MG MGC

Do not order MGC front-end parts against an MGB listing. To fit the 2,912cc seven-bearing C-series six, MG gave the MGC independent front suspension by wishbone and adjustable torsion bar, with an anti-roll bar and telescopic dampers — where the MGB has coil springs and lever-arm dampers. Nothing crosses: no springs, no dampers, no wishbones, no crossmember. The bodyshell needed considerable revision around the engine bay and the floor pan, so front body panels and floor sections differ too. The steering rack is lower geared and does not cross. The wheels are 15in five-stud on 5in rims against the MGB’s 14in. And the brakes are Girling, front disc and rear drum with a servo as standard — where the MGB is Lockheed. Brake parts do not cross either.

What does cross is the back half. The rear is a live axle on half-elliptic leaf springs with lever-arm dampers, the same architecture as the MGB, and the MGB’s tube-type rear axle was designed for the MGC in the first place. Much of the bodywork behind the bulkhead is shared. So the rule is: front end no, rear and body mostly yes. The engine is the seven-bearing redesign of the C-series, the same unit as the Austin 3 Litre — not the four-bearing engine of the Austin-Healey 3000, A99 and A110. 145bhp at 5,250rpm. 4,542 roadsters and 4,457 GTs were built in under two years.