Bridget’s Diary

Took her to an MG specialist to put her through an MOT. I knew she wouldn’t pass, it was just to get an idea of how much work was needed. The news was rather depressing, and the MG guy wouldn’t even give an estimate for the work required. After much pressing, he came up with a very finger-in-the-air figure of £5000! I think the truth was that he wasn’t really interested in ‘fixing up’, only in full restorations, I just wanted her through the MOT so I could drive her, and then do the restoration myself.

I told Beth the bad news. It turned out that she’d discovered a colleague of hers was “really into” MGs and he recommended a place who could do the required work for us. “Oh yes”, they said, when I took her round for them to have a look. “Just a few days work…”

Well, we agreed a price (somewhat less than the asking), hired a car and drove to Brighton (from Bradford) to buy her. She was in somewhat worse condition than the photos suggested, but we reckoned we paid a fair price. She’s going to need quite a bit of work, including two new sills just to get through the MOT, and then quite a lot more work to bring her up to something approaching ‘good’ condition. But the aim is to produce a car to be driven, not to be shown.

She made the journey all the way back from Brighton without a hitch. Strong smell of petrol, though. I suspect the tank is leaking. But we got our first ‘MG wave’ only a few miles from Brighton!

I came across the classifieds on the MG Enthusiasts site, and in particular, this:

MGB GT 1969

Tax exempt. BRG, WW, CB, OD, leather seats. Used daily. Mileage 135,000 – 5000 done on new unleaded engine (since February 2001). Mechanically sound, but bodywork needs a little attention. FSH available. Taxed until November 2002.
Company car forcing sale of my beloved MG, which has served me well for 12 years. oiro £1000.

I emailed asking for photos, and received these:

Elizabeth asked me a question today. She said “Would you like an MGB?”, or words to that effect. I don’t remember why she asked me, but my answer was clear: I’d always wanted an MGB.

So, I started scouring the net. Specification: GT, tax-exempt (i.e. pre-’73), British Racing Green, Chrome Bumpers, Wire Wheels. What other spec is there?