My old MG

[Stick]

Whilst I've been prepping the house for the move, I came across my old 35mm slide collection.  Well I couldn't help myself and took a few hours out to have a look through.  Amongst the very many memories were my old 1970 MG B GT.  I had this as my daily drive for several years until I chose to sell it to pay for my wife's university fees.  Love or madness - it's a fine line!

Apart from the mini-lite alloys, K & N air filters and electronic ignition the car was pretty much 'stock'.  I was lucky enough to take ownership just after it had been fully restored so it was very close to being concourse.  After a few years of driving it in the winter with salt on the road I decided I couldn't do it any more so bought another run around.  The 'Bee' then became a weekend play thing.  This pic was taken on the Northumberland coast whilst stationed in that part of the world.  For the Harry Potter fans, Alnwick castle (the nearest town) features lots in the films.

I wonder where my old bee is now?!!

 

[Richard Burley]

I had a '64 in my youth. A lovable car, and probably the most fun to drive of any in my experience if you discount brute horsepower. Mine was ivory, too, if that's what I'm looking at.

 

[Fr_Tom]

I had a '67 MGB - GT (an early '67 so positive ground electrics). It had spoke wheels and was British racing green except for one fender which was yellow. I called it "Pied Beauty" after the GM Hopkins poem.

Glory be to God for dappled things...

 

[Stick]

I had a '64 in my youth. A lovable car, and probably the most fun to drive of any in my experience if you discount brute horsepower. Mine was ivory, too, if that's what I'm looking at.

Yes, similar. This is Old English White.

 

[monbla256]

In 1954, my father bought my mother a Red MG TF like this one in the pic. She was a redhead and thought a red car went with her hair !! :twisted:  She had that car till I went to 'Nam in '69. I remember it as being a neat car 'cept it seemed to spend almost as much time in the shop as she drove it !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Richard Burley]

Electrics by Lucas, the company that invented darkness. You had to learn to work on them yourself--but it was easy. :lol:

 

[Lonecoyote]

I owned a 1964 Triumph Spitfire. Suffered a cracked engine block and sold it in the 70's as is, was a nice car. Also owned a Triumph TR-6 from 1976, now that's a car I wish I'd kept. Only minor electrical problems. The car handled well on the road. It was a true Roadster.

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[riff raff]

That's a great looking car and quite suitable in GT form for the coast! I love the minilites.
There is an MGB registry, so if you have the VIN anywhere, you might be able to locate it. (or God forbid it's in a boneyard)

 

[Thistleoak]

Sooooooo beautiful.... not to be an ignorant peasant but was this a mass production or a kit car?

 

[Stick]

Sooooooo beautiful.... not to be an ignorant peasant but was this a mass production or a kit car?

Hey mate,

The B GT was mass produced. In '76 MG produced a newer model with the rubber bumbers (see Al's avatar) and raised its ride height by 2 or so inches to conform with US safety standards. Having had both variants my preference was the earlier chromed version.

 

[Blackhorse]

Always lusted after a '47 a neighbor had. I think it was a TF. Alas it was never to be. He sold it for an Austin Healey 3000. Now THERE was a car that sounded good when it drove by.  Looked like the pic below:

A much esteemed teacher in my high school days had a hard top MGB, sweet little thing...um, the car that is. I remember that four strong students once picked it up, carried it from the parking lot and set it sidewise in front of the main doors. Mighta been six, but I remember it as four. Better story that way. His was BRG.

Looked like this GT...but green...

I also remember that he shocked the school in general by dating the new art teacher...she was French, and to die for. Wore thin tight sweaters and did them proud. We were all in love with the car AND the Frenchie. There wasn't a guy in that school that wouldn't have run away with her, regardless of consequences. He married her and sold the MGB. We were at a loss to figure whether or not it was a good deal. That's how young and foolish we were. I met him years later as an adult and he had become an administrator and had gone bald. When chatting with him I confided the male student population's esteem of his wife...he pulled out a recent wallet picture...and she still looked very worthy.

 

[Stick]

Ha! That was a great read BH! I read it to my wife too and she was tickled pink! That yellow BGT is a fine example and, instead of the mini-lites that were on mine, has the original steel Rostyles. Looks pretty original too.

Great shot of the Healey too. As it happens, my father in law who is staying over this weekend has a original Work's Healey 3000. These were cars that were made for Healey's race team. Apparently it had a 0 - 60 of approx. 6 seconds - quite something for a car of that era.

 

[Stick]

That's a great looking car and quite suitable in GT form for the coast!  I love the minilites.
There is an MGB registry, so if you have the VIN anywhere, you might be able to locate it.  (or God forbid it's in a boneyard)

Hey Al,

I've checked on the DVLA website fairly recently and the car's been declared SORN - statutory off the road notice. This means that the car is still in ownership (not scrapped) but has not been taxed, therefore may not be driven on the road. This may be for a number of reasons, though most likely it's not a good sign. If this is the case it's a damn shame. It really was a straight car.

 

[riff raff]

Ah, too bad. You always hope these beauties survive.

My mom and dad had a '61 Austin-Healy 100-6 when they lived in Hawaii. I'll have to dig up a picture of that one.

My love affair with cars in general started in the 8th grade. My Science teacher, Mr. Gehr had us study the internal combustion engine. He was pretty hip, wore bell bottom plaid pants, big hair, etc. He drove an early 70's TR6 that we all lusted after and he showed us some of the general workings. I did a report on Porsche (we had just moved back to the US from Germany). I still have the report and the glossy Porsche literature they sent me.

Fast forward 30 years. I'm at "meet the teacher" night with my youngest, who was in the 8th grade. We go into her science room and it's my same teacher, Mr. Gehr. He's still dressing like it was 1975. I start gushing to him about the impact he had on me with cars and asked about his TR6. He replied, "that was a piece of junk, I sold it later that year and never owned anything like that again". On the way out of the classroom, my daughter said "he smells bad". So much for memories.

 

[swhipple]

Beautiful car Stick! I love the British sports cars of that era and yours looks like she was a classic.  

My dad a GT like that when we lived in Wales when I was a kid. It was dark blue and had the chrome bumpers. I remember it had a sort of early version of a sunroof that was made of cloth and cranked open with a handle. It had an after market exhaust and it made great sounds. I used to love riding through the country side in that car with the top open. He was used to drive safely most of the time but when it was just the 2 of us and he found an open stretch of road he was let loose and go round the corners with pace.

Fast forward 30 years. I'm at "meet the teacher" night with my youngest, who was in the 8th grade. We go into her science room and it's my same teacher, Mr. Gehr. He's still dressing like it was 1975. I start gushing to him about the impact he had on me with cars and asked about his TR6. He replied, "that was a piece of junk, I sold it later that year and never owned anything like that again". On the way out of the classroom, my daughter said "he smells bad". So much for memories.

That's funny right there. Doesn't like sports cars, he smells bad to me too.