Safety Fast December 2016

So, I expect by now that a lot of MGBs are all wrapped up in the garage, as mine is. I use a three-layer padded, breathable
indoor cover over mine and put a 60W tube heater, as used in wardrobes, under the engine. I fi nd that this maintains enough of a temperature difference to keep any condensation and, therefore, mildew at bay in the wet climate that Cornwall endures in the winter.

If you are out and about, whether in your B or everyday, other, car (assuming you have one) the following is a cautionary tale worth noting. When on our way to the excellent B Register event in Yorkshire we stopped for a comfort break at Charnock Richard Services on the M6. On returning to the B, I had incurred a £100 penalty for inappropriate parking! Apparently I was in a caravan bay, though I saw no caravans, and painted markings on the road were not obvious. Naturally, I appealed the charge and was told that notices were adequate to inform of terms and conditions of use of the facility. The information is in small print on a notice on the slip road as you exit the motorway…Be warned.

The consultation period for changes to the nature of MOT tests has now ended. My insurers, Heritage, seem to think that the most likely outcome will be changes to requirements when vehicles are 40 years old. If MOT testing is no longer required at that age the insurers will still, probably, want some form of certificate of roadworthiness from a competent motor engineer. That, at least, is how I understand it at present.

Clive Wilday has sent an email to all participants in the just-passed B Register Yorkshire event inviting them to next year’s
equivalent in Lincolnshire. This will be open to all members and will be publicised soon John Watson has sent me advanced notice of the Flywheel event at Bicester Airfi eld in Oxfordshire, July 1-2; more details available soon.

Mike Garton sent me the following message and picture of Jean Denton’s MGB. “Have found this photo of UMD outside
the garage in Scarperia that we used as a base for the Mugello race which started there. I like the BMC Service signs, bearing in mind the village was in the hills above Florence! The little guy in the middle is the owner. The MGB GT was a press car I had writing an article for Safety Fast! on the trip.”