Way back in the mists of time...

Hi and welcome to the carbonology.com Winter 2009/2010 project... Here at carbonology we like to practice what we preach - So every year we take on a project and using our own carbon fibre materials, consumables and equipment - the very same stuff as you can buy on line from our fine website, we make something that we hope you will enjoy seeing come to life. We've always done this, but only the last couple have been 'blogged'... So here for your delectation and delight is our MGB GTC build...

A little history lesson first... A few years back we bought an old and falling to pieces MGB GT and brought it back to the works with a view to building carbon panels for it, uprating everything with second hand parts and preparing it for racing or hill climbing or whatever.

As I said before, projects of this nature aren't uncommon - we try to do one every year and if my memory serves me, we'd just finished an all carbon fibre International 14ft sail boat.

To it's credit VPB710M, a 1973 Chrome bumber shell wasn't in bad condition at all when it arrived. Bought on Ebay for about 500 quid if I remember rightly, she was nothing out of the ordinary, but there wasn't a lot wrong with it either... The main structure was very sound with only a couple of repairs to the original sills and floor having ever been needed, and just about all the panels were present along with the chrome, and glass. No interior - but hey that'd all be coming out anyway right? We even started it and DROVE it onto the trailer when we collected her from the depths of Middle Earth; from a farm somewhere South of Farnham in Surrey one dark Friday night in 2007.

Then it got busy around here and we had to accept that unless we really got ourselves organised, the 'GT would have to wait. Well, we started to get organised (honest) but I am delighted to say, business got busier and busier - but sadly there was little time for projects like the GT, so it had to wait it's turn.

In a way the GT became like a mascot. A slightly awkward, difficult to work around mascot. Sometimes we've struggled for space, but never has the GT been pushed outside - she's always just been tucked further and further back into the shop.

Well everything has it's time... We're just as busy, but we have better ways of doing things so have time for making stuff - and even though an impossible to turn down opportunity arrived in the shape of the last project - a monster 18ft sailing skiff - I am delighted to say this now out there sailing (or to be more precise, kicking our sorry arses around various lakes) so the workshop space is available and it's time we got this show on the road - literally.

Next time - We'll do a bit of 'wish listing' and show you the general concept of the finished car by comparing the standard MGB GT vs the MGB GTC (For Carbon - or indeed carbonology! - geddit?!)

Take me back to carbonology!