The 1968 London to Sydney Marathon MGB is progressing well and will be on display at the MG Car Club stand at the NEC Classic Car Show this month, although it is a long way from completion as you will see from the pictures.
I am sure you read the words written by Robert Connor in last month’s SF on the life of Tom Boyce who passed away in August. Tom was so instrumental in building this special MGB for Jean Denton and him to compete in the adventure. The other person who helped Tom was Pete Smith, who was recently told about the car being saved. He contacted me and we met at Kimber House in September. Pete gave us some fantastic extra information on the special features fitted, we then took him to Abingdon Car Restorations where the MGB is at the present and he was amazed as to how original it still is, Pete has agreed to assist us as a special advisor to the project.
With the kind support of British Motor Heritage we have the required body panels which are needed to get the car ready for the MOT check and as mentioned in previous SF notes the engine and gearbox have been removed and are being checked over.
More help came from MGB owner Bob Burley who offered to produce the “Roo-bars” for the front and rear of the car, we also had some Cibie lamps donated by MGB owner Brian Wyld. We cannot say how much we appreciate the personal help and enthusiasm we are receiving from everyone.
To see photographs of the car on the event and in its current condition go to our website and follow the link.
As with this type of project we do not have a bottomless pit of pound notes so as announced at MG Live we are asking members and others who would like to support the rebuild by donating a minimum of £25 per name to the project. For this your name will be displayed with the car on completion of the restoration. This can be done by visiting www.mgb-register.org and follow the link as to how to make a bank transfer and to submit a donation form. If you wish you can send a cheque made payable to “MGB Marathon” and post to the MGB Register Treasurer, Geoff Edwards, 25 Hayters Way, Alderholt, Fordingbridge, SP6 3AX, together with a note of your name, address and email address with contact telephone numbers. We must also thank the MG traders and suppliers who have also offered help with products and services. These are Abingdon Car Restorations, BMH, Moss Europe, Steve Illing, Bob Burley, Pat Jerome, Brian Wyld, Malcolm Sayers and David Cato and Pete Smith, I am sure this list will increase as we still have many more things to complete, such as new tyres, a wiring loom, competition driving seat, new discs and brakes etc etc. And a respray to the original gold colour the car was when competing on the event.