it offers a great top-down experience and is reliable to a fault.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

i didnt know Al Gore was a brit! is that where he gets his "stiffness"? :p

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Another English car quote. I knew a retired brit who had worked for a Rolls Royce dealer in the 50-60s. WE were talking about the neat covered trailers that the local dealer used to move around or tow in their cars. He stated that a Rolls had never broken down. I said for him to quit pulling my leg. He said he was serious. That in the history of the car. it had never happened that a Rolls Royce had broken down.
Infrequintly, they have been known to fail to proceed, but Never has one ever broken down.

I remember reading a lot about english sportscars when I was a kid. They were always intriguing to me and to most people. I think the reason was that they were intended to be fun. In this country we had too many business coupes and not enough Avanti's, Corvette's or Mustangs. And when we finally built the t-bird and Corvette within a few years it transitioned into something very un-sports car like. They sure were contankerous though after they had a few miles on them. That may have been the way they were designed though. Built in obsolesense. I remember a XKE owners manual describing how the car was not to be repaired if you crushed the front tube frame. Just go out and buy a new Jag!

Despite my past comments, I have to say that when the TF1500 or the MGB were working and motoring down the highway, I would tell myself that there was no amount of money that would make me sell the car. The low to the road, wind in the thinning hair and exhaust note was what open motoring was supposed to be. However, having to wack the fuel pump with a rubber mallet on the side of the road to get it "ticking" again was about the time you consider painting a "Take It Away" sign and catching the bus home. I honestly believe that most of us MG and Triumph owners had more than one in the belief that they both wouldn't fail at the same time!

the British roadsters of the 30s-60s (or even the Mercedes of the period) required periodic attention to lubrication, brakes, carbs, winshield wipers with comical means of propulsion, etc...didn't stop in the same distance a modern car does, and had a higher level of "involvement" demanded by the owner before the car could go on down the road.

A '40s Buick, Packard, MG, Rolls-Royce, or any other car will have a skill-set that goes along with it, and acquiring that is part of the fun. Same comparison between a wooden sailboat or a fiberglass "turn the key and go" cabin cruiser, or a muzzzle-loading flintlock musket vs an AK47.

This has been a GREAT discussion!! Ever since I first saw an XKE in the early '60s, I have loved sports cars. I never wanted to own a pick-up or an SUV. I always loved, and still do, being right down on the road surface. I often said of my English cars, that you needed to be at least part masochist to enjoy owning and driving one. You felt every little bump in the road and were constantly tinkering with them; but that was part of the fun!! When I finally sold my '72 GT-6 in 1986, it had 49K fun filled miles on it. I told my friends that I sold it to get a Porsche. They said, "You got a Porsche?" I said, "No, a PORCH, you know for the back of my house!" Before I got back into the sports car market a couple years ago, I looked at a TR-6, but decided that I wanted a more reliable weekender, and finally bought the 450sl. But if money were no object, I'd surely have a couple old British cars in the stable again. WHAT FUN!!

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I asked the Lord for everything so that I could enjoy life. He gave me life so that I could enjoy everything!

We had a speaker at our MBZ club meeting that had some pics of a 193~ rols with 2 engines! The story was one lady said her rols had broken down. So they built one with 2 engines for maximum reliability. Bother engines could run independantly, and also run at the same time for more power.

I have had two MB's up until 3 months ago. Both sedans. Three months ago we started looking for a car for my wife and we bought a 107. A 1985 grey market 280SL. It has the 110 six cylander twin cam engine that runs really well. And it has that throaty exhaust that so reminds me of the XKE and TR6. We are working through some stuff with it(ac, oil leak, window regulator, etc) but we just returned from a great weekend trip last weekend. I put a bike rack on and we took a leisurly 175 mile up the east side of the Mississippi and then back on the west side. Top down the whole way. Great Fun! And we made it the whole way with no electrical problem! You probably couldn't do that if you had Lucas.

I had not heard that story before. I think if we went back over some old developments that we could find some inventions that went nowhere when done but now may have significance. Hey I'll start a thread!

Yes, this has been a great thread-

Okay, so we've determined that one probably doesn't want to rely on an old British car for everyday transport. Even up to the mid 90's, British cars seem to have the same problems- a friend's 96 XJ6 Jag (last year of the old style, I think, pre-Ford ownership) goes about a month between repair shop visits. Needless to say, afetr a year of onwership, they leave it parked, are going to sell it, and rely solely on their 99 C230K sedan, which they bought new and have had not a single problem with.

Are the new Ford/Jaguars any better in the reliability department? The stats seem to show that they improve by the year. Just a shame about that X-Type- what a poor excuse for a Jaguar.

Any "modern" British car experiences to share?

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94 E320
71 350SL

try and avert lack of spark from one source or another. The effort that early car makers put into making their products reliable was sometimes breathtaking.

One of the web's best auto sites is www.rrab.com, which has an encyclopedic amount of info on every Rolls-Royce and Bentley ever built, coachbuilders, one-offs, you name it. Enjoy.

I think that Ford came into the picture in about 91. I have a neighbor who has a 1987(I think) XJS 12 cylander coupe. It is gorgeous but if you drive the car, it is impossible to keep everything working at the same time. Fix three things, four others break. You can't get ahead. He kept it for sentimental reasons,( His deceased dads car) But it just takes up a parking space, and it is only worth a couple thou on a good day.
I know a man who had his late 70's XJ6 converted to a 350 chevy because of breakdowns. I have done a few repower's and it is hard to imagine that the repower could be any more dependable because of the radical changes, but it was a very popular conversion. Go figure!

One of the best "urban legend" stories about Rolls customer service I've ever read . . .

A South African doctor took delivery of a new Rolls Royce and occasionally took it on long drives into the countryside. One day, while driving on a particularly bad road, the car made a horrible noise and the doctor stopped. The car was towed back to Pretoria and then taken to the dealership. A new axle was air freight dispatched from England to repair the broken one. After the repair was completed the car was delivered to the doctor but without an invoice. He wrote to the dealer asking when the bill for the broken axle and service would be sent. In a very terse letter, the dealer wrote, "You must be mistaken sir, Rolls Royce axles do not break."

I had a 1980 MGB, and it was very relaible. apart from regular maintenance, and tuneups, I only had to replace one major part, a $14.00 gasket int he carbureter. I drove the car for 2 years and spent very little on it. Most of the money I spent on it was, Custom sterring wheel, painting the hood, painting the wheels, and tires. The rest was, a new coolant overflow tank, the carb gasket, air filter, oil filters, oil, spark plugs, cap rotor, and manual choke.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon