John Twist

Calling all MG enthusiasts!  The 42nd and final birthday party this coming Saturday at University Motors (now Rusty Moose Garage). As in years past, they’ll have chili, potato soup, treats, beverages, and a birthday cake. There will be raffle tickets sold for a 50/50 to benefit the West Michigan MG Society (that’s myasthenia gravis). Raffle and cake cutting at 2:00 pm.

Over the weekend the MG Owners’ Club has been delighted and privileged to host two exclusive MG maintenance seminars for Club members hosted by John Twist the renowned MG expert from the United States. Anyone who has ever Googled an MG problem will be familiar with the over 300 YouTube videos on just about every aspect of classic MG tuning and maintenance presented by the charismatic John Twist the extremely knowledgeable engineer. Participants travelled from all over the country to the MGOC HQ in Swavesey near Cambridge, with one member even flying down from Scotland. John took the groups through the basic sequence of tuning an MGB with his tremendous enthusiasm, incredible detail and with his trademark humour. The programme for each day was a presentation in the boardroom and then down the fully equipped modern MGOC Workshop for a […]

John Twist has decided to sell the 1973 MGB-GT that he built and recently restored for his late wife Caroline. This is a rare opportunity to have John Twist sign the title to your new car. John has hired GR Autogallery to handle the sale, and is not taking questions as he’s bad at selling cars! He’s really good at fixing them though! John Twist of University Motors located in Grand Rapids, MI is a name that has been associated with unprecedented MG service for years. John and his staff have been exclusively specializing, servicing and restoring MG Automobiles for decades earning him international recognition in all MG circles. People that know John also know that he has a wealth of knowledge and is happy to share it.

Note: This week we are very pleased to have a piece from John Twist of University Motors on the dangers of ethanol, or alcohol, in modern gasoline. Those of us who drive classic British cars, especially ones with original fuel system components, need to be aware of what modern fluids can do to our rides. We appreciate John letting us reprint this article from his most recent newsletter. “Nearly all of the gasoline sold in the United States contains 10 percent ethanol, which can safely be used in all of today’s gasoline-burning cars and trucks.” (From http://www.ucsusa.org) The operative word is “today’s.” Ethanol is a cleaner burning fuel than gasoline. It is created from biomass, especially corn. Arguments rage about the true environmental impact of growing corn to create ethanol versus drawing crude oil from wells and then refining it. But […]

The 25th anniversary celebration of the Champagne British Car Festival will be held on June 3, 4, & 5 in Bloomington, Illinois with John Twist of University Motors as our special guest.  Additional information can be had at CBCF-Bloomington.com.

The annual University Motors Summer party will be held this year on August 8 in Byron Center, Michigan. This year’s event will be celebrating the MGA 1500’s birthday. The MGA was introduced in 1955. By replacing the TF, it was a quantum leap into the future with it’s aerodynamic body styling – a world away from the “square rigger” MG models from before WWII. Over the next seven years about 110,000 MGAs were manufactured. They came as roadsters and coupes. They were powered first by a 1500 engine, then a 1600, and finally a 1622. A short run (2111) of Twin Cams were produced in 1959-1960. They came with drum/drum brakes, then disc/drums, while the Twin Cam had all round disc brakes. The last MGAs left the factory in 1962 before the introduction of the MGB. Come with us the […]