The two letters 'MG' have a magical sound for enthusiasts. MG was synonymous with an affordable and characteristic sports car and is still - certainly in the classic world - a household name. That also applies to the Triumph which is also a sporty descendant of the English brand.
By: Dirk de Jong
The tradition is visible in the garage of Bé Loer, where these convertibles are displayed in British style. They are now treasured as treasures. For Bé they are 'Things of beauty'. Bé Loer is an independent entrepreneur in the construction industry in daily life.
Bé: “Our local pizza baker bought a Fiat 1998 from Italy in 500, which aroused interest in restoring it and giving it a second life. That was successfully completed, after which it became quiet for me on the classic front for many years. ”
Triumph Spitfire MK IV
“In 2017 I let myself be carried away by enthusiasm when I found Hamburg in a neglected state of the Spitfire in question. The car was waiting for an enthusiast who was willing to invest time, energy and euros. And so the Spitfire was brought to the Netherlands on a Saturday in September. ”
Not refurbishing but restoring
“Within a year, the car was completely stripped and rebuilt. Good parts were preserved, cleaned and reused. Bad parts were replaced. From floor to roof, from front to rear bumper, the entire engine block and interior have been renewed or improved. This ended a period of tinkering and a period of homeless touring came to an end. Wonderful to experience the essence of open driving: wind in your hair, watery eyes and cold ears, but also enjoy the surroundings and the sounds of nature. ”
Not to be restored, but to be refurbished
“The MG turned out to be a stranded project that had been slowing down for years and the question was whether I wanted to take it over and rebuild it. As an industrious tinkerer, I couldn't pass up that opportunity to tackle the MG - now less fanatic. No complete restoration was required. The British icon had already been partially restored, so now more refurbishing, completely renewing the interior, refinishing and replacing parts where necessary. So now there are two English classics to be beautiful. ”
It is clear from the story that Bé likes to pay attention to the automotive past and enjoys it to the full. The next project is already in the pipeline, a NSU Prinz from 1977. That having and restoring classics enriches his life is clear from his enthusiastic story.
I still lived at home, in Moerwijk, I worked full-time and I was able to buy a B-GT through.
The rubber bumper 47-NG-45 was delivered in mustard yellow in Belgium, painted white here, I think it was damaged and that's how I bought it.
Thinking of the B-GT: The retractable and lockable choke handle, the great cockpit, that funny back seat, the short stick, the broken fuse box (before a mechanic was behind it), the restoration with lots of rust in those triple sills, the silver-black rostyles, the 1800 block with the 2 SU's in the back of the B-Kadett, the beautiful “Brooklands green” in which I had the MG sprayed, the puzzle rides, a vacuum-sucked tank at Lelystad airport.
During this writing, I enter the license plate: is there a practically fresh MOT on the GT. How nice that he is still poking around !!
After much deliberation, I got rid of my MG-B. What remains are the many MG-Bs in 1:43 and a painting of the car made by Lior Kimmel that hangs on the wall. She has made way for a Mercedes 190 Ponton A. What remains are these beautiful stories and memories
Donald, You write about the gems from Italy and France, but what about the gems from Germany? The SL series of the brand with the star: also not to be sneezed at in terms of design and looks.
william,
(an avid W-107 fan).
dear editors,
may I have the nice article in amklassiek.nl by Dirk de Jong about MG-MGB roadster 1964 and Triumph Spitfire 1977 in MG-Nieuws (the club magazine of the MG Car Club Holland), of course with acknowledgment of the source?
Thank you in advance for your response
Just send an email to redactie@amklassiek.nl
Have had two Spitfires, and lay more under them than in them, but I would buy another one if I could still fit in. It would probably kill me, but what a beautiful death ...
Awesome cars! I've had them both (not the one in the photo of course). Such a shame that the UK has been in the self-destruct fashion since the 70s with a revival in the 2000s and an acceleration squared now. They always built darn nice cars. Now MG is nothing more than a pale label on Chinese junk. So sad.
In the early sixties, as a young mechanical engineer, I supplemented my auotechnical knowledge with the whole series of courses that BMC in Cowley (Oxford) and Longbridge (Birmingham) offered to, for example, the sons of Morris and Mg dealers. It was a great time to start back in NL for customers of the parental dealer company to provide cars with some more horsepower and to tackle the import of sports seats, steering wheels and MG hardtops. I myself then drove a "tartan red" MGB with of course wire wheels and overdrive. Preference then for Pirelli Cinurato's that lasted 6.000 to 20.000 km. Great memories.
Yes, those were the days!
Hats off, that Spitfire looks slick. Lots of work. And just as Peter wrote, maybe come
there will be really nice cars again in a few years, and not a 12 square meter real estate on wheels.
Just happened to be behind a BMW X7 this morning, I thought it was a van at first,
Regards.
Thanks!
Pure Nostalgia ... Italy and France also had such gems ... More beautiful than the models that are now in the showroom ... 😉
Is the MG for sale? We look nice, several pictures are welcome to give an idea of the inside, both interior and under the hood.
It is remarkable how the mentality suddenly changed in 1980 and people suddenly became disgusted with all types of convertibles. Ugly square was from then on the beauty standard and the production of almost all affordable English convertibles stopped (with the exception of Mazda which was the only one who took over the torch with the MX)
After the period with MPVs and station wagons as ideals of beauty, we now seem to be experiencing the same phenomenon again with those ugly SUVs, which everyone now considers beautiful under public pressure.
Times change and in a few years' time real beautiful cars may become the norm again and SUVs laughably ugly. Who knows…
The MG has now been sold, unfortunately I was not able to respond to the article earlier, otherwise I would certainly have contacted earlier.