A First Drive

[mavicator]

Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. A part of my afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on the car which turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out bulbs. Heading out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive now that all the major systems seem to be working within reason. Since the car was running well and I had to take a leap of faith sometime, I decided to head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa Monica Mountains would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting fate, I turned on the lights for the first time and headed south, into the canyons. My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips glowing under the sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was that the smile would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading uphill I was pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up to 50 MPH. Completely unaware of what to expect in the first "at-speed" turn, I took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored with me already. In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn was a big sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems here either. More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well that normally I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the road begged me to give it a go, so I did. The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of varying types. Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a sensation I have never experienced before in any car. We have all heard the expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I knew what that meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a certain point in a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and dives into it, taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly amazing and my giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This was one of those moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". Almost immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the turns and feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost pulling its way into the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left in the road behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to do with anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how you handle it as a team. By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite at home and comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to lose a bit of traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the years of neglect seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and the TC was running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car pulled up beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated in the passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the sight of the car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed "Oh My God!" Her delight and admiration of the car were written all over her face. As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, and I had to wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, and become one of the lucky few who will experience the world from behind the wheel of an MG TC. - Steve S - TC8975, LA, CA

[Davidtasa@aol.com]

Steve and all! A great story and truly very well told! This is what we've all experienced and what it's all about. Thanks for sharing that with us. All the best to you and TC 8975. May we "drive 'em til the roads wear out!" Best Regards David TC 3896 Bad Soden, Germany [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[ian thomson]

Nice one Steve. I was there in the car with you all the way. A word of caution though: when she lets go (all my cars are female) things get interesting and you learn all about oversteer. Ian Thomson. --- mavicator websim@pacbell.net> wrote:

> Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" > drive. A part of my > afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system > on the car which > turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out > bulbs. Heading > out of the driveway it already felt like a real > drive now that all the > major systems seem to be working within reason. > Since the car was > running well and I had to take a leap of faith > sometime, I decided to > head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the > Santa Monica Mountains > would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. > Tempting fate, I turned > on the lights for the first time and headed south, > into the canyons. > > My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips > glowing under the > sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was > that the smile > would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading > uphill I was > pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated > up to 50 MPH. > Completely unaware of what to expect in the first > "at-speed" turn, I > took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was > bored with me already. > In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next > turn was a big > sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No > problems here either. > More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so > well that normally > I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and > the road begged me > to give it a go, so I did. > > The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of > varying types. > Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led > to a sensation I > have never experienced before in any car. We have > all heard the > expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought > I knew what that > meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a > certain point in > a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy > and dives into it, > taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's > truly amazing and my > giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. > This was one of those > moments one could easily say was "the time of my > life". Almost > immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into > the turns and > feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost > pulling its way into > the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be > left in the road > behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing > to do with > anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and > how you handle it > as a team. > > By the time I made it through the canyons I felt > quite at home and > comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough > to lose a bit of > traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the > years of neglect > seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind > and the TC was > running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a > car pulled up > beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was > seated in the > passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at > the sight of the > car. This was immediately followed by a > wide-mouthed "Oh My God!" > Her delight and admiration of the car were written > all over her face. > As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw > dropped, and I had to > wonder if she would one day experience what I just > had, and become one > of the lucky few who will experience the world from > behind the wheel > of an MG TC. > > - Steve S > - TC8975, LA, CA > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > mg-tabc-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > >

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[1939mgtb]

Dontcha love these cars! The rear end does a little dance when you get into the curves at the right speed, and you can FEEL the slide developing......and hold it right there on the edge. Somewhere, CK is grinning ear to ear.... Best, Ray "Morology is our profession, our ONLY profession!"

----- Original Message ----- From: "mavicator" websim@pacbell.net> To: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 1:33 AM Subject: [mg-tabc] A First Drive > Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. A part of my > afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on the car which > turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out bulbs. Heading > out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive now that all the > major systems seem to be working within reason. Since the car was > running well and I had to take a leap of faith sometime, I decided to > head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa Monica Mountains > would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting fate, I turned > on the lights for the first time and headed south, into the canyons. > > My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips glowing under the > sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was that the smile > would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading uphill I was > pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up to 50 MPH. > Completely unaware of what to expect in the first "at-speed" turn, I > took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored with me already. > In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn was a big > sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems here either. > More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well that normally > I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the road begged me > to give it a go, so I did. > > The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of varying types. > Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a sensation I > have never experienced before in any car. We have all heard the > expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I knew what that > meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a certain point in > a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and dives into it, > taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly amazing and my > giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This was one of those > moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". Almost > immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the turns and > feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost pulling its way into > the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left in the road > behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to do with > anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how you handle it > as a team. > > By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite at home and > comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to lose a bit of > traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the years of neglect > seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and the TC was > running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car pulled up > beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated in the > passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the sight of the > car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed "Oh My God!" > Her delight and admiration of the car were written all over her face. > As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, and I had to > wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, and become one > of the lucky few who will experience the world from behind the wheel > of an MG TC. > > - Steve S > - TC8975, LA, CA > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >

[Terry Sanders]

Great story Steve, sometimes we old time owners forget how great these cars are!! I hope that by now, you will have discovered the TC Motoring Guild, joined and plan to attend the 43rd annual Conclave between the TCMG and the Abingdon Rough Riders up in Sequoria Nat. Park. Two of the oldest or maybe the oldest TC clubs in the USA. Cheers Terry mavicator websim@pacbell.net> wrote: Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. A part of my afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on the car which turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out bulbs. Heading out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive now that all the major systems seem to be working within reason. Since the car was running well and I had to take a leap of faith sometime, I decided to head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa Monica Mountains would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting fate, I turned on the lights for the first time and headed south, into the canyons. My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips glowing under the sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was that the smile would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading uphill I was pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up to 50 MPH. Completely unaware of what to expect in the first "at-speed" turn, I took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored with me already. In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn was a big sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems here either. More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well that normally I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the road begged me to give it a go, so I did. The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of varying types. Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a sensation I have never experienced before in any car. We have all heard the expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I knew what that meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a certain point in a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and dives into it, taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly amazing and my giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This was one of those moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". Almost immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the turns and feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost pulling its way into the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left in the road behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to do with anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how you handle it as a team. By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite at home and comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to lose a bit of traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the years of neglect seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and the TC was running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car pulled up beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated in the passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the sight of the car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed "Oh My God!" Her delight and admiration of the car were written all over her face. As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, and I had to wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, and become one of the lucky few who will experience the world from behind the wheel of an MG TC. - Steve S - TC8975, LA, CA Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[johnsrode@aol.com]

an account which surely beats the heck out of "Tales of Traveling on the Tow-Truck." John S. Rode -----Original Message----- From: Terry Sanders taterry@pacbell.net> To: mavicator websim@pacbell.net>; mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com Sent: Fri, 27 May 2005 06:24:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] A First Drive Great story Steve, sometimes we old time owners forget how great these cars are!! I hope that by now, you will have discovered the TC Motoring Guild, joined and plan to attend the 43rd annual Conclave between the TCMG and the Abingdon Rough Riders up in Sequoria Nat. Park. Two of the oldest or maybe the oldest TC clubs in the USA. Cheers Terry mavicator websim@pacbell.net> wrote: Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. A part of my afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on the car which turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out bulbs. Heading out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive now that all the major systems seem to be working within reason. Since the car was running well and I had to take a leap of faith sometime, I decided to head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa Monica Mountains would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting fate, I turned on the lights for the first time and headed south, into the canyons. My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips glowing under the sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was that the smile would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading uphill I was pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up to 50 MPH. Completely unaware of what to expect in the first "at-speed" turn, I took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored with me already. In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn was a big sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems here either. More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well that normally I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the road begged me to give it a go, so I did. The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of varying types. Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a sensation I have never experienced before in any car. We have all heard the expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I knew what that meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a certain point in a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and dives into it, taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly amazing and my giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This was one of those moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". Almost immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the turns and feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost pulling its way into the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left in the road behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to do with anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how you handle it as a team. By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite at home and comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to lose a bit of traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the years of neglect seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and the TC was running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car pulled up beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated in the passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the sight of the car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed "Oh My God!" Her delight and admiration of the car were written all over her face. As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, and I had to wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, and become one of the lucky few who will experience the world from behind the wheel of an MG TC. - Steve S - TC8975, LA, CA Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[David Lodge]

Extremely well put, Steve! Regards, David Lodge ----- ORIGINAL MESSAGE ----- From: "mavicator" websim@pacbell.net> To: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com Subject: [mg-tabc] A First Drive Date: 27.5.2005 - 8:33:36

> Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. > A part of my > afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on > the car which > turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out > bulbs. Heading > out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive > now that all the > major systems seem to be working within reason. Since > the car was > running well and I had to take a leap of faith > sometime, I decided to > head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa > Monica Mountains > would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting > fate, I turned > on the lights for the first time and headed south, into > the canyons. > > My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips > glowing under the > sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was > that the smile > would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading > uphill I was > pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up > to 50 MPH. > Completely unaware of what to expect in the first > "at-speed" turn, I > took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored > with me already. > In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn > was a big > sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems > here either. > More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well > that normally > I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the > road begged me > to give it a go, so I did. > > The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of > varying types. > Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a > sensation I > have never experienced before in any car. We have all > heard the > expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I > knew what that > meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a > certain point in > a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and > dives into it, > taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly > amazing and my > giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This > was one of those > moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". > Almost > immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the > turns and > feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost > pulling its way into > the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left > in the road > behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to > do with > anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how > you handle it > as a team. > > By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite > at home and > comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to > lose a bit of > traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the > years of neglect > seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and > the TC was > running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car > pulled up > beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated > in the > passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the > sight of the > car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed > "Oh My God!" > Her delight and admiration of the car were written all > over her face. > As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, > and I had to > wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, > and become one > of the lucky few who will experience the world from > behind the wheel > of an MG TC. > > - Steve S > - TC8975, LA, CA > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > >

[rick storms]

Great story Steve! One of the best I've read from this group. I especially enjoyed the part regarding the young lady. It's amazing how often when I'm out for a drive (with and without my lovely wife) that when the SUV's pass us by it's the lady riding in the front passenger seat that looks longing at the TC as they wiz by. Rick Storms TC 6776, 8320 p.s. Looking forward to meeting you at GoF West and hopefully the Abington Rough Riders / TC Motoring Guild Conclave. ----- ORIGINAL MESSAGE ----- From: "mavicator" websim@pacbell.net> To: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com Subject: [mg-tabc] A First Drive Date: 27.5.2005 - 8:33:36

> Tonight I took the TC out for its first "real" drive. > A part of my > afternoon was spent diagnosing the lighting system on > the car which > turned out to be one bad ground and five burned out > bulbs. Heading > out of the driveway it already felt like a real drive > now that all the > major systems seem to be working within reason. Since > the car was > running well and I had to take a leap of faith > sometime, I decided to > head for the hills. A 20-mile loop through the Santa > Monica Mountains > would be a perfect "do or die" kind of drive. Tempting > fate, I turned > on the lights for the first time and headed south, into > the canyons. > > My first smile came when I saw the front fender tips > glowing under the > sidelights. What I didn't realize at this point was > that the smile > would not go away for the next 23 miles. Heading > uphill I was > pleasantly surprised at the torque and I accelerated up > to 50 MPH. > Completely unaware of what to expect in the first > "at-speed" turn, I > took it easy. The TC took the turn like it was bored > with me already. > In delight I had to let out a giggle. The next turn > was a big > sweeping left so I took it a bit faster. No problems > here either. > More giggles and a bigger smile. All was going so well > that normally > I wouldn't push my luck any further but the car and the > road begged me > to give it a go, so I did. > > The next turn led to a series of lefts and rights of > varying types. > Gaining speed and turning the wheel a bit more led to a > sensation I > have never experienced before in any car. We have all > heard the > expression "This car begs to be driven". I thought I > knew what that > meant but in reality I had no idea. There reaches a > certain point in > a turn where this car decides you're being a pansy and > dives into it, > taunting you and your ability to keep up. It's truly > amazing and my > giggles of earlier turned to out-loud laughter. This > was one of those > moments one could easily say was "the time of my life". > Almost > immediately I settled into a rhythm, leaning into the > turns and > feeling as if the car was leaning with me, almost > pulling its way into > the turns. It almost felt as if I was going to be left > in the road > behind if I wasn't careful. Horsepower has nothing to > do with > anything in this M.G. It's all about the road and how > you handle it > as a team. > > By the time I made it through the canyons I felt quite > at home and > comfortable in the car. I had even pushed it enough to > lose a bit of > traction in the rear around a tight bend. All the > years of neglect > seemed to have been spit out onto the road behind and > the TC was > running like a real champ. Before reaching home, a car > pulled up > beside me at a light. A young teenage girl was seated > in the > passenger seat, and I saw her do a double-take at the > sight of the > car. This was immediately followed by a wide-mouthed > "Oh My God!" > Her delight and admiration of the car were written all > over her face. > As I pulled away she was still pointing, jaw dropped, > and I had to > wonder if she would one day experience what I just had, > and become one > of the lucky few who will experience the world from > behind the wheel > of an MG TC. > > - Steve S > - TC8975, LA, CA > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > >

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