American enthusiasts are seeing something of a resurgence in hill climb racing these days. Some of the long-time runners are seeing record entries, while some other events died off and were revived, and more still, like the Chasing The Dragon Hillclimb are sprouting up from seemingly nowhere. From the 1950s through the 1970s, hill climbing was one of the most popular forms of regional motorsport, and thousands of cars built in period have been sitting in barns or under tarps since that popularity waned. Like this beautiful-in-brown MGB Roadster.
American hill climb popularity never quite reached the level it did in Europe, where factory-backed prototype efforts weren’t uncommon. But we still had a cottage industry of car weirdos slapping together some wild machines and hitting the circuit. It’s clear that this MGB was built to be a contender, as it has been stripped of everything of substance, and fitted with the widest possible tires, whether they’d fit in the fender wells or not. With sand-peppered blister flares out back and clearanced front fenders, this car housed some serious Goodyear Blue Streak racing radials.
Everything about this car screams period correct, from the entirely inadequate roll hoop and vinyl clubman bucket seat to the gold magnesium knock-on minilite-style racing wheels. The car even has a built to spec trailer from 1976 which fits this car and only this car.
While the four tires on the car and the four tires on the trailer are all flat as pancakes, trailer tires are pretty easy to replace. The seller won’t ship this anyway, so you’ll have to show up in person and hand over some cash, despite this being a listing on eBay.
The mailbox lettering of the driver name and TEAM EMGEE RACING are icing on an already decadent cake. This car is far from perfect, but with some spit polish, and a fresh set of tires, it could be back at it in pretty quick order. There isn’t much better than the sound of a British tractor engine clattering at wide effing open through a pair of SU carby-raters. I mean, come on, it’s only $4,950 plus a set of trailer tires, and it could be yours! Don’t make me buy this.