A 400,000-mile MGB
We know that many club members have owned their cars for many years and from time to time accounts of their experiences have appeared in this magazine. However, very few will still own one bought new over forty-two years ago having driven it 400,000 miles; equivalent to about one hundred and fifty times around the world. Also remarkable is that the MGB bought by Cyril Tebb in 1964 has remained largely original and, despite daily use in our usually damp climate, retains its original shell, although repaired and refurbished from time to time.
Cyril’s first MG was a second-hand MGA 1500 purchased for £350 from the car auctions at Measham. This was bought as a company car while he was running a service station for an uncle and was used in that role until he wanted to return to his trade as a forester, at which point he decided to keep the car in lieu of unpaid wages. He had been lucky to find a vacancy for a Foreman Forester on the Ragley Estate and was employed by them and placed in charge of twelve men. This was just the job he had always wanted and he was to stay with the estate until his retirement as head forester over ten years ago. The MGA he had acquired served as everyday transport for a few years, covering over 60,000 enjoyable miles in his hands.
The elegant lines of the MGB are shown to best advantage on the earlier models like this one. Later changes did nothing to improve the looks of MG’s most popular sports car
Cyril’s MGB did not have wire wheels, something he would have liked at the time but has since discovered would have required a lot more maintenance
Early MGBs did not have built-in reversing lights but Cyril took the opportunity to incorporate these when the body was restored a few years ago
In September 1962 MG introduced the MGB and amid much publicity the new model was the centrepiece of their stand at the London Motor Show at Earls Court. Along with most other sports car enthusiasts, Cyril avidly studied the road tests and catalogues and resolved to own one. As soon as he had enough money he tried to order a car to his preferred specification, British Racing Green with wire wheels and overdrive. However, with MGBs in short supply, he was told that this would entail a long delay and decided that he would have to be a little less fussy. Luckily he found that Moss Brothers in Leamington Spa had two cars in stock, one white and one red, but neither had overdrive or wire wheels.
The red car was chosen and in early 1964 Cyril became the proud first owner of what was then the most modern of MGs. As his only transport, the car covered a reasonably high annual mileage in the hands of Cyril and his then wife, with frequent long trips to their native Yorkshire from his estate cottage in rural Warwickshire. He maintained the car himself, becoming adept at carrying the frequent changes of exhaust systems necessary before the days of stainless steel pipes. At 98,000 miles the engine had the cylinder head removed for the first time and the valves re-ground, new valve springs fitted and the oil pump renewed. Some 20,000 miles later the engine had a re-bore, new pistons and bearings, and much other work.
Since then the car has gone on to reach a grand total of 400,000 miles. During its long life an overdrive unit has been fitted, along with four new wings, sills, and a total re-spray. The rear of the body has been modified to incorporate reversing lights and the seats have been re-covered. In other respects the car remains remarkably original, the interior trim panels and the dashboard, as well as many of the smaller components, are still the same ones fitted when the car left Abingdon 42 years ago.
The odometer may only read 99,999miles, but it has carried the same reading on three previous occasions!
Mechanically the MGB has required far less attention than the mileage would lead you to expect. The car now has overdrive, something it lacked when new
Cyril’s early experience running a garage enables him to maintain his MGB in superb order, despite the large mileage it has covered
Pat Williams accompanies Cyril to all the MG meetings and thoroughly enjoys travelling in the open car
Cyril’s MGB featured on the front cover of the first edition of Lindsay Porter’s best-selling MGB Restoration Guide, and also in his MGB video. Cyril remembers enjoying hospitality in a nearby pub whilst his car was placed on the ramp at a Bromsgrove garage for the mechanical components to be filmed. The still photographs Lindsay took at the same time also led to his car featuring as the subject for the large-scale Corgi model of the MGB. This came as a bit of a surprise to Cyril, who was nevertheless delighted to receive four models of his car in the post.
It seems that if you want your MGB to both last a long time and cover a high mileage, the secret is thorough maintenance and frequent use. Although Cyril tries not to drive his car when there is salt on the roads, it is otherwise used regularly and covers eight to ten thousand miles in an average year. The underside of the bodyshell is regularly treated to a coat of Waxoyl. However, aside from periodic changes of oil and lubrication, the car has needed little mechanical attention in recent years. Leaded petrol was becoming more difficult to find so the cylinder head was fitted with new valves and guides, hardened valve seats and given a slight skim to increase the compression ratio. The MGB now performs as well on unleaded petrol as it did when new.
Timeless classic
Like many an MGB owner before him, Cyril discovered the hard way just how quickly brake fluid can be drawn from the system by a faulty servo. A total lack of brakes one morning was a trifle disconcerting, as was the discovery of an empty fluid reservoir; the cure was a new master cylinder and servo and a note to check the fluid level more frequently. Overall though, this car probably gives less trouble than other examples that spend most of their time sitting unused beneath a dustsheet.
Timeless classic
Cyril and his friend, Pat Williams have been involved since it was formed with the local Arden MG Club that meets regularly at The Golden Cross in Ardens Grafton and this active group organise ten to fifteen outings a year. Driving the MGB and participating in club activities where they meet other enthusiasts provides this couple with a lot of pleasure. With its eighty-two-year-old owner looking as fit as he does, we hope this MGB will go on to reach half-a-million miles in his hands.