Jon Plekenpol's Journal

This MGB had belonged to my uncle, Don Plekenpol. We are not certain of the exact date or year he purchased this MGB. However, we think it was the early 1970s in Wisconsin. He had intentions of giving this MGB to my grandfather, but my grandfather was not interested. My uncle decided to keep the car and drive it daily while living in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s and 1980s. Eventually, the MGB was stored and relocated with my uncle during a job transfer to Dallas, Texas in the early 1980s. Then as my cousin reached the driving age, my uncle brought the car out of storage to teach my cousin about working on cars and specifically, this MGB. My cousin drove it as much as he could during high school and found he wasn't interested in automotive mechanics & maintenance. Thus the car, began to be parked more frequently during the late 1990's & 2000's. Almost two years ago, my uncle passed away at an early age. My cousin had no time to invest in this MGB and his mother wanted to car sold or moved out of her garage. My cousin offered the MGB to me. Recently, (March/April 2015) I traveled to Texas with my truck and trailer and brought the MGB back to my home in Wisconsin. I have an extensive background in automotive service, heavy equipment service, IT/Telecommunications, and power generation technical support. I have maintained and worked on other MGs prior to owning this MGB.

My uncle had been collecting and driving MGs for years. He had a 1960 MGA, a 1952 MGTD, a 1971 MGB GT?, and many parts vehicles. He had also been racing a 1962 Elva Courier for a few years in the early 1970s at Road America and other tracks throughout the Midwest and Northeast. The Elva Courier had an MG drive train in it.

Given this history, the 1969 MGB had been modified throughout the years. It was not documented well and when my uncle passed, there went the details of how this car was modified.

Below is a list of notes that my cousin provided from memory about this 1969 MGB:

- Has been sitting in a garage for 10 - 15 years.
- The engine block was bored 0.040" over.
- Has a stock camshaft.
- 4 speed manual transmission with an electric overdrive unit.
- Dashboard from a 1973 MGB installed to provide a glove box.
- The speedometer does not work.
- The car has been modified from the original dual 6 VDC batteries to a single 12VDC battery.
- Equipped with a removable hardtop made by SnugTop.
- Equipped with a stowaway softtop
- Racing seat belts
- Roll bar
- Brakes should be stock.
- New rear leaf springs
- MG emblem on hood should be black, not red.
- Some front end body damage(like someone back into the car). The left front fender will need to be replaced. The hood is scuffed/cracked. the right front fender has a slight buckle that may be removed.
- Rust bubbles forming on the lower rocker panels behind the doors.
- Rust bubbles forming around the lips of the rear fenders.