MGB from 1973

2008-07-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our 73 B found an old friend in this 1923 Morris Cowley "Bullnose." That model is significant since it was the starting place for MG. The founders "tricked the car out" to become the first MG sports car. We saw the Bullnose in its chance appearance at the 2008 Spring "Gathering of the Faithful" in Salado, Texas. The new owner lives in Salado but was not aware of the meet until he conversed with some of the attendees who informed him of the car's signicance to all the MG'ers. His car won "Best of Show."

2007-12-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

November, 2007

McKinney, Texas, north of Dallas was the site for the Fall GOF (Gathering of the Faithful.) With another MGB club member, in foreground, our B, second in line, made the 330 miles trip on the back roads. With the tops down, we made it back to Houston too, without missing a beat.

Our B has the original engine without any overhaul. I use unleaded gas even thought the valves are suitable only for leaded gas. I guess they're still saturated with lead since there is no ping, with 116,000 miles on the odo.

2007-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is the car as it appeared in 1974 in Westerville, Ohio. Aside from a set of marks on the bonnet obtained in Oklahoma in 1983, it remains pretty much the same. The cosmetic damage in '83 was the result of an unconscious teenager who wheeled out his driveway on his bicycle squarely in front of Candy as she drove down the neighborhood street. The bike layed on the bonnet while the kid layed on the street. He wasn't hurt, just embarrassed.

2006-12-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

The MG is shown here at the Santa Elena Canyon of the Rio Grande River. This is within the Big Bend State Park of SW Texas. Mexico is on the left and the US on the right.

This was a 1994 Houston MG Car Club trip and probably my all-time favorite. The group included 3 MGB's, an MGA, a Corvette and a sedan. The MGA broke down and was towed back. I broke an alternator pulley and had it repaired on the road for just $30.

2006-10-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Car shows and informal gatherings of the Houston MG Car Club have keep us and the B moving and running. This was the 35th Anniversary of the Club and a lunch gathering at a local restaurant in August 2006. The B is parked beside a beautiful MGA owned by Ken and Catherine Hicks of Houston.

2006-07-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

In 2001, I scrubbed the tires pretty well as I turned in the fastest time for First Place in Class at the Jaguar Slalom at the Houston All British Motor Vehicle Exposition in Houston, Texas.

2006-06-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my BLOG about our longstanding and unshakeable love affair with a car. Well, its not just any car, but a 1973 MGB Tourer. Its pictured here with a hardtop that I hauled around for 25 years before selling it to an MG colleague in Austin, Texas. As a resident of Houston, I found that the heat and humidity rendered the hardtop rarely used. Plus, I needed the space. When I bought the top we lived in Billings, Montana. There, it got some use as I drove the car year-round.

2006-06-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

We bought this B in 1974 when it already had 20,000 miles on the odometer. The original owner bought it from the dealer in Columbus, Ohio the year before. He drove it hard for those months driving to and from Cleveland to see his girl-friend. He reluctantly sold it to us when his job provided a company car. He was a co-employee at my wife's employer in Columbus.

We were always able to garage the B in Ohio, later in Billings, Montana (1979), Ponca City, Oklahoma (1982), and in Houston, Texas since 1984. It has been kept all original and still has the factory finish and interior. With 115,000 miles now, the engine has never been apart. Reliability has rarely been an issue. I have been briefly stranded twice with fuel pump problems and once with carb misadjustment, once for a bad coil and once for a loose screw in the distributor. There have been none of the infamous Lucas electrical glitches unless you count the poor grounding in the boot that caused one of the fuel pump issues.

It has competed many years in the All British Motor Vehicle Exposition in Houston, sponsored by the Houston MG Car Club. When it finally won 1st Place in the Chrome Bumper Class in 2000, I relaxed a bit, but still like to keep it clean and running, of course.