Sir Baggins became a member of our family in June, 1997. He is a 1963 MGB roadster. We rescued him from a garage in a house on Meadowbrook Road where he had been languishing for three years. The man's mother-in-law is British, and she suggested he buy the car so his children could enjoy it. (Naturally, the kids didn't care for it after the novelty wore off.) My youngest son, Briton, was reading "The Hobbit" at the time and suggested we name the car for Bilbo Baggins. (It was love at first sight for both of us because of the red paint and wire wheels.)
We enjoyed the car as it was during the summer but by fall, it was time to bring Baggins back to real life. I delivered him to Danny Whiteman down in the boonies near Montevallo for restoration. Everything that was attached to the tub was removed and media blasted. (No Bondo was used during the process of re-assembly.) The car has two coats of primer, two coats of Tartan Red, and four coats of clear. All bright work and rubber on the car is new. All running gear is new, as is the wiring. The new wire wheels are by Dunlop. (King pins are rebuilt, however.) The engine is bored .040 over, and features a .380 lift cam, ported and polished alloy head, and electronic ignition. I also added a spin-on oil filter adapter, along with stainless headers and exhaust. At the end of the exhaust is an Ansa muffler because nobody can make a small bore engine sound better than the Italians. All the shiny stuff under the bonnet can be blamed on my old hotrodder days, even though the exterior is as stock except for period accessories like Lucas fogs and bullet mirrors. The interior was finished off with new leather seats, new door panels and cut pile carpet. The boot is also carpeted.
Sir Baggins can boast of one best of show trophy, a number of firsts, a few seconds and one third in class. The third in class came a year after his best of show at the same show with the same competition. Go figure.