My Introduction to the MG Car Fraternity

Click the car to follow either Flivver or Rosy ...

My interest in MG sports cars started when I was 17, when the journey into Birmingham for my weekly driving lesson with BSM took me past a car sales showroom that had for sale a black MG TC for the princely sum of £165. I thought that I could afford that on my apprentice's wage, but asked my father for a loan of the money. I remember his answer to this day, " If you are learning to drive, it cannot be difficult, so I will learn to drive, we will not buy a flivver but something more suitable for me." So he paid for, taxed and insured a 1959 Mk 2 Ford Zodiac but never bothered to learn to drive himself. He realised it would be easier to ask me to drive him whenever he wanted to go anywhere. There I was at 17 driving a Ford Zodiac and all I had to do was put in the petrol.

Years later I realised it was not much fun driving "Euro-boxes" and wanted more out of motoring. A colleage told me of someone he knew called Tony Stafford who had an MG and that perhaps I should have a chat to him. I did this and found he had an immaculate TF (the proper one not the modern one) and this rekindled my desire to own a T type. He suggested I join the MG Octagon Car Club (for pre 1956 MG's), which is what I did, going to the club's local "natter". After they got to know me, "the new bloke without an MG car", one member called John Powell mentioned that a friend of his, Ken Williams, had an MG TA he might be selling. I went to see it, liked it, and purchased it.

I decided to call the car Flivver for reasons I will describe later. I have since purchased the second TA as a restoration project for me later for my wife to drive. When they parked on the end of our drive my wife decided to give hers a name too and that, as it was a red car, was to be named Rosy.