MGBGT on Tour
Well I have done it at last, gone out and bought an MGB GT. I had all the usual comments from some people such as, ‘You don’t want one of those, they’re more trouble than they are worth.’ But I’m not worried, as it something that I have always wanted. Mine is a car for daily use, not a showpiece, some bits need sorting but nothing too drastic. There are a few paint bubbles in the usual places and some window rubbers need to be replaced. The indicators do not cancel after turning right. However, the engine has had a mild tune with an up-rated camshaft four branch manifold and carburettor needles to suit. Oil pressure is fine and she has no knocks, bangs or wobbles. The underside is as solid as a rock having had a partial rebuild in the past.
Mel and Mike
Mike and I waiting for the kettle to boil
I picked up the car from the seller in Bedford and brought her home to Kent on the 8th of August this year. The journey home took me back to the days when you had to drive a car. My last daily driver was an all-singing all-dancing Ford Mondeo. Getting behind the wheel of the BGT was like going back thirty odd years without the luxuries of power steering and all the rest of today’s toys, but she was a joy to drive. The interior has RV8 leather seats and trim, walnut dash and a Moto-Lita steering wheel, and Webasto roof for all those beautiful sunny days. As I said this is an every day car. I decided that she would need a test of reliability. Last year my old school friend Mike and I went to Switzerland via the Millau Bridge in France on his motorbike and also return to Champerey in the Swiss Alps where we went with our school in 1966, just to see if it was the same, oddly it was. Anyway I asked Mike to plan a route to anywhere but to be about 1000 miles.
He chose Texel in Holland after sticking a pin in the map whilst blindfolded. Only flat roads, I think he was sceptical about the car’s ability to go uphill. We packed the camping gear in the car and set off for Dover and the 8 o’clock ferry on the 4th September.
We had only travelled about six miles down the A2 when Mike asked, did you pick up the map with the ferry ticket in it, I think you know the answer. So it was an about turn at the Dartford tunnel roundabout and a quick call to Mike’s wife Jean. We arrived back at his place to find Jean on the doorstep with said map and ticket. I must add that Jean looks lovely at that time of the morning. Mike had his first drive of the car on the trip to Dover. He was a police traffic officer for 25 years and said he was going to enjoy the experience of driving a bygone relic (thanks Mike). He’d changed his mind by the time we got to Dover and admitted she was a pleasure to drive.
The crossing was good and we disembarked in Calais, now on to Dunquerqe and beyond. Our route took us round Bruges round Antwerp, Breda (where we encountered the downpour to end all downpours but the car stayed dry with no leaks anywhere) and Amsterdam to the ferry terminal at Den Helder. The wind was by this time howling across the navel dockyard. We took a room in the Lands End hotel and had a meal and a well deserved beer in the restaurant. We had been on the road for seven hours including stops for coffee and fuel.
On Saturday it was decided that due to the windy conditions we would have trouble putting up the tent on the island camp site, so took a train into Amsterdam to do some sightseeing, and some sights were worth seeing, the red light district was a real eye-opener for me, Mike had been here before. My conclusion is that Amsterdam is worth another trip on its own, in the MG of course. Sunday dawned the wind had dropped so we took the ferry across to Den Hoorn on the island of Texel pronounced Tessel. We found the campsite amongst the dunes and pitched camp for our three-day stay. The car now had a name, because when we arrived I said, ‘Blue Tit has landed’ (I know it should have been eagle) so Blue Tit, it is. She had done it with no problems.
We toured the islands towns for three days, this could be done in one the island is so small. The car got admiring glances wherever we went and people would come and chat, there were no other British cars on the island or if there were, they were all in hiding. Perhaps nobody knows this place exists. There are some superb driving roads albeit flat and we managed to open Blue Tit up a few times, just to blow out the cobwebs you understand! There is a lack of speed cameras in this part of the world and also not many speed restriction signs outside of the towns (not that we took advantage) and as for policemen, we never saw one in three days, must be on holiday.
We packed our camp on Wednesday morning for the trip back to the Etap hotel in Dunquerqe. We stopped for coffee just outside Breda, got back in the car and she would not start, clicking starter motor with obviously no charge in battery. I checked the usual things, loose connections but could not find a fault, I had an ignition light, albeit dim, so we bump started Blue Tit, she fired up without any bother and we carried on with Mike at the wheel. We went about five miles then she coughed and died. The side of a Belgian motorway is not the best place to break down on, because their hard shoulder is not that wide. Whilst trying to ring for assistance along comes the Belgian equivalent of the AA. They diagnosed a knackered alternator and towed us to a safer place. As this was happening a car followed us to the safe side road in Breda, we got out and the chap behind stopped and introduced himself, telling us he was a member of the Belgian MG Club and did we need a hand. How lucky is that? He kindly rang the local MG garage and secured an alternator, then when the AA had put some charge in the battery we followed him the two miles to the garage. The garage owner was there with alternator in one hand and spanners ready in the other with the kettle on for coffee. We had some banter about owning an MG, then the helpful MG owner left with our grateful thanks.
The garage owner fitted the part at a reasonable 95 Euros and a drink for his trouble and we were on our way in about 30 mins. We spent the night at the hotel and caught the ferry with no more problems. I will add that if you use the Etap at Dunquerqe there are no eating facilities nearby and you will have to drive out for a meal. Our mileage was just short of the 900 total and our fuel consumption worked out at 31.7 mpg, not bad for a car that is 36 years old. My hopes of owning an MG have come to fruition. I am extremely happy with Blue Tit and hope to keep her for many years, as a first time owner in my late fifties all I can say is if you haven’t tried a classic MG, THEN GO AND DO IT. I look forward to many more trips like this one.
My thanks go to our saviours the Belgian AA who made no charge for the tow.
The garage MG Garage Breda for their assistance and coffee Mr Ron Nieuwenhuljs (do not ask me how you pronounce that) the helpful MG owner (he has four no less) for being a kindred spirit.
Mel Saunders