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Cymber
United Kingdom
966 Posts |
 Posted - 29/06/2010 : 22:00:14
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I am at present reading Rivers Fletcher's book MG Past and Present. On page 88 it shows a photograph of Robin Jackson driving the first prototype K3 JB1046 in a BOC hillclimb clearly sitting in the left hand seat. This does not appear to be a reversed photograph, as is the Monaco K3 on the rear cover, as the number plate is not reversed. Also, on page 95 there is a photo of Eyston and Lurani in one of the Mille Miglia cars where Lurani, sitting in the left hand seat, appears to be resting his left hand on a steering wheel. As far as I know there were never any LHD MMMs so what is the explanation?
Maurice Blakey. |
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2537 Posts |
Posted - 29/06/2010 : 23:16:44
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Maurice, while K3s might be something else, if you've still got S.F! Sept '09, you'll find a brief article on a LHD J2. While I take your point about number plates of which none is visible, in one photo it is parked next to another J2 with the opposite steering, so whichever way, one of them is LHD!
Dave |
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Peter Green
United Kingdom
1682 Posts |
Posted - 29/06/2010 : 23:45:58
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Maurice,
If you look very carefully at the picture of the prototype K3 you can see the driver in the right hand seat, his head is just below the top of the windscreen.
The picture on the rear cover is of Rivers Fletcher in his N type special not a K3.
The picture of George Eyston and Johnny Lurani in the Mille Miglia shows Lurani holding a leather grab handle that is fitted to the scuttle, not a steering wheel.
Peter. |
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Cymber
United Kingdom
966 Posts |
Posted - 30/06/2010 : 10:22:59
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Thank you Peter. I should have looked at the pictures with my other glasses and in better light and not jumped to conclusions.
Maurice. |
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David Allison
United Kingdom
665 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2010 : 09:32:08
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As far as I know it isnt possible to achieve LHD with standard equipment - there is too much in the way on the left hand side of the engine (oil filter - exhaust - water pump) admittedly this is not the case on J types and it might be possible with an side exit exhaust - but the big stumbling block is the water pump on the 6 cylinder engines.
I think there are a few LHD TC's - but I think you have to wait until the TD for an LHD MG from the factory.
The rack and pinion steering makes it all so much easier to navigate around the associated engineering.
As for rack and pinion steering on a MMM car - dont go there!
MG's are already unpopular enough in the VSCC without raising that chesnut.
In fact LHD cars are a very late invention - they only really start to become popular in the early 1940's (USA excepted).
Jimmy Murphy won the 1921 (think thats the date) French GP in a Duesenburg and that was certainly LHD.
In fact most racing cars of the 20's are in fact no different to driving an LHD car anyway because the handbrake and gear lever are all external along the right hand side of the cockpit (but they did mostly have centre throttles so that rather spoils my argument).
Not really sure why the USA was the first to go LHD and drive on the wrong side of the road - even less reason why most of Europe changed to match the USA fashion after the war (except of course the USA was policing the roads in immediate post war Europe.
The MG was quite un-common among cars in the UK in that it had the three control pedals arranged in the "conventional" (as we call it now) arrangement - most manufacturers and drivers at time preffered to have a centre throttle.
Peter Green's K3 011 and a couple of other K3's had centre throttles as did most of the NE's.
Now we take it for granted about the control layout in cars - but it was never set in stone and many drivers alterred their cars to suit a particular driving style.
Freddie Dixon had a hand throttle on his Riley racing cars which allowed the driver to drive the car with both hands on a control each and both feet on the individual pedals (rather like a motorcylcist). Seems odd to us now but that is what suited them at the time.
As someone who grew up getting in and out of a variety of cars from a very young age - I have to say that LHD - RHD - Centre Throttle - Hand Throttle - Tiller - Foot Operated Gear Change - Upside Down Back To Front Gear Change Patterns - Right Hand Gear Change - Steering Wheel Mounted Gear Change - Flappy Paddle Gear Change - Pre-selector Gearboxes - all of these were the same - a car and great fun to drive they have all been too!
Which is a long winded way of saying that as far as I know there are no LHD MMM cars which left Abingdon so fitted.
Phew - what a load of rubbish that was!
Fun writing it though.
Regards David |
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