Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Well, yes. I definitely consider myself to be your one that got away.”—Tyler Oakley
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I’m a bit of an Anglophile. And while I’m currently not driving any kind of a car (except one of Mary’s) two of the last three vehicles that I owned were British. And for a long, long time I was in love with and wanted to own a classic MG TC.
In 1945, the TC was the first postwar automobile launched by MG. Its design was similar to the pre-war TB, sharing the same 1,250 cc pushrod-OHV engine but with a slightly higher compression ratio of 7.4:1 producing 54.5hp at 5200 rpm. Even though they were only built as a right-hand drive model, the cars were exported to the United States with slightly smaller US specification sealed-beam headlights, larger twin rear lights, as well as turn signals and chrome-plated front and rear bumpers. Overall 10,001 TCs were produced from September 1945 to November 1949, which was more than any previous MG model.
How I Made this Shot: This British Racing Green MG TC had an amusing radiator cap that hearkened back to the days when every classic automobiles wore distinctive caps. This one made me smile. It was photographed with my Olympus E-M5 Mark I with 14-42mm kit lens (at 42mm) and an exposure of 1/320 sec at f/10 and ISO 250.
The closest I came to actually owning an MG TC was when I was in negotiations with an obsessive collector who owned three different TC’s: One was a 100-point Concours car that was finished in British Racing Green and the other two were ivory-colored, the so-called “Old English White.” One of them (below) was a high-end driver that needed some, mostly cosmetic, work but the owners had all the necessary parts and we agreed on a price. I test drove the car and was surprised at it’s performance for a 1948 automobile that only had 50 horsepower. And then he changed his mind about selling it because…and thereby hangs a tale.
And I have since moved on. At this point in my life, I’m no longer interested in owning an MC TC but still have an abiding affection for these elegant, stately carriages, There’s something about those tall skinny wheels and elegant grille that appeals to me as does the right-hand drive—all TC’s are right hand drive— a characteristic that I also admire in JDM classics like the Nissan Skyline, although how that relates to old MG’s I’ll never know.
If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here.
Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography that’s now out-of-print but new copies are available from Amazon for $21.88 and used copies are four bucks. The Kindle price, for some reason is really high. ($93.95)