The Avengers, a Lady Actor and a Classic Sports Car

Lyn Archer's name has long been synonymous with Tasmanian motorsport, as well as having a strong association with the business and civic activities of Hobart over many decades, through his proprietorship of Lyn Archer Motors and service as an alderman on the Hobart City Council.  Lyn raced a variety of cars during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but is probably best known for taking out 6th place in the 1959 Australian Grand Prix in Longford, northern Tasmania, and for also campaigning an Elfin WR275 with great success.

Today's article isn't actually about Lyn, although it is inextricably linked to him.  The car featured - a lovely MGC with an amazing 31,944 miles on the odometer (no - the clock hasn't ticked over for a second spin!) - was regularly used to tow Lyn's Elfin to race meetings, although it was actually his wife Pamela's.   

I was lucky enough to meet Lyn and Pamela's son - Lyndon, who now owns the MG - in a local specialist garage where it was undergoing some routine maintenance.  He very kindly offered to show me the car and told me a little bit about its history and that of his remarkable mother. 

MGC bonnet bulge and, above and to the right, the carbie tear drop.

Lyndon explained that Australian-born Pamela bought the MG brand new whilst she was living in London, working as an actress.  Pamela's acting credits, listed under her maiden name of Davy, include a couple of appearances in The Avengers, in which she played two of the ever-delicious Emma Peel's nemeses, "Peggy," in Mission to Montreal, and "Mandy," in The Living Dead, later earning her top spot on IMBd's Sexiest Villainesses of Televisions' Avengers 1966 - 69 (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051169031/).  She also had a part - that of "Janley" - in a 1963 series of Dr Who, The Power of The Daleks, as well as appearing in Roger Moore's The Saint, further television roles and some movie work, including in More Deadly Than The Male.

Thanks to Pamela's foresight, the MG is as structurally sound as the day it was bought and still features the tar-based rust inhibitor that its salesman convinced her to buy, as an option to combat England's salted winter roads, and that added another week or so to its already over-due delivery.  It's never been in a major bingle, either; the car's as straight as you could ask for and, the odd little nick and scrape aside, is in excellent condition. 

C Series engine with twin SUs.

32,000 odd miles equals a mere 50,000 k, more or less, so it probably shouldn't be any great surprise to learn that the car's exceptionally original.  The fact that it was used to tow Lyn's Elfin on a trailer says something about the robust, torquey nature of its 2.9 litre straight-six Austin C Series motor, too; the sight of it probably gave a few people a bit of a shock - especially given that many people would've thought it was a four-cylinder MGB!  

My own knowledge of the MGC isn't anything startling.  However, I do understand that they were intended as a replacement for the out-going six-cylinder Austin Healey 100 models but didn't sell well, mainly due to some negative press and complaints that the extra weight of the C Series engine compromised the the car's balance in comparison with the four-cylinder B Series equipped MGB with which it shared a body.

Other than a fairly prominent bonnet bulge and another small raised section above the carburettors, shaped like a tear drop, the MGC is ostensibly the same as an MGB.  Both feature identical interiors, although there were apparently some major structural modifications made to accommodate the bigger engine.  Like its MGB sibling, the MGC features twin side-draft SU carbies and an electric overdrive operating on third and fourth gears.  I'd be quite confident that the suspension, and almost certainly the brakes, would have also been upgraded.  

Might this be the world's lowest mileage MGC?

One final bit of MGC trivia, albeit apocryphal:  It is credibly rumoured the the first ever MGC to roll off the Abingdon production line - bearing the ... 001 serial number - also lives in Tasmania.  If you know anything about this mythical beast, please feel free to leave a comment on this 'blog or contact me, Alastair, by emailing alastair.watson1463@gmail.com.

Above and below:  a tow bar's a rare sight on a classic sports car.

Thanks go to Steve for alerting me to the existence of Pamela's MGC and to Lyndon for having taken the time to show me over the car, as well as detailing its history and that of his mother.  I'm sure readers will agree that it's a fascinating story and one with extra appeal for fans of British sports cars and classic television shows!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au)