I used to own a MkII MGB as a first car...
My brother bought one in fairly average condition, stripped the paint off and primed it. I bought it from him shortly after I got my license at 18 years old. Although the car was registered, a fair bit of it was still dismantled. I didn't know much about painting and was sorry he had removed its Jet Red paintwork. I went to a hardware store which had an auto section and bought a few cans of GM Salamanca Red... they didn't go very far, so I raided every shop which stocked this colour in the Holts touch up cans... I went through loads of them... and the car looked average. In the effort to make a statement, I painted the entire bonnet as a Union Jack, took me a while to do, but that part looked pretty good - those were the days where you never saw that type of thing. I felt like a pioneer indeed.
My brother bought one in fairly average condition, stripped the paint off and primed it. I bought it from him shortly after I got my license at 18 years old. Although the car was registered, a fair bit of it was still dismantled. I didn't know much about painting and was sorry he had removed its Jet Red paintwork. I went to a hardware store which had an auto section and bought a few cans of GM Salamanca Red... they didn't go very far, so I raided every shop which stocked this colour in the Holts touch up cans... I went through loads of them... and the car looked average. In the effort to make a statement, I painted the entire bonnet as a Union Jack, took me a while to do, but that part looked pretty good - those were the days where you never saw that type of thing. I felt like a pioneer indeed.
One Saturday morning twenty one years later, I awoke in a foul mood. To add further to my irritation, I had previously agreed to take my brother to a classic sports car specialist with his Healey 100/4 to have some work done to the folding roof. While waiting in the car for him I spotted this MkI MGB being offered for sale. I remember thinking "I had one of those" so I emerged from my car to take a look.
Memories of the old MkII flooded back as I gazed at this car... my prior horrible mood had evaporated and was the last thing on my mind. A salesman, Ron Spencer approached and begun to chat. When I say salesman, this company are very careful who they employ - their staff are enthusiasts, so they will never push, the cars sell themselves. He offered a test drive and I accepted, I actually had the feeling that he wanted to go for a drive. We took the car to my home and showed my wife. She said "Who's is that?' I said "Yours." On the way back to the dealer, I asked Ron if I could see the car on a hoist, which he agreed to instantly. He then commented that perhaps I should have a think about this - he knew I was about to make an impulsive purchase. So the car checked out on the hoist and I told him that I would put down a deposit and that I wanted a Moto-Lita steering wheel and boss kit.. "Are you sure you don't want to go away and think about this?" Nope, I knew. That was in 2005 and I have never looked back. On occasion I have been back to seek Ron's advice on work I've done on my car and he's always made absolutely perfect sense in everything he's said. The only issue I have is that he retired - he really was a gentleman.
Memories of the old MkII flooded back as I gazed at this car... my prior horrible mood had evaporated and was the last thing on my mind. A salesman, Ron Spencer approached and begun to chat. When I say salesman, this company are very careful who they employ - their staff are enthusiasts, so they will never push, the cars sell themselves. He offered a test drive and I accepted, I actually had the feeling that he wanted to go for a drive. We took the car to my home and showed my wife. She said "Who's is that?' I said "Yours." On the way back to the dealer, I asked Ron if I could see the car on a hoist, which he agreed to instantly. He then commented that perhaps I should have a think about this - he knew I was about to make an impulsive purchase. So the car checked out on the hoist and I told him that I would put down a deposit and that I wanted a Moto-Lita steering wheel and boss kit.. "Are you sure you don't want to go away and think about this?" Nope, I knew. That was in 2005 and I have never looked back. On occasion I have been back to seek Ron's advice on work I've done on my car and he's always made absolutely perfect sense in everything he's said. The only issue I have is that he retired - he really was a gentleman.
I gave the interior an upgrade. I ordered new leather seat covers and a custom carpet kit. The fitting of these items were filmed and can be viewed above. I must say, my 2010 SS Commodore has a lovely leather interior, but it doesn't come close to the ones fitted to the MG. These are such a fine grade of leather, words just don't do them justice...
Our little MG engine has been removed for some minor repairs, so we take a look at how to fix the issues and cosmetically enhance its appearance.
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With cleaning completed, we take a look at some parts and give the B series engine a nice coat of paint.
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More engine work to do.
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More engine work to do.
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More engine work but nearly there...
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Installed and Running.
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