There are many long-time MG owners in the Register. There are an appreciable number who were the first owners of their cars and still own them. They are the basis of our Original Owner’s Registry. But how many MG owners can tell you what ship their car came across the Atlantic from England on?

Jeff Powell was serving in the U.S. Air Force in 1971. He was stationed in Okinawa when he placed an order for a 1971 MGB through British Leyland’s P.E.D. or Personal Export Delivery program. When pressed to explain why he chose the MGB, Jeff says he can’t say exactly why. Cars were a major area of interest to himself and his Air Force buddies. Muscle cars were of particular interest. But Jeff had taken an interest in sports cars some time before and friend who raced and was a sports car aficionado was enthusiastic about MGs. Jeff considered the competing Triumph TR6 but found it was considerably more expensive. The MGB was a car one saw regularly on the streets and the consensus was that it had a reputation as a “good car”.

Ultimately, Jeff made his choice and decided to purchase his MGB and placed his order through Cal-Orient Trading in Okinawa and arranged to have the car delivered when he returned to the States later in the summer. His order was entered in April 1971 for delivery to his Massachusetts home in the second half of August 1971. Somewhere along the line, the red/orange color “Blaze” had made a favorable impression and Jeff entered in the paperwork that he wanted Blaze with a backup choice of - Blaze.

The final delivery took place through Crandall-Hicks, a distributor and dealer in Massachusetts. Jeff’s father picked up the car through Crandall for Jeff and paid the $1.25 pier “usage fee” for which the receipt is still in Jeff’s files. It begs the question—if one declined to pay this fee, was their car just tossed off the ship in open waters?

The remarkable aspect of this process is the complete documentation that Jeff received and still holds today. Jeff’s files include documentation that’s rarely seen today including the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. This certificate is the ultimate automotive “birth certificate”. It usually would have gone to the distributor who would then utilize it to initiate the process of title issuance. In Jeff’s case, since he purchased the car from BL, he received the certificate and still has it today. Jeff also has the insurance certificate issued by Lloyd’s of London covering the trans-Atlantic shipping of the car. Insurance that came into play when Jeff had to file claim for items like the exterior mirrors, tonneau and windshield wipers (or “wippers” on the claim form) that were missing when the car was received after trans-Atlantic transit.

As can be seen, Jeff is in the unusual position of knowing on what ship his car crossed the Atlantic, the S.S. Frubel Europa. Our Regalia Coordinator, Mike Robson, did some research and found the Frubel Europa is not in as good a condition today as Jeff’s car—it was scrapped in Taiwan in 1987. As Jeff points out, “part of a Toyota now”. Mike also discovered the ship was a “reefer” or refrigerated ship primarily employed by its Belgian owners to import South American produce. Shipping MGs was a secondary use to fill the ship on its outbound voyages.

This car was Jeff’s principle automotive transport and was his daily driver for the next eight years until 1979. It was a working car and not even garaged There was occasional service required of course—the rear shocks were replaced in the first couple years and items like the fuel pump etc. were replaced by the dealer. The cars continuing service as a needed daily driver made it imperative that it be back on the road as soon as possible so Jeff did not get involved in doing the work on the car himself back then. But Jeff reports there were never any major problems in that time and the MGB was quite dependable. This continued until 1979 when the onset of rod knock necessitated taking the car off the road for the first time for rebuilding. Jeff fulfilled his new need for daily transport—with an MGB GT. Drove from Massachusetts to Texas with all his possessions in car. And back again.

Jeff’s car wears an English registration plate, EOP 614L, on the front. Unlike many P.E.D. cars that were picked up in England, driven there and then shipped, his has never been English registered. Jeff’s plate came from an Air Force buddy who he let drive his car while they were both stationed in Texas. His buddy became enamoured of MGs himself. When he was later stationed in England, his experience with Jeff’s car inspired him to purchase an MGB of his own. After he returned to the States, he gave Jeff the front reg plate off of his car as a thank you, which Jeff’s car still wears today along with it’s Illinois plate ‘BLAZE B’.