An MG Metro in Red - Surprised how good they look!
Discussion
Well of all the things I ever thought I'd post about, a Metro was never one of them. I've never owned one and have only ever felt a general sensation of contempt towards the little Metro. This may be due to a girlfriend in my formative years having one in pauper spec that was nothing short of utter turd, but in which we still had to "court". When I say scarred for life I'm only joking a little bit... Or around the same time another friend had a 1.1 which he bought for £1000, spent £3000 "improving" including re-spraying it British Racing Green ("This is the only car I'll ever need, I love it" - whatever Nick) only to write it off about a week after he'd "Finished" it...
Either way the boxy heap in anything other than 6R4 guise received nothing but contempt and derision from the 500 household.
Roll forwards 20 years and strolling through West London last Saturday I saw a mint condition 1989 Red MG Turbo and was amazed at how great it looked. So much so as to have it become (an albeit temporary I assume) object of desire. I'm not sure if it is nostalgia at play or whether actually its diminutive size, or Toyota Aygo predecessor looks but I thought it looked totally ace.
Here's a pic of one
{http://www.aronline.co.uk/images/cotm200410_01.jpg}
Anyone else had a similarly strange epiphany?
Either way the boxy heap in anything other than 6R4 guise received nothing but contempt and derision from the 500 household.
Roll forwards 20 years and strolling through West London last Saturday I saw a mint condition 1989 Red MG Turbo and was amazed at how great it looked. So much so as to have it become (an albeit temporary I assume) object of desire. I'm not sure if it is nostalgia at play or whether actually its diminutive size, or Toyota Aygo predecessor looks but I thought it looked totally ace.
Here's a pic of one
{http://www.aronline.co.uk/images/cotm200410_01.jpg}
Anyone else had a similarly strange epiphany?
I think any older car when spotted against the background of todays bloated, supersize lardboxes looks great.
I spotted a mk1 Fiesta on the road the other day, all my pals had them when we were younger and I forgot how small and neat it looks.
It's great when you see something like that.
ETA - Metros were really s
te though, I used to hate working on them. {shudder}
I spotted a mk1 Fiesta on the road the other day, all my pals had them when we were younger and I forgot how small and neat it looks.
It's great when you see something like that.
ETA - Metros were really s
te though, I used to hate working on them. {shudder}My father had one of the few remaining Mk1 Turbos on the road until it was sold a while back, bought when it was about 6 months old. "A93 VGL" where are you now?
It was actually great fun to drive, not massively quick but quick enough and had excellent handling.
Sadly an awful lot of Turbo Metros died at the hands of mini owners who wanted the engine and box.
It was actually great fun to drive, not massively quick but quick enough and had excellent handling.
Sadly an awful lot of Turbo Metros died at the hands of mini owners who wanted the engine and box.
I quite fancied a Metro GTa (that's right, a 'Grand theft auto' edition) for my first car. I'd bought a few Rover brochures off eBay so it was like a done deal. Thought they looked the business and mum's friend had a Metro 'Studio 2' in BRG which looked, erm, quite swanky. You can't malign Metros, the uprated ones with the tuned A series engine or the later 1.4 are a hoot to drive, they feel a bit like an Allegro on a diet, with sharper steering too. Never fancied crashing one, though.
Only later would I go on to own two Metro 6R4s, one blue and yellow and one green with full BP livery. I tracked them most weekends, always championing friends and family whilst often taking chunks out of the skirting board going a little eager on the throttle round the corners. PM me if anybody would like photographic evidence of me and my Metros during our motor sport heyday.
Only later would I go on to own two Metro 6R4s, one blue and yellow and one green with full BP livery. I tracked them most weekends, always championing friends and family whilst often taking chunks out of the skirting board going a little eager on the throttle round the corners. PM me if anybody would like photographic evidence of me and my Metros during our motor sport heyday.
thescamper said:
Mr2Mike said:
Sadly an awful lot of Turbo Metros died at the hands of mini owners who wanted the engine and box.
Serially guilty as charged, in fact I have two complete ones in stock at the moment.
A best friend at college had one, in granny spec as his first car. It was dire, but had an odd charm to it. I think it was even a 4 speed! Manual choke, no rev counter etc, all in 2004 this was pretty bad even for a first car.. But it was quirky and reliable and I kinda liked it.
We always admired the turbos or the 1.4 gta. Bet they were a hoot to drive, as the things are so light and chuckable.
We always admired the turbos or the 1.4 gta. Bet they were a hoot to drive, as the things are so light and chuckable.
I had a few Metros back in the days when they were still a regular sight on the roads. The pinnacle was a blue Metro van with MG interior. To this I fitted a 1380 Mountune-built lump and kept the skinny tyres on it. It actually handled superbly and was a hoot to take out unsuspecting college-friends in the lunch hour!
schuey said:
I had a MK1 Metro Turbo,I loved it. I did 12000 trouble free miles in it before taking it off the road for a resto that was never finished,ended up breaking it and the engine lives on in a mate's Midget. Still miss that car it was ace!
Must've changed the crank as they are different for rear wheel drive applications of the a-series.They were never as bad as people made out, remember they came out in 1980, people wax lyrical about the original Mini which was, in most respects worse than the Metro, the Metro had better suspension, was more practical and more modern, but it wasnt cute, wasnt part of the the swinging sixties and never started in the italian job, as Jules in pulp Fiction said "Personality goes a long way" which the Mini had in spades and made the Metro seem very dowdy, saying that now, an original Metro looks positively brimming with character.
They were bought generally by kids, mums and old ladies or a as a cheap car distress purchase, I had one when utterly skint, a 1.0 "Clubman", never let me down and sold at a profit, we still have one stuck in a barn, the kids used it for learning in a field, seen here with my dad getting bounced around, me having had an hour of it and quite enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rOPtxAD32M
It was my grandads, a 1.1 C, I drove it from my parents house where he left itwhen he stopped driving, used it for a few days and it was great fun, gruff and willing little engine all the small car virtues like being able to go for gaps, it, like any Metro had very good visibility.
I dont understand the hatred now, nobody is forcing you to drive one, ok if you had no option to do big miles in one, then I feel your pain but effectively they are now off the radar for a daily drive for all but a small band of people who havent noticed its 2013 and the chaps on Retro rides who are also fans, a few are getting engine transplants, wide steels, lowered and look really rather good.
The MG Metro was the pick of the bunch, ok the Turbo was faster, but they tended to be unreliable in comparison to the bog spec MG/GTA with 73 BHP, which was more than the original Coopers, and if you ignored it not being cute, the hatred and whatever it was a fun car to punt along, i had a MK1 Golf GTI when my mum had one, ok the Golf was loads faster but I used to love borrowing the Metro despite its all white everything 80s styling and red seat belts.
They were bought generally by kids, mums and old ladies or a as a cheap car distress purchase, I had one when utterly skint, a 1.0 "Clubman", never let me down and sold at a profit, we still have one stuck in a barn, the kids used it for learning in a field, seen here with my dad getting bounced around, me having had an hour of it and quite enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rOPtxAD32M
It was my grandads, a 1.1 C, I drove it from my parents house where he left itwhen he stopped driving, used it for a few days and it was great fun, gruff and willing little engine all the small car virtues like being able to go for gaps, it, like any Metro had very good visibility.
I dont understand the hatred now, nobody is forcing you to drive one, ok if you had no option to do big miles in one, then I feel your pain but effectively they are now off the radar for a daily drive for all but a small band of people who havent noticed its 2013 and the chaps on Retro rides who are also fans, a few are getting engine transplants, wide steels, lowered and look really rather good.
The MG Metro was the pick of the bunch, ok the Turbo was faster, but they tended to be unreliable in comparison to the bog spec MG/GTA with 73 BHP, which was more than the original Coopers, and if you ignored it not being cute, the hatred and whatever it was a fun car to punt along, i had a MK1 Golf GTI when my mum had one, ok the Golf was loads faster but I used to love borrowing the Metro despite its all white everything 80s styling and red seat belts.
TOM500 said:
This may be due to a girlfriend in my formative years having one in pauper spec that was nothing short of utter turd, but in which we still had to "court". When I say scarred for life I'm only joking a little bit...
I had some great times 'courting' in the back of a Metro Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff