# Jessica, life with a vintage MG.



## horseless carriage (Jul 25, 2021)

The love of the MG marque started as a teenager in the 1960's. The driver of an MG TC was fuelling up at the pump, or to be exact, being fuelled at the pump, there was no such thing as self-service back then. What a magnificent car the TC was.

It's ivory colour enhancing all the chrome plating to breathtaking effect. For many years I was under the impression that TC was an acronym for “Twin Carbs” or maybe: “Twin Cam,” I had no idea that the TC was the third in the 'T' series of sports cars.
Alas, the reality of having to live within my means meant no TC for me. I couldn't even manage a two seater sports car, all I could afford back in 1964 was a humble 1955 Hillman Husky, with it's side valve engine.

But it was a car, with a heater, a warm dry place for the national sport that teenagers think they invented.
By the latter part of the 1960's I was on the bottom rung of the greasy management ladder and with it, my first company car, a Ford Anglia 105E, the one with the inward sloping rear screen. 

Forty years on, following a climb of the greasy ladder and the comfort of many a company car, far more luxurious than that humble Anglia, my thoughts turned back to my teenage years and that magnificent MG TC.

A search through the internet and various classic car publications revealed that I would have to part with a serious amount of cash to acquire a TC of some restorative note, but before I started a serious search for the car, I sought advice from an MG expert. One, Richard Grey, of RG Classics, he was well informed on all things MG. He listened to my tale of nostalgia, mulled over all the things that I had said before suggesting that I look at other MG's of similar vintage. It was sound advice, of which I am most grateful.

Researching MG's of the pre-war period, I came across the Y Type. First mooted in 1937, it was intended to go into production in 1939/40 but the hostilities that was WW2 meant the car, along with it's drawings and tooling, were mothballed whilst the factory, like nearly all other factories, went over to producing war effort.

Production of the Y Type finally started in 1947 and ran through until 1953. That is why a post war car looks pre-war. What first attracted me was the iconic radiator, so much like the 'T' series sports cars. The front end of the car, with it's MG sports appearance, dovetails perfectly into the Morris 8 saloon body, that is the car's rear end. This sporty saloon was my choice and at about half the cost of a 'T' Type, it didn't break the bank. Two weeks later found my wife and I in Norwich where we struck a deal on a maroon & cream, MG YB.

The MG was delivered a few days later, in the meantime, my wife had started calling it Jessica.

Over the next few days/weeks/months or however long it takes, you will here about our adventures with Jessica.


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## Bellbird (Jul 25, 2021)

I enjoy driving vintage cars, after owning a 1976 Triumph TC some years back, I bought the same model Triumph a year ago, it gets a lot of admiration. Being a 6 cylinder it has a great rumble.(when driving).   plus owned a Cortina, way back in the 1980's.My Cortina way back in thr 1980's.


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## horseless carriage (Jul 26, 2021)

Bellbird, that's a Mk3 Cortina, a car that I drove in the 1970's. Following promotion I had a Rover 3500, something or other.


The fun started with Jessica in June 2014, prior to that we had made a few tentative drives in and around Dorset and The New Forest. But during that June month in 2014, The Borough of Poole, commemorated the 70th anniversary of the departure of the landing crafts that took the Allied soldiers to the beaches of Normandie in the same month of 1944.

There was an abundance of vintage military vehicles at the venue, but very few civilian ones. One of the re-enactors, a good friend of mine, knew of our MG and of it's history, so as it was a prewar design, we were given a special invitation to attend.

Adrian Lambert, a professional photographer, whom we knew from the album that he had produced when he photographed my wife's retirement party, at The St. Leonard's Hotel, happened to be there that day, doing a photo shoot of some young ladies dressed up in 1940's fashions. He asked if could drape a model or two in, on and around the car. 

Well of course he could, but we heard, more than once, that pretty though the young ladies were, non of them upstaged Jessica. Our MG was in her element.

Adrian's talent was spotted by the local council who used this photo to publicise the event in future years. 
https://www.pooletourism.com/whats-on/poole-goes-vintage-p2596753
A quick click on the above website and you will see the result.

Whilst the above photo was used as an opening for the festival, the photographer, Adrian, wanted the models to be seen pushing their car home. He set up a shot that had them all in line, pushing the car.


The photo did get used, but if you look it up on Adrian's website the background
is just an empty bay. Reason being: look between the first two models.

Poole goes vintage was a great day and it wasn't just young ladies who took a shine to our MG.


Here's my wife and friend, Debbie, doing a Thelma & Louise in the back of the car.
More to follow.


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## horseless carriage (Jul 26, 2021)

Wendy Peart, who runs South Coast Gems modelling agency, was quite taken by her models being photographed with an MG of certain vintage, to which, she booked the car, and Adrian, to do a period photo shoot. It was to be back on Poole Quay, where Adrian produced a really lovely shot, capturing the spirit of the period, with a photo in the black and white sepia of the era.

The model, the car and Adrian, drew a great deal of attention whilst your's truly kept a low profile, I'm only a few years older than Jessica, alas time has been less kind to me than it has the car. Social media was buzzing that day with photos and comments of Adrian, the model and the car.

To this day I am unclear whether the German MG Club commissioned that photo shoot, or whether they just filched the photo from Adrian, whatever the answer, Jessica went on to grace the front page of Germany's MG car club's publication: "MG Kurier."


Not to be upstaged by those German enthusiasts, Jessica got her name in lights much closer to home.
       A text from a friend put us wise to a local classic car show known as: Classic Cars on the Prom. The organisers took such a shine to Jessica that she subsequently graced the cover of their 2015 brochure.

Such a pin up is our car that she went on to feature in another classic car show held at Alton, in Hampshire:

The car is becoming something of a celebrity. Watch this space:


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## jujube (Jul 26, 2021)

I've been jonesing most of my life for a 1954 MG TD.  Either red (first choice) or BRG.  Maybe in my next life.....


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 27, 2021)

I'm curious, is Jessica your daily driver?


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## horseless carriage (Jul 27, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> I'm curious, is Jessica your daily driver?


Wouldn't that bring a smile or two to today's motorists. The reality is that the car is low geared because, when it was new, the UK didn't have any highways that were dual carriageways. It will run along happily at fifty and if I push it, it will probably touch sixty-five, but the engine will sound loud and harsh. There's also the lack of the sort of equipment that we take for granted these days. It has only one single speed wipers, no windscreen washers. The indicators are little semaphore arms that pop out, they don't cancel when the turn is complete, the driver has to turn them off. There's no seat belts and it lacks a great deal of other things. One modern gizmo that nobody realises they have is the sensor in the neck of the fuel tank. When the tank is full it shuts off the fuel supply, with Jessica when the fuel splashes on your shoes, you know that that the tank is full. Best way to describe the car is by the poem I wrote.


There was a time when motor cars
were serious fun to drive,
back then they didn't have seat belts,
which help you stay alive.

They had quirky things like
running boards and trafficators too,
those were little semaphore arms
that gave the direction true.

Jessica is just like that
in two tone fancy colour,
an MG of classic vintage,
a real beauty to discover.

There's nothing more that she prefers
than to show off in the shining sun,
and be photographed by one and all:
she smiles for everyone.

This classic car has survived the years
and not been torn asunder,
not for her, the breaker's yard,
her body parts to plunder.

Despite her years she's greatly loved,
her lines to be admired,
and she can still put on a turn of speed
to get the adrenaline fired.

Out on the highway she likes to go
and keep up with the traffic.
But serious problems can arise,
when all the cars are static.

The water in her engine boils
and out the steam comes hissing,
she doesn't have a temperature fan
but it's not exactly missing.

It simply wasn't ever there
like modern cars today,
there's so much missing with vintage cars,
it's the price you have to pay.

But for all her lack of equipment
and of technology,
there's something intangible this car has,
this lovely old MG.

It's that distinct smell of old car,
of walnut and of leather,
a fragrance that's so captivating,
it doesn't get much better.​
                                                                            Then there's her style & grace & beauty
and class in overload,
but her greatest asset is the fun you can have,
that comes by the bucketload.​


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## horseless carriage (Jul 28, 2021)

Following a phone call from Wendy Peart, Jessica was off on another modelling assignment. This time it was in the picturesque Dorset village of Wimborne-Saint-Giles. Adrian Lambert was again behind the shutter. His talent really highlighted the wedding dress that Wendy's model was wearing, and, similar to the shot on Poole Quay, one particular photo, in black & white sepia, depicted the era perfectly. The model is sitting in the car, holding the rear view mirror. Is she observing the traffic before pulling out, or checking that her make-up is just so? It's the pensive look that Adrian has captured that leaves the viewer undecided, but impressed.




Our MG gets serviced and repaired by Richard Grey of RG Classics, even Richard has taken to calling the MG, Jessica and is subsequently known as: Uncle Richard. The UK's laws of MOT testing makes our car exempt, however, for safety's sake, we always have the car tested. It was thanks to having the MOT test that the hydraulic hoses were discovered to be showing signs of excess wear and were replaced. A ruptured hydraulic hose can corrupt the brakes. Richard uses an MOT garage known as: Verwood MOT Test Centre Garage. The MG causes quite a stir when it's in for it's MOT test, as their Facebook entry testifies.


We have had much fun with our car being the star attraction. If you ever find yourself at The Goodwood Revival, look for the VIP taxi service, where Jessica ferries guests to and from various points around the show ground. You will also find us at The Twinwood Festival, The Great Central Railway's, War on the Line event and so many more.


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