Anyone use their B as a daily driver?

[DavidAGO]

About three months ago I posted about my B not developing oil pressure after it's first startup in several years. I pulled the engine, put in the correct gasket, took a look at bearings, etc., buttoned it back up and fired it up. It runs nicely with good oil pressure. I am slowly working my way through the rest of it and am impressed by how rust free and clean it is. I have been around British cars for several years, and it is rare to find one straight and rust-free. The more I work on it I find myself thinking I may want to get it running as a good driver and not try and restore it. I have my truck for everyday driving, but am thinking about getting this one back together and drive it some to get it sorted out, then let this one be my everyday driver. I'm in a small town, no long commute, no traffic.

Anyone here use a B as a true everyday driver? Of course, I would keep the truck for highway driving, etc.

David

 

[Silverghost]

I drove mine regulary last year as long as the weather was in my favor. I had a few hiccups but easily sorted out and didn't deter me. I'll start driving it again once all this miserable white stuff is gone!

 

[Stewart]

I used my 73 before I sold it as a fair weather daily driver. Put 12k miles on it from April to October and it never let me down. Once you get the car well sorted out it's very happy to be used every day as long as you keep up with the maintenance schedule of the car and don't let the little stuff slide so long that it turns into something big.

 

[Rick_Stevens]

Yep. I drive the '73 year-round, pretty much no matter what the weather. In bad snow I drive the Saturn because it has AWD and the B needs new tires. I drive anywhere from 70 to 95 miles round trip to and from work, on country roads, city streets, and on the Interstate. This includes a LOT of stop-and-go rush-hour traffic. I also take the car on long, cross-country drives with no problems, for what it's worth.

 

[rick_ingram]

My Midget was a daily driver when I was in school and my first year out in the "real world".

I used my B as a daily driver in the spring, summer, and fall for a couple of years in the mid=80's.

The B handled well in the snow....the Midget did OK.

Routine maintenance and upkeep is the key.

 

[DrEntropy]

Reliant on an MGB for daily commuting from around 1969 to 2000, some alternate days of Lotus Elan in there too. Alfa Spider is the "relief pitcher" just now but the B will be pressed into daily service again soon.

 

[DNK]

Anybody who lives in SO CA cannot be allowed in a daily driver conversation cept about stuff lasting

 

[Stewart]

I was in ND when I was daily driving my 73. Drove it all the way down to -20F. Car ran well but the door had a nasty habit of freezing shut.

 

[Silverghost]

I was in ND when I was daily driving my 73. Drove it all the way down to -20F. Car ran well but the door had a nasty habit of freezing shut.

Which was, in fact, an intentional safety feature from BL!

LOL

 

[DNK]

Yea, you betcha!

 

[JPSmit]

No opinion on the daily driver bit, but the keeping it as original as possible sounds great- you can restore many times but it's only original once and patina is nice.

 

[bcliff]

I have been using MGBs as daily drivers since 1979. Current edition is a 71, backdated to look like a 69. 40 mile round trip to work. Overdrive is a bonus, since the speed limit gets up to 65 mph on some stretches. -20 degree temps last week were a little uncomfortable, but the car performed well. My other car is a 1966 Riley Elf.
Bruce

 

[Steve_S]

Every day, 365 days a year in my '67 BGT unless I'm driving a different classic. For most of my life it was my '65 B. I own nothing newer than 1969.

 

[DNK]

Steve, We are all jealous.

 

[DrEntropy]

I was "forced" into the Spider ten years ago when the B got so tired it was time to refurb it. Now it sits protected and rarely run enough. That's about to change, as the Alfa is now the tired one. :wink:

 

[drooartz]

That's a perfect setup, Doc. Now you can run the B for the next 10 years while you restore the Alfa. You just have to swap every decade or so.

I'd love to be in Steve_S's (or Doc's for that matter) situation, but winter with its large quantity of road salt and below zero weather make that difficult for year-round classic driving here in the mountains.

 

[DNK]

Too hot in summer for Doc I think.
Steve has the ideal climate, Bastage!

 

[DrEntropy]

Never "too hot" Don. I'm the one who wants automagic transmissions and ALL air conditioning outlawed in Florida.

 

[DNK]

Just got to wear a hat,I take it?

 

[davester]

you can restore many times but it's only original once and patina is nice.

If patina was worth something I'd be a millionaire. My GT has never been "restored", only maintained. It started out as my dad's daily driver, then became my daily driver, and is now my daughter's daily driver.

My daughter was treating it a little too much as a daily driver so I just gave her a lecture about how it doesn't have 5-mph bumpers, how it's a family heirloom, and how the front hood trim piece is made of unobtainium.