# They pranged my MGB **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390 "2018-08-10T15:37:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/21 "2018-08-14T20:10:37Z")
Tuesday. I thought the shop might have an idea when they will have my car repaired, so I called. I asked, ‘Do you have an ETA on the MG?’ The guy was like, ‘Still the end of the week.’ It sounded like he thought I was wasting his time. Dude. If you didn’t break my car, I wouldn’t be calling you. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/22 "2018-08-14T20:26:40Z")
When you said “pranged” I thought you meant they painted it with cheap watercolors. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/23 "2018-08-15T17:38:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If you’re gonna have your car hit, no better place than already in the body shop. Also the best place to \*hit \*a car… 😃 A few years ago, I clipped a parked car while parallel parking. I left a note, but did more damage to my own vehicle than the other one; enough that I wanted to get it repaired. While dropping it off at the body shop I was backing up in their parking lot, and lightly tapped a parked car behind me. (It was apparently not a good week for me to be behind the wheel!) Luckily that car was already in for a fender replacement, so the shop told me not to worry about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/24 "2018-08-16T01:13:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Shouldn’t a paint and body shop already know where to get parts like that? I know you don’t just drop in to the local MG dealer anymore, but it still seems like it would be part of their business to have a network for stuff like that. The car has become too rare for that. Best for Maaco to contact someone in an MGB club to find out. I’ll bet this fix is costing them plenty. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/25 "2018-08-16T01:45:19Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I’ll bet this fix is costing them plenty. I doubt it. They’re repairing the fender, rather than spending $900 for a new one. The trim is under $30. So it’s just labour and paint. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/26 "2018-08-16T19:47:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > But the frogeyes were all Sprites rather than Midgets, weren’t they? No, the early Midgets were frogeyes too (Hence the generic Spridget label). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/27 "2018-08-16T20:24:05Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > No, the early Midgets were frogeyes too (Hence the generic Spridget label). My experience is with the ‘B’, but I do not think this is true. The MG Midget (as we’re talking about – not the 1936 to 1955 T-type MG Midgets) was introduced in 1961 as an up-market, badge-engineered version of the Austin-Healey Sprite Mk.II – which was also introduced in 1961. So no frog eyes on the MG. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/28 "2018-08-16T20:35:54Z")
Speaking of Austin-Healey Sprites, [my neighbor is selling his](https://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-austin-healey-sprite/6656931604.html). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/29 "2018-08-17T04:46:28Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Shouldn’t a paint and body shop already know where to get parts like that? I know you don’t just drop in to the local MG dealer anymore, but it still seems like it would be part of their business to have a network for stuff like that. We’re talking about Maaco here. Fine for basic paint and ding repair, but expecting them to know much about an MG than how to spell it is like expecting the crew at McDonalds to understand Kobe beef. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/30 "2018-08-17T18:10:24Z")
I have an extra valve cover, which I found when I was cleaning out the trailer. Someone painted it red, instead of the original dark red. I thought, ‘Hey, I have a can of the original-colour red in the Jeep! I’ll just go ahead and refinish this puppy. Why not?’ So I sanded it to give the new paint something to stick to. (Actually, I’ll get some primer and put that on first.) I went out to the Jeep to get the paint out of the little box of MGB stuff I’d tossed in there. I grabbed the can of paint and… it’s practically empty. :smack: So a new can of paint has been ordered. The new stickers, oil cap, and grommets should be here today. But I have to wait for the paint. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/31 "2018-08-17T20:25:10Z")
Got the call. The car is ready! I drove down to Bellingham (25 miles). The guy brought the car around. There’s overspray and tape residue on the hood from re-doing the fender they bent. They’re going to polish it out, but that was a wasted 50-mile trip! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/32 "2018-08-17T23:38:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Speaking of Austin-Healey Sprites, [my neighbor is selling his](https://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-austin-healey-sprite/6656931604.html). Looks like he sold it. Ad pulled. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/33 "2018-08-18T01:16:44Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Looks like he sold it. Ad pulled. He parked the car in front of his house this morning, and I saw him talking to someone around noon. Then I saw the car driving around the neighbourhood. When I brought my MGB back from the paint shop, I didn’t see the Sprite. It turns out it is behind a tree in my sight line, and it’s under its cover again. I hope he sold it, as he said he needed the money. OTOH, it was neat having another British car nearby. As for the MGB, it looks good. Not _great_, but pretty… and the metal is protected now. When I picked up the car I went to close the door, and there was no handle. They found it under the seat and put it on. When I got home, Mrs. L.A. discovered the right-front turn indicator was basically hanging by a single loose screw. The other screw is gone. _sigh_ Also, I got a new gas cap from Victoria British. It broke immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/34 "2018-08-18T16:49:28Z")
And… They put the wipers on backwards, which was a bit of a surprise when I turned them on to wipe off the morning dew. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/35 "2018-08-18T17:46:48Z")
Well, if you’re going to own a British car, you may as well go the whole hog and experience British levels of workmanship too 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/36 "2018-08-18T20:47:20Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Looks like he sold it. Ad pulled. He lowered the price and put up a [new ad](https://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/d/1962-austin-healey-sprite/6673922864.html). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/37 "2018-08-19T00:45:34Z")
Took The Missus for a ride. It was fun. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/38 "2018-08-19T00:51:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And… They put the wipers on backwards, which was a bit of a surprise when I turned them on to wipe off the morning dew. :rolleyes: Did they add more dew? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/39 "2018-08-19T14:42:22Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Well, if you’re going to own a British car, you may as well go the whole hog and experience British levels of workmanship too 😛 Next: Get the lights working. The other day I discovered my car has a ‘flash-to-pass’ switch on the turn signal stalk. Today I found out that that’s how they were made. I drove my first '66 MGB for _years_ and never knew that was there! :smack: In any case, that works. The brake lights work, as do the turn signals. Otherwise, I have no headlights, no tail lights, and no front marker lights. I didn’t think to check the gauge lights, and it’s too light to check them now. The map light switch is frozen solid and is immovable. I suspect a bad switch, so I’ll try to pull the switch today and just connect the wires directly together. If I have lights, then I’ll know it’s the switch. If I still don’t have lights, I’ll suspect bad grounds on the headlights and position lights circuit. No idea where they’re grounded, though. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/40 "2018-08-19T15:24:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > He parked the car in front of his house this morning, and I saw him talking to someone around noon. Then I saw the car driving around the neighbourhood. When I brought my MGB back from the paint shop, I didn’t see the Sprite. It turns out it is behind a tree in my sight line, and it’s under its cover again. I hope he sold it, as he said he needed the money. OTOH, it was neat having another British car nearby. > > As for the MGB, it looks good. Not _great_, but pretty… and the metal is protected now. When I picked up the car I went to close the door, and there was no handle. They found it under the seat and put it on. When I got home, Mrs. L.A. discovered the right-front turn indicator was basically hanging by a single loose screw. The other screw is gone. _sigh_ Also, I got a new gas cap from Victoria British. It broke immediately. I have a spare locking cap around here somewhere if you want it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390.md?page=3)