On The Shoulders Of Giants

08 Nov On The Shoulders Of Giants

During the heyday of the SEMA build-up, we let loose another long-term service car, and it is finally getting the big post this little car deserves.

The car in question is an MG, a British brand that’s been around since most of our grandparents. This specific roadster, a 1979 MGB Roadster, is one of 400 thousand copies produced worldwide, but we guarantee there are far less of them in the world these days, as we all know how old British Leyland cars can be. Featuring a 1.8L carbureted inline 4 and a wheelbase less than 100 inches, this is not a big car. Not at all.

You may look at this car and think, “Hey, that’s a pretty goofy nose it has there.” Well, it is definitely goofy, and the only person you have to thank is whoever came up with the 1973 United States vehicle crash regulations. In Model Year ’74, U.S. regulations demanded that the MGB change from its typical chrome-and-steel front bumper to something, um, “safer.” So they slapped this giant plastic duckbill on the front, put something similar on the rear bumpers and called it a day. And, to make it even better, federal headlight height regulations demanded the MGB bring its lights up an extra inch. Instead of redesigning the car, do you know what MG did? They just raised the car 1″ from the factory, completely botching the handling. Beats going back to the drawing board, right?

But we’re not here to lament regulations or anything, we’re here to celebrate an awesome little car that is finally where it should be — back out on the roads, (hopefully) hooning it up. And that won’t be too hard to do, as the MGB has more of a purpose-driven interior than many cars. You won’t find an overabundance of lights and dials on the dashboard; instead, it’s just the basics up front. Along with a clock, to remind you how time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Even the cigarette lighter has the most pleasant picture of a cigarette we’ve ever seen.

Unlike other older cars we’ve had on the blog, this one keeps its original AM/FM radio in pristine condition.

MG’s very good at explaining everything in the car. So much so, that even the speakers have little pictures of speakers on them.

Perhaps to reduce rage-related horn usage, MG has its horn on the turn signal stalk, which can be honked by pushing in on the handle. As a matter of fact, that’s a great way to reduce rage, because if you try to honk your horn angrily, you’ll just snap the stalk in two. Score one for quieter roads, and score two for all the MG dealerships that repair all those broken stalks.

And a little car deserves little windshield wipers. So little that the car requires three of them!

And need we even mention the four-speed transmission? It’s not too often when you access first gear by nudging the shift lever forward.

All in all, it’s a little car with big character…

…And it does one hell of a burnout.*

* Come now, did you really think this wasn’t staged? We aligned the MG with one of the burnout tracks from the Black Series (if you saw the video, you’d know) and photoshopped out the other one, since the MG and Black Series are not the same width whatsoever. But we had you going for a second…..right? Right?