OK, my turn (or should I say 'our' turn). We had been together for almost five
years but still living in sin. We were MG less at the time. I had grown up
around the LBCs of my brother (Alpine) and his friends. I had made mention from
time to time I had wanted one someday but ya say that about a lot of things
when you are a guy. We had been talking about going to the UK for our pending
5th anniversary. One day at work I was ahcecking out the notices board at the
Hospital I transport to and they had a 3x5 card up advertizing 67 MGB in town
for sale. I had seen one from time to time on one of the larger streets in our
small town and it was the same one. I went back to the Fire Sattion and my wife
to be was there making dinner for the guys and I casually mentioned it to her
along with what I did today and some other trivial thing and she just turned to
me and said " we have to go there as soon as possible before someone else buys
it!" Right out of the freaking blue!
At this time my brother's oldest son now had an MGB (74) and he and my brother
came up with thier trusty 1st edition Porter's and we looked at this nice but
forlorn faded, 67 B with BRG and wires. The sills were very rusty and the
interior was tired. The car started up and ran well enough but all four doglegs
were rusty too, you could put all your fingers up where the castle member was.
So of course we bought it with no haggling!!
The seller was a very nice middle aged english woman who was getting divorced
(from an idiot obviously) and as part of the settlement she was forced to sell
her baby. She could not bear to seel it and the only I knew it was for sale was
that he ended up putting the ad up at the hospital where he worked. She had not
put a for sale sing on the car and when he bought one for her she did put it in
the car (in the back on the battery cover!). She had turned down a few people
who were interested in the car as she did not want to seel her baby to jusy any
one (actually no one). She must have liked the two of us right off as I never
heard any hesitation from her. We got the car in April and drove the car all
over and everywhere, it never left us stranded anywhere. We joined the local
club and went every where with them including our first Fraterinity tour in Vt
at Westminster where the car was reunited with one of it's previous owners. He
was a GPO, great previous owner. He left complete
records for a seven year ownership where he did everything and documented
every nut and nolt including the 3 synchro OD unit!!!. We went on many picnics
that summer with the car. One one of those picnic to the beach I asked her to
marry me and after she stopped laughing (?!?) she said yes. The day was the
Sunday of the Stowe British Invasion because we saw one of the club members
rolling back into town from there as we came back from that picnic. That winter
the car went into the shop for body and paint so as to be ready for it's role
in our wedding in the Spring.
The car was brought back to me in the same stage of readiness I snet it to the
shop in (a stripped shell with a drivetrain in it but nothing else. My Spring
was spent taking things out of the boxes I had put the parts into after
cleaning and prepping them in the basement all winter. I also spent many days
co-producing the wedding at the same time. The final touch was the new rear
bumper, a wedding gift from my brother (the one who started in all). The MG was
a co star in the entire wedding. It was our Limo from the chirch to the
reception (with two other MGs in procession behind us). The car was then
decorated with streamers, ballons, and a large hand letter sing in a great old
font that said "Just Married" (duh) I have to add here that the plates on the
car said 2MY LOVE
With the car being a gift to each other (we split it even down the middle), it
made sense that the plate should be relavent no matter which on of us was
driving it hence the wording. We left for our ten day lap of New England right
from the reception with only the first night reservation, two overnight bags, a
credit card, and a complete set of DeLormes guides for each state we might hit
(If you are not familiar with Delormes guides here in the states and you like
back road touring in your MG look them up). The next day was the only planned
stop on our honeymoon, The British Cars of New Hampshire High Hopes Car Show in
Milford, NH. Think about this guys, is this the woman to Marry or what!!! We
had the car still decorated as we parked. The interior was still a bit tatty
but the brand new Nine Coat dark BRG enamel paint was glowing. We took the sign
from the back and put it in front of the car. I could not resist scrawling in
the corner of the sign "vote for us! it would make a great
wedding present!!". A few people thought it was a theme and I had to show them
the still perfect ring and the couple of announcements we had with us from the
ceremony. Sometime lister Bud Krueger met us there along with Frank Krajewski
and his crowd from RI. At the end of the show we were given the third place
trophy which made me go to even a higher level that the day before. All the way
across NH on the eddding day and that day after till we got to a small Inn in
Bellows Falls, VT we had been a getting some very excited attention from people
behind us and on the streets. Having never driven down the road with a just
married sign on the back of my car I was surprised at the level of attention we
got. It was not until we got back home a week later did I open an email from
Bud, it was a photo taken from the show from the back showing us the that the
sign over the license plate had spelled out a complete sentence!! "" Just
Married To My Love"" That kind of explained the reaction we
got!
The trip was the greatest thing we have ever done and every trip in the car is
an attempt to recreate that magic we had that week 4.5 years ago.
As a footnote, I sent a picture of the rear of the car showing the sign and
plate to Moss Motors for thier old photo contest and we took second place that
year getting a $75 gift certificate which I used on the next winter's engine
rebuild. Sorry to take SO much band width but I thought we had a good story, I
know I have the greatest woman!!
Carl & Judy French
67B (will be part of our estate now)
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