This is TC 6819 in the condition it arrived at my home an embarrassing number of years ago. It required a tow truck, a pickup truck and my station wagon to transport it all. I remember my young son's eager anticipation of another MG turning to disappointment as he looked at the chassis on the tow truck. He is now in his third year at a university but the car looks little different from this early photo.

The initial problem was a lack of garage space which forced me to further disassemble the chassis so I could store it on edge in the existing garage while I built another. I immediately ran into our city's bureaucracy. Although I have plenty of space on my property, my plan ran afoul of a zoning ordnance. So I started working on it one piece at a time.

The engine had been severely abused, having had the oil filter permanently bypassed by brazing together the external tubing. It had not been run for at least eight years, and maybe 14, when I bought it and the black gelatinous gunk throughout the crankcase was unbelievable - it wasn't just dirty, it was encapsulated! It had already been bored 0.100" and was again badly worn. More than half the rings were cracked, every crank bearing had at least partially disintegrated and the timing chain hung so loosely I briefly thought I could lift it off with the sprockets in place.

I sleeved it back to standard and resurfaced or replaced everything that moves. I believe it now to be as good as new, although I haven't run it yet. I recently worked out a compromise with the city - they will let me build the garage but I must agree to tear it down when the property it sold! I've been here 25 years and have no intention of moving, so that does not seem a serious constraint. There's hope yet....

Russ Wilson