If you have a vintage car with a neat history, or belong to a car club and are willing to write, the Spoonbill editor wants to hear from you!

By Brenda Fenech-Soler

For the past few years, my British ex-pat husband Ian had been on the hunt for an early 1970’s MGB roadster (British sports car) to tinker with in retirement.  He had some pretty specific criteria in mind, and since he’s not interested in doing any body work, this limited his selection somewhat and over time his search sputtered to a halt.

As we were all getting more than a little bored during COVID-19 self-isolation, Ian’s interest in a project car was re-ignited when he saw our good neighbor Clell Ray whiz by in his recently acquired Triumph TR6 (another British sports car).  Salivating just a little, Ian spoke to Clell about his new wheels, and Clell referred him to local car guy and MGB aficionado, Joe Jacalone.

Ian spoke to Joe and gave him a wish list of what he was looking for.  Just a few short days later, Joe called to say he had an MGB for Ian to see!

Ian headed over to Jacalone’s and it was pretty much love at first sight.  The little British Racing Green car ticked many of the boxes on Ian’s list.  He said it was the condition of the body, and how clean it was under the bonnet (aka hood) that really sold him.  A deal was done, and on February 11th, 2021, we became the proud owners of a vintage 1973 MGB roadster!

Although our new little car (we’ve nicknamed her “Purdy”) was in excellent condition when we brought her home, she is 48 years old, and does have some of the condition issues that can be associated with a vintage car.  We were so keen to get cracking on our new project, we didn’t even take a proper “before” photo before getting started.  Our little MGB was up on axle stands in the garage quicker than you could say “Rule Britannia”!

I’ve surprised myself at how much I’ve enjoyed working with Ian on this little car, and he is genuinely pleased that I’ve taken such an interest in it.  We are well “stuck-in” to this project now, and thought it might be of interest to some.  So, stay tuned here for updates on our challenges and progress, as we work to restore this little piece of British motoring history.