40 years with my MGB!

This September I’ll pass another of those life milestones that doesn’t mean anything to anyone but yourself - 40 years of owning my 1970 MGB!
I bought the car in September of 1971 in DeKalb when I got out of the Army and started graduate school. As such, the car pre-dates my wife of 36 years, Mary, who incidentally has never liked the color of the car! The original owner of the car wrinkled the right front fender, which ended his interest in sports cars. So, for $1,500 and a further $50 for the hardtop I was the proud owner of a relatively new 1970 MGB. The hardtop turned out to be one the main factors in the longevity of the car as over the years it has protected the interior, especially when the car was stored. The car has gone through various periods in its life ranging from day-to-day work car, weekend fun car and a couple periods of “rest” in various relatives’ garages when things like kids and work took precedence.

Today the car has 48,000 miles on it with a completely original interior, except for the roll bar, which I added when I used to drive a little crazier than I do now. A number of years ago, John Twist in Michigan went through the car and did needed mechanical and body work to bring it back. Currently, any heavy maintenance on the car is done by Marty Fay at Motor Works out in DeKalb.

The car enjoys a rather leisurely life now garaged in Oak Park where it shares garage space with Mary’s 2004 MC40 Mini Cooper S and waits for the right weather to come out and play. We hope to have both cars at the British Car Festival this September.

-- ~~ Dick & Mary Anderson

The United States of Toyota
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
2007, hardbound, 282 pages

De Lorenzo was brought up in a Detroit automotive corporation family and has spent his life in the auto field, mostly in the advertising side. This book was written before the 'cash for clunkers' program, before GM stood for Government Motors, and before FIAT bought Chrysler. It is a collection of his newspaper articles and web site blurbs citing what De Lorenzo feels was wrong with the U.S. auto industry.
Some of the articles are long and contradictory, but I found by reading the first several paragraphs I got the gust of the idea he was presenting. I particularly found the chapter about Carroll Shelby entertaining.

Mickey Thompson
The fast life and tragic
death of a racing legend
by Erik Anderson
2008, softbound, 296 pages,
b&w photos

Most of us probably recognize the name Mickey Thompson from drag racing or the mag wheel company. But he was much more involved in motor sports than that. He ran cars at the Indy 500, held various land speed records at Bonneville with cars of his own design, promoted and participated in off-road racing. This is the story of his dynamic life, and his tragic murder in 1988.

-- Bill Mennell