I often get asked if I collect cars. My usual answer is,
"not intentionally." 
They do seem to have a way of finding me, however. I'm in Minneapolis for a spell and picked up this 1975 MGB from a close friend. He does construction and it came in the garage of a house they were flipping a few years back, the seller threw in the car and gave him the title. No idea why it was parked in the first place but it has been off the road for 30 years. Pretty sure was one owner when my friend got it.
My friend is no mechanic, so this little project car has sat in his driveway since he got it with no real plan. I'd seen it before and never had much interest, figured it was a rust bucket. Most of you know that Minnesota is not the place to hunt for old British cars, assuming you have any interest in them in the first place. 1975 is also not one of the very desirable years with the rubber bumpers and early smog equipment, (air pump/EGR), but it has some advantages in terms of being smog exempt in CA. It's the last year for that. It also has some sentimental value for me because I worked at the British car dealer where it was sold in 1975 as a 16 y.o. car runner...I was one of the kids who parked cars and fetched them for customers or mechanics when they needed them. It goes without saying that a lot of serious road testing occurred in that parking ramp with TR-6s, V-12 Jags and Jenson Interceptors throughout plus it was a Pontiac dealer that sold British cars as a side line so there were Trans Ams and GTOs at all times as well. Good times.
Anyhow, on to the car. As I mentioned, not the best year but with stuff this old, condition kind of trumps everything else. Turns out that it's in pretty remarkable condition under the circumstances...rust is extremely minimal and seems to be confined to the rear fenders ahead of the rear wheels only. Doors, floors, trunk, suspension points...all excellent. It was rust-proofed when new and then most likely never driven in a Minnesota winter. Sports cars are often garaged for the winter months here. It's also a miracle that it did not get moldy or rodent infested in his garage for 30 years, the interior and wiring are great. It's kind of shocking, to be honest. Must have been a great garage!
Of course it needs the usual everything wrt brake hydraulics, a new fuel tank, carb gone through and other systems checked. It's 100% stock, dealer serviced and has 65k miles. I removed the radiator and took it to a great radiator shop here, (been around over 100 years), turned out that a young employee there worked at the biggest independent Brit car garage in town for years and knows absolutely everything about these cars, parts sources, etc. He has a home shop and is available for side work but so far, I'm doing ok on my own. The stars just lined up.
Here is the car, cleaned-up a little but basically as I got it:
