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A JUBILEE SPECIAL…

The photo that appeared on the August 1977 front cover of Safety Fast! This is the story, as best as I can tell it, of the special edition, one-off 1977 Silver Jubilee MGB GT.

My connection with the car is purely one of circumstance, when in 2020 my late father-in-law signed the vehicle over to his daughter and my wife Doreen, now the registered keeper. Hence, it’s become my job to polish the chrome, spared only by black rubber bumpers, with a custodial view to keep the car in its original condition and good running order. As an eleven-year-old in 1977, my lasting memory of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebration was of a large scoop of red, white and almost fluorescent blue ‘Jubilee trifle’, unceremoniously dolloped onto my plate by a rather fierce-looking school dinner lady. Whilst barely out of shorts and still causing trouble in the playground, feverishly patriotic plans were

The unique 1977 Silver Jubilee MGB GT

afoot all around the country to mark this very special occasion.

As the sizzlingly hot year of ’76 rolled into ’77, a bright spark within the Vale of White Horse District Council approached the MG Car Company Ltd. at Abingdon, proposing an MG be built with a special finish to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. It was put to the board that the car be raffled in support of the Vale’s contribution to the Prince Charles Jubilee Appeal, a fund that today, operating simply as The Prince’s Trust, has since made grants of over £80m towards projects helping young people in low-income communities across the UK.

Thankfully, the then MG’s board agreed to the idea, and on April 5 1977 took a car off line to be built and finished in the Rectification Shop. The car was delivered to Hartwell’s in Kidlington, Oxfordshire on May 11 to be displayed as first prize in the Vale Jubilee Raffle. They finished MGB GT in a striking Tahiti Blue, with silver-grey trim and silver stripes, the only blue MGB ever to leave the factory. Special Jubilee commemorative badges were fixed over the silver stripes, with waistline strips, windscreen liners and wing mirrors all in chrome, plus Rostyle wheels fitted with chrome rims, making this an altogether very special-looking car. Following the raffle on August 11 1977, the anonymous lady winner decided to sell the car a year later in September 1978 to an Oxford gent, who kept it for just over seven years, clocking up a modest 1,800 miles. From January 1986 onwards, despite a succession of owners, very few additional miles were put on the clock. When eventually in July 1999 my fatherin-law Bob Ffrench and his neighbour John became joint owners, and then in the spring of 2006 Bob became sole owner. Over a period of years, the car has been shown at selected events, perhaps most notably the ‘Silverstone 2000 50th Anniversary’.

Very sadly Bob passed away during the first Covid lockdown of 2020, a truly horrendous time for so many families losing our loved ones, and we miss Bob an awful lot. He was a senior development engineer working as an innovator in the car industry for over 25 years. Bob was generous to a fault, a dedicated family man and he loved his cars. We drove everything and anything from Citroen 2CVs to GT40s, though his penchant was for rare Jags. But the one car he wouldn’t let go of was his beloved blue and silver striped Jubilee Special.

For various reasons the car hasn’t been seen in public for over a decade, but as custodians next in line and with the help of the MG Car Club, we hope to have it on show for everyone to see and enjoy

this summer, on each day of the National Motor Show at Farnborough. You’ll be pleased to know the car is in great shape for a 44-year-old with just 4,000 miles on the clock. I certainly wish I looked as good, but then we’ve all been around the block a few times, haven’t we.

We especially want to thank John Watson and Mike Barclay at the Car Club for their enormous generosity, good humour and great knowledge, helping us return the car to good running order ready for the summer. It’s a bright blue bullet, primed and ready to go!

THE B BATTERIES

The two six-volt batteries in situ

079 type battery fitted in a rubber bumper MGB

Mention the word Batteries to an MGB owner and the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” comes to hand… Mike Barclay can guide you through this vital topic!

The MGB batteries are located behind the seats and tend to get neglected due to the effort required to access them. The MGB, when launched, was originally fitted

Matt Carter

with two six volt batteries mounted behind the seats in separate carriers either side of the transmission tunnel. (A design carryover from the MGA.)

With the launch of the rubber bumper cars, MG modified the right-hand battery compartment to accommodate a single modern type 079 12 volt battery, at the same time altering the battery cover and blanking off the left-hand battery compartment.

So why fit a 12v Battery to Chrome Bumper Cars?

• The original six volt batteries used an old-fashioned wet plate design requiring a mixture of sulphuric acid and distilled water. • They require regular topping up which is quite often overlooked, and leads to premature failure. • They weep around the fill points, leading to corrosion of the battery terminals. • They are expensive, approximately £90 each (x two) compared to a suitable 12v battery at around £60. • The 12v battery will give a significant improvement in CCA (cold cranking current) and starting. • The left hand battery compartment can be converted to useful storage for spares or tools. • Simple and straightforward to fit (1 Hour).

12 volt Battery choice

When choosing a suitable battery there are two factors to consider. The battery capacity (AH) and the CCA, the cold cranking current.

An electrical system of a standard MGB is rudimentary; it is not packed with modern car electronics or current consuming items like electric windows, seats or air con. With most of us only

063 battery fitted in the right hand battery compartment 202 battery installed in the right hand battery compartment

using our car during fine weather, the need for a large capacity battery to support the rigours of winter driving (lights, wipers and in the case of the GT the HRW) is not necessary. What is important is the Cold cranking current (CCA). This is the amount of current a battery can supply when turning the engine over on the starter and is important as the B can be hard to crank and start. So to choice. Firstly the battery fitted to the later rubber bumper cars (Type 079) will not fit into a chrome bumper battery compartment. There are three commonly available batteries types (063, B036 and

FITTING A 12V BATTERY INTO AN MGB

202) that will fit as direct replacements and offer significantly improved CCA over the 6v batteries. The type 063 will fit into the righthand battery compartment. It is a bit of a squeeze but will fit and you can secure the battery by using large cable ties as shown in the photo above left.

Fitting a B36 or 202 battery is the simplest and should only take around one hour to fit. It just involves removing the 6v batteries, fitting the new one and relocating the earth lead from the left hand battery compartment. I have made no reference to positive or negative terminals as MGBs started life as positive earth, then around 1968 changed to negative earth. As a rough guide, if your car has a dynamo it’s positive earth. If it has an alternator, it is probably negative earth.

Good access will make the job easier. Move the seats as far forward as they will go. In the case of the GT remove the rear seat cover. On the roadster remove the carpet, and releasing the rear of the roof and pulling it forward will improve access. 1. Remove the battery cover by releasing the five x Zeus fasteners. 2. Disconnect the earth lead from the battery terminal in the lefthand battery compartment. Then disconnect the leads from the other three battery terminals. 3. Using a 7/16 spanner, undo the nuts securing the battery clamps sufficiently to enable the battery clamps to be unhooked and removed from both battery compartments. 4. Remove both 6v batteries. 5. Carry out any remedial work to clean up the battery compartments. Remove the rubber battery pads from the lefthand battery compartment. 6. You now have a choice. Either remove the battery to battery lead that connects between the battery compartments. It is held in place with a single P clip up in the rear of the transmission tunnel. Putting the car on ramps will give sufficient access. Alternatively, it can be just left in place. 7. Unbolt and remove the earth lead from the left-hand battery compartment. This will need to be relocated to the right-hand battery compartment. 8. Depending on the year of car you may find a suitable hole in the right-hand battery compartment. If not, you will need to drill a 5/16th (8mm) hole in a suitable position to enable the earth lead to connect to the new battery terminal. I would suggest temporarily fitting the new 12v battery, attaching the earth lead and marking a suitable position for the hole in the heelboard. Note: The battery should fit with the terminals facing the heelboard. 9. Once you have drilled the hole, use a piece of emery paper to remove any paint around the hole to ensure a good connection of the ground lead. Use the original fixing nut and bolt to secure the earth lead in the right-hand battery compartment. Add a little Vaseline to coat the bolt to protect from corrosion. 10. Fit the new 12v battery, terminals facing the heelboard. 11. Fit one set of the 6v battery clamps, ensuring they hook into holes either side of the battery compartment, then tighten the nuts to secure the battery. 12. Fit the live feed from the starter motor to the battery followed by the earth lead. 13. Secure the battery cover back in place with the five x Zeus fasteners, refit the carpet/ seat cover. 14 Job done!