The Rough Road to Rio: An MG Adventure for the Ages

[Scottmi]

Great story!

"On June 3, 1954, sporting pith helmets and smoking pipes, before a small gathering of friends and classmates, Baker and Fabry departed..."

The Rough Road to Rio: An MG Adventure for the Ages - Hagerty Media

Seven decades ago, two Harvard Business School students hopped in an MG TD and headed toward Rio looking for adventure. They found it.

www.hagerty.com

 

[ssjones]

That was a great read! What an incredible journey.

 

[BingBong]

Fantastic car, took some beating and still cleaned up forecourt nice at the end.

You have to be young enough to not understand the risks to make that kind of journey!

 

[jpberg]

I’ve read bits of this story before.
Makes me laugh when I look out in the driveway and see my jacked up F 150 with cargo carrier and knobby tires and my wife’s 4 runner with 27 different terrain options.
Skinny tires and a sub 75 hp engine and a little chicken wire put me to shame.

 

[ssjones]

The motor is probably powering a well pump or similar somewhere in South America.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Cool story, I’d not heard of it prior.
It always amazes me to think that people drove and rode across the country, in Model T’s, and on early Harleys (and all their contemporaries). Prior to interstate highways that was quite a feat!

But my sister had a mid-seventies MG Midget when I was a kid that would rarely make it cross town. After living at the local British Leyland dealer most of the time she had it, my father sold it-to a young couple that wanted to drive it to Alaska no less!

 

[jpberg]

The motor is probably powering a well pump or similar somewhere in South America.

Hey, I know a retired guy with an MG.
Sounds like a good summer trip….

 

[georged]

I had a 1967 MGB with the "high performance!" option. (i.e. 2 carburetors and an aluminum hood)

Fun to drive.

How MUCH could it be driven, though?

Depended on how many days off I'd promised my follow crew... the guys who drove behind me everywhere I went with fishing landing nets to catch the MG's parts as they fell off, and if they carried more than five replacements for that part.

Some weeks I could drive 15--20 miles, others only 2 or 3.

Did I mention it was fun to drive?

 

[LotusEater]

Great story thanks for sharing.
I always wanted a late 60’s or early 70’s MGB GT but have never gotten serious about it

 

[ssjones]

Great story thanks for sharing.
I always wanted a late 60’s or early 70’s MGB GT but have never gotten serious about it

Everyone talks to me when I'm in our MGB. Many say "I'd love to get one". I say "do you like working on cars?". If the answer is no, I say "buy a Miata".

They are actually quite easy to maintain, once you understand British engineering. If you get a sorted one, the works already been done.

Even the "fast ones", ie before 1978, were dreadfully slow. A '69 MGB-GT did 0-60 mph in 12.1 seconds. For comparison a 1980's Chevy Chevette did 0-60 mph in 13.9 seconds .

A 1980 model, saddled with emissions nonsense and low compression pistons for unleaded gas was worse:



My '79 has high compression pistons, head work and twin SU carbs to replace the stock carb. A kit in a stock Civic will still kick my ass. But, with the top down, it feels like a rocket.

 

[DesertDan]

Absolutely fascinating story! I had never heard of these men or their extraordinary expedition.
Thank you for sharing this.

 

[LotusEater]

Everyone talks to me when I'm in our MGB. Many say "I'd love to get one". I say "do you like working on cars?". If the answer is no, I say "buy a Miata".

They are actually quite easy to maintain, once you understand British engineering. If you get a sorted one, the works already been done.

Even the "fast ones", ie before 1978, were dreadfully slow. A '69 MGB-GT did 0-60 mph in 12.1 seconds. For comparison a 1980's Chevy Chevette did 0-60 mph in 13.9 seconds .

A 1980 model, saddled with emissions nonsense and low compression pistons for unleaded gas was worse:

View attachment 394706

My '79 has high compression pistons, head work and twin SU carbs to replace the stock carb. A kit in a stock Civic will still kick my ass. But, with the top down, it feels like a rocket.

Thanks for the info. I wasn’t expecting to break any land speed records but 0-60 in 14 sec. is pretty slow. As for maintenance thanks for the warning. I’m not the most mechanically inclined guy but I have been driving older LandRovers most of my adult life so I am familiar with the joys of high maintenance vehicles. I’m still not ready to pull the trigger but man, something about those older GT’s just speaks to me

 

[pinem]

My father owned a '67 MG when I was learning to drive. Had it imported to the US after his tour in Vietnam. Not an easy car to learn stick on. It was fun to drive when the clutch was working (sort of). Acceration was slow above 35 mph, if IRC. I did get it up to 100 mph once, but it took 3/4 of a mile of highway to get there. Going from 90 to 100 was very slow.

You had to drive it multiple times a week to keep it running. Eventually it just took up space in my parents garage due to the maintenance needed, and they sold it a few years back.

 

[ssjones]

But when the top is down on a warm Fall day, there's not much better!

 

[woodsroad]

But when the top is down on a warm Fall day, there's not much better!

View attachment 394959

He’s a great dog, but how the hell can he reach the clutch?

 

[ssjones]

He’s a great dog, but how the hell can he reach the clutch?

That one was the youngest of two Westie's we owned. And one weird dog. In a car, she would whine and cry, then puke. We had to give her a doggie downer to take her anywhere. But she couldn't get enough of the MGB. When we left Maryland, Liz said "should we tell them where the dogs are buried?". Me - "no".

 

[woodsroad]

When we left Maryland, Liz said "should we tell them where the dogs are buried?". Me - "no".

I wonder about that, too.
We have two cats and two dogs buried out back, undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg as to the former pets planted here over the hundreds of years. Maybe tens of thousands of years, if you count the Native American's pets. And relatives. I did dig up a cat skull here once, but no other bones. But there are artifacts like arrowheads and grain mortars carved into granite boulders that show humans on my property going back a very, very long time.