I have been a member of the MG Car Club since about 1976 and have owned several MG's.
In chronological order of ownership these are:
1. 1966 MGB Roadster. Registration LSS567D. Colour - red. My first car. I owned this car for about 18 months while I was in the Merchant Navy around 1976. It cost me £76 per 3 months to insure it which was horrific at the time. I could only afford it as I was away most of the time. The car originally had an alloy bonnet but this was replaced by the heavier version after the original opened and folded itself over the roof while I was driving down the fast lane of the M4. Not a nice experience!
2. 1970 MGB Roadster. Registration EWJ92H. Colour - that orange (blaze?) colour that was popular in the 1970's. It was eventually re-sprayed BRG (the Jaguar version). I owned this car for most of the 1980's and spent loads of money on it. New Engine, new floors, new petrol tank, new interior trim, new axle/springs and wheels. It looked superb when I eventually sold it in 1988 for £2000.
Photo:
3. 1985 MG Metro. Bought new. Colour - black. Good fun car but not truly an MG.
4. 1970 MG Midget. Registration MBF894J. Colour - red. I bought this car as a near wreck. It had no front suspension but the engine ran. Spent a stupid amount of money getting it rebuilt so that I could race it in the MGCC Halfords Midget Challenge race series. It was still road legal but somewhat of a firm ride on the road. Racing it was great fun even though I never finished better than in the mid field. This was eventually sold to help keep the next MG up to scratch.
Photo's:
5. 1976 MG BGT V8. Registration MNX81P. Colour - black. I bought this car in 1995. The V8 is/was a lovely engine but tended to run a bit hot. Great fun to drive just for the sound of the engine. Not good handling though. My V8 was one of extremely few that was fitted with air conditioning. This was part exchanged for the next MG.
Photo's:
6. 1997 MGF VVC. Registration R331KAN. Colour - volcano (pearlescent orange/bronze). This was bought new. What a superb car! Fantastic fun to drive, loved to rev hard. The best soft top design ever. Decent handing (though this may have seemed better than it was after driving the BGTV8!). I loved this car but things worked out that I had a 5 minute drive to work which was a waste of a car. The "F" was p/x'd for a Rover 420 plus the cash for the next MG.
Photo's:
7. 1969 MGB Roadster. Registration CGO780H. Colour - black. This car was bought to race in the road modified classes of the Anglia Phoenix and Moss BCV8 MGCC championships. It was bought on 9th May 1999 from Barry Sidery-Smith (a well known character in MG circles). I did a few races before deciding a did not like it as much as I had done when racing the Midget. So, no more racing and the car was eventually sold in 2005.
Photo's:
8. 2002 MG ZS180. Registration originally RK02EWS. Colour - Solar red. Bought new 4/4/2002 from Arriva MG/Rover in High Wycombe, Bucks. What can I say about this car? With the one exception of not being able to take the roof off, everything else is much better even than the MGF. Considering that it is based on the Rover 45 the looks are pretty good. The 177 bhp V6 2.5 litre engine is a beauty. Great torque, lovely sound above 3000 rpm and electric mid-range acceleration. In terms of performance/bhp per pound spent I don't think any other car gets near the ZS180.
Photo's:
9. 2002 MG ZR105+. Registration originally RK02EWZ. Colour - Solar red. Bought new 14/5/2002 from Arriva MG/Rover in High Wycombe, Bucks. I would say the looks are better than the ZS but as it uses the "K" series 1.4 litre engine it obviously does not have ZS type performance.
Photo's:
10. 2005 MG ZS180 mk2. Colour - Goodwood Green. Bought new April 2005 from Arriva MG/Rover in High Wycombe, Bucks. The mk2 ZS looked much more aggressive and purposeful than the mk1.
Photo's:
