Photos of readers

August 22, 2019 • 3:00 pm

Well, we haven’t yet run out of readers with fancy sports cars. Here’s reader Randy Schenck, who apparently had a young-life crisis. Randy’s words are indented:

Since old photos with cars is the fashion, I can give you one about 48 years ago.  This was my first new auto and something I would remind all of us older types: if you are going to go through a second childhood, do it while you are still young.

I was in England at the time so it would be considered a local purchase: a 1971 MGB, built for this side of the pond since it would later be shipped back.  Old film, eventually transferred to digital, is not always the best.

Note that lovely thatched roof in the background.

37 thoughts on “Photos of readers”

    1. I bought a brand new red 1967 MGB and drove it till I was sandwiched between two pickup trucks in 1983. I was not injured but my beloved B was instant scrap. Only thing salvageable were the nock-offs and my Blaupunkt radio.

      Loved driving it even during Dallas summers.

    2. Styling by Pininfarina, who also did Ferraris. I’m not really a MGB fan but I agree about its looks, especially with the chrome bumpers. The heavy black plastic things that were stuck on it later to satisfy US regulations ruined it, IMO.

      cr

  5. Nice car, my cousin had one that I remember fondly. How was the left hand drive on English country lanes?

    1. It was not that bad actually. Fortunately I did not drive on any toll roads. If behind a lorry and wanting to pass it was tricky. That is when you need a passenger.

  6. I had one of them!
    Bought in the same year, I think. However mine was the GT version (with a fixed roof) and red.
    I drove it for years until bits started to fall off.
    No extant photos, though.
    Alan.

    1. The GT was a smarter buy I think. You had more storage room and a solid roof. Not so much roof down time in England. They were fun to drive.

  7. Note that lovely thatched roof in the background.

    A lovely thatched roof on the driver’s noggin, too. You still sporting that, Randy? 🙂

    1. Oh no. Bad luck car really. Was stolen out of the parking lot when I was going to college in St. Louis. Only had the car for about 2 1/2 years in the states. It sure beat the train over in England.

      1. Well that answers my question — do you still have it? I’ll bet you wish you did! I had a friend who had one of those in the 80s. It sure was a nice car although it was a commitment to keep it running!

  8. …something I would remind all of us older types: if you are going to go through a second childhood, do it while you are still young.

    Good advice. Two years ago I bought a BMW coupe that does 0 to 60mph in 4.0 seconds, tops out at 160mph, and handles curves like it’s glued to the road. I drove it 700 miles to my 50th high school reunion last month. Such a fun car to drive, I’m glad I got it while still young.

    1. I have to ask the dumb questions now. You can tell the registration from the license plate? I actually picked the car up in Cambridge and was located at RAF Lakenheath.

      B’ham, meaning Birmingham?

      1. The middle letter … O many if not most were registered in Brum. There are a few exceptions … If you look up UK Registration Plates in Wiki it gives a breakdown of what they mean.

        If it really matters 🙂

  11. Very cool.

    My friend’s dad had a convertible MG from the 70’s. I think it had “special” written on the side but don’t remember for sure. What I remember clearly is one day when he was taking me and my friend to the mall, smoke started billowing from the glove compartment. Electrical fire somewhere in the engine; luckily he had a fire extinguisher. I don’t think he ever repaired it either, just bought another car.

    1. Yep. Desert boots. I had a pair just like them. I still had them in the nineties and someone pointed at them in a restaurant and made a loud comment about how out of fashion they were. Loved those desert boots.

    1. You know, I drove the thing from Iowa to LA in 1972, over all the mountains and I thought the same thing.

  17. One of my friends has a 1960 MGB which he has continually rallied, raced, modified and rebuilt over the years. It’s still a roadgoing car but its handling has been noticeably improved, as has its power. I’ve driven the thing offroad and it’s perfectly balanced and extremely controllable.

    I have a Ford Escort 1.6 Sport, which is also very nicely balanced on the loose, and we periodically twit each other about the relative virtues and shortcomings of Fords versus BMC’s.

    There’s still quite a cottage industry supplying parts for MGB’s and Escorts.

    cr

  19. Yeah. Yeah. I know. I am not supposed
    to say so. I am supposed to loathe it.
    And I do. Now. But I did not. Not when
    in my youth. I am fond of your smoke,
    Randall. Yes, the vehicle too; but
    ceasing on cigarettes right about then
    was, at that time … … inside graduate
    school and after veterinary medical school,
    THE most difficult ‘job’ I undertook !

    I loved smoking cigarettes … … right up
    to filterless Pall Malls and, then trying
    to quit, four years’ worth of … …
    inhaled Swisher Sweets’ cigarillos as well.

    Quit, Randall ? Or ?

    Blue

    1. You are too late Blue. I quit in early 2009 and luckily doing fine after a life of smoking. Doctor apparently does not believe it and still makes me get a scan not long ago.

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