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theAutoist
MG
Museum |
People who visit my garage sometimes ask,
"Are you NUTS? What
th'
%$#@ are you trying to do?"
Well, the answer is simple (at least to me)...
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MY MISSION:
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To celebrate and enhance the rich heritage of
MG automobiles
and show their cultural contributions by collecting
a complete set of each 'type' car built since WWII.
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By 'a
complete
set',
I mean: |
an MG-T series,
all 3 large MG saloons & the small MG sports sedan,
an MGA roadster & coupe,
both a
chrome bumper MGB roadster & MGB GT,
both a rubber bumper MGB
roadster & MGB GT,
a rubber and a chrome bumper Midget,
an MGC roadster & MGC GT,
and an MGB LE. |
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...at
a minimum!
So, To that
end...
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...there are
19 MG's
who reside
permanently in my collection
(in addition to a motorcycle & 4 mystery cars).
NO! - NO!
- NO!
NONE OF THESE CARS ARE FOR
SALE!
NOT TODAY!
NOT TOMORROW!
NOT UNTIL I'M 6 FEET UNDER GROUND!
&, THEN MAYBE NEVER*! (*especially
as I have a grandson to whom I can leave them.)
NO! - NO! - NO!
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So, here are photos and overviews
of my collection:
Around 2000, a friend told me about a little MG TD languishing in a
garage in a nearby town. Apparently, the car had been the
object of an "on again-off again" restoration over the
last 20 or so years. But, when contacted, the owner politely refused my
interest in buying or even looking at the car.
Then one
day several months later--out
of the blue--he left a message on my answering machine. I
had almost forgotten about the little car but talking with him
refreshed my memory. So, we set up an appointment for me
to see it. When I got to his house, I found a car that
has had its drive train & suspension completely rebuilt (0
miles), a new
leather interior, the dash & steering wheel reworked, and all
wood in the body professionally replaced during the "body off"
restoration that included black lacquer paint that's never been
buffed. The fenders & running boards are off the car &
ready for paint, and the windshield, new top & top bows are ready
for installation. There's also a complete set of Whitworth tools &
manuals, boxes & boxes of pieces & parts, and a guy who
had checked me out to see if I was a "proper
caretaker" for the little car.
We agreed on a price
& it's now a permanent
part of my museum.
...& its body
restoration is documented here: bodyshop
. |
Answering machines are great
things. Mine brings me all kinds of good news.
Recently, John Allison of Ft. Pierce, Florida left a message
saying he wanted to sell a Magnette he had owned for 15
years. When I returned his call, I learned the car,
originally from California, was stored in a barn in Sollsbury,
Indiana.
We quickly planned a trip & we set off to see
what we could see.
To say the least, we bought her on a Friday & on Saturday
entered her in the 6th Annual British Car Day on the River show
in Newburgh, Indiana where she took first place in
class. |
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1959 MGA 1500 COUPE |
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I've been looking for an MGA Coupe for a long time. A friend
on the internet sent me a Craig's List ad for one available in
Phoenix. So, I hopped an early morning flight, inspected &
bought it, and caught the redeye home. A couple of weeks
later, it was delivered to me and is now resting in my garage next
to its brother, my '59 MGA roadster. When I get to it, I'll do
a frame-off of both MGAA's at the same time. This one was
originally an unusual coupe-only blue with a gray interior.
It'll go back that way. |
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1959 MGA 1500 |
When I found this car in 1997, it had been sitting in
an airport hangar since 1971. I finally purchased it in 1998 &
towed it home where its been sitting ever since.
On the way home,
I decided to see what would happen. Turning the key and popping
the clutch caused the engine to come to life! It ran; wouldn't stop
itself, but it ran! The body is solid with no rust though the previous
owner covered the wooden floors with aircraft sheet metal. The wires are
solid and straight and the side curtains are there and in pretty good
shape.
If I ever completely retire, this
and my MGA Coupe will
be my "old guy" projects. When I do get around to
restoring it, it'll go back its original Red.
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| "Hey,
Tony, check out eBay!" Thanks, Chuck. Si, I
put down a deposit on another car and headed to Wichita,
Kansas early in June 2003 to pick it up. She runs but needs lots
of TLC after sitting in a warehouse for a while. She's ugly
- but rare. Only about 800 to 900 of these were imported to the
US. |
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1963
STEEL GRAY MG1100 2-door SPORTS SEDAN |
In 1990, I became the 2d owner of this little car that
was purchased new from Joe Engle in Kansas City. The car only has 62,000
miles and mechanically is original and perfect. It has both the very
rare dealer fiberglass hood (the one with a Plexiglas viewing area) and
original steel hood, both painted to match the body. The body has been
sprayed with BL factory lacquer paint, and the interior completely redone.
My memories of the battle
to purchase this little car can be found in my "Memories"
section. |
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1963 BLACK
MGB |
Some years ago, in my wanderings, I dropped by a local auto
restorer's shop to see what he was working on. Among the
exotics was a little MkI MGB that was getting a show-class paint
job. She was a beautiful little black, pull handle,
2-owner car that was being lavished with the best of
everything. I immediately forgot about her.
Then, a couple of years
later, a friend told me
about a local artist who had an MG that he might need to
sell. I tracked him down, and found the little black '63
stored in his garage. Seems he brought it home from the
body shop, rebuilt the suspension, had all the engine machine
work done, did the artist's thing on the dash, and then received
a DUI that was imposing some financial restraints on the
restoration.
He bought her in 1971
from the original owner with 60,000 documented miles on
the clock, and put another 350,000 documented miles on her before he
decided a full restoration was needed (Yes! 350,000 miles!). During the process. he
accumulated boxes and boxes of new parts to include new
crankshaft, pistons, cam, every gear in the tranny, wiring
harness, chrome, rubber, etc. We parted with my offer to
"take it off his hands" if he ever decided to
sell. And, I immediately forgot about her.
Then, several months
later - out of the blue -
I got a phone call that he might consider selling her.
Within an hour I was at his house. We talked, and talked,
and talked; but, nothing was confirmed except that he wanted in
the high 5-figures range; appropriate if the restoration was
finished but not right for a partially disassembled car. I made him what I thought was a fair offer
based on the reassembly required; and, once again, immediately forgot
about her.
Sunday, 10 Feb 02, we talked again and he
accepted my offer! So, Monday I went by to pay for her but
he was too emotionally attached to let her go. We talked
and talked and talked about her and their travels together
(skiing in Colorado, coast trips in the summer, etc.), but I
didn't get to own her. That evening we talked about her
again on the phone, and he made the final decision to part with
her.
Today, she's in my garage under a cover - with her 3rd
and final owner! Oh, she's being converted to a right hand
drive car! And I've installed a black factory 'Works'
hardtop on her & have an overdrive transmission for her.. |
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1963 TARTAN RED
MkI MIDGET |
By the time Lyndon Akins acquired the little car in May 1983, it
had gone through 9 owners since Lakeland Motors of Knoxville, TN
sold it new to Charles Witt. I know this because, as part of
his restoration of the car, Lyn researched the car's history and
collected copies of every title issued on it. The little car
had, luckily, spent its entire life in the Knoxville area and was
virtually original when he bought it.
A letter from the original owner to Lyn
states:
"The car was
purchased from Lakeland Motors in Knoxville....new and titled as a
1964 model. However, that was a time when government
regulations were not as strict, and if there was no essential
change in the car, the dealer could classify it as a new model
around October....Original color was red and the interior was
black....I don't have any photos, but the one you enclosed is
exactly as I remember it."
When Lyn & I started discussing the car, he had married
(he proposed to his wife in the little car), and had a 5 year old
daughter. To complete the transfer of ownership, Lyn took
his wife & daughter out of town on a camping trip, left them
to enjoy the Smokey Mountains, & returned to let the car come
home with me. Talk about an emotional moment!
She's everything one would expect in a restored
and much researched car. Sweet, solid appearance, zippy
handling on curvy, country roads, & just a fun car to look
at. Her interior, side curtains, and bright work are as nice
as the day the came off the showroom floor.
And, she's one of the first MkI Midgets to get
front disc brakes! Pull starter, pack-away top, wire wheels, no
outside door handles, single master cylinder for brakes &
clutch, 1098 engine. Its just a blast from the past to drive
her.
Right now she's undergoing a complete bolt-by-bolt
restoration. The 1st photo above (wth the plane) is of the
completed rolling bodyshell. |
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1964 TARTAN RED
MkII
MIDGET |
A friend alerted me to this little car that was advertised on
Atlanta's craigslist. A quick trip over to northeast Georgia
on the day before Veterans Day culminated in it becoming a permanent
member of my collection.
The last time it was on the road was
in 1994 and then as an RV 'dingy' meaning it was towed behind an RV. |
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1967 TARTAN RED MGB GT |
This is probably my favorite car to drive. Its an
almost perfect, original little wire wheeled, red GT I found in 1998 in Madison, Alabama. The black with red piping leather
interior is perfect. The exterior paint shows some parking lot dings but
the body is straight and rust free, and the mechanics are strong.
About
all I can say about this little car is that it is sooo much fun to
drive!
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1968 CITRON MGB GT |
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I've had this old GT sitting around for a long time. It
really wasn't a parts car but it wasn't one that anybody was
knocking my door down to buy either. So, I've turned it into
an SCCA E Modified autocross car. We started its restoration
focusing on the Grassroots Motorsports Kumho 2005 Challenge but it
will end up being a 2006 car. We've really changed it quite
a bit. From the Chevrolet 3.4 liter V6 engine to putting it
on a serious diet (down to 1700 pounds) to Lexan windows and
gutted interior. This is going to be a fun car to
drive. You can follow its build by clicking on my Racing
section. |
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1968 BRITISH
RACING GREEN MGC |
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Another phone
call. Another car added to the collection. And,
again, with the help of a member of my local car club.
This 1968 MGC has only 77,000 original miles. I got it
from its 2nd owner (he bought it from his uncle when it was 5
years old). Wire wheels, beautiful black w/white piping
leather seats and a rebuilt engine make this the MGC I've been
waiting on. Only thing is the color: Snowberry
White. Though original, I don't need another white
car. And, I've always wanted a Dark British Racing Green
MGC. So, since that color was correct for the year and
interior trim, she's disassembled and in the body shop.
You can follow her restoration in My
Garage section; however, its going to be an "on again,
off again" thing as I'll only work on her after a couple
other cars are finished. She also has a black factory
'Works' hardtop & overdrive transmission.. |
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1969 PALE PRIMROSE
MGC GT |
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Friends. Man, they're great. A buddy of mine turned me
onto this little gem. She's far from perfect; but has an [b]Automatic transmission - one of 484 sent to North America![/b]
Wire wheels. Been sitting in a basement for 23 years.
Solid, straight, rust free body; dash pad & steering wheel are
excellent. Actually, she says 79,xxx miles & I almost
believe that's original. |
In the Fall
of 2000, we acquired this solid little car from the Assistant Dean of the
School of Engineering at the University of Alabama. It was his
daily driver that he was prepping for restoration to its original
glory. He is a perfectionist. The photos are of the car
immediately before he started disassembly. He felt it wasn't good
enough (in actuality, it was in as good if not better shape than most on
the road today!).
The body has now been stripped, sandblasted, and
painted in Glacier White. Once reassembled with black
interior & overdrive transmission, it will become
Jerri's "Little British Car."
Women! Can you believe
'em? I've
been married to Jerri for 30+ years. I've owned MG's furing our entire
relationship. She's never gotten excited about
them. Heck, so far as I can remember, she's never even asked to drive one
of them.
Then, out of the clear, she decided she wanted the little 1970
MGB GT!
I don't know what caught her eye with this particular little car but, before we
could complete the return trip from Tuscaloosa with it, she had made it
her personal Saturday afternoon "go to the grocery store car," and was
making plans for its restoration. And, she had some definite plans for the
little car.
She wanted it to be Glacier White car with black interior. She didn't want air conditioning or a sunroof but was adamant about
keeping the wire wheels. Very quickly, I saw that this car didn't have to
remain original, and that its rebuild could be fun. |
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1974 BLAZE MG MIDGET |
I'm the 3rd owner of this little red 51,000 original
mile car that's only in my collection as a representative of the Midget.
Its too small for me to drive comfortably, but an MG collection isn't
complete unless it has at least 1 Midget & this round wheel arch
example is a rare little thing.
An acquaintance of my wife kept the
little car in her garage from when she purchased it in 1978 with 34,000
miles until her daughter came of driving age. Rather than
allow her daughter to drive it, she sold it to me and bought her
daughter a Japanese car (go figure!).
My wife is proud of this car
as
she found it for me (see guys, wives are important to have around-just
kidding ladies!).
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1974½ BLAZE MGB GT |
I've wanted a rubber bumper MGB GT since I first
saw one in England in 1975 when I was a lowly Lieutenant in the Army.
It
took me until 1999 to find a rust free, air conditioned car that I
wanted to keep, and it was less than 25 miles from my house!
Remember, there were only 1274 of these cars imported to North
America.
As with
anything in my life, there's a story: John
Hubbard, a friend in Pensacola, Florida (I call him a friend, but he
got me started building this d*#¤ web site) alerted me to a car
being offered for sale on eBay.com. I contacted the owner and asked what
price he would need to close the auction. His reserve was fair so the
car came home with me.
While its not perfect, it will be
easy to
bring back to its original condition. As the urge hits me, I work on it.
So
far, I've repainted it, rebuilt the carbs, repaired the wiring harness and
installed new OE cloth upholstery. |
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1977 CHARTREUSE YELLOW MIDGET |
Early in
2001, at a meeting of the North Alabama British Motoring
Society, our president announced that he had been contacted by a guy who
had "an old Midget that's been sitting in a barn for 6 -8 years,
and just wants to get rid of it." Well, I took his number
& tracked him down. When I opened the barn, under years of
mud, dirt, bird droppings, et. al. was the little Midget. I
figured if nothing else it was a good parts car, so I bought it.
On the way home, I spent about $10 at a car wash getting through the
years of gunk down to the
body. "Hmmm, looks pretty straight; don't see any rust. Better study this one real close."
What did I
find? A perfectly original (except for the wheels & a
one-barrel Solex), never been wrecked or repainted, rust free, low
mileage, excellent interior KEEPER!!! Since I purchased it,
I've also acquired a factory 'Works' hardtop for the little car. |
This is "my baby". She's been with me
forever, and is permanently retired from the road with the original
96,000 miles I drove her. She has overdrive transmission, wire wheels,
luggage rack, and a factory hardtop (that we've recently painted
Vermillion). When I decided to retire
her in 1995 I splurged and had a complete new paint job sprayed over her stripped
body shell. Everything else about her is original and just as it came
out of the factory.
Today, however, she's been revived and
served as the 'dinghy' behind our 1995 Airstream Land Yacht LE
motor home when we spent 6 months touring Alaska and Canada.
Plus, she's my "car of choice" on those wonderful
north Alabama summer afternoons! |
A friend restored this little British car
in 1995 and shortly afterwards allowed
his wife to drive it! She proceeded to ram it under a truck.
I came home
from a weekend trip, and found it sitting in my drive with a note
telling me to bring him a check. I did! After a new front fender and
hood with a complete body respray by the students at the local high
school body shop (6 years ago!), it replaced "my baby" as a
daily driver. First, however, I had to remove its air
conditioning. Then, I had to systematically make it unique.
The car is a constant
work-in-progress. Right now, she's receiving a Rover 4.0 V8
transplant. To see the new specifications, go to V8. |
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PLUS, every British car nut needs at least 1 British
motorcycle,
so..........
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About 5 or 6 years ago, Jerri asked me to sell my Norton
because she felt I was getting a bit too old to ride.
Well, whadda ya
gonna do?
Ever since the
moment it pulled out of my driveway, I've regretted that
decision. And, I think so has Jerri. Though she
never gets on a bike with me, she understood what selling
that bike meant. And, I've looked for another
since.
Well, eBay is a great thing! Just up the
road in Lynnville, TN was a guy selling the exact bike I
wanted, another Norton. Interestingly, I had decided to buy a BMW bike because I thought I'd
never find another Norton. Jerri suggested I
wait. Then, out of the blue, there it was: 1972 Norton 750
Commando.
So, its mine -
forever! Now, the fun of putting it back in 'original'
condition.
The photos were
taken immediately after I finished riding in the 2003
Trail of Tears Commemorative Ride. You can also
read about my family ties to the Trail of Tears, go to my Memories
section. |
Then,
there are the mystery cars in my collection:
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This one appeared in the Classified Section of the British
Car Forum. It has 37,000 original miles, was always
garage kept, and is in mint condition. Even the Biscuit
interior looks like its never been sat upon. And the
original dealer window stickers are in an envelope with every
piece of paper on it since new - with the protective covering
never taken off the glue used to adheer it to the
window. Jerri drove it on the 2-hour trip home
and immediately declared it was hers. |
I was out of town recently and when I returned home, there was a
message from a friend who owns the local foreign car salvage
yard. Come see me when you get home. And bring your
checkbook." was all the message said. Knowing Jason had
probably found something interesting, I dropped by his
place. He tossed me the keys to the yard where he keeps his
"prizes" and said, "You'll figure out what you're
buying when you get there."
Boy, did I! There it sat, a
beautiful Jaguar. Faded paint and a small dent in the front
bumper. 65,000 original little old lady miles! Seems
she tackled the corner of her garage door and her son convinced
their insurance company to settle with his mother as he felt
she was too old to continue driving. Jason knew what it was
when he bought it from the insurance company, and he set it aside
for me. Now, with a clear original (not salvage) title, a
new bumper and paint to go over the faded original and she's a joy
to drive.
When I brought it home, Jerri asked
me what I planned for it. When I told her I'd probably just
keep it around, she let me know real fast that she'd be happy to
'allow me to drive her Jaguar' a couple of times a
week! Oh well. |
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However - & don't curse me too loudly - the next 3 are German -
though 1 actually belongs to my daughter, Shannon, and the other to my
wife, Jerri... |
Back in 1987 when our daughter, Shannon, was 14 years old (she's
'hmm-mmh' now), we took a family trip
to California. While driving along in Monterrey one day, Shannon yelled from the
backseat, "Dad, STOP!! There's
the car I want!" Turning around, I saw she was pointing to a little
Volkswagen
Karmann Ghia sitting in a used car lot. Well, hello!! Was this fate
injecting its head?
See, we were living in Fairbanks, Alaska at the time while I
was teaching Army ROTC at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. It just happened
that every day on my way home from school, I passed a forlorn-looking, abandoned little 1971
Ghia.
When we returned to Alaska from
California, I bought the little car (it had the optional gas heater!), and proceeded to restore it from the ground
up.
Then,
when Shannon was 16, we were transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. She
wouldn't have her car shipped to Kansas because she was afraid they would damage
it. So, at the age of 16, Shannon drove the Alaska Highway in that little
Ghia!
(Watch out guys, she's a lawyer now!)
Well, she drove the little Ghia all through high school and off to college,
putting about 20,000 miles on the restoration without any trouble. While in
college, she conned me out of my 1984 BMW 323i (yep, a European model!), and
parked her Ghia under a tarp at her grandmother's house. When we retired to
Alabama several years later and brought the little Ghia home, that blue plastic
tarp had held years of moisture inside itself, and you know the rest...or should
I say RUST...of the story.
We've now restored the little Ghia's body pan, replacing the floors and all its support beams
with galvanized metal along with repairing any rust in the body itself. It's
stronger now than when it came out of the factory. We're letting it sit out in
the open for a couple of years to see if any rust comes back (it hasn't!). Then,
we're going to restore it one more time.
Someday, Shannon will put it in her garage
as she begins her
automobile collection! |
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Actually, it was my mother-in-law's car from the day it rolled off
the showroom floor until my wife, Jerri, inherited it. With
only a few hundred miles over 57,000, its a completely original
"radio delete" standard VW sedan. But, as its been
sitting for a few years, we're giving it a complete
make-over. You can read about it at Bug. |
| ...and, there is 1 for when I
get in a Teutonic mood: {"Sagen
sie nichts - Ich kenne wo sie leben!"} |
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1982 MANGANESE BROWN MERCEDES BENZ 380SL |
I initially found this low mile car through eBay.com
("I'm selling it because I've gotten to where I only drive it about
800 miles a year," was what got my attention!). It was living in
Bowling Green, KY with less than 80,000 miles on its clock. It's never
seen the inside of a body shop, never been wrecked, and was pampered by
the previous owner.
Now, this
150,000+ mile example is mint in every way
(my local MB dealer brought it back to factory new specs & maintains
it according to factory schedules); has the matching hardtop, and the
cloth convertible top is factory original. A new factory original
tan leather interior
compliments the unusual Coffee Brown exterior color--a standard color
for MB's but rarely seen on an SL. |
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