When Team 51 was campaigning the Austin Healey we were constantly correcting those people that thought the car was a MG Midget! Come on, how could anyone make that kind of lame brained mistake! There is a winged badge on the hood that says Austin Healy for heavens sake! Okay, okay, the two cars were virtually built on the same chassis, with many common parts. But, an MG? We wouldn’t be caught dead in a MG! Yeah, we are die hard Group One small bore guys, plus being loyal to the British marque; cut us and we bleed red, white and blue (in a Union Jack pattern of course). But a MG……come on!

Then it happened…..bear in mind, one of the ways that I have always supported my addiction to my British cars was to buy, sell and trade parts at flea markets. Most notably was my yearly exodus to the Carlisle, PA foreign car spring swap meet and flea market. There I was, nearly through with my wheeling and dealing this one year (1998 as I recall), ready to pack it in, when I eased into my friend Jack Whorley’s spot. He was there peddling some MG parts and other “stuff”. Jack is the Technical Director for the SVRA, and it was natural that we had things in common, so chatting with him would be a good way to wrap up the weekend; right?

Out in front of his hauler is this body shell for a 1967 MG/B GT. He didn’t relish dragging this back to SC, but it looked like this was going to be the ultimate out come. In our prattling we mutually decide that this would make a great Vintage racer and endurance car. I had always been a big fan of this GT body style and after driving an open Roadster for years I could see some distinct advantages to having an enclosed car. Well, one thing led to another, a few more back and forth exchanges and, well you guessed it, I own it!

And, can you believe it? Because I didn’t have a way to get it home Jack hauls it back to South Carolina for storage until I can make arrangements to pick it up. What a guy, right? Well, he and I both know that I have reasons to be in Georgia from time to time, because Mike and his family are living in Atlanta at this point. After all, Jack’s garage was a manageable drive from Atlanta, so the plan kind of worked for both of us, in a convoluted way.

One positive thing did occur while the body was in Jack’s SC shop. He had a roll cage installed, so that was done when I picked up the body shell. And because he is the SVRA “Tech-guy” I knew it would be right!

Are you starting to get the picture here? Ok…ok….there you go! Put the GT in front of Mike and our collective creative juices begin to flow. A plan is born right then and there. The car would be built up to resemble one of the factory “works-cars” that had so much success in European endurance and road racing. Well, yeah, I can relate to that. And why not….a car that I can stay dry in, will have lots more power, and has the potential of netting more track time; how can this be bad? The die is cast and the wall that once separated us from the stigma of MG ownership is tumbling down. (What the heck, it’s still a British car isn’t it?).