Chain
reaction - how the sale of an MGBGTV8 was linked to much more
Here Don Gilham in Norfolk relates how he came to buy
Black 0974 from Stuart Mumby - a complicated tale involving
a number of other MG enthusiasts and sales of MGs too! A wonderful
tale.
Black 0974
Teal Blue 0704
Posted: 19.6.10
Updated: 25.6.10
Updated: 10.7.10 |
At
the beginning of May I bought a lovely mineral blue 1967
MGBGT on sight without a test drive, but I found the car
a little underpowered so after a month I put it up for
sale. Chris Bone phoned on Tuesday last week (8th
June) asking if it was still for sale. As we talked, I
told him I was looking for a V8, and his reply "oh
I've just sold mine" led to what happened next.
Chris duly arrived the next day (Wednesday) and poked
and prodded and looked and fettled, and decided to buy
the MGBGT, so we shook hands on a deal - that's another
story but not for the here and now. As he knew I was after
a V8 he was kind enough to access his email from my computer
to show me details of a black MGBGTV8 owned by Stuart
Mumby that he had seen at MGLive! at Silverstone the
previous weeekend. Stuart hails from Shiptonthorpe in
East Yorkshire.
By the time Chris got home (an hour's journey back to
Swaffham), I had phoned Stuart and bought his beautiful
Black V8 ! Also - Chris had told Stuart of a very nice
TF 160 that was for sale in Norwich. Lo! and behold Stuart
made the trip from Yorkshire to Norwich and bought the
TF 160 on the following Saturday (12th June). There was
then a lot of umming and ahhing about how to get which
car to whom, as Chris still had to hand over his MGBGTV8
(Teal Blue 0704) that he had just sold to Harry Eddison
up in Holt in Norfolk. This was done on the Wednesday
(16th June) when I met Chris near Holt, and after some
embibing in a lovely pub (The King's Head at Letheringsett
- highly recommended) we took Chris's V8 to Harry - who,
incidentally, has the most beautiful MGA Coupe - and then
Chris and I returned to my house in Broome, from where
Chris beetled home in his new 67 MGBGT.
Nope, it's not finished yet ! We were still umming and
ahhing about how to get my new V8 from Stuart in East
Yorkshire to Norfolk, and Chris very kindly offfered to
drive me up to Yorkshire. But no need - Stuart (remember
him?) had to pick up his TF 160 from Norwich, so he kindly
offered (there's a lot of kindly offering going on) to
bring the V8 down to me in Broome the next day (Thursday
17th June). Chris came over in his newly polished MGBGT
and the three of us went to Norwich so Stuart could collect
his TF 160.
There you have it - four MGs rotated in less than two
weeks, two of them being MGBGTV8s (Teal Blue 0704 and
Black 0974). And a lovely time was had by all - errr,
except for Chris - whose speedometer attacked him on the
way home!
And finally two footnotes: Black 0974 was owned for many
years by Dave Wellings, who carried out a comprehensive
restoration of the V8 but finally decided to sell up and
get a Morgan, and Harry Eddison is a former V8 enthusiast
(who used to own Flamenco Red 2550 now owned by Nick
Ashmore) who recently decided to get a V8 again -
and of course has been welcomed back with enthusiasm!
We hope to meet up at the V8 Gathering at the MG Car Club's
race meeting at Snetterton in October - for details see
the Rolling V8 Calendar. More |
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