1958 MGA 1500 - I purchased my MGA in 1987 from a nice couple in Palos Verdes. It had not been started for a long time, but after speaking with the owner's wife and agreeing on a price, I hooked up a fresh battery, checked and adjusted the points and carburetors, knocked on the fuel pump and started it up. The brakes had locked, but after loosening them up drove the car to a gas station for air (tires) and fuel and drove it home. I had just bought a car with paint that looked like it had been rolled on, (possibly house paint) stuffing coming from the seats, and it all looked terrible, but I was smiling. After many other projects, it is now finally being reassembled after a repaint to the original black color. It has been difficult figuring out what goes where, and discovering how many parts were incorrect or not usable, but the good news is that it's running well and I am finally having fun with it. I had tried (with help from friends, including T.L. Ary) to complete it before the NAMGAR GT in Welches, Oregon but drove my '71 B instead. Expect to see it at club events in 2004, and it will be ready for the next time the GT is in the west!
Matt Dabney

1965 MGB - The story of this car....Cliff and I were engaged to be married when I fell in love with this car. I had to have it. Cliff said there was NO WAY , I was so mad, I literally got out of our car on the off ramp of the freeway and walked home. You can imagine MY surprise when Cliff drove right past me and beeped. He went to my parents home to tell them that I was stubborn. Well we talked about it, and I said I was gonna buy the car with or without him. I bought the car in April of 1981, then I bought the book "How to Restore your MG", gave it to Cliff. CLIFF AND THE MG HAVE BEEN "IN LOVE" EVER SINCE.

Anne Maddox

I got my first B in college and had fun driving it on the sidewalks. When it fell apart from the Midwest winter salt (and perhaps some owner neglect) I switched to more practical cars. Around 1980 when I had temporary need of a second car, I realized that I could buy a B, drive it for six months or so and sell it for what I had paid for it (or more.) After enjoying it for a number of months I decided to fix it up rather than sell it, and have a fun hobby car. A few years later, when life decided I should let others drive the car, I decided that rather than risk damage to that car, I would buy another car in less pristine shape. Along came another B. This one turned out to be a very early car (#309) so when the need for the car passed, I decided to keep it, too. A few years later, I decided to round out my collection by purchasing a GT model so that I could drive a B in all weather conditions. That gave me a 63 (or 62 if you go by build date) B roadster that is now yellow, a 65 (or 64) B roadster - bright red, and a 67 BGT that was British Racing Green.

After having a 61 A temporarily, I decided I needed one of those, so I purchased a 1961 A which was burnt orange, and badly in need of work. But it was drivable. Over the next eight years, it has been reworked (I don't like to say restored since this is no show car) and is now mineral blue. When my soon to be wife and I decided to take it as our transportation to get married, it had blown a freeze plug and we weren't sure it would make the trip. Kyoko said if it won't get us to the altar then it wasn't meant to be. Now you can understand why I feel she is such a wonderful wife. It did make the trip, and has since taken us on a number of other trips including the GT to Welches, Oregon (about 3000 miles.) Carl & Kyoko

I purchased Mr. Blue, a 1967 MGB, in 1973 and drove him daily to work until 1982, when he suffered a burnt piston. He sat for thirteen years while other priorities occupied my time. I completed the second restoration (there had been another in 1976) in 1998 and again began driving him daily. This morning, May 27, 2004, he turned over 300,000 miles. Like most cars of his longevity, he has had three engine rebuilds, one of the transmission, and innumerable clutch and release bearing replacements. You'll notice some modernizations... The side marker lights are not original, and he also sports backup lights. People tell me that the Ro-style wheels aren't original, either, but that's what he had when I bought him. The generator has been replaced with a later Lucas alternator (with a swap to negative ground). The cam is an Iskendarian T-32 and he has a capacitive discharge ignition. I'm driving him 80-plus miles a day, so it should only be another 13 years or so before he reaches half a million! Bob Calderwood

Hmmm.. .I guess I can start from the beginning. I was in the market for a car back in spring 1997 after my nimble Acura Integra was totaled on the freeway. I enjoyed the Acura for the zip and agility, but there was no spark of chemistry between us. She had no personality. Zero. Zip. So when I started shopping for a car, I started looking at MGs & Alfa Romeos. I looked @ and test drove a half dozen cars before I came across my sweet baby. It was a love @ first sight. But it wasn't practical. So I rationalized that (1) I lived close enough to work that if something happened, I could find another way to get to work; (2) since I had no monthly car payments, I could afford the occasional visit to the mechanic; and (3) she was an "in-between" car and wouldn't last more than a year (temporary impracticality). I don't regret my decision: It's now 6+ years and thousands of dollars later, but she still takes my breath away every time I see her. She's my daily (topless) driver and I love every day that it doesn't rain. Ann Dantsuka