So, what was happening in 1966
Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister, news stories of the year included the introduction of the World’s first VTO - the Harrier jump-jet, miniskirts are in fashion - hooray, the English Channel Hovercraft service begins, the Severn Bridge opens and BBC2 starts broadcasting in colour for four hours a week – wow! Elsewhere, China's Cultural Revolution gets under way, a subway strike in New York brings the city to a standstill, and the US has nearly 500,000 troops in Vietnam.
The search for OPP 199D
When the present owner retired he decided to try and find his old love. First port of call was the DVLA web site where he discovered the MGB was still on the road, but now green. So after a lot of fruitless and time-consuming efforts with the DVLA, and despite sterling work by several MG Clubs etc., still no luck. In 2014 he contacted Classic Cars for Sale for advice, telling them the story! They took the project to heart and agreed to run an article on their website Classic Cars for Sale, they took some hurried notes over the phone (so some of the facts got turned round, original colour etc.) and they did a mock-up photo of how the car would then look.
Restoring OPP 199D
The car was by this time getting rather tired again, and was already on SORN, and a full restoration was clearly called for, especially as the new owner wanted to take it back to 1966 specifications. So the dilemma was, should the existing body be restored - clearly the preference - or would it better to replace with a new Heritage shell.
After much discussion with various MGB restoration specialists the overall feeling was, this is a 50 year-old car that has had at least 15 owners and had probably not been pampered by all of them.
What others have written about MGB's
Why is the MGB such a favourite with classic car collectors? The answer is simple: It is good-looking, fun to drive and easy to maintain. These are the same reasons the MGB, with a few changes, was successful in the new-car market for nearly two decades. Today, good examples are easy to find, inexpensive to buy, and are backed by a fantastic network of MGB enthusiasts to provide support and share the fun of ownership.
