Safety Fast April 2019

WELCOME TO THE MGB REGISTER NEWSLETTER

PUBLISHED IN THE APRIL 2019 SAFETY FAST

There are still places to be snapped up on April 7 on the MGB Register Spring Run 2019 Supported by British Motor Heritage. This year’s Spring Run starts at Millets Farm, visits the Classic Motor Hub Bibury and finishes at Kingston Bagpuize House. .Entry is £26 and includes Route Book and Rally Plaque. Don’t forget, if you wish to visit the house this can be booked on the day. There is a maximum limit of 100 MGs. You can turn up on the day and register your intentions…
I had a phone call from Peter Nixon of the Tyne Tees Centre and, consequently, he sent me the following. In response to a posting I put on MG Experience website in the USA, looking for Works hardtop parts which are no longer available in the UK, I was given the following web address: http://trf.zeni.net/MGB-GC/254.php which brought up the ‘The Roadster Factory’. I was able to order the retainer strips which go under the rear glass area for the rubber that sits on the back of the MGB, total cost including postage from the USA was $58. The price includes the rivets.
This is on that page: “It may be that we at TRF know more about the hard top than any other source because we purchased all the remaining parts and moulds from a motorcycle side car company known as Watsonian Squire back in the 1980s. Watsonian manufactured parts in glass fibre, and they were the original supplier of the hard top to MG. This project has been on hold at TRF for many years, but we are looking again at the possibility of producing original hard tops. In the meantime, we have many parts in stock for repair of used hard tops. By the way, TRF’s owner, Charles Runyan, was trained by Watsonian Squire in hard top assembly. Also, Watsonian is a descendent of a company once known as The Swallow Side Car Company (I vaguely remember the Austin 7 having bodywork by Swallow, correct me please if wrong) When the company split, the other branch was known first as SS Cars and later as… yes, Jaguar. No English company wanted to be known as ‘SS’ anything after World War II.”
Incidentally, the works hardtop rear glass is available from Brown & Gammons for £46.80 including VAT, postage is prohibitive at around £76 for a pallet, so better to pick it up. I just bought that glass for the hardtop which I picked up for a pittance as it had no rear glass in it.

The photograph is of Danny Waters, our technical guru for many years. He is collecting the Marque of Friendship Award from Club Director, George Wilder, and the caricature as a thank you from the MGB Register.

DAVID BROADHURST
newsletter-editor@mgb-register.org