North America's oldest, largest and best club for all MGBs, MGB-GTs and Midgets!!  Established in 1975.

  

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WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN MGB ASSOCIATION
for all year MGBs, MGB-GTs and Midgets
Established in 1975


5433 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60640 USA
Phone/Text: 773-769-7084

email:
info@mgclub.org

 

  MG Midget               

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North America's oldest, largest and best club for all MGBs, MGB-GTs and Midgets!!  Established in 1975.

  

  Subscribe Message Board

 Subscribe Blog

  Subscribe Photo Gallery

WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN MGB ASSOCIATION
for all year MGBs, MGB-GTs and Midgets
Established in 1975


5433 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60640 USA
Phone/Text: 773-769-7084

email:
info@mgclub.org

 

  MG Midget               

Credit Card/PayPal Form  Secured Order Form  Membership Benefits  Members Only
 Home  Past Shows/Photos  Calendar of Events  Member Stories/Articles Tech Tips    Ads / Links  Join / Renew - APPLICATION  Membership Items  Email  Classifieds   Car Photos   News / Editor  Regalia / Club Store  Message Board  Club Blog  Ad Rates 


What We Offer
Join AMGBA!

Home
Events Calendar
Past Shows/Photos
Classified Ads
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Technical Section
Editor & News!

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 ARTICLES AND STORIES

'72 B Roadster of Bob Chalker from Katy, Texas
this is an excerpt from the articles appearing in the Octagon

 

'72 B Roadster of Bob Chalker from Katy, Texas

We became the unplanned owners of Tiffany, our first MG, the '72 B, in 2014. Our love affair started when I spotted an article titled "5 Classic Cars you can buy for under $5000." Well as a car guy, I couldn’t resist reading the article. I spent 23 years of my career working in the auto industry both with GM and Delphi and have always kept my eye on the industry. Now I have to admit it had been a long time since I had considered buying a classic car and had sort of lost track of pricing, but under $5000 how could I not take a peek. To my surprise on the list was the MGB. I found it hard to believe and was intrigued enough to go to eBay and check out the claim. Sure enough I found several rubber bumper MGB’s listed for under $5000. They were of all colors, yellow, red and white. The red one looked nice and I knew my wife, Kim, always liked red sports cars. So I hauled my iPad over to where she was sitting and showed her the car. She looked up and said "well that’s nice, but I really like that one," pointing to a 1972 aqua blue MGB. Now for my second surprise of the morning, she didn’t say no. So not being someone to miss an opportunity I did some quick research to get an idea of what a reasonable price might be. I also contacted a friend of mine, who knew a bit about classic cars, having restored many. This is when I learned one of my first lessons of MGB ownership. Those chrome bumpers are worth about $7000. Once I made up my mind on what I wanted to pay, I set my max bid price and watched the auction over the next couple of days. To my surprise I was the high bidder, but to my disappointment, I was not above the reserve price. I thought the deal was done, as I was not going higher.

Then a day or so later I received an email through eBay, asking if I was still interested in the car? Well, of course I was. So I replied. The seller and I exchanged a few emails about the vehicle where I asked him all kinds of questions about its condition, drivability, history, etc. We also came to agreement on a price as long as the car was in the condition he described. Now came the next challenge, the vehicle was in Colorado, and we lived in Houston, TX. As a benefactor of being a frequent business traveler I have lots of airline points so it didn’t take me long to book two one way tickets to Denver on Friday. After all this I decided it would be a good idea to let Kim know what I was planning and that she would be flying to Denver with me to pick up a car. I think she was excited about getting the car, but not too thrilled with the early hour we were departing Houston.

We arrive in Denver without a hitch, rented a car and headed out to the home of the seller, approximately an hour North. We saw the car took it for a test drive, and yes, it was as good as he described. So we loaded her up with our luggage and headed south for the 1000 mile trip back home. Now all of you who are reading this are saying is he crazy, you drove a car you knew nothing about 1000 miles across open country? You didn’t have a mechanic check it out? Why didn’t you rent a truck or trailer to bring it home? You could have shipped it? My answer is, if I knew then, what I know now, I would have done those things, but I didn’t. I was blessedly naive. We made the trip, taking back roads the whole way and Tiffany ran flawlessly. We did stop at a hotel Friday night and I have to admit, I was up every hour or two looking out the window to see if it was still there. It also got a bit hot driving across central Texas on a late spring afternoon. On this trip I learned my next lesson of MG ownership, everywhere you stop people want to talk to you about the car. If you are getting gas or stopping at a restaurant, plan on it taking much longer than it should as you will be the most popular person in the parking lot. My favorites are those who either owned one or who’s dad owned one. I have come to believe that if everyone who said they owned an MG actually did, the company would still be in business.

Kim and I are not necessarily the adventurous types, but this trip, going from not even thinking about owning a MG to being happy owners in less than 6 days, has put us on an adventurous road filled with great cars, good friends, fun road trips and a tremendous amount of learning about cars. We have also learned the saying, you can’t own just one, is true This summer we bought a 59 MGA.

 '72 B Roadster of Bob Chalker from Katy, Texas


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Credit Card/PayPal Form  Secured Order Form  Membership Benefits  Members Only
 Home  Past Shows/Photos  Calendar of Events  Member Stories/Articles Tech Tips    Ads / Links  Join / Renew - APPLICATION  Membership Items  Email  Classifieds   Car Photos   News / Editor  Regalia / Club Store  Message Board  Club Blog  Ad Rates 


 

AMGBA Privacy Policy | AMGBA Website Terms of Use

© 1997-2019 All Rights Reserved - American MGB Association.
 

Members Only
Services:
Members Login
On-Line Octagons
On-Line eOctagons
Local Chapters
Parts Exchange
Technical Staff
Technical Services

Renew
Member Services
Submit Classifed

Club Message Board
Club Blog
Photo Gallery

member
recommended:
Repair Shops
Body Shops
Parts Suppliers

American MGB Association on Facebook

American MGB Association on Twitter

 

 

 


Credit Card/PayPal Form  Secured Order Form  Membership Benefits  Members Only
 Home  Past Shows/Photos  Calendar of Events  Member Stories/Articles Tech Tips    Ads / Links  Join / Renew - APPLICATION  Membership Items  Email  Classifieds   Car Photos   News / Editor  Regalia / Club Store  Message Board  Club Blog  Ad Rates 


 

AMGBA Privacy Policy | AMGBA Website Terms of Use

© 1997-2019 All Rights Reserved - American MGB Association.