Flash Back

Drive Time

I have mentioned before that New Wife used to drive a red MGB GT back in the days of yore, when she were a weeny in her early 20s.  Unlike me, she has photos — well, one photo, anyway:

That’s her brother, upon whose shoulders many of the (frequent) repairs fell.  In true Brit sports car driver fashion, however, she accepted that frequent breakdowns were just a fact of ownership:  the joys of open-top driving in a perfect climate on the hill roads around her house were more-than-adequate compensation.

While she was swanning around like Lady Muck, Your Humble  Narrator was chugging around in one of these, hauling band equipment (which was way heavier than the recommended top load):

…only it was colored in a sort of sickly bamboo yellow.  Don’t laugh;  I got over 175,000 miles out of it before it was stolen.

Here’s what Drummer Knob was driving:

…as part of his trainee-plutocrat program.  It was never stolen.

Earworm:  Those Were The Days

11 comments

  2. I had a green MGB, not the GT. I bought it way used and it still probably cost a buck a mile to drive. Fun, as long as you know someone with something more reliable.

      1. That’s a standard haircut for the times. Except for my hair being a sort of golden yellow, I had that haircut, too.

  4. Through the door there came familiar laughter
    I saw your face and heard you call my name
    Oh my friend we’re older but no wiser
    For in our hearts the dreams are still the same

    Lovely singer, song and sentiment.

  5. Knob was the drummer, so where did he keep the drum set in that thing?
    And VW transporters were always overloaded and sloooooow going up hills.

  7. 1968 Rover 2000TC..British Racing Red. Dual side-draft Solex carbs. Electrical system designed and built by the Prince of Darkness, Lucas.

    And at the time I had it (mid-70’s-ish) British Leyland had been nationalized by the British Communist government so getting parts was a challenge… As was keeping the Solex carbs synchronized so as not to burn up the engine.

    Other than that, a very nice car!

    Curiously, I went from that to a VW Type II (van)…much less maintenance.

  8. I had, (I think), 7 MGBs back in the day, 6 of them were bought secondhand, only the GT was bought new, not one of them ever broke down on me, though I did seem to keep on buying water pumps and window winders. My younger brother, on the other hand, had 2, both secondhand, and they broke down on him constantly, any guesses why that should be?

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