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MG MGA - Sebring 1969 BGT Still Missing LBL-591E

Posted 09 November 2005 at 14:36:23 UK time
Tony Giordano, Blue Point NY, mgctony@aol.com

I firmly believe that the green Sebring BGT (standard fenders) under the registration marque "LBL 591E" which raced at SEBRING 1969, left there by the factory, "IS STILL MISSING".

This is not to be confused with the Red BGT now owned by Mick D'Arcey in the UK.

"This car is by the way the original shell that was 'dropped in the docks' and damaged,....there would be litte point in expending time and energy in trying to staighten the bodyshell at Abingdon as the basis for a competitions car, and so the simple task was to build a new car, a task undertaken by Bob Neville and a fellow apprentice". (MG World #12 1999 by David Knowles pp.36-40)

The car now in the UK must then be the car which raced in 1968 or in the first race, however in my "original" photos/slides of that car, a detail of the black paint in in the headlight recesses have gone without notice in the restoration process.

So now we have a car which was to have raced in the first race but never did; or did it? and a damaged one that was discarded...Where is that damaged one and what was the chassis #?

Laslty, in January 1969 "Car and Car Conversions" did a Color Feature on the "Works Sebring MGB" pp.56-59 entittled "WORKS GROUP FOUR MGB ROADTEST".

This article showed a fully painted green car (engine bays as well)in and out, red flash on the valance with 2" SU's going for a evening publicity test before it was shipped off for the '69 final run. The car as raced in 1969 raced with 2 inch SU's not a weber as the red/UK car has now (I have an open bonnet shot of LBL Sebring '69 in the pits.

To conclude, there has always been a keen interest in the chassis numbers of the MGC's at Sebring, however there seems to be NO interest in the chassis #'s of the Sebring BGT's......When I aked one of the experts in the UK, who is intimatley familiar with the car, the response was indifferent and evasive.

I am deducing that there were three(definately two)Sebring BGT's LBL 591E's which raced in Florida in the late '60s

This could be just a co-incidence, or maybe not...What do you think?

***I have both original publications, and photo's to substantiate my theory***

Tony Giordano

Tony Giordano

Tony, I hope you can find this car you're looking for, but I fear it's already been crushed into a cube, melted down and is currenty somewhere in the world disguised as a Kia. ;-)
Bill Young

This thread was discussed on 10/11/2005

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