The MG MGC was developed with the intention of it replacing BMC’s Austin Healey 3000 as a new model. When Donald Healey refused to let them use his name to badge the car as an Austin Healey as well as an MG, especially for a car he had nothing to do with the design of, it was decided to simply sell the car as an MG. Although of similar displacement and with nearly identical performance characteristics to the engine in the Austin Healey 3000, the engine in the MGC was a new design, only shared with the Austin 3 Litre Saloon. The engine was supposed to be designed to utilize thinner, lighter castings, but the end result was an engine that weighed barely less than that of the Healey, though it did have 7 main bearings as opposed to 4. Fitting the engine in an MGB chassis required a significant redesign of the front suspension and the use of torsion bars and telescopic shock absorbers, as well as adding a bump up on the hood to clear the top of the engine and the radiator which had to be pushed forward, and a teardrop to clear the carburettors, which is the most obvious visual difference from an MGB. Aside from that, the only other visual difference is the MGC received 15 inch wheels rather than 14 inch ones. The significant increase in weight over the MGB’s B-series engine, however, lead to noticeable understeer and the car generally didn’t sell anywhere near as well as the MGB. Like the MGB, the MGC was available as both a convertible roadster and as a GT Coupe, with both being built in nearly the same quantities. After the merger of companies that formed British Leyland, the decision was made that the MG brand would represent 4 cylinder cars while the Triumph brand would represent 6 cylinder cars, which spelled the end of the MGC in 1969. This MGC has been in Oregon all of its life and I’m the third owner of the car. It has generally been a very well stored and used driver and shortly before I bought it, the previous owner had the exterior repainted in the original Pale Primrose yellow. Since buying the car, I’ve replaced the interior and repainted the accompanying hardtop in black, as I felt it better suited the car. Although the MGC has a reputation for understeer, some suspension upgrades and correct tire pressures help significantly with reducing it and, although it will never be as light and nimble as the MGB, the MGC makes an excellent GT touring car. The engine pulls strongly and straight line acceleration is definitely more brisk than with the MGB. Otherwise, the driving experience is very similar, with much the same interior and similar size and shape to the car. Though many MGCs were fitted with overdrive, this car doesn’t have one, though being an early car, it has a 3.07:1 final drive ratio, which still allows comfortable highway cruising, while on most of the later cars, it was increased to 3.3:1 on standard or 3.7:1 for overdrive models, with the overdrive bringing similar RPMs as the stock 3.07 final drive ratio, but allowing for faster acceleration.