The chill did not dissuade me from getting the BSA out of its den and taking it to the first-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the “Whidbey Island European Sports Car Club,” which isn’t really a club at all, just an open gathering of like-minded folks at Gerry’s Kitchen in Freeland, Washington. We had a pretty good turnout of interesting machines, such as…
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The bottoms of the fenders still need holes drilled to mount the three screws. The driver’s side fender will need a bit of massaging to fit properly at the bottom, the passenger side is pretty good. The tops are the opposite; the driver’s fender fits very well at the top, the passenger fender is a bit less accurate, though it was like that before and was never hit, so it’s been like that for a long time.

The various body openings were trimmed and clear coated in prep for the final body guide coat and block out. The color is a very, very close match to the original Grampian Grey.
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My friend Jeff and I went to look at this 1969 MGB GT last year, when it was for sale for about $2000. The seller was the daughter of the original owner, who had passed away a couple of years prior; the car was used frequently until his death, but from that point sat idle outside. The car was reasonably original, and while you can see usual MGB rot in the doglegs and lower front fenders, it was solid underneath. Wheels and tires were in good condition, and the engine bay looked pretty clean, though it wasn’t running when we saw it. There were a fair number of new looking pieces here and there.
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Jim has been doing yeoman work on the GT, and tonight it was sprayed with the second primer coat, first for the fenders and bonnet (out of photo). The bonnet was a bit tougher than we hoped, having suffered a few bruises over the years…and stripping the paint from it chemically was not fun. But it’s looking pretty good now.

I just have the inner faces of the doors left to strip. We’re possibly looking at having the car in color by next week!

eBay never ceases to provide entertainment. I see some idiot is offering MGB fiberglass rocker covers for sale. In case you’re unfamiliar with how the MGB is built, the sills (of which the rocker covers are the external part, visible under the doors) are the backbone of the car. They’re not cosmetic pieces, they’re important structural components. That’s why you replace them with new steel when you restore a car if they’re damaged (and that’s why you should be concerned if yours are Swiss cheese). And that’s especially why you don’t do something mindbogglingly stupid like paste fiberglass covers on.

The poor MGB. I thought with their rise in classic status we were beyond crappy, cheap fixes.

This is my “new” “cheap” ($2,000) “winter car.” I looked at all sorts of interesting older machinery, but in the end I showed a bit of sense and avoided several cars which needed work (lots of work, generally) to be decent transportation. This machine is a 1990 Mazda Miata with about 145,000 miles and all of the assorted dings accumulated in 20 years. Runs well, overall it’s in OK condition, and everything seems to work.
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The first coat of high-build primer went on the GT today. Jim did most of the prep and spraying–I did a bit, enough to show I definitely can use some practice. My goal is to get the fenders, bonnet and doors ready for primer by the end of next week, in addition to getting the initial blocking and fill done on this car.
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What a fantastic wagon. For just under $10,000, why would you consider anything else? (Maybe Mrs. Rusty Heaps would like to trade in her Outback for this. Lots of room for dogs in the back, and the diesel gets over 30 MPG, that’s 1/3rd better than the Subaru.)

Find it here on eBay, unless my lobbying efforts succeed.

I’m looking around for a cheap car ($2500 or so) to share the driving duties with the F250 this winter–and I’m enjoying the search. The car will have to be just a little odd, of course, but I’m open to all sorts of machines. Here’s some cars I’ve been considering–I’ve been trying to be a bit more open than I normally am to non-British weirdness.

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