MGC Forum

Sad to report my beloved 1969 MG C GT was hit and declared a total constructive loss last week.

14 months of nut and bolt restoration... and BANG! Perfect engine and OD, near perfect interior, gorgeous Tartan paint, suspension rebuilt and poly bushed, correct vintage British-Leyland am/fm stereo radio with locking antenna...Shown at Monterey Concours On The Avenue in August and selected by Hagerty for "winners circle" display and photos.

I was on a low speed cruise to lunch 01-10-15 on a quiet rural street. An elderly woman ran a stop sign coming down a hill and hit the C GT about 35 mph. I locked up the brakes and tried to avoid her, but she panicked and turned into me instead of away. Game over as the frame received a "diamond" bend and all four corners twisted.

Heartbroken is the word, but I walked away with only deeply bruised knees,a sprained left hand and eye capillary burst injuries. MANY excellent parts to be salvaged on the car and an alloy bonnet that can be straightened with skill. Three very nice chrome 72 spoke wheels (not sure if the LF was bent in the collision). New leather seat covers and a freshly recovered radio console. The Pillow Dash took a hit from a flying wheel wrench and is now cracked. All instruments operational and the tach and speedo rebuilt last summer by Palo Alto. If you need a parts car or can straighten the frame for recommissioning I expect it to sell cheap at COPART.

Thankfully I had an agreed value insurance policy and will only lose about $1500.00 (and 500 hours labor!) on the total loss. Keep your eyes out for another stellar C GT for me. It was my favorite vintage car.

Michael

Sorry for your loss Michael.

Keep smiling though, as you walked away (mostly).

Mike Dooley

What can we say? Glad you're not too badly injured. I'd be in tears if it was my car after all that work. Life's not always fair. Hope you can find some kind of a replacement that won't take 500 hours work.

Bummer Michael. That is every classic owners worst nightmare. Hopefully you can find another to help ease the pain.

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Gary Brown

It's the "Little" things.

Although I now own this C, it will always be Pat's MG

And it goes on your insurance? Pity.

Been there, it really hurts! Heads up!

Sorry to here about your accident but glad you came out of it in one piece.

Sorry to hear about the loss of the car...walking away unhurt is a good thing!

Must be a reasonable C around for you to start swapping parts over . I know how gutted i was when a MGA cracked a wing on mine and he was going the same direction as me

Chin up ! at least you have onlythe body work too do lol!

Ouch! Hope you find another in fine condition - good news you were not badly hurt albeit painful .....in the back pocket as well!!!
Take care and enjoy the hunt!
Ctan

Echo all the commiserations expressed, a nightmare none of us deserves.....

Last week a UK newspaper ran an article about a 58 year old teacher who was killed last year when driving a classic car hired B Roadster he'd rented as a "fun day out" from a reputable classic car hire Company.

Teacher was in a tail back column of vehicles slow stationary when

Seems a bangladeshi UK taxi driver ploughed into him, a rear shunt, whilst the taxi driver who had been driving for over 12 hours....and at the time was driving whilst on his mobile telephone, B was crippled impact was 40 mph.

Bangladeshi was sentenced to 9 months in prison(!!!!) for driving without due care and attention. He evidently drove straight into the back of the tail-back, the low B Roadster didn't have a chance

The thrust of the article was about the fact that classic cars don't "crumple zone" and protect drivers like moderns, so to take care.......

Thank goodness you at least were able to walk away. Hopefully a new CGT can soon be found...

Sorry to read about your car loss, but glad you were not seriously hurt. Over the last year or so I've read about quite a few MG accidents on this forum. Perhaps the number of accidents is not unusual, but frankly it seems odd that our cars seem so vulnerable to accidents. No doubt they are difficult to see when compared to larger modern vehicles, but I would think that most are being driven much more carefully than modern cars. I wonder if the accident rate/mile is similar with our British cars versus Mazda Miatas? -Steve

Who was your insurer? Some won't let you keep the car if they total it and you are then unable to recover any of the parts! Been there and suffered that additional anxiety. Glad you are OK, relatively speaking. Keep your chin up, there will be another that you will fall in love with and this all will eventually become a story for telling with fond memories of your life with that particular car.

My 1974 BGT got hit in a parking space 2 weeks after I bought it and I was devastated. I now I have a fairly nice 1968 CGT which has become its' replacement.

Take care.

Bill

Cannot use a parts car but looking for seats. Have 69 convertible let me know. Mckim

So very glad you are well , and not hit too hard in pocket , but haveing spent 3 years on my last midget I know how I would feel , its a loss you cannot replace.

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Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you