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Here’s what to look out for when viewing an MGC. A well set-up example will provide a comfortable ride and the MGC’s straight-six delivers power smoothly through the range to provide excellent grand touring cruising capabilities.
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Over half a century after its launch, enthusiasts who now understand the MGC are praising the car as a superb grand tourer. Over the years, owners have experimented with various makes of tyres inflated to different pressures and this together with modifications to the suspension and steering have helped to bring handling characteristics up to the level expected from a car graced with the marque’s famous octagonal badge. Even when the MGC was in production, tuning firms such as Downton were providing kits to squeeze over 200 horsepower out of the C-Series power plant, turning a lazy cruiser into a real red-blooded sports car. However, despite the poor start the MGC has matured with age and like many BMH/BL products of the time, it’s been down to enthusiasts to discover the lost potential in the standard car. Only 9000 MGCs (almost exactly evenly split between roadsters and GTs) were sold before production came to an end in 1969. The fact that the new MGC Roadster and tin topped GT enjoyed virtually the same profiles and interior layout as their four-cylinder siblings were other important factors that failed to ignite the ‘C’s showroom appeal. Another blow to the C-Series powered MGC’s rapidly depreciating image was when BMH’s over imaginative marketing department hinted how the new six-cylinder MG had been introduced to fill a gap vacated by the recently withdrawn Austin Healey 3000. While the initial road tests reported how the ‘C was cursed with significant understeer didn’t help boost the car’s appeal, the complaint was found to be totally unfounded when it transpired how the BMC team tasked with preparing the cars for the press launch had underinflated the front tyres. This unfortunate situation was down to successive period road testers commenting about being left with aching arms and sore shoulders as a result of the MGC’s heavy steering and expressing their disappointment at the lack of grunt produced by the new MG’s twin SU fuelled 2912cc straight-six. Unfortunately for MG and its parent company British Motor Holdings (BMH), the hype surrounding the powerful new sportscar started to unravel almost before the MGC reached the showroom.
When the MGC was introduced at the 1967 Earls Court Motor Show, great things were expected from what at the time was considered to be the most powerful road going MG to date. In this MGC buying buide, we take a look at the dos and don’ts when buying the British-built 60s sports car.