‘I owned my last one in 1983’

Your tales of the latest classic car deals. This week, how one reader got back into an MGB having fallen in love with them 40 years ago

What made you want an MGB?

‘It started way back in the late 70s. Finished in Snowberry White with a brown interior and external decals from America all of which I think made the motor MDD916F quite distinctive and stand out. Around 1983 the MGB had to make way for a larger motor due to a growing family. Now into my late retirement I was longing to locate my old motor but alas no luck, so next best thing started the search for my retirement project’

Tell us about this one.

‘I found this very nice unmolested MGB GT LE locked away in a garage February 2020. It had been in storage from 1995 and resurfaced around 2012 whereupon the car had been worked upon for some 18 months and then the car was back on the road in 2014. I completed the purchase and took delivery from its 3rd owner in March of 2020, the car had only covered a further 1750 miles since 2014 making its total just 47500miles.

Has it been a joy to own?

‘I was all set to start reliving the MG thrill once again and do some minor tinkering as I looked to the coming summer months, but the week I take delivery the country goes into lockdown. After cleaning the inside, the car started to look smart once again, so in the lull in lockdown in the summer I took advantage and hit the open road. That sound of the MGB engine-up through the gears into overdrive just suddenly brings it all back to you, those who love their MG know that feeling.’

What are your plans for it now?

‘With the winter months beginning to recede and the car back in its warm shed, I can now start to clean down the engine bay – tidy up some of the wiring, replacing tired bullet connectors/ add relays if required. I’ll also look at changing all the fluids and generally looking to check over all the running gear. so it’s ready to hit the ground running once the season revs up.’