Kicking off the work week with a yellow-bellied varmint!

OL' YELLER

The neighborhood and waterfront of Red Hook was cut off from Carroll Gardens and the rest of Brooklyn by the BQE. From Atlantic Avenue to Hamilton Avenue the highway sits in an open cut 30 or so feet down from street level. It was on this stretch that I encountered this queasy little crumpet:

This car has jaundice! What we have here is a 1974 MGB GT in the rare factory color Citron. If it weren't already yellow enough the owner has elected to install some matching headlights.

The MG Midget and the slightly larger MGB were built by the British Motor Corporation (though it was BLMC by the time this car was built, the L meaning Leyland). Most examples were 4 cylinder, manual transmission, rear wheel drive convertibles. However in 1965 this hardtop hatchback was introduced, adding GT to the name.
I don't know why the hood is black but that spoiler is legit.

These cars are super fun to drive in the classic sports car tradition; slightly underpowered, very mechanical, low to the ground, and prone to rattles & glitches. The Achilles heel is the standard British car complaint of the past century; wiring. The Lucas company did most of the wiring for cars built in the UK and the shoddiness is legendary. My own father had a '78 MGB that burned to the ground due to a short while just a few years old!
Another curiosity of the electrical system is that it is 12 volt, but the arrangement consists of 2 6 volt batteries set "in a balanced position"! Basically there are 2 small wells under the rear seat, each holding a battery. WHY? Weird weird set up and totally unique in the automotive world (I think).

The proportions are great on this body style. 2 door hatchback mini-wagons are rare. The Volvo P1800ES is another.
That long hood most likely contains an 1800cc inline 4 cylinder engine. Another version of this same body style called the MGC had an inline 6 cylinder. In a supreme act of awesomeness MG decided to release the MGB GT V8 between '73 and '76 that shoehorned a 3.5 liter Rover engine under the bonnet. The V8 engine block was made out of aluminum and as a result weighed 40 lbs less than the inline 4 cylinder! Performance wasn't as robust as you might imagine in factory form, but they are very collectible today and many extra horses can be coaxed from the engine.

To see any MG derivative totally rust free is astonishing! This color is hard to replicate and was an original option for this year so I'm thinking this is the factory paint. One benefit of having a cool car with terrible wiring is that many of them hibernate in garages for decades before someone comes along to fix them up.

I didn't get much info in this pic unfortunately but the beautiful wooden steering wheel is on display. You can barely make out the e-brake handle which is on the far side of the hump due to its British origins where the wheel would be on the right.

This is quite possibly the only car that the revolting NJ license plate color looks alright on.

The gas cap is exposed and in a tough location for anyone who doesn't want to drip fuel all over the paint and bumper. The reverse lights are as basic as can be.

This is the final year for the GT body style in the States. The aerodynamics were so much better with the hatchback even though it weighed more than the convertible it had a higher top speed.

Gotta love that period correct MGB stripe! The passenger side mirror was an option.

These spoke wheels are the genuine article; you need a huge wrench to remove that center nut to change the tire.

The charming looks of this ride are due in part to the small chrome grill in the front. However there is a 1974.5 edition that made it to our shores before the GT body was cancelled that sports the enormous black rubber front end of the late '70s MGBs. The federal safety crash regulations called for an answer to the delicate front bumpers. In a ridiculous over-solution MG replaced the grill and bumper with one massive rubber schnoz. My fathers flammable MGB had the big black snout on it as did all U.S. bound MGs through the final year of 1980. Because the '74.5 GT was a limited run they are actually collectible and sought-after.
Well that's that for this little MGBGT. If you want a fun classic and don't mind either chasing gremlins or re-wiring your ride this might be the perfect choice. They've been beloved and collected since they were introduced so parts and support are easy to get.

Show Car Sunday/Monday returns with 2 natty Brits!

BRITAINS FAVOURITE SONS

Last year I was spending a week out in Riverhead when I encountered this smart looking pair:

A couple of serious British sports cars in the purest sense! Both are honest 2 seater roadsters that are more about driving fun then super high speeds.
The lighter car is a 1969 MGB Tourer in Pale Ivory. 

From this angle you can just see that there are 3 windshield wipers, which denotes it as a Tourer.
The MGB was introduced in 1962 and ran with only a few changes through 1980. One of the major defining changes over the years that helps to identify when one was built is this chrome grill. In 1974 the entire grill and front bumper were incorporated into a massive black rubber unit.

The engines in these little cruisers were small inline-4 cylinder in the 1,622cc to 1,798cc range, never producing more than 95 horsepower. The small engine made for a pretty even weight distribution between the front and back which is just what you want in a sports car.

I've never seen red line tires on anything but American muscle cars, but whatever. The wheels are real-deal spokes that require lots of cleaning and occasional maintenance. You need a large wrench to undo the center cap when removing them.

The luggage rack is another Tourer touch. Those cheap reflectors on the sides represent the beginning of MG trying to sneak through US safety regulations. One disastrous attempt at compliance happened in 1975 when the new US headlight height regulations went into effect. As opposed to redesigning the front of the car, the MG's parent company decided to raise the suspension height by 1". It doesn't sound like much, but the higher center of gravity (especially with larger, heavier bumpers of the '70s) ruined the handling that MG was famous for.

This example is just clean as a whistle. Perfect paint and convertible top fit on a small quirky sports car are rarities.

The the taillights had an amber flasher on the  bottom would mean the car was a '68.

This next ride is more aggressive in its demeanor. What we have here is a 1974 Triumph TR6 in Dark Red. We know it's a '74 because that's the last year for the large amber turn signals to be placed between the grill and the bumper, but the first year for those unfortunate large rubber guards on the bumpers.

This is dubbed as the "last of the true sports cars" due to its very traditional construction. The body is bolted onto a frame as opposed to being a unibody. The dashboard on every TR6 is made of real wood! They were meant to be thrashed about and driven hard.

The 6 stands for the 2,500cc inline-6 cylinder engine. Look how proudly British this little punk is!

You've got to love the gas cap placement; right behind your head! Not spilling a drop on your paint seems impossible. The license plate housing is wide enough for euro tags.

I love the looks of the TR6 with its low stance and huge wheel openings.
Both of these cars shared a common evil and that is Lucas Electric. This was the company responsible for more automotive misery than any other in the UK. Their electrical systems would short out as a matter of course. I should know this; my father had a late '70s MGB that burned to the ground! He said it overheated but I still feel like Lucas is somehow to blame.

We'll close it out with a good look at this eager little tough guys mug.