MGC GT: A Baby Aston Martin For A Fraction of The Cost? (Review of A Misunderstood British Classic)

The MGC was arguably the most controversial MG to ever roll out of the Abingdon factory! A development story filled with controversy and heavily criticised by the Motoring Press at launch in 1967 - the MGC had a short lifespan of just two years in which just 9,000 were made, making it one of the rarest and misunderstood MGs ever produced. Thankfully, it’s time for the big ‘C’ to get its moment in the spotlight.
Strikingly good 1960s looks, a punchy six-cylinder engine and a unique character all of its own make the MGC a competent grand tourer and well-worth a second look. In fact I’d say the recipe is so good that it’s not impossible to call it a ‘baby Aston Martin’. It’s a big statement to make, but join me in the latest Fuel up Classic video to see if I can prove my theory right with a full review of one of the forgotten gems of British motoring history
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/k...
License code: C24Y7BKECVWTQ8B2

[@lascm5237]

Why do people graft on those awful wooden dashboards on a lovely crackle-finished dash original 😬

[@Martin_in_Cheltenham]

Because it is their car and they can do what they want.. not sure I would though.

[@adama8570]

The shiny dash of the MGA showed reflections so the MGB roadster got the crackle-finish and the GT was cheaper to fit with the same.

[@RAW555R]

Agree they look awful, also those horrid wooden steering wheels they feel bloody horrible in Ur hands and look cheesy, all personal choice of course but they look shit. I like standard or possibly a nice Astrali or Moto lita leather wheel.

[@mikeuk4130]

Because they think it suits the Grand Tourer aesthetic of the CGT? I think a good matte finish in Birdseye Maple or a dark burred wood would look lovely, although the black crackle does look great with the black Smiths instruments.

[@alexpanting4177]

@RAW555R most wooden wheels are mota lita mine is certainly doesn't feel cheap especially the deep dish chunkier one

[@roygardiner2229]

Some things in life are immediately perceived as beautiful. Your opening sequence was such! It's gorgeous.

[@fuelupclassic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lauriebloggs8391]

Had one of these until recently, owned it for years, it was the MG I always aspired to, whilst all my fellow enthusiasts went for the V8. A fabulous long legged mile muncher.....several times cruising on the continent at three figures. I miss it hugely, but you can't drive now in this country...........

[@adama8570]

Having had both a B and a C I haven´t got enough praise for the C! Having had a father who worked for MG I became familiar with the C in my teens just before its introduction. Big mistake that the engine was not made in larger numbers due to the wrong and weird decision to release the Austin 3 litre instead of its planned Wolseley version with a much clearer upmarket identity.

[@fuelupclassic]

Great to hear!

[@chuckmaddison2924]

Not seen before, but I did get to see an MGRV8, which I also had never seen before. That was a surprise and it was in Western Australia.

[@onlinebizjp]

I love its style anyway. It's a great car for daily driving. a nice engine, a cozy interior, and a beautiful design. Thank you🙏

[@fuelupclassic]

Glad you like it and thank you for watching.

[@peterdaisleyworrall9458]

The best car out of Abingdon post war. Hugely misunderstood by so many and those in that camp missed the boat big time! A baby Aston Martin is definitely a worthy comment. I have owned C´s for more than 40years and have loved them from day 1. Very well built and - in the best possible way - a bit over engineered and massively strong. The engine is also very robust, very tuneable with the second version of the BMC C series 6 so much smoother than the series 1 that powered the Austin Healey. Great video, thank you.

[@fuelupclassic]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@MGC.GT.1968]

Between myself and my pal we have 3 MGC's, 1 x GT and 2 roadsters, one of which is an ex BCV8 race car from the 1970's. The GT is a show standard restoration in snowberry white with 72 spoke silver painted wheels & 165/80R/15 modern tyres and is driven regularly (no point in owning one if you don't drive it IMHO). The others are a tartan red roadster with triple SU carbs and MG motorsport parts with chrome wires and 185/70R/15 tyres. The ex BCV8 race car is a snowberry white beast which is highly tuned using upgraded camshaft and cylinder head running triple SU carbs with open ram pipes. This one has bolt on minilite style wheels in silver with 185/65R/15 tyres. A very fast car 😊. 20 mpg on a good day, if you can resist putting your foot down, which you can't 😂😂 and we use premium unleaded E5 fuel. We also use Miller oils and change the filters every 3000 miles to keep the engines in top condition. Well done on a great review 🤍🏁

[@fuelupclassic]

Great to hear you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing your MGC ownership stories. I can only imagine the BCV8 is epic fun!

[@marknelson5929]

I owned a Downton tuned MGC GT for a short while around 2003. It had a triple SU setup etc, big valve head, lightened fly wheel etc it flew and sounded glorious. It was originally Sandy Beige with red leather, white piping interior, but someone in the past painted it red. When MG were looking at giving the MGB more power, they ran a test car in the early 60s with the 'Blue Streak Six' a 2.4 litre straight six used in the Australian built Wolseley 24/80 & Austin Freeway (ADO 40) saloon - basically a six cylinder B-Series. It went very well, being a lot lighter than the later engine the C got. Years back I saw an MGB GT for sale in Oz which someone had put one of these 'Blue Streak Six' engines in.

[@fuelupclassic]

I bet that was epic fun! Thank you for watching.

[@airman49]

I own a -69 CGT, tartan red, european version sold new to Switzerland. And I agree with your review. I have owned three sixties MGB's so I know the difference. And of course, I love it. "Smiles per miles" as you said.

[@fuelupclassic]

Wonderful to hear you're enjoying MGC ownership and thank you for watching.

[@85waspnest]

I owned the 1968 roadster version in the mid 1970s. I loved the car which was Tartan Red with a black detachable hard top. The DVLA shows it's still around. registration PMO 262F. I wish I could get in touch with the present owner.

[@fuelupclassic]

The MG Owners' Club run a free Lost & Found service - it might be worthing placing a free advert with them and tracking down the current owner.

[@85waspnest]

@@fuelupclassic Thanks, I'll try that. 🙂

[@adama8570]

I remember how much quieter it was with a hardtop than an MGB!

[@jamescameron314]

I owned two convertible MBGs and had a Bermuda hard top, and two MGB GTs. Loved them!!

[@stringer-ik1pc]

My mum had one of these during the 70s. KNA 330F. automatic. It was great.

[@rover100bunson]

Untaxed since 1984,maybe scrapped or abroad

[@stringer-ik1pc]

@@rover100bunson cheers 👍

[@johnmarsh2078]

There was an MG in the 1960s that was reviled as much as the MGC ..... the Magnette 1V, which was just an Oxford/Cambridge with knobs on. Autocar summed it up as a cheap way to drive behind one of the most famous badges in the history of British motoring. The MGC was a cheap and cheerful car, rushed into production and provided to the press in a dreadful state of maintenance with low tyre pressures and poor suspension tune. The engine as you say wasn't the Westie 3 litre but a heavyweight agricultural lump that should have graced a lorry with less power than the old 3 litre in the AH 3000. The last time BL rushed a car like the MGC into production, it was the Marina, again, provided to the press before it was properly developed with front suspension issues. The V8 was a miles better car and the RV8 is the best.

[@lesklower7281]

There is a man restoring one of these MGCs on another you tube channel yours is very nice l do like the red with the black and the 6 cylinder engine is from the Austin 3000 a car l find very interesting with the comfortable ride of the Austin 1800 with 6 cylinder power what a car because l rode in the back seat of an Austin 1800 many many years ago and it was the most comfortable car l have ever riden in and it wasn't a high end luxury car

[@James-ld2jc]

Nice video. First time I have stumbled across your channel

[@fuelupclassic]

Welcome aboard!

[@americanpatriot2422]

Outstanding video and presentation

[@fuelupclassic]

Thank you very much!

[@nathanchristopher6121]

This is the car they should have put the Rover V8 in.

[@robertedwards4957]

I had one of these and loved it. It cost £600...

[@DanielBODell]

I have a cgt 1969 usa

[@Martin_in_Cheltenham]

Me too and a great car. One of the best videos on an MGC I have seen- thank you. Although I get 28mpg on a good long drive.

[@fuelupclassic]

Thank you for watching.

[@marcustaylor9210]

Beautiful

[@AlanReynoldsBucklandJunction]

Lovely Car . Pure British sexiness and not Germanic too X

[@Vince_uk]

Nice one Matt

[@fuelupclassic]

Thank you.

[@EvaBridges-s4r]

Eudora Gateway

[@FlowerRalap-d2u]

Laurie Land

[@clivehales1919]

I had one , it was a nightmare and dangerous!

[@fuelupclassic]

Oh!

[@alexpanting4177]

I think even today though youd walk straight past the c and get the b v8

[@fuelupclassic]

We will have to get a V8 on the channel and see how they compare

[@kenh3344]

Where is the 20,000 ,,,,in this car?

[@Cliffs-h8f]

I drive a 68 C daily in New England about 6 months a year. Most reliable vehicle I've ever driven. Put a 9.5lb one piece flywheel, headers, some lightweight parts 2" hs8 dual carbs and great 205 tires. I am quite content....

[@fuelupclassic]

Fantastic!

[@RobertRutschman]

The MGC is very underrated. Thank you for your thoughtful review. Well done.

[@fuelupclassic]

I completely agree! Thank you for watching.

[@chormy]

Have 6 C's including 2 race C's awesome cars from 120hp to 300hp just love them all driving wives standard to my 300hp race C and all in-between.

[@fuelupclassic]

Wonderful! I bet the 300hp one is a real hoot to drive.

[@chormy]

Once the engine is back in may offer you a drive . It's a bit different

[@Cliffs-h8f]

Hello ! Any luck producing more alloy heads ? I'm on the list still I hope...

[@chormy]

@@Cliffs-h8f still waiting on Machine shop to do the next 5 heads ,painful.

[@edwinblank58]

I have always loved the MGC, its so much nicer than the MGB and more relaillable than a Aston Martin in those days...

[@fuelupclassic]

They just got the styling so right with the C. Thank you for watching.

[@mikehaughton629]

Nice positive review. Those who know, know! The MG Car Club C Register can help……

[@fuelupclassic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hduncan2587]

I never realized how relatively rare these are. I thought the Triumph GT6 was rare on its own, but MGC... wow. Not that either seem remembered.

[@michaelbacon561]

I really agree with your opinion on the styling; the hardtop (by Pininfarina?) turned the roadster into one of the prettiest cars ever. Such a shame that the C was never appreciated in it's day.

[@fuelupclassic]

Absolutely! One of the prettiest yet often overlooked 1960s classics in my opinion.

[@Chris-v4z1t]

Genius of Pininfarina....from the waistline up it's all theirs. Can you see the Ferrari 250 windscreen design, and the superb C pillar angle?

[@fuelupclassic]

​@@Chris-v4z1t If you took the MG badges off, think you could trick quite a few people into thinking it's something much more exotic.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

Why did they not use the more modern and lighter 2200 Austin Princess unit?

[@fuelupclassic]

From memory, and I fully admit it's a little hazy on E series engines, but didn't that variant enter production around 1970 (ish), so well after MGC production had started and ultimately finished. Also, from memory it wasn't a particularly powerful unit either.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

@@fuelupclassic In stock trim it had 115HP and 175NM torque but with 3 carbs and a better cam 135 HP are possible...its a very refinded smooth engine. With a real good tune as 10:1 compression, porting, 268degrees cam, 3 Webers it can crank out 160HP. E Series 6 was introduced in the Austin 2200 landcrab in 1965. Australians bored the 2200 E series over to 2,6 giving 150HP in stock trim.

[@fuelupclassic]

@@Schlipperschlopper Who knows! BL certainly should and possibly could have done lots of things differently at the time across so many models. Thankfully, sometimes they did get it very much right. Perhaps, an enthusiastic DIYer has carried out the conversion you mention, which is really the only way to know whether it would have worked well or not in the MGC.

[@Chris-v4z1t]

Couldn't afford a C, bought a BGT instead, ...thicker anti roll bar, high tyre pressures and perhaps better front dampers must make a C handle well.

[@fuelupclassic]

Absolutely! Updating just a few things makes a huge difference.

[@stuwhite2337]

I'll stick with my B. She'll sit at well over the speed limit all day long in OD top. Never knew they weren't coil sprung.

[@fuelupclassic]

Having just bought an O/D gearbox to fit in my 66 BGT, i'm looking forward to much more comfortable cruising. - At the moment it all gets a bit 'busy' at 60-70 mph. - No such issues with the 'C' though.

[@stuwhite2337]

@@fuelupclassic it makes a big difference! I have a roadster with a hardtop though so windy noise is pretty deafening at motorway speed 😂

[@Treviscoe]

Good video but I;d also consider an MGB V8 (3.5 litre engine).

[@fuelupclassic]

I will definitely have to get one on the channel in the near future :). Thank you for watching.

[@chrishenniker5944]

It was Britain’s equivalent to the Mustang and Camaro.

[@patrickroohan7633]

The MG engineers tried to use the Australian "Blue Streak" 6 cylinder engine. A 1622 plus 2 cylinders. Much, much lighter than the C 6 cylinder. They liked the car, 124 mph, but Issy did not like it so it was scrapped! Shame!

[@fuelupclassic]

I never knew that! Sounds like the engineers have been onto something potentially really good. Thank you for watching.

[@InezRivers-p2x]

Monahan Skyway

[@StevenWilson-z9h]

Isidro Radial

[@nicksmallwood8828]

Nice example apart from the tacky dashboard cover and lairy carpets. Oh, and the rear light lenses are wrong.

[@fuelupclassic]

Good spot on the rear light lenses! The nice thing about it being an MG is everything can be changed quickly and relatively cheaply to suit the owners' taste.

[@adama8570]

Rear heated window not laminated but who cares? Lovely car!

[@rogerwatt8491]

As a founder member of the MG Owners' Club and professional car photographer back then, I owned an MGC GT back in the '70s and was very disappointed with it . . . okay in a straight line and for touring but heavy, no fun at all for cross country roads and heavy on the fuel. A baby Aston Martin? I was photographing Astons back then and can tell you that there was no comparison. The press got it right sadly . . . and I was a real MG fan back then. I sold it after nine months and went back to a BGT before buying a BGT V8 which was everything that the CGT wasn't. To the best of my knowledge, they only built 5,291.

[@fuelupclassic]

Interesting that you didn't really get on with it. I've since bought a factory BGT V8 and am really enjoying driving that most days. However, I really did enjoy my time behind the wheel and living with the C, although once they've had some sensible upgrades to the steering/suspension they really sharpen up. Although, it remains a very different drive to my v8 or my 66 BGT. I shall have to mention your name to Richard, when i'm next in the office at MGOC HQ. From memory, MGC numbers were something like 4,542 roadsters and 4,457 GT.

[@rogerwatt8491]

@@fuelupclassic Thanks for the swift reply! I really did try to love the CGT as I had my previous '66 BGT and '64 B roadster. When I bought it, it had a small MotoLita steering wheel on it! Happily, the original wheel came with it and when I put it on, it felt like I had power steering! I guess that the driving I did back then suited the B more than the C which, as you so rightly say, was more of a tourer than a sports car. After selling it, I had two more BGTs and an Alfa 2000 GTV (wonderful but I couldn't deal with the rust!) before the BGT V8 which I loved and owned for over three years before getting into Porsches (an "entry" 924 then two 911s). When the kids came along, it was then BMWs for the space. Living in Vancouver now, I met up with Richard and Roche, Martin and Dave Jarvis at the founder members' celebratory dinner last October . . . after being close friends of all of them, I hadn't seen them since the mid 1980s so it was a nostalgic reunion, Please do remember me to Richard . . . he bought his V8 after driving mine but, unlike me, he had the good sense to keep his! I remember us touring the Scottish Highlands in them around 1980 . . . happy days!

[@fuelupclassic]

@@rogerwatt8491 Oh yes! An Alfa 2000 GTV is on my bucket list of cars to own one day. I certainly will remember you to Richard, as you know he's still got the V8, but is busy enjoying his new toy - the MG SV. Thank you for watching and all the best. Matt

[@alastairwatson3201]

I think your categorisation of the C as being a grand tourer is valid, although I’m not qualified to comment on it as a budget Aston Martin alternative. I was horrified by the state of the under bonnet wiring, though; it didn’t look like part of a £20k resto to me.

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

The engine in the C was super smooth but as Austin 3Litre owners will tell you had issues oil consumption at higher mileages for one another was the crankshaft damper pulley worked loose on its keyway. Also although it worked fine in the V8 the manual gearbox was prone to jumping out of thrid gear. The automatic was the BW35 not well matched to the 3 litre engine the engine wasn't really "free revving"even by 1960:s standards. It had originally been developed for highly leaded 5 star fuel and needed the ignition retarded for 4 star.

[@jonnyb2532]

Give me the V8 everytime.

[@fuelupclassic]

We will get one on the channel soon :)