John B. Abernethy, Jr.    

In the summer of 1969 I was 15 and looking for my first car.  One of the first cars I looked at was a Morris Minor.  It was a local guy’s daily drive and was in good shape.  My Dad said we needed to look around some more.  We found a local MGA for sale. The owner was in Vietnam and had told his mother to sell it. It too was in good shape.  I had the money and really wanted this car.  Daddy didn’t think it was very practical and said we needed to look some more. Although I really wanted a LBC, we finally settled on a 1964 International truck.  Looking back, I guess the truck was kind of like a LBC in that I spent more on parts and mechanics than I paid for the truck.

After a couple of other vehicles, in 1974 I finally got a British car - a 1971 Midget.  I drove it daily to college and work for over a year.  Replacing the fuel pump was the only thing I remember having to do to the car. Unfortunately I needed another truck for my landscaping business, so the MG had to go.

Twenty years later, with a wife and two sons, I saw a 1974 Midget for sale in a local parking lot.  I called the owner, drove the car, and got the price down a little.  After discussing the advantages of a 20-year-old, two-seat, foreign car with The Powers That Be (TPTB), she surprisingly agreed.  She thought that if this was the extent of my midlife crisis, she was getting out cheap!  She did not realize that we would have to add gravel to the driveway every 3 or 4 months because of the steady stream of UPS trucks bringing needs and wants from the B Hive, Moss Motors, and Victoria British.

Over the next 15 years, I would drive the Midget until something broke or fell off.  Then I would park it for months (or years) before getting it going again.  Five or six years ago, I realized the car had to be restored or sold.  Thankfully I got it running and decided to restore it. After lots of UPS truck deliveries and a paint job, the Midget is in good shape and is very reliable.  

TPTB loves to cruise with me in the Midget and says that it is one of the few places she can relax. She knows all about Joseph Lucas so it’s amazing to me that she can relax while riding in this car…especially after dark!

Due to a job relocation a couple years ago, TPTB (who is a United Methodist Minister) moved to a town about 50 miles away. I go to see her every weekend and usually drive the Midget.  The parsonage that my wife lives in has a very spacious two-vehicle carport.  About a month ago, it came up in conversation that the carport would be a good place to store the Spitfire which I recently bought with plans to someday restore. TPTB said that the only way another car was going in that garage was if she had the keys and could drive it whenever she wanted.  

I don’t know how you would interpret her comment, but I took it as permission to buy another LBC!  Without asking for clarification, I called a guy about a running MGB he had for sale. Well, the MGB is now at home.  It’s in pretty good shape but has a few needs/wants including a paint job.  Then I can put it in TPTB’s carport.  First, though, I have to call a man about some gravel for the driveway…    

A Postscript from John: ”TPTB typed this article for me.  Due to an oversight on my part she is not aware of the 2 MGB parts cars that came with her MGB. I am waiting for an opportune time to bring them home.”