1st MGB Destroyed in Two Weeks

By Corky Guenther

When thinking about this, I reflected on the number of cars I’ve owned and realized that I can count them using only my fingers and toes. Not that many by most standards. But, that’s not the point. Amongst these, there have been 4 MGBs. All have been roadsters, 3 used and one new (1971). The first one was a 1969, bought used. This was around 1970. My first wife and I were living in Wayson’s Corner, MD at the time – get on Pennsylvania Avenue at the Capitol in DC and go east until you cross the Patuxent River. At the time an ex-Navy buddy and his wife (Bob and Susie) were living in Rochester, NY and we regularly visited them on Memorial and Labor Day weekends. They had purchased an MGTD and were active in the local MG Car Club and the New England MG-T Register.

Labor Day 1970 preceded the Fall GOF in Rome, NY by a week so we decided that I would go home and meet them in Troy the next weekend for the GOF, spend the night in Rochester and drive home on Sunday. So, Monday I and what seemed like half the population of Baltimore, were driving south on I95 at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Sun was out and the top was down. I was in the left hand lane when traffic ahead of me slowed abruptly. No problem for me except that the guy behind me wasn’t paying close attention and when he noticed, ducked into the right hand lane. The guy behind him didn’t have a clue that I was there and clipped the B’s right rear fender as he too tried to duck to the right. The impact spun the B around and I slid to a halt at the bottom of the median facing north. The kid who hit me pulled onto the right hand shoulder and when I saw him coming across the road, I stuck my hand up to let him know I was OK. He was ashen faced and I thought he was going to faint. When I got home I saw why. There was grass trapped between both right hand wheels and tires so his last sight of me was at a very acute angle going over the edge of the median.

The B wasn’t really badly damaged - rear fender, bumper and tail light assembly, so I was off to Troy. We spent the day at the GOF and after the car show set off for Rochester. Bob and Susie were ahead of us in their TD. We got separated in one of the small towns but continued on our way. The state highway was 2 lane black top, the B was bright red and easy to see as we headed west on a bright sunny late afternoon, right? Not so as it turned out. As we got to a county road intersection a guy in a 1965 Ford came from the left and just drove over the B - literally. Tire tracks up the fender 4 inches ahead of the windshield and continuing over the bonnet. The driver’s windshield post snapped off and grazed my wife just under her left eye. Close but no real serious injury. She was a bit in shock and sore with some strained muscles from the impact. The B wasn’t drivable (totaled this time as it turned out) and the side show began. First on the scene was a deputy sheriff in his Ford 427 (he was really proud of that) unmarked cruiser. A real Barney Fife type both in size and attitude, he did figure out that neither of us was hurt badly before directing traffic. Next to arrive was the local volunteer fire brigade (no rescue units then) who pulled up and started a conversation with the deputy that turned into a jurisdictional argument of some kind. I finally went up to them and asked if either of them were there to attend to my wife which at least stopped the argument. They said no and I returned to the car.

Next, the deputy directed the firemen to turn left onto the county road and they did but they knocked him down in the process. More argument ensued. The Keystone Cops could have used the script. Eventually an ambulance arrived and took us to a hospital where we were checked out and pronounced fit. They did prescribe Valium for my wife.

Meanwhile, as they say, Bob and Susie continued on toward Rochester unaware that we’d had an accident. As they went through another small town, Bob noticed that a policeman in a cruiser looked at them closely as they passed. Bob, thinking that his loud muffler had attracted attention, did his best to get past the city limits before he could be ticketed. The cop pursued though, pulled them over and after determining that they were our friends, told them what had happened and where we were. They came back to the hospital and we discussed how to get to Rochester. We only had the TD and 4 people. Bob is around 5’11”, Susie at 4’10” stood just under my outstretched arm. I was 6’2” and my wife around 5’7”. So Bob and I squeezed into the front and Susie and my wife into the back proving that while it is possible to put 4 adults in a TD, it helps if at least one of them is on Valium.

We ordered the new 1971 MGB the following spring.

File Photo