1960 MG Farina: Magnette; Mark 3
Drive Train & Specifications
Engine: The in-line four cylinder, overhead valve engine feeds its power into a normal friction clutch, then into a four speed, three synchromesh gearboxes. An open propeller shaft takes the drive to a banjo rear axle supported on leaf springs. Pretty standard 1960's car technology , and all normal BMC components, virtually identical with the MGA and early MGB Sports car. The cars age is shown by there being grease nipples on many components, requiring attention every 1000 miles.
Engine Data: Four cylinders; bore 73.025 mm. (2.875 in.) , stroke 88.9 mm. (3.5 in.) cubic capacity 1489 c.c. (90.88 cu. in.); compression ratio 8.3:1; overhead valves operated by push-rods from a 3-bearing chain-driven camshaft; 3-bearing counterbalanced crankshaft; aluminum-alloy pistons; renewable-element full-flow oil filter.
Transmission: This is again, all MGA. These transmissions have a famous characteristic of whining loudly in first and reverse. These cars have short-lived second gear synchromesh. . Basically, these gearboxes are invincible.
Transmission Data: Single-Plate dry clutch with hydraulic actuation; 4-speed with synchromesh on second, third, and top gears, giving overall ratios of -- first 15.64, second 9.52, third 5.91, top 4.3, and reverse 20.45:1; central floor gear change; Hardy-Spicer propeller shaft with needle-bearing universal joints; three-quarter-floating rear axle with hypoid final reduction gears--axle ratio 4.3:1
Carburetors: Outwardly a typical SU setup here except these are much larger than what you would find on an MGA. They are actually SU HD4 1.5” . These are huge for SUs. The twin linked carbs have lots of aluminum and brass to polish here and it looks wonderful. Rover, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce used a similar setup. The air filter is also very different from todays. Instead of a paper element, a wire mesh is set in a pan of oil to trap dirt as it passes through. A rather neat cast aluminum airway carburetor manifold leads from the air cleaner to the carbs. Aluminum and can be highly polished. Carburetion Data: Twin S.U. automatic downdraught carburetors fed from rear tank by rear-mounted S.U. electric fuel pump; oil bath air cleaner and silencer; fuel tank capacity to 10 Imperial gallons (45.4 liters, 12 U.S. gallons); concealed fuel filler with key lock.
Cooling and Ignition: Radiator is made by Morris Radiators and looks like an overgrown MGA version. Cooling and Ignition Data: Cooling by pressurized system assisted by impeller pump and fan; circulation thermostatically controlled. Ignition: are common Lucas parts and shouldn’t cause any troubles. Battery and coil; automatic advance and retard with centrifugal and vacuum control.
Brakes: Car has drum brakes on all corners. When in proper condition they will stop the car without any trouble, and no servo is needed. The cars can be converted to Austin-Healey disc brakes



1960 MG “FARINA” Magnette MK 3



Vehicle Condition: Perhaps the rarest of all the MG Saloons this excellent example designed by FARINA of ITALY. I purchased this rare MG out of Florida in 2003 so it has minimal rust. Despite seeing little or no use over the last 15-20 years, it has been kept in good running condition.
Service work prior to my purchase of MG was completed by reputable MG specialty garage in 2003. All receipts and details available, included: new brake and clutch hydraulics, water pump, tires, front shock conditioning, brake and clutch master cylinders replaced.

CAR is VERY NICE!!!!!

All service work is fully documented with receipts and pictures available to serious prospective buyers.
RARE MG - BMC built only 16,575 Mark 3 Magnettes from 1959-1961 ; less than 100 are known to exist with less than 25 of them registered here in the Untied States. Parts are available in US and England. I have all Complete Workshop Manuals and BMC Service Parts List, owners’ manual and Original SalesLliterature and full documentation.
Recent Work - Includes: New chrome plated grille shell & slats, new mirrors and more chrome plating. Total Carburetors Rebuilt (2012) Engine tuned up , rear wheel cylinders rebuilt , New front brake wheel cylinders , New rear leaf springs – bump stops and rubber saddle pads and rubber shackle bushings.
New battery & much more.

NICE! ORIGINAL -UNIQUE MG FARINA

Engine: The in-line Four (4) cylinders; cubic capacity 1489cc.

Carburetors: SU setup here which are much larger than what you would find on an MGA. They are actually SU HD4 1.5”

. Transmission: Four (4) Speed Single-Plate dry clutch with hydraulic actuation;
Ignition: common Lucas parts
Brakes: Car has drum brakes on all corners.

Engine Data: Four cylinders;

**1960 MG Farina: Magnette; Mark 3 **

Drive Train & Specifications
Engine: The in-line four cylinder, overhead valve engine feeds its power into a normal friction clutch, then into a four speed, three synchromesh gearboxes. An open propeller shaft takes the drive to a banjo rear axle supported on leaf springs. Pretty standard 1960's car technology, and all normal BMC components, virtually identical with the MGA and early MGB Sports car. The cars age is shown by there being grease nipples on many components, requiring attention every 1000 miles.

Engine Data: Four cylinders; bore 73.025 mm. (2.875 in.) , stroke 88.9 mm. (3.5 in.) cubic capacity 1489 c.c. (90.88 cu. in.); compression ratio 8.3:1; overhead valves operated by push-rods from a 3-bearing chain-driven camshaft; 3-bearing counterbalanced crankshaft; aluminum-alloy pistons; renewable-element full-flow oil filter.


Transmission: This is again, all MGA. These transmissions have a famous characteristic of whining loudly in first and reverse. These cars have short-lived second gear synchromesh. . Basically, these gearboxes are invincible.
Transmission Data: Single-Plate dry clutch with hydraulic actuation; 4-speed with synchromesh on second, third, and top gears, giving overall ratios of -- first 15.64, second 9.52, third 5.91, top 4.3, and reverse 20.45:1; central floor gear change; Hardy-Spicer propeller shaft with needle-bearing universal joints; three-quarter-floating rear axle with hypoid final reduction gears--axle ratio 4.3:1
Carburetors Outwardly a typical SU setup here except these are much larger than what you find on an MGA. They are actually SU HD4 - 1.5”. These are huge for SUs. The twin linked carbs have lots of aluminum and brass to polish here and it looks wonderful. Rover, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce used a similar setup. Air Filter (oil bath); is also very different from todays. Instead of a paper element, a wire mesh is set in a pan of oil to trap dirt as it passes through. A rather neat cast Aluminum Airway Carburetor Manifold leads from the air cleaner to the carbs. Aluminum and can be highly polished.
Carburetion Data: Twin 1 ½” S.U. automatic downdraught carburetors fed from rear tank by rear-mounted S.U. electric fuel pump; oil bath air cleaner and silencer; fuel tank capacity to 10 Imperial gallons (45.4 liters, 12 U.S. gallons); concealed fuel filler with key lock.
Cooling and Ignition: Radiator is made by Morris Radiators and looks like an overgrown MGA version. Cooling by pressurized system assisted by impeller pump and fan; circulation thermostatically controlled.
Battery and coil: automatic advance and retard with centrifugal and vacuum control.
Brakes: Car has drum brakes on all corners. When in proper condition they will stop the car without any trouble, and no : servo is needed. The cars can be converted to Austin-Healey disc brakes if desired.

What on earth is all this rubbish about?

"Outwardly a typical SU setup here except these are much larger than what you would find on an MGA. They are actually SU HD4 1.5” . These are huge for SUs."

"These cars have short-lived second gear synchromesh. . Basically, these gearboxes are invincible." Non sequitur?

OK,it's an ad for a Farina without the price...

You could look at the pictures to tell...
Oh.

Otherwise I will bite my tongue.

FRM

My apologies - I missed the hyperlink on the "For Sale " line.

OK ...... this car has been for sale for a short time now........asking price was $9500 as i remember

Who told you about the SU's...WRONG! The MGA's SU carbs are exactly the same H-4 or HD-4s ie at 1 1/2 inch size as you say are found on the Magnette III series. Also they are not downdraft carbs...look at them, you can see they are side draft if you actually have this car for sale and not some made up scam. You wouldn't convert them to Austin Healey disc brake setups..you would go to the ones found on the later (1961 and after) MGAs..it's a bolt on affair then.
Do you have a picture of this car?? or is that part of the game..no photo available because we don't know where the car is????

Wombat

Wombat

I believe to convert a Farina Magnette to disk brakes, you would definately use Healey parts. There is nothing at all about that front suspension that is the same as MGA.

There is a picture of the Magnette for sale. Just click the car under his name and location in his profile info. A truly beautiful car.

I try to say it every chance I get, and I know I will get flamed. But you guys really have to try a MkIII to believe it. Great cars. Trust me I have both a ZB and a Farina Magnette. If I had to choose only one it would be the Farina ANY day.


Michael

When he says they are huge SUs, I think he means physically. They are squat fat things like on the Jag MKX and Rovers because of the diaphragm. And yeah, it's got an Austin Healey front suspension. The seller is real, if not entirely clear in what he wrote.

The vehicle is from the same family as these below:

Wolseley: http://www.co-oc.org/1560.html
http://www.co-oc.org/1660.html


Magnette (rear): http://www.mgexperience.net/pictures/68953.jpg
Wolseley (rear): http://www.co-oc.org/1560%20Rear.gif

...and here's a nice Wolseley for sale in OZ for a similar price

http://www.drive.com.au/used-cars/wolseley/15%2F60/adelaide/detail.aspx?id=31079469&lid=31079469&pg=1&pp=0&d=0



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2012 06:30AM by enigmas.

I know the front suspension is not the same, but I think the front hubs are the same ergo use the MGA disc brake hub for the MkIII conversion. Don't know if the big Healey hubs are just like the MGA and or the MkII ones too. I personally don't care what kind folks try to use. I used an old 1950s kit or some such for my ZB that even uses the MGA calipers rather than the MGB ones for my front conversion kit. I hear the MGA calipers are scarce but found mine on E-Bay no problems...just licky I guess.

LOVE my Farina Wolseley.

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Rob.


"Now the problem you have is that when you have the unerring certainty of machinery, it is a machine. When something has foibles, it won’t handle properly, that gives it a particularly human quality because it makes mistakes. And that’s how you can build a relationship with a car that other people won’t get."
Jeremy Clarkson

I made a horrible mistake in selling my Mk IV project car a couple years ago. ' Would love to have this Mk III, but it's too pricey for me.

Rob - I love your quote from Jeremy Clarkson:

"Now the problem you have is that when you have the unerring certainty of machinery, it is a machine. When something has foibles, it won’t handle properly, that gives it a particularly human quality because it makes mistakes. And that’s how you can build a relationship with a car that other people won’t get."

For so many of us, this summarizes our love of British cars.

Cheers,
Allen

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Allen H. Bachelder
Spring Creek Home for Wayward MGs
Clyde, Michigan, USA
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Hi is this car still available, do you have pictures and how much do you want.
Thanks.
Lawrence

The Farina is a somewhat ugly duckling, but I think that is what appeals to me about it, is it strange looks, and 4 doors. I had a chance to buy a Farina 80% restored, including drive train, interior and paint for like $2500 a few years back, I should have bought it, I told Allen B. about it, and we talked a couple times about it, and neither one of us foolish boys had enough sense to buy this car, it was pristine to say the least. The car had been bought by Butch White, then inherited by Ed Seagrave after Butch's death, , Ed offered the car to me, then he passed a year, or so later and the car was sold as part of his estate auction. Butch bought the car originally from yet, another estate sale because it had well documented professionally freshly built 1622 engine in it, the thought was to take the engine out of the car for use in a MGA, but neither Butch, or Ed could part the car out, because it was too nice. Hopefully today it is back on the road, and the current owner is above ground to enjoy it.

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Hap Waldrop
MGexperience Supporting Vendor
Make Sure to check our promotions/product offerings in the Vendor Deals Forum here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2012 05:20AM by Speedracer.

Of course I totally agree with Hap Waldrop. Furthermore, I think the value of a Farina Magnette lies in the fact that it is rather a "period piece" in automotive history. For two reasons: as a part of the tail-fin era, it exemplifies a rather brief time when fantasy trumped function in automotive design. It was up to buyers to gently remind the American automotive industry that it had gone off the deep end. What's more, the unique historical place of the Farina Magnettes (and their badge-engineered cousins) is compounded by their British origin. At a time when Americans looked to British manufacturers for function, BMC gave them American-style fantasy instead.

While shy of the all-time fun-to-drive list, history has come down in favor of the Farina saloons. They are fundamentally very good cars. The original owners (for close to 40 years) of the Mk IV I once owned reported a "Toyota-like" reliability and I've heard the same from others. And even in the handling department, there are MG collectors among us who say the Farina Magnettes were vastly under-rated.

I was really planning on buying this car but circumstances have thrown a cloud over my best plans. I am still hoping but in the meantime, I heartily recommend John Eastland and this car to anybody else interested. I haven't seen the car, but John has gone far out of his way to provide pictures and description. Due to some engine problems, the car is now in the "bargain basement" price range where I wouldn't hesitate to buy it on the recommendations of those who have seen it. Regrettably, I suspect John is going to lose his proverbial shirt on this car, but if you're interested in buying one of these, this example is definitely worth your serious consideration. It looks like he has done a lot of thoughtful work on it.

FWIW,
Allen

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Allen H. Bachelder
Spring Creek Home for Wayward MGs
Clyde, Michigan, USA
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We are now the lucky owners of this beautiful Magnette Mark III. If anyone knows someone willing to do some motor work to it here in Illinois/Iowa we would appreciate a referral. Thank you to John for the opportunity to own this unique piece of auto history!

Hi Boon,

I was interested in this car for a long time but just could not get my ducks in a row. Congratulations on your purchase. There is a small following for these cars in the US. I heartily suggest that you get in touch with John Elwood <mgmagnette@aol.com>. Not to be confused with John Eastland from whom you bought the car, John Elwood is the Farina Magnette guru in North America. His website is http://www.mgmagnette.com/.

The engine in your car is exactly the same 1489 cc engine fitted to the MGA. John Eastland believed it had spun a bearing. I don't know what you know about cars, mechanically, but if this diagnosis is correct, at minimum, the engine will require a replacement connecting rod and a new connecting rod bearing. That is extremely minimal. I would definitely advocate rather a complete engine rebuild. If you haven't done this before on an MG, you need the supervision of an experienced MG mechanic. With the right guy and access to a good machine shop, you can do this really correctly yourself. You can also do what I had in mind (and I've done this on two Z-series Magnettes) - which is to rather install the MGB version of the same engine - bored out to 1800 cc (1798, actually). This gives you about 98 hp instead of the original 68. With the installation of a five-speed or overdrive gearbox and an MGB 3.9 rear crown wheel and pinion, you get relaxed cruising at 75-80 mph - most un-Magnette-like!!! The car is still no hotrod, but normal performance in modern traffic conditions becomes more than adequate and you can drive the car comfortably. Since the original engine is in need of internal work anyway, this is a very logical time to think about the change. Feel free to email (waywardmgs@comcast.net) or PM me if I can be of any help. I'm not very close by but I may be able to help you find an appropriate MG mechanic.

Allen
North Street, MI

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Allen H. Bachelder
Spring Creek Home for Wayward MGs
Clyde, Michigan, USA
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