MG Quiz

nice one rog lol did wounder how long lol

over to you to post the next one

Congrats to the quizzers on achieving 50k plus on this thread. :broon: There must even be a few correct answers in amongst all those guesses. :lol:

Leigh Ping wrote: Congrats to the quizzers on achieving 50k plus on this thread. :broon: There must even be a few correct answers in amongst all those guesses. :lol:

Just a few :sick: :woohoo: mainly Paul and Mr F ~ good game, good game :yesnod:

What is the car and what is significant about it?
Who bought it and where did he put it?

North American spec MGB

The black-bumper MGB was quite a bit heavier than the previous versions; curb weight was more than 1,095 kg. Unrestricted British cars still had 97 bhp, but by 1975, North American Bs were down to 62.5 net bhp, making for rather sedate straight-line performance. Abingdon planned to address that shortfall in 1981 by switching to the 1,994 cc O-series engine, but the MGB was canceled shortly before production was to begin.

For 1980, North American MGBs were back up to 67 net bhp, although they were still much slower than the old Mark I and Mark II. Engineer Terry Mitchell said that if the planned O-series engine had gone into production for 1981, U.S. Bs would have had about 95 bhp with British cars having a healthy 127 bhp. Abingdon also experimented with a turbocharged O-series engine, which would have had something between 140 and 160 bhp.

Back to the photo posted by rog1963, the VIN number is GVVDJ2AG523000, which was the last North American specification MGB roadster, a North American LE model. In the photo we see Henry Ford II on the left receiving the car, a gift to him. It was placed in the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI.





The North American MGB Limited Edition was introduced in 1979, and eventually sold nearly 6,700. All the American Limited Editions were black, with silver tape stripes, five-spoke alloy wheels, and front spoiler.

In January 1983 the museum sold it, along with the 1929 MG M type Midget that Edsel Ford had owned, to the Gast Classic Motorcars Exhibit, Strasburg, PA. which is a private car museum.

Just to polish off the MGB history;

On 23 October 1980 the last two MGB's to come out of Abingdon, VIN 523001, the last MGB roadster, a metallic bronze LE and VIN 523002 the last ever MGB, a GT LE in metallic silver. British Leyland marketed a final 1,000 cars as 1981 Limited Edition models, priced at £6,445 for the roadster and £6,937 for the GT.

Three part logo question

Which car did this come off?



What year did it's replacement feature as the prominent logo on the cars?

What colour scheme was used for the MG logo at this time?

hmm triky one
bloke is lesley something
car 1st mg mgb in the usa thus the rubber bumpers and horible side lights
lol posted this before refreshing page oh well nearly there

after a little digging

badge was used from 1952 on
mg logo was as current red /cream


morris oxford


Brief History of MG Cars



The initials MG, as used in the MG brand name, actually stand for Morris Garages, which in the early 1920’s was the name of the Oxford based distributor of Morris cars. By strange coincidence the business was owned by a Mr. William Morris, who later became Lord Nuffield.

Cecil Kimber was appointed as the General Manager of the company in 1922, and benefitting from his flair and creativity, the company began to specialise in marketing customised Morris Cowley’s. These cars had lowered suspension and were fitted with bespoke sports car bodies.


Old Number One – The First MG Car

The first MG sports car, now known as Old Number One, was quite a crudely built vehicle that lacked power and was reported to have been fitted with appalling brakes. This had been designed and built by Cecil Kimber and had a top speed of around 70mph, and was said to be great fun to drive.

Old Number One still exists today and is probably worth an absolute fortune. It was built on a bespoke chassis and fitted with an overhead valve Hotchkiss 1.5–litre four–cylinder engine, producing around 38bhp. Morris axles and brakes were used, special springs were made, and Hartford friction dampers were fitted at the rear.

Carbodies of Coventry built the two–seater bodywork and with its skimpy mudguards. The car had very poor lighting with two small lamps mounted above the twin spare wheels (one on each side of the body) and a single glow-worm lamp at the back.

The cut down bodywork gave the old car a racy appearance. When driven there was a rasp from the exhaust under acceleration and a series of backfires when lifting off the throttle. This was a car built by Cecil Kimber for hill climb trials, and although not particularly powerful, it did provide the driver with total car involvement.


A Split Braking System, But Not For Safety Reasons

What is said to be fascinating about Old Number One is the car had a split braking system. This was not the same as modern vehicles where dual circuits are installed for safety reasons, but with a foot brake operating on the front wheels and a hand operated lever applying brakes to the rear wheels.

In the 1920–s, a good driver was constantly alert to the needs of the machine. Old Number One has silver–faced Smiths dials to monitor fuel and oil pressure, engine revs, road speed and the condition of the electrical system. The water temperature gauge was a glorified thermometer, as in a Boyce Motometer set on the radiator cap. Other controls in the cabin include a fuel pressure pump, a lever for ignition advance and retard, and a fuel mixture dial, this being vital for starting the engine in cold weather.


Cecil Kimber Competes at The Lands End Trial

In 1925, Cecil Kimber helped to bring the MG name to the attention of the motoring public with a faultless performance in the Lands End Trial. This was a sporting event of some importance organised by the Motor Cycling Club and a test of both performance and durability of both car and driver. The event started at Slough and finished at Land's End, and Cecil Kimber produced the car specifically for the event.

After Cecil Kimber had finished with Old Number One he sold it to a friend in Lancashire. However, it returned home to Oxford in the early 1930’s after allegedly being found on a scrap heap in Manchester.


The First Car to Wear The MG Badge

By 1924, Morris Garages were advertising an MG Special four–seater sports model and this was the first car to display the now famous octagonal MG badge. Old Number One may have been the first MG sports car, but the MG badge first appeared on the 48th body, built for Morris Garages by Carbodies of Coventry.

In 1929 Morris Garages relocated to Abingdon in Oxfordshire, this being the third premises they had occupied in eight years. By this time the company had been renamed as the MG Car Company. During the early 1930’s,the MG Car Company made its name as a producer of sports cars and promoted its road cars according to the motor racing success of their competition cars. However, in 1935, William Morris sold his private companies, including MG, to Morris Motors.


MG is Part of British Motor Corporation (BMC)

In 1952 an amalgamation of Austin, Morris (owners of MG), Wolesley and Riley took place to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC). William Morris, who became Lord Nuffield, was the first chairman of this corporate giant that was producing 39% of Britain’s car manufacturing output. However, in August of that same year, Lord Nuffield’s position was taken over by Leonard Lord.

Prior to the formation of the new company, Leonard Lord had been chairman of Austin, and once chairman of BMC he gathered around him many members of his Austin management team. This caused ill feeling within the company as it seemed the other car names within the group were always disadvantaged by comparison.

The purists will argue that from that point onwards MG cars were never the same again. There was less variety in the products, racing activities became limited, and the MG badge began to appear on BMC saloons. These included an MG version of the Morris Oxford, a car with a reputation for being a steady family saloon.

PQD44 wrote: Three part logo question

Which car did this come off?

What year did it's replacement feature as the prominent logo on the cars?

What colour scheme was used for the MG logo at this time?

From car: "Bullnose" M.G. 1925/26.

In June 1924 Cecil Kimber produced the 14/28 MG Super Sport. At this stage MG was not a make of car, but a Morris Oxford fitted with a Morris Garages (MG) Super Sport body. All 14/28's were registered as Morris Oxfords and carried a Morris chassis plate. However the body had a coach builders plate below the doors stamped Morris Garages and bearing the MG octagon. MG became an independant marque in 1927 with completion of the newly built factory at Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford.

Replaced in 1927.

Colour scheme: as today - red and cream.

PQD44 wrote: In the photo we see Henry Ford II on the left receiving the car, a gift to him. It was placed in the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI.

Great information Paul.
Just to add that the other person pictured is Graham Whitehead, the then chief executive of British Leyland's North American subsidiary company.

tui wrote: From car: "Bullnose" M.G. 1925/26.

In June 1924 Cecil Kimber produced the 14/28 MG Super Sport......

Replaced in 1927.

Colour scheme: as today - red and cream.

:woohoo: We have a winner with a perfect answer to all parts of the question.

:hugs: Welcome to the MG Quiz hall of Fame Hari :yesnod:

Tradition now dictates that you set the next MG Quiz question Tui

Woohoo :woohoo: ! Can't believe I won :omg: !

So here goes! My first question is a two-parter:

Who designed the MG ZA Magnette in what year?
What was so special about this car?