NEW BUILDS: MGBGT – A “Grail Car” Becomes A Reality!

I’ve probably referenced this post in other posts more than any other post on my blog. You know the one: my rant about Cars We Need To See As Thunderjets! Well, I’ve already determined that the #1 car on that wish list, the 300SL gullwing coupe, was made as an HO slot car by Bauer of Germany, and though I have yet to acquire one, I’m still looking. But there is another car on that list that I wanted bad, and about a year ago I discovered that it, also, had been rendered in HO by Bauer! And, friends, I got one!

I wasn’t easy; the first time I found one (and prior to that I had no idea it existed), it was a dark blue model, and I got in on the bidding and didn’t even come close: it wound up selling for almost $250. A few weeks ago, however, I decided to search for another one, and miraculously I found 2 identical ones in even more apropos British Racing Green, being offered with BIN prices at the same time. Things often go that way! One of them was priced at an absurd $300. The other? 1/3 that price…and I smacked “Buy It Now” so hard it sounded like a rifle shot!

And so, here she is: the racing fleet’s first MG B GT racer, complete with flaired out fenders and a hood bulge to clear the manifold and extra carbs. While some might suggest that hold bulge marks this as an 6-cylinder MG C rather than the 4-cylinder B, I beg to disagree: I’ve seen many 4-cylinder B racers with that raised hood. After a good cleaning and a trip to the Outlaw Garage to be outfitted with the full race treatment, she’s ready to rumble!

She arrived a little dirty on a “frankenstein” Thunderjet 500 chassis, an old pan with a newer motor with all gold windings and a pair of either Dash or Auto World blue/white field magnets. Riding on a set of really interesting alumimum wheels of a type and style I’ve never seen before with sticky tires of a brand I can’t place, she ran great, which means I have another cool chassis for a future Road Crew car! What I was nervous about was, was I going to be able to fit this Bauer body on an Auto World Ultra G? I hoped it would work, but I bought it not really knowing! Since this is only my 2^nd Bauer slotty, and the Opel I got recently came on an older Johnny Lightning chassis which is identical to the Ultra G save for the traction magnet, I X’ed my fingers, figuring that, if I couldn’t make it work, I’d have yet another nice new addition to The Road Crew. Well, it took a shim at both the front and the rear, but it didn’t just work: it worked great! I mounted it on a light brown chassis pulled from another source and fitted it with a set of those really cool Vincent Minilite wheels, a style which no MG racer looks right without!

I had hoped to fit her with gold foil racing numbers but, alas, I was out: all those came from Road Race Replicas and you know what happened there, so to offset the BRG paint I decided to go with an orange theme and use a racing stripe and numbers from an UltraCal sheet I still had lying around. Racing #95 is a dupe, but as long as she doesn’t race in the same group as the red Cobra Daytona coupe, we’ll manage.

And she’s blinding fast! This body is small and very light; this is definitely an older Bauer body, and I’ve realized that they actually made 2 different versions of the B GT body, one a “street” version that looks completely stock, and the other this racing version with the removed bumpers, the hood bulge and the fender flares and a X-hatch pattern grille that looks mighty wicked! I’d love to have them both, but given that that’s unlikely due to the prices, this is the one I wanted! The color is perfect-exactly the color it should be (even though I admit they also look great in red and blue), and I’m stoked that I’ve finally added a copy of this iconic car to my vintage sports car fleet: it didn’t feel complete without one!

So then, to The Lore! Named after the timeless punk rock hit by Elvis Costello & the Attractions that some credit as “the first New Wave song,” this little bad boy is called “PUMP IT UP,” and is piloted by San Diego native Matthew “MACHETE” Maitland. A young driver who has only recently cut his teeth on vintage racing, Maitland has risen through the ranks swiftly on what seems to be a natural born skill. Standing only 5’5” and spare of frame at barely 130 lbs, he’s a perfect fit for his MG, so he’s going to keep things light and fast! He may not have the horsepower of some of the bigger cars, but that’s never stopped MG’s from being competitive, and it won’t now! When the next sports car tournament launches, the crowd will get a look at what this classic is capable of! “Pump it up until you can feel it!”